Acts 27:44

Friday, 31 May 2024

and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land. Acts 27:44

A literal rendering of the Greek would be, “and the rest, indeed, some upon boards, and some upon anything from the ship. And thus it was all were saved upon the land” (CG).

In the previous verse, the centurion commanded that those who could swim should jump in and swim to land. Now, and still coming as a command from Julius, it says, “and the rest, indeed, some upon boards, and some upon anything from the ship.”

Those who couldn't swim grabbed up whatever planks or boards were loose, or whatever else would float that was freely obtainable, and they then dove in with those who could swim. The scene must have been quite chaotic as the remaining who supervised the effort stayed on the ship.

When it was determined that all had jumped in, the final people who had braved the oversight of the effort would have then jumped in and headed for shore. With that accomplished, it next says, “And thus it was all were saved upon the land.”

The distance to shore at this spot is not too great and with effort, all made it ashore in fulfillment of Paul’s words from verse 22. The Pulpit Commentary cites the following to tie the Greek name of the island (Melita) in with Malta –

“And thus ended the eventful voyage of about four hundred and eighty miles (as laid down in the charts) from Clauda to the Point of Koura on the north coast of Malta. It is one of the striking proofs of the identity of Melita with Malta, that the rate at which it is calculated that a large ship laying to in a gale would drift in twenty-four hours, viz. thirty-six miles, multiplied by thirteen and a half (the number of days occupied by the voyage), gives four hundred and eighty-six miles as the whole distance. (36X13.5 = 486) Smith thinks that the coincidence between ‘the actual bearing of St. Paul's Bay from Clauda, and the direction in which the ship must have driven, with the wind blowing in the quarter we know it did,’ is, if possible, still more striking (pp. 127, 128).”

To close out this marvelous chapter, Matthew Henry states the following –

“The ship that had weathered the storm in the open sea, where it had room, is dashed to pieces when it sticks fast. Thus, if the heart fixes in the world in affection, and cleaving to it, it is lost. Satan's temptations beat against it, and it is gone; but as long as it keeps above the world, though tossed with cares and tumults, there is hope for it. They had the shore in view, yet suffered shipwreck in the harbour; thus we are taught never to be secure. Though there is great difficulty in the way of the promised salvation, it shall, without fail, be brought to pass. It will come to pass that whatever the trials and dangers may be, in due time all believers will get safely to heaven. Lord Jesus, thou hast assured us that none of thine shall perish. Thou wilt bring them all safe to the heavenly shore. And what a pleasing landing will that be! Thou wilt present them to thy Father, and give thy Holy Spirit full possession of them for ever.”

Life application: When Paul prophesied that all on the ship would be saved, Luke then recorded the exact number. With the ship wrecked and coming apart, it was abandoned, and all aboard swam to shore. Every soul was saved, exactingly fulfilling the words of Paul.

This is what the Bible does. It states things will come to pass, and then those things occur. This is possible because God, who created time, dwells outside of time. Because of this, He has a knowledge of all things immediately and intuitively. Nothing is hidden from Him.

As we have seen in human history, the Bible foretells and what it speaks of comes to pass. Because of this, why do we constantly doubt what the Bible promises but which lies yet ahead in time? Why do we feel it necessary to make excuses as to why Israel has been replaced by the church, thus nullifying in our doctrine the promises made to them of a future kingdom?

Why do we question God’s salvation of us when it occurred now that time has passed by? Is our salvation any less sure than the moment we first believed? Is God somehow competent to save, but not competent to keep on saving?

Let us trust the word, even if we haven’t completely sorted it out in our minds. As we learn more and see how the word is laid out, we can find more and more confidence in it. And so let us trust now and then continue to read and solidify our doctrine all the days of our lives. All the time, let us continue to fixedly trust our initial salvation. God saved. It is done. Hallelujah to God!

Heavenly Father, may we hold fast to the promise of salvation that we first received, knowing from that moment that we were saved and that we shall always continue to be saved. Jesus did not endure the cross to provide us with eternal insecurity. No! Rather, we have been saved, we are saved, and we shall be saved unto the ages of ages. Hooray for Jesus! Amen.