Acts 28:11-16 

¹¹After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.  ¹²We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.  ¹³From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.  ¹⁴There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. ¹⁶When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Introduction

If you were to tell about one event in your life, what is it that you are excited to tell to anybody, young and old, friends and stranger? Would you speak about your achievements? Would you narrate about the places you’ve been to? Would you reveal your hobbies? Would you share about your certainty to live in heaven one day?

If you chronicle and produce a movie about life, what are the things you want others to watch about you? Does it matter to you to edit or rearrange your life story? If you were to live your life again, would you wish to have the same life story again?

If there’s any regret from past experiences, if there’s any experience that you don’t want to think about anymore, if there’s any incident you wish you were not there, if God let’s you remember them, would it help you to be more grateful that you are God’s child? Christ knows! We don’t have life to its fullness. He promised abundant life. Yet only those who submit to Him as Lord can experience such life in abundance.

Personal experiences expose that nobody is perfect except God in whom we can truly trust. Pleasant and unpleasant experiences reveal our need of a Perfect Lord and Savior, not just in the spiritual aspects but also in the secular aspects of our life.

Paul’s missionary journey shed light to God’s sufficient grace. God’s grace covers both spiritual and secular aspect of life.

1.  Secular

¹¹After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.  ¹²We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.  ¹³From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.

Dr. Luke recorded that they sailed from Malta aboard an Alexandrian ship with figurehead. Why did he need to mention about the twin gods Castor and Pollux figurehead or the kind of the ship? What’s so important about such information?

The Holy Spirit has inspired the writers of the Bible including Dr. Luke. Why did Dr. Luke specifically describe the ship? One probable reason could be to prove the historicity or historical authenticity of their journey. Not a few people suggest that the Bible is just a fictional book. Real events and people in the Bible have been uncovered by archaeologists and scholars to be historically authentic.

What kind of ship was an Alexandrian ship? It was similar to the previous Alexandrian ship which Paul boarded and wrecked by the storm. Alexandrian ship came from Alexandria, Egypt. They were commonly used by merchants to transport grain and other merchandize from Egypt to Asia or Europe. In those times, ships have been identified with its figurehead. Castor and Pollux were twin sons of the Greek god Zeus. They were believed to be patrons of sailors.

Sailing adventure was a spice of life that added to the drama surrounding Paul’s missionary journey. From Malta, they sailed to Italy via Syracuse. And after three days they sailed to Rhegium and ended in Puteoli and then travelled to Rome by land. Those stopovers might have been the normal route of the Alexandian ship. Spending few days in some areas depended upon the weather or business transactions of merchants aboard the ship. Secular activities were logically weaved and incorporated in the Bible stories.

Secular information has been added to preserve and trace the last expedition of Paul. This biblical documentation paints a picture of secular adventure which could possibly be experienced by future missionaries although not exactly the same.

Hopping from island to island aboard a ship is what many tourists are paying nowadays when they go cruising or sail leisurely. Should believers try sometime, to sail for pleasure or tour around the world aboard a cruise ship? God included all those secular things to be experienced by those whom He called for a mission.

In Matthew 6:33, ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When the Lord says, “all these things” the context has included things that pagans are running after. To collect things with no particular purpose, what is it called? Hoarding! How about those who are seeking adventures with no significant or eternal purpose? What can one gain to have a lot of adventures without purpose or eternal significance?

In Luke 9:25, ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

The concept of the above verse is not readily accepted or understood by anybody. When believers grow mature in their faith, it is when they understand more deeply the life application of the said passage [Luke 9:25]. When believers still crave for material gains, how would you evaluate them in their spiritual level of maturity?

2.  Spiritual

¹⁴There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. ¹⁶When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Dr. Luke did not give much particularity about secular things they did in the cities they went to before they met some believers. Does it mean that God is not interested in secular activities? Or was it to give us understanding that spiritual involvement is much more important than secular activities?

When believers spend time with them, it was recorded. They might have great experiences there to remember. They might have gone window shopping or sight-seeing. In this generation, they could have taken selfie and posted in their social media accounts.

Not just believers from Puteoli but believers from Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns, north of Puteoli. They travelled more or less 100 kilometers to meet Paul at Puteoli.  There was no recorded emotional description aboard the ship but the Bible says that Paul thanked God and encouraged by the sight of believers who were eager to meet him.

Paul’s journey was no secret. Spiritual involvement was worth sharing than the adventure of sailing. Before they landed in Italy, believers have already heard Paul was coming. From Puteoli, they travelled for more or less 200 kilometers to Rome. In Rome Paul was allowed to live by himself with a guard. Guarding Paul was no simple task.

In Philippians 1:12-14, ¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Situations and incidents God allowed Paul to experience, whether at seas or in prison, Paul used every opportunity to share the gospel. We need to be always aware that every incident or situation we face, God might have ordained it for us to testify for Him.

In Galatians 2:11-14, ¹¹When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹²For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. ¹³The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

¹⁴When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

Why did Paul mention this event? Peter’s action is not a strange thing. Bible students have varied arguments about eating in pagan festivities. What should we do during unguarded or unwarranted moments? God is faithful to enable us to act accordingly if we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

Would you accept what Hosea did? In Hosea 1:2, ²When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman… How about this? In Jeremiah 13:4, ⁴“Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.”

God would allow things for His glory even those things we don’t necessarily agree or accept. Series of secular or spiritual adventures are significant factors that God has designed to teach and guide us to become the child of God He wants us to be. Amen!

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