In this episode of My Ministry Mission, Jason walks through one of the most dramatic moments in the Book of Acts as Paul journeys toward Rome in Acts 27–28. What begins as a prison transfer turns into a powerful story of storms, shipwreck, unexpected ministry, and the unstoppable mission of God. Even when the ship breaks apart and Paul arrives in chains, the promise of God stands firm. Together we explore how the Lord’s sovereignty is revealed in the middle of chaos and how Paul’s faith anchors everyone around him when hope seems lost.

this episode reminds us that storms cannot cancel God’s purposes. Whether you’re navigating uncertainty, waiting on God’s timing, or wondering how He is working through difficult seasons, this conversation offers encouragement and perspective for everyday faith. Join Jason as we see how the Gospel kept moving forward, even through storms, and discover what that means for our lives today.

References to Bible Verses:

Acts 23:11; Acts 27:1–44; Acts 28:1–31; Isaiah 6:9–10; Isaiah 43:2; Psalm 107:29–30; Proverbs 22:3; Romans 1:11; Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 10:24–25

My Ministry Mission Information

1. Website: https://myministrymission.com/
2. Become a Guest: https://myministrymission.com/guest
3. Support the Show: https://myministrymission.com/support
4. Contact Me: https://myministrymission.com/contact
5. Free Christian Resources: https://myministrymission.com/resources/free-resources/

My Ministry Mission Social Media

1. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myministrymission
2. Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyMinMission (or @MyMinMission)
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myminmission (or @MyMinMission)
4. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@myministrymission

Support The Show

If you are enjoying the content and would like to support this show, consider giving me a tip. It's not required or expected, but certainly appreciated

Buy me a Coffee

Credits:

Cover Image & Music from Pixabay

---

Jason: Thank you for listening and welcome to the podcast. I'm your host, Jason McConnell. Have you ever obeyed God and still found yourself in a storm? Not a metaphorical drizzle, not a mild inconvenience. I'm talking hurricane force winds. The kind of season where direction disappears, visibility drops to zero, and you start wondering, Lord, I thought I was following you.

How did I end up here? That's where we find the apostle Paul in Acts chapter 27. He's not running from God. He's not in rebellion. He's not being disciplined. He's exactly where Jesus told him he would be on his way to Rome to testify before Caesar. This is part of the promise, and yet that promise doesn't come with any calm seas.

It comes with ignored warnings. It comes with darkness that lasts for days. It comes with a ship that literally breaks apart beneath his feet, but in the middle of the chaos, the ship will be destroyed, but the promise will not. In this episode, we're walking through one of the most dramatic chapters in the book of Acts, storms, shipwrecks, snake bites, and house arrest.

But beneath the waves, there's something deeper happening. God is proving that no storm can cancel his mission. And maybe just maybe the storm you're facing right now isn't evidence that you're outside God's will. Maybe it's the very road he's using to bring you exactly where he promised.

---

Jason: As we step into Acts, chapters 27 and 28, we're not just reading a travel log.

We're stepping into one of the most detailed sea narratives in all of ancient literature. Luke, the careful historian, gives names, ports, winds, cargoes, and sailing conditions. Why? Because this isn't just about geography, it's about theology. Paul is on his way to Rome, the heart of the empire. Uh, and Rome wasn't once just some city.

It was, it was power, it was influence. It was law. It was culture. If the gospel could take root in Rome, it would spread everywhere. We have to remember this journey isn't random. Back in Acts 23, verse 11, the Lord stood near Paul and said, take courage as you have testified about me in Jerusalem. So must you also testify in Rome.

Rome is the destination because Rome is the assignment. But here's what you need to understand. Culturally, travel in the first century was, was dangerous, especially by sea navigation, dependent on wind patterns and visible stars. There were no engines, no radar, no coast guard. Once the autumn winds began to shift, sailing became extremely risky.

In fact, most sea travel largely stopped between mid-November and early March. So Paul isn't boarding a cruise ship. He's boarding a grain transport vessel, likely carrying Egyptian wheat to feed Rome's massive population. These were large ships, sometimes holding hundreds of people, but they were entirely dependent on weather conditions.

