## Study of the Book of Acts - Part 26

(Acts 1:8b) "…Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Tonight we continue to look at the development of Christianity to the Uttermost Part of the Earth.

I. Christianity in Jerusalem

II. Christianity in Judea and Samaria

III. Christianity to the Uttermost

A. The First Missionary Journey 13:1-14:28

B. The Council in Jerusalem 15:1-35

C. The Second Missionary Journey 15:36-18:22

D. The Third Missionary Journey 18:23-21:26

E. The Journey to Rome 21:27-28:31

1. Paul's arrest and defense 21:27-22:29

2. Paul before the Sanhedrin 22:30-23:10

3. Paul is escorted to Caesarea 23:11-35

4. Paul's defense before Felix 24:1-27

5. Paul's defense before Festus 25:1-27

6. Paul's defense before Agrippa 26:1-32

7. Paul's voyage and shipwreck

a. The voyage to Fairhavens v 1-8

1) The 'we' of v 1 includes Paul, Luke, Aristarchus and possibly others

2) The voyage was not encouraging from the beginning due to the 'contrary winds' they needed to sail slowly

3) The only good point is that Julius, the centurion who had charge of Paul, treated Paul courteously

b. Paul warns of danger v 9-14

1) Sailing now would be dangerous - the fast spoken of in v 9 would be the day of atonement which was in Oct. so these fall months would be a dangerous time to put to sea

2) Paul warned them not to continue but they chose not to listen to him

3) NOTE: Five factors led to this bad decision

a) Impatience: "much time was spent" v 9

b) Expert advice: "Believed the master v 10

c) Discomfort: "the haven wasn't commodius" v 12

d) Majority rule: "The more part advised to depart" v 12

e) Favourable circumstances: "The south wind blew softly" v 13

4) Not long after they set sail there arose a terrible storm called "Euroclydon" (means 'east-north')

c. The storm v 15-26

1) The ship was out of control and they let her drive (go with the storm)

2) They struck sail and lightened the ship but still the storm beat upon them

3) When all hope was gone - after 11 days - Paul spoke to them

a) You should have listened to my warning

b) Cheer up - no one will die - just the ship will be lost

c) Paul had received confirmation through an angel from God that he would go before Caesar

d) They would be shipwrecked on an island

d. The shipwreck v 27-44

1) Around midnight of the 14th night the sailors knew they were near land - perhaps from the sound of breakers and they began to take soundings.

2) Some of the sailors tried to escape in the small boat but Paul cautioned them saying that only if they remained in the ship could they be saved

3) Paul took control of the situation commanding that they all eat some meat and bread

4) He also encouraged them again telling them that they wouldn't be harmed

5) There was a total of 276 people on the ship

6) They lightened the ship to better prepare it for landing her on the beach

7) The soldiers were preparing to kill all prisoners rather than have them escape; but Julius prevented this from happening

8. Paul in Malta and on to Rome 28:1-16

a. Ministry in Malta v 1-10

1) Extraordinary kindness found v 1-2

a) Malta is an island directly south of Italy just below Sicily

b) "Barbarous people" simply meant that they weren't Greeks but spoke a foreign language

c) They built a fire for the shipwrecked party and received them

2) Unjust criticism v 3-4

a) Paul was gathering more wood for the fire

b) A viper bit Paul's hand and wouldn't let go

c) The natives saw it and made a quick evaluation of the situation

d) They thought Paul was guilty of murder and justice was being meted out although he had escaped death in the shipwreck, now he would die

3) Unwarranted exaltation v 5-6

a) Paul shook the beast off into the fire and felt no harm

b) When they watched Paul his hand didn't swell, he didn't get sick, and he didn't fall down dead!

c) Then they went to the opposite extremes and began to say that he was a god!

d) This was simply an occasion of fulfillment of Mark 16:17-18

4) Practical ministry v 7-10

a) Publius was the leader of these island people

b) His father was sick - but Paul prayed for him and laid his hands upon him and he was healed

c) This ministry led to others coming to also find healing

d) They in turn honored Paul and the others and gave them all they needed for the trip to Rome

b. The trip to Rome v 11-16

1) After 3 months they entered another ship and set off for Rome

2) NOTE: Castor and Pollux were patron saints of navigation and often their images were carved on ships

3) At Puteoli Paul fellowshipped with the brethren - probably while some ship's business was being taken care of

4) A group of believers came to Appii Forum (some 40 miles south of Rome) to greet Paul and another group at the three taverns - this greatly encouraged the Apostle Paul

5) Then when they reached Rome, Paul was kept alone and under constant watch

9. Paul in Rome v 17-31

a. The introduction to the Roman Jews v 17-22

1) Paul explains the circumstances of his imprisonment and subsequent arrival in Rome v 17-20

2) These Roman Jews responded by saying that they had no specific information concerning his cast but they had heard of Christianity and that it was not well spoken of v21-22

3) They decided to meet again and discuss it

b. The Jews reject the gospel v 23-31

1) Declaration of the Gospel v 23

2) The response was mixed v 24

3) Paul's reaction to the Jews v 25-28

a) He quotes Isaiah 6:9-10

b) He declares that he will go to the Gentiles with this message

4) Concluding statements v 29-31

a) The Jews left still reasoning among themselves

b) Paul remained in Rome 2 years ministering the Gospel

c) NOTE: During this time he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon

d) Paul was released for a short time and then taken prisoner a second time to Rome where later he was beheaded for his faith!