Acts 27:1

"And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy" Festus made this decision and apparently arrangements were made as soon as possible. "We" Luke will travel with Paul and some feel that Aristarchus was with the group as well (Acts 20:4; Colossians 4:10). Luke had come with Paul to Jerusalem (Acts 21:17), and "the probability is that he had been close to him during his imprisonment. This stay of more than two years in Palestine gave Luke the opportunity, if he had not enjoyed one before; to gather up all the information contained in his gospel" (McGarvey p. 261). "For Italy" "Rome, the largest and most splendid of ancient cities, acted like. magnet to its peoples. For Rome was the capital and symbol of the Roman Empire, whose founding has been called 'the grandest political achievement ever accomplished. So Paul longed to visit Rome. True, Seneca had called it 'a cesspool of iniquity' and Juvenal. a filthy sewer', but all the more urgently did it need the gospel. True, John in the book of Revelation portrayed Rome as. persecuting monster and as 'the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth' (Revelation 13:1 ff; Revelation 17:1 ff), but he was writing at least twenty years later in Domitian's reign; Nero at the time of Paul's visit had not yet exposed his ugly cruelty" (Stott pp. 383-384).

Acts 27:1 "Sail" "Many readers of Acts 27:1 have commented on the precision, accuracy and vividness of the narrative. 'There is no such detailed record of the working of an ancient ship', wrote Thomas Walker, 'in the whole of classical literature'. The writer who has done most to vindicate Luke's accuracy in Acts 27:1 is James Smith, whose book The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul was published in 1848. He was. soldier by profession,. keen yachtsman of thirty years' experience. He spent the winter of 1844-45 in Malta while investigating Paul's voyage. He was widely read, he familiarized himself with the weather patterns of the Mediterranean, and he made. study of navigation and seamanship in both the ancient and modern worlds" (Stott pp. 385-386)."The chain of circumstances by which God accomplished His purpose of having Paul preach the Gospel at Rome was nearly complete. The plots of the unbelieving Jews had resulted in Paul's arrest; the quick thinking and acting of the Roman officer, Claudius Lysias, had prevented Paul's death. The avarice of Felix, the indecision of Festus, the prudence of Paul, and the provision made by the empire for the protection of its citizens had all operated together to keep Paul in custody and bring him to the sea voyage that was to end in Italy" (Reese p. 890).

Acts 27:1 "They proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners" Very little is known about these other prisoners. Had they also appealed to Caesar or were they prisoners destined to die in the Roman arena to amuse the populace? "Other" The Greek term here is heteros which often means another of. different kind, that is prisoners of. different class than Paul. "To. centurion of the Augustan cohort" We will later learn that the name of this centurion was Julius. Various ideas exist concerning the meaning of the term Augustan. Some suggest that this title might be given to any cohort "for valor", or had been named in honor of the emperor. Others feel that this cohort consisted of officers who served as personal couriers between the emperor and various governors or army leaders. Reese says, "It is possible that Julius accompanied Festus as the emperor's personal escort as Festus came into his new province; and since Festus has been installed, Julius is now returning to Rome" (p. 891). "It was now that Julius the centurion (as Luke's tale unfolds), wins our admiration for his kindness and common sense" (Stott p. 387).