If the winds turned, you are at its mercy, and that's where the tension of this begins. Paul is a prisoner, but not because he's guilty. He's in Roman custody because of false accusations and political pressure. He, he has appealed to Caesar, which is his legal right as a Roman citizen. Now under guard, he sails towards the capital of the empire.

---

Jason: But here's a deeper question for us. If God promised Paul Rome, why the storm? And this is where theology gets tested a little there. There's a common theme in the pages of Acts. It challenges the perception that obedience guarantees ease. I've mentioned this throughout several of these episodes. Walking in God's will.

I mean, we think it should be smoother, past clearer skies, faster progress, right? But once again, acts is gonna shadow that assumption. Paul is in the will of God and he's about to face hurricane force winds. The Bible never promises a storm free life. In fact, Isaiah 43, verse two says, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

When you walk through the fire, you'll not be burned. Notice the wording when not, if the presence of storms does not mean the absence of God. In fact, sometimes storms are the vehicle God uses to move his mission forward. The early church, the original audience of Acts needed to hear this. They were facing persecution under Roman authority.

Their leaders were imprisoned, their communities were misunderstood. They needed reassurance. That political power, natural disaster. Or human schemes could not derail God's purpose. And sometimes we need that reminder. Today we live in a culture marked by uncertainty, economic volatility, political divisions rising anxiety, global instability.

Uh, according to the CDC, nearly one in five adults in the United States experiences anxiety disorder. Each year we are living in an age of storm imagery, emotional storms, cultural storms, financial storms. Acts 27 speaks directly into this reality. John Stot once wrote in the message of Acts, the storm was not a sign of divine displeasure, but a part of divine purpose.

Understanding that changes everything. This isn't a story about a boat. It's a story about sovereignty. It's not about weather patterns. It's about who can controls the winds wins. Darren l Brock writes in his commentary on Acts. Acts 27 and 28 shows that the mission of God cannot be thwarted by natural disaster, political systems, or human incompetence.

I want you to let that sink in for a moment. Not natural disaster, not political systems, not human incompetence. Nothing. By the end of Acts, Paul will be in chains, but the gospel will be described as unhindered. The man is bound. The message is not. So as we move through this chapter, from ignoring warnings to violent storms, from shipwrecks to snake bites, from Malta to Rome, keep this lens in mind.

The ship may break, the schedule may change, the plans may collapse, but the promise will always stand. And if you belong to Christ, the same God who steered Paul through the Mediterranean tempus is the God who hold steady in your storm today. So now with that said, let us set sail.

---

Jason: So here we are in chapter 27 and it opens with a simple but weighty moment.

Acts 27. Verses one and two tells us when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to the centurion named Julius who belonged to the Imperial regimen. We boarded a ship from Atrium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea Arista Curse.

A Macedonian from Thessalonica was with us. I hope you caught that word. We, Luke is on board, so this isn't secondhand reporting. This is eyewitness testimony and you can almost smell the salt in the air and hear the creaking of the wood. Have you, as you imagine this moment. Paul is now in the custody of Rome under the supervision of a centurion named Julius of the Imperial Regiment.

A centurion was no minor official. These men commanded about a hundred soldiers and were known for disciplined loyalty and decisiveness. Julius is responsible for these prisoners reaching Rome alive. They board a ship from Aerium and begin to travel along the coast of Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey.

They stop in Sidon and something surprising happens in Acts 27 verse three, the next day, we landed at Sidon and Julius in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go see his friends so that they might provide for his needs. So why would a disciplined Roman centurion allow Paul to have such liberties?

Commentary suggests this was because Paul wasn't a condemned man, at least not yet since he was waiting for trial before Caesar. It also suggests that because of Paul's godly character, it might've helped him gain some favor. Uh, he was different from the other prisoners who were likely condemned men being sent to Rome to die in the arena.

The journey continues. Luke begins describing difficult sailing conditions in Acts 27 verses four through eight, describing sailing against the wind. Sea travel in the ancient world depended entirely on the seasonal winds, but by this point in the calendar, it was late in the sailing season, likely early October.

