Monday May 25, 2020
Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 27 & 28
In both his Gospel and Acts, Luke makes it a point to identify times, people and places. For instance, in the Gospel he tells us who was emperor (Caesar Augustus) and who was governor (Quirinius) when Jesus was born. Throughout Acts Luke includes specific names of people (Herod, Cornelius, Lydia, Priscilla) and specific places (look at the number of places named in Chapter 27). He even includes seemingly unimportant historical details (like the name of the Roman cohort, Augusta, that took charge of Paul.) Luke includes all these things to emphasize that the story he is telling (in the Gospel and Acts) is not a fairy tale; the events took place at identifiable historical times, places, to real people.
The story turns to high drama when a Northeaster storm pummels the ship for 2 weeks. At one point, Paul says to the crew in so many words, “I told you so” but then becomes more gentle and encourages the storm-tossed passengers to trust in God. Did any lines in chapter 27 sound particularly familiar? (Look at Acts 27, 35 and compare it to Gospel of Luke 22, 19). The ship is wrecked and Paul spends 3 months on the island of Malta (not a bad stopover- average winter temperature about 20C). The locals offer hospitality, Paul survives a snake bite and cures a man with a fever (see Gospel of Luke 4, 38-39 for a parallel- Jesus’ mission continues).
Arriving in Rome, Paul is put under a fairly mild house arrest. His experience confirms his conviction that the task God has assigned to him is to preach the Gospel to Gentiles. After all the adventure- riots, imprisonment, midnight flights from hostile towns, corporal punishment, shipwreck- the conclusion of Acts seems to be less than dramatic; it finds Paul just preaching in Rome. But if you go back to Chapter 1, verse 8 (“You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth”) you’ll see that this ending is perfect. It brings the whole purpose and plot of Acts to an appropriate conclusion. Through the power of the Holy Spirit (first given in Chapter 2, 1-13) the Good News and the Mission of Jesus has spread from Jerusalem throughout the known world to the very center of the empire- Rome. But what’s next?
Be sure to tune in this Wednesday and Friday.
Homework- Relax
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