Now these verses also describe switching to an to an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, which was likely a grain freighter, taking grain grown in Egypt to Italy. Now the typical ship of the size is often around 140 feet long and 36 feet wide. It would've had one mast with a big square sail instead of a rudder.

It would've been steered with two paddles on the stern or back of the ship. Now this design was sturdy. It couldn't sail against the wind.

---

Jason: Now they eventually land in a port called Fair Havens on the south side of the island of Crete. And in Acts 27 verses nine through 10, Paul gives some advice to the captain and crew of the ship.

Much time has been lost in sailing, had already become dangerous because by now it was after the day of atonement, so Paul warned them men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to the ship in cargo and to our own lives as well. The day of atonement occurred in late September or early October.

So we're getting close to that mid-November time, right? Commentary suggests that October 5th would've been the Day of Atonement in 58 E, but winter was coming and the Mediterranean sailing was notoriously dangerous in the winter. I mentioned that already. In fact, most ships just avoided open seed during these months because violent storms were so common.

He had experience, he has wisdom and, and he has spiritual discernment, but his advice is dismissed in Acts 27 verses 11 and 12, but the Centurion, instead of listening to Pulse. What Paul said followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in the majority decided that they should sail on hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there.

This was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest. So from a human perspective, that decision probably makes sense. Who would you trust? A prisoner or the captain?

---

Jason: There's a deeper lesson here. Sometimes wisdom is dismissed because it doesn't come from the right title. Sometimes truth is ignored because it isn't convenient.

The harbor they're in fair havens isn't ideal for wintering. So the majority decides we're gonna go ahead and push on forward to Phoenix, which was a better harbor on Crete. The majority wins in this vote, and this is where we begin to see something so relevant to our times. A majority opinion does not guarantee the right decision.

Look, we live in a culture driven by consensus polls, trends, and loud voices. But scripture reminds us that truth is not established by numbers. In fact, many times in biblical history, the minority voice carried God's wisdom, saw what was coming, but human confidence, commercial interest, and optimism drowned out the caution.

I mean, have you ever felt. Quiet nudge of warning, that inner hesitation, that moment when you sensed this might not end well. Proverbs 22, verse three tells us the prudency danger and take refuge with the simple. Keep going and pay the penalty. I mean, this moment in Acts isn't dramatic yet. There's no lighting, no crashing waves, just a decision.

And sometimes the most dangerous part of the storm is the decision that led into it. Paul boards the ship obediently. He doesn't rebel. He doesn't fight the decision. He entrusts himself to God's sovereignty. He had a promise, right? And that's kind of important because even when human wisdom fails, God's purpose does not.

The ship leaves harbor under what seems like favorable conditions, but the wind is about to change. And what seems like a small miscalculation is about to become a full-blown tempest. Perhaps there's some lesson for us here. You can be ignored and still be right. You can be overruled and still be in God's will.

And even when others steer the ship poorly, God still governs the sea. So as I mentioned at first, it looks like the decision was right.

---

Jason: Luke tells us in Acts 27, verse 13, when a gentle south wind begins to blow, they saw their opportunity so they weighed, anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. Isn't that usually how it happens?

You ignore the warnings. Then the circumstances seem so favorable, the wind feels gentle. The skyes seem clear and you think, see, it's gonna be fine. But then this acts 27 verses 14 through 16. Before very long, a wind of hurricane four called the north northeaster swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind.

So we gave way to it. We're driven along as we pass to the lee of a small island called Clara. We were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. I told you, doesn't seem to cut it. The word Luke uses for the wind of hurricane force is phony coast. The word T that typhoon is derived from this wind was feared among the ancient sailors because it had such destructive power.

The ship is seized by the wind. I told you they can't steer into the wind and they completely lose control, and that's the first thing the storm takes from us. Control these men, try everything they can. Look at Acts 27, 17 through 19. So the men hoisted it, the lifeboat aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together because they were afraid they would run a ground on the sandbars of Seth se tis.

They lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands, so they secure the lifeboat pass ropes under the ship to hold it together, lower the anchor to avoid running a ground throw cargo overboard.

They throw the ship's tackle overboard The. Serus Sands was a very famous wrecking area for ships, by the way, off the coast of North Africa. I mean, imagine this scene. You have Roman soldiers hardened sailers prisoners all fighting for survival. The sky is black, the waves are crashing, the wood is groaning, be beneath the force.

---

Jason: Then Luke drops this bomb in Acts 27, verse 20, when neither sun nor star appeared for many days, and the storm continued raging. We finally gave up all hope of being saved. In the ancient world, you navigated by celestial bodies. No stars meant no direction, no bearings, no way to know where you are. They didn't just lose control.

They lost orientation, and maybe someone out there listening right now feels that way. Not just overwhelmed, but disoriented. Not pressured, but directionalist. The storm outside has become a storm on the inside. I want you to notice this. Even seasoned sailors lost hope. They weren't rookies, they were professionals, but the storms, they don't discriminate.

But then Paul, good old Paul, stands up after everyone has gone without food and moral morale has collapsed. Paul speaks in Acts 27 verses 21 through 22. After they had gone a long way without food, Paul stood up before them and said, men, you should have taken my advice. Not sailed from Crete, then you would've been spared yourselves this lost and damage.

But now I urge you to keep up your courage because not one of you will be lost. Only the ship will be destroyed. And there it is. Paul's I told you was so moment, but he's not being snared, he's being honest. But he does offer hope. After all, he's a messenger of God and God is hope. So he tells the crew the good news that no one.

No lies will be lost. Just the ship and all its cargo and everything else.

---

Jason: But how can he say that The answer to that comes in Acts 27 verses 23 through 26. Last night, an angel of the God to whom I belong and to whom I serve, stood beside me and said, do not be afraid. Paul, you must stand trial before Caesar.

And God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you. So keep up your courage men for I have faith in God that it will happen, just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island. God sent an angel to Paul to bring him. Good and encouraging news. The, the word angel comes from the Greek word, uh, an Anglos, which means messenger or envoy.

Just a little trivia there. Now, this doesn't mean that everything will be easy for them. It just means God is watching over them. I'm sure Paul was also afraid of this storm, so this messenger was as much for him as it was for the crew and the passengers. God promised to bring Paul to Rome. He's also promising to bring every soul on the ship safely to harbor or somewhere at least.

I love that phrase, the God to whom I belong and to whom I serve. That is identity right there. Storms cannot erase your identity in Christ. The winds will surely how the ship may creek and fall apart and hope may flicker. But identity is your anchor and sorry for the pun. Look, God didn't promise no storms.

He promised a destination. God didn't say you won't feel waves. He said you'll stand before Caesar. And that's the difference between optimism and faith. Optimism says it'll probably be okay. Faith says, God has spoken. This storm reveals something. Powerful about leadership under pressure. When panic rises, people look for calm.

When hope fades, people look for conviction, the prisoner becomes the anchor. Yep, I did it again. So John Stott writes in the message of Acts, Paul was the only man aboard who knew where he was going. Everyone else had lost their bearings, but Paul knew Rome was still ahead. Now, you may not know how you're going to get there.

You may not know how long the storm will last. You may not see the stars right now, but if God has spoken, hold on to that promise. Isaiah 43 verse two reminds us when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. Not if, when I keep pointing that out, but it's when storms are not evidence of God's absence.

Sometimes they're the stage for his fulfillness, for his faithfulness. The ship is being battered, the crew is exhausted, the car goes gone, but the promise still stands. And sometimes in your life, God allows the storm to strip away everything you thought you needed so that you realize the only thing you truly need is him.

---

Jason: So by this point in the story, the storm has been raging for just over two full weeks, 14 days of relentless wind. 14 days of waves crashing against the hole, 14 days without a clear sense of direction. The crew and passengers have been driven across the Adriatic Sea with no control over where they were going.

Luke writes in Acts 27, 27 through 29. On the 14th night, we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea. When about midnight, the sailors sensed they were approaching land. They took soundings and found that the water was 120 feet deep. A short time later, they took soundings again and found it was 90 feet deep, fearing that they would be dashed against the rocks.

They dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. So the be sailors would begin to take soundings, which is a process of dropping weighted rope into the water to determine the ocean steps. Now, the NIV version gives us the measurements and feet, but the sailors would've actually measured this in fathoms where one fathom was six feet.

But seeing that the ocean was getting shallower as they went, they figured they're headed towards land, which brought its own set of dangers. If the ship crashed against rocks in darkness, everyone could die. So they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come before land. Even sailors who may not have prayed much before are now seeking God to bring the sun.

Storms have a way of reminding us just how small we are. While the passengers await the sailors hatch, a plan acts 27 verses 30 and 32 30 through 32. In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and soldiers, unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.

So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away. So quietly they lower lifeboats pretending they're getting a low la, some anchors on from the vow, and in reality they're trying to escape and abandon everyone else on the ship.

---

Jason: But Paul sees through it, maybe it was divine intervention, but when he tells the centurion of the plan and the consequence, the soldiers take action, it seems the soldiers in the centurion begin to trust Paul at this point.

I mean, I suppose when people watch you remain steady while everything else shakes, they begin to listen. But as Donna's approaches the in the middle of this violent storm surrounded by soldiers and prisoners, Paul does something that seems. Well, it seems incredibly Christian.

---

Jason: Acts 27 verse 33 through 38.

Just before dawn, Paul urges him to all eat for the last 14 days. He said, you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food. You haven't eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from your head. After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them.

Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether, there were 276 of us on board when they had eaten as much as they wanted. They lighted the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. So right there in the middle of chaos, Paul gives thanks and this echoes the pattern of Jesus at the Last Supper.

Taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it even in a moment of danger, Paul enters on gratitude to God. Paul trusts in God's promises. He believes that God would see him through the storm. He genuinely believes it.

---

Jason: And then morning comes Acts 27 verses 39 through 41. When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach where they decided to run the ship of ground.

If they could cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time, united the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the for sale to the winds and made for the beach. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow bow struck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf, so they decided to run the ship to ground if possible.

They cut the anchors, loosen the rudders, raise the forest sail to the winds, but the plan doesn't quite work. The bow sticks fast and the stern begins to break apart under the pounding surface. The ship is literally being torn to pieces. They didn't know it, but they came to an island called Malta, and the place they, where they the ship ran ground is now known as St.

Paul's Bay. Had they missed this island, there would've been nothing until they ran into the, um, Tunisian coast some 200 miles away, and there's no way the ship would've survived that long. It's God's providence at work, but another crisis arises in Acts 27, verses 42 through 44. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.

But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way, everyone reached land safely, so these Roman soldiers considered killing the prisoners so none can escape.

And this makes sense under Roman law because if a prisoner escape, the guard could and likely would be executed in his place. But our centurion, Julius intervenes, I'd like you to imagine that moment. Waves crashing. The ship is splintering. Soldiers are shouting, prisoners are jumping into the water, and yet Luke concludes with these simple words.

In this way, everyone reached land safely exactly as God promised. Not one life lost. The ships destroy, the cargoes gone, but the people are saved.

---

Jason: Oftentimes, we pray for God to preserve the structures we've built, the job, the plan, the timeline, the comfort, whatever it is. But God's promise is not always about protecting the ship.

Sometimes the ship breaks, sometimes the structures collapse, but the promise of God remains intact. Psalm 1 0 7 verses 29 through 30 captures this pretty well. He stilled the storm to a whisper. The waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

The storm did not cancel the destination. The wreck did not erase the promises. Sometimes God allows ships to break so that we can discover. The true anchor was never the vessel. It was him all along. After 14 days in a storm and a ship breaking apart beneath them, the survivors finally stagger on as ashore soaked, battered, and exhausted.

---

Jason: And as we enter Acts 28 verses one and two, a new ministry seems to be starting up. Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The Islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. So Malta is in small island, in the island, in the Mediterranean, about 60 miles south of Sicily.

Now, at the time, it was part of the Roman Empire populated largely by people. Luke refers to as islanders or natives. The Greek word used here is Baros, which. It didn't mean uncivilized in the modern sense. It simply meant they didn't speak Greek or Latin, but these people were kind to them. They built a fire for the soaking exhausted survivors.

Remember, this wasn't a small group. There were 276 people from that ship. They all survived. These islanders could have been suspicious or hostile towards strangers washing up on their shore, but instead they showed compassion. And this moment is kind of a reminder that God often places unexpected people in our paths.

During difficult seasons, the kindness of a stranger becomes a form of God's provision, but the story isn't finished yet. And the as the fires burn and the survivors begin to warm themselves, Paul does something very characteristic of him. He starts helping. But what comes next is a bit wild.

---

Jason: Acts 28, verse three through six.

Paul gathered a pile of brushwood, and as he. Put it on the fire. A viper driven out by the heat fastened itself onto his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, this man must have been a murderer for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess justice has not allowed him to live.

But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a God. Oops. So after surviving the storm, the wreck, the freezing water, now a venomous snake bites him.

The enemy is truly trying to stop Paul, it seems, and the islander see it happen, and they immediately interpret this through their worldview and ancient pagan belief systems, fate or divine justice would punish criminals. They assumed Paul must have done something terrible and now the gods are catching up with him.

But Paul just. Shakes it off, literally. And the islanders are kind of watching this. They're waiting for him to swell up or collapse or die any moment, right? Any moment now. And I kinda laugh to consider the situation. They just stare watching, waiting, nothing, minutes pass, maybe tens of minutes pass, nothing happens.

So again, they interpret this through their worldview and begin thinking that he is a God. It's truly amazing how quickly human perception can swing from condemnation to exaltation. But God didn't save Paul from the sea just to let him die by a viper bite. That's not gonna happen. This next part is, well, it's pretty awesome though.

---

Jason: Um, check out Acts 28, verse seven through 10. There is an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief office of the island. He welcomed us into his home and showed us generous hospitality. For three days, his father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and after prayer placed his hands on him and healed him.

When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways, and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with supplies that we needed. I want you to kind of notice the order of events here. Paul prays first, and the healing comes through God's power, not Paul's power.

And when the word spreads about his healing, the islanders bring other sick people to Paul and is and many are healed. What started as a shipwreck becomes a mission field, ff Bruce. Bruce writes in the Book of Acts, the presence of Paul turned the island from a place of disaster into a place of blessing.

God had people waiting on that island who needed the hope of Christ, and that's a great lesson for us. Sometimes we arrive in unexpected, maybe unwanted places, places we never planned to be. Seasons we didn't want, circumstances we wouldn't choose, and we assume those places are interruptions, but God often sees him as appointments.

Paul didn't arrive in malt as a missionary. He arrived as a shipwreck, survivor and prisoner. Wherever Paul went, the gospel went with him. That was his thing. And that should, that should be true for you and me. Your workplace. A hospital room, difficult seasons, your unexpected detours. These places might feel like Malta, like remote, unplanned, and inconvenient, but they may also be the exact place God intends to use you.

And Luke closes this particular section by saying the Islanders honored them and provided them with supplies they needed when it was time to leave. Well, it began with unusual kindness ends with generous provisions, and once again, we see the pattern of God's faithfulness. The storm didn't destroy Paul's mission, it expanded it.

Amazing, right?

---

Jason: So when we get to Acts 28 verse 11, things fast forward a bit and we see his final journey towards Rome begin. It says, after three months we put out the sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of a twin God of of the twin Gods, castor and pulex.

Now, this detail might seem small, but it revealed kinda a lot about the world. Paul was traveling through Castor and Pollock. Were known in Roman mythology as protectors of sailors. Many ships carry their images on the bow as kind of a spiritual assurance policy. Right? And then Acts 28, verse 12 and 13 walks us through more of his travels.

I won't read that. They sailed north to Syracuse on the island of Sicily and stayed there for three days and they traveled to Raum, um, at the southern tip of Italy. Uh, favorable south wind began to blow and they finally reach poli the main port city for ships arriving from Egypt with grain shipments.

---

Jason: But then this happens in Acts 28, verses 14 and 15. There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them, and so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming and they traveled as far as the form of aist and the three taverns to meet us at the site of these people.

Paul thanked God and was encouraged. I want you to think about this for a moment. The gospel had already reached Italy before Paul ever arrived. Christian communities had already formed in this powerful region of the empire. Paul arrives as a prisoner, but he finds family waiting for him. That's the beauty of the early church.

It wasn't built on buildings or institution. It was built on relationships, believers opening their homes, sharing meals, encouraging one another, and these next six words carry the weight of years of prayer, suffering, and perseverance. So we came to Rome. Paul had long desire to visit Rome. In fact, years earlier, he wrote to the believers there in Romans one 11, I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you stronger, but I doubt this was the way he imagined arriving as a prisoner under Roman guard, sometimes God answers our prayers just not in the way we expected.

Paul prayed to go to Rome, and as a missionary, God brought him there as a prisoner. Yes, the mission would still happen, and as Paul continues towards the city, word spreads among the believers in Rome that he was coming and, and they traveled to meet him. And this was encouraging to him. Look, even the Apostle Paul needed encouragement.

Sometimes we imagine the heroes of scripture are these unshakeable giants of faith. Paul was human. He felt the weight of years of ministry, persecution, imprisonment, and uncertainty. Seeing fellow believers strength in his spirit, and that is a reminder for us, something incredibly important. Christian community matters.

Hebrews 10 verses 24 and 25 says. Let us consider how we may spur one another towards love and good deeds. Not giving up, meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more. As you see the day approaching encouragement is not optional. In the Christian faith, it is truly essential, but moving on.

---

Jason: Finally, Paul arrives in the capital of the empire. Luke concludes this particular section by telling us in Acts 28 verse 16. When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him. This was a form of house arrest. Basically. Paul wasn't thrown into a dungeon. Instead, he was chained to a Roman soldier, but allowed to rent his own quarters and receive visitors.

And here's the irony of the whole journey, right? Rome believed it was bringing Paul to trial, but in reality, God was bringing the gospel to the center of the empire. The storms, the shipwrecks, the snake bites, the detours. None of them stopped the mission. In fact, they may have even been the very means.

God used to get Paul exactly where he needed to be, exactly when he needed to be there. The journey that began with chains has now arrived at the heart of the world, and the gospel is about to echo throughout Rome.

---

Jason: So now that Paul has arrived in Rome, you might expect the story to move quickly towards some dramatic courtroom trial before Caesar, but something kind of interesting happens instead.

In Acts 28, verses 17 through 23 days later, he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them, my brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to Rome. They examined me and wanted to release me because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.

The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charges against my own people. For this reason, I have asked to see and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with these chains. So three days after settling into his rented quarters, Paul calls together the local Jewish leaders, and this is consistent with Paul's pattern throughout Acts, wherever he went, he began with the Jewish community first.

If there was a community there and why. The gospel is the fulfillment of the promises God made to Israel. Romans one verse 16 reminds us for, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, because it has the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes first to the Jews, then to the Gentile. Paul wanted the Jews to know something important.

Christianity is not a rebellion against the Juth faith. It is the fulfillment of it. And when we, when he says, it's because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with these chains. He is talking about Jesus the Messiah, the hope of Israel. Paul isn't chained because he broke Roman law. He's chained because he believes Jesus is that Messiah.

The Jewish leaders respond to pollen Acts 28 verses 21 and 22. We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there have reported or said anything bad about you, but we want to hear what your views are for. We know that people everywhere are talking against this sect, so the Jewish leaders respond kind of cautiously.

They tell Paul they haven't received any official accusations against him, which shows. Which shows us that the religious leaders who did accuse Paul in Jerusalem CES area, knew their case didn't hold water. If they had truly had something against Paul, why not send documents to the Jews in Rome? But they're curious about this new movement called The Way They've heard that Christianity was unpopular and people were saying bad things about it.

But kudos to these guys for at least being willing to listen. Right. So they set up a time to meet in Acts 28, verse 23 and 24. They raged to meet Paul on a certain day and came in, leave even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening explaining about the kingdom of God and from the laws of Moses and from the prophets.

He tried to persuade them about Jesus, somewhere convinced of by what he said others would not believe. So here's Paul in a rented house, likely chain to a Roman guard. Yet people are coming in large numbers to hear him teach some beliefs, some didn't. The response is about the same today, to be honest, wherever the gospel is preached, there are always going to be two reactions, belief and resistance.

---

Jason: But then Paul explains the rejection of the gospel from Isaiah six verses nine and 10 in Acts 28 verses 25 through 27. So let's read the Acts part. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement. The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet, go to these people and say, you'll be ever hearing, but never understanding.

You'll be ever seeing, but never perceiving for this. People's heart has become calloused. They are hardly they. They hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heads and turn, and I would heal them. So Paul is explaining that the rejection of the gospel was not a surprise.

The prophets had already worn that many would hear the truth and refuse to receive it. Isaiah told us that some would harden their hearts and by rejecting Jesus, they could see and hear, but never understand. And this is sad to think about it. Sometimes we want others to know the joy that Jesus has brought us.

We can quote scripture, we can witness and tell our stories, but sometimes, sometimes they just can't understand that if they just turned to Jesus, he would heal their sins. Then Paul makes a bold declaration in Acts 28, verse 20 and 29. Therefore, I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles and they will listen after he said this.

S Jews left arguing vigorously amongst themselves. This moment represents the global expansion of the gospel. The message of Jesus is no longer confined primarily to Israel. It's moving outward to the nations, to the Gentiles, to the entire world.

---

Jason: Which brings us to Luke's final words in the Book of Acts.

Acts 28 30 through 31. For two whole years, Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Paul is technically a prisoner, still a Roman guard is likely chained to him.

Every day, all the time for two years, but he is able to preach without hindrance. That's how the Book of Acts ends, not with Paul's trial, not with Paul's death, not with the dramatic finale. It ends with the gospel moving forward freely. John Stott writes again in the message of Acts. Luke's final word is deliberately chosen.

The apostle is bound, but the gospel is not. The Roman Empire thinks it has Paul under guard, but in reality, the gospel has infiltrated the capital of the world. Every soldier chained to Paul likely heard about Jesus. Every visitor who walked into that rented house encountered the message of the kingdom.

---

Jason: The mission continues and Luke ends the story this way because the story isn't finished. The Book of Acts doesn't truly end in Acts 28. It continues through the church, through believers who preach Christ in the workplace and homes and schools and communities. The same gospel that reached Rome is still moving forward today.

And nothing, not storms, not shipwrecks, not snakes, not chains, not. Anything, not any person, nothing can stop it.

---

Jason: What an amazing journey we've just traveled through from a prisoner transfer to a violent storm, from a shattered ship to, to a snake bite on Malta, from unexpected ministry to the capitol city of the Roman Empire, acts chapters 27 and 28 reminds us that the mission of God does not move forward because circumstances are perfect.

No. It moves forward because God is perfect. God is sovereign. Along the way, they lost the ship, the cargo, and he endure storms, imprisonment, and uncertainty. But he never lost the promise, and that's the thread that continues to run through this entire story. God told Paul he would testify in Rome and no storm, no political power, no human decision, nothing.

Not the enemy. Nothing could stop that from happening. By the end of Acts, we see Paul under house arrest, chained to a Roman guard. From the outside, it might look like the mission is stalled, but Luke tells us something remarkable. In verse 31, he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

With all boldness and without hindrance, empires rise and fall. Governments change, cultures shift, but the message of Jesus continues to move from heart to heart, city to city, nation to nation. The same gospel that traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch across Asia Miner, through Greece, across the Mediterranean, and finally into Rome.

It's still moving today, and that's what brings us to where we are headed Next, look in one final episode in this Acts of the Apostle Series. I'd like to step back and ask a powerful question. What does it mean that the gospel is still moving today? Let's talk about how the story of Acts didn't really end in Chapter 28.

In many ways, it continues through the church, through believers like you and me, carrying this message, this wonderful message of Christ into our communities, our families, and in all parts of our world. Because the Book of Acts isn't history, it is an invitation. The mission is still unfolding Until next time.

Keep loving your neighbors. Dive into God's word daily and may the Lord bless you and keep you and fill you with his peace. Take care of God bless, and I'll see you in the next episode.