Acts 27:39-44
So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. (v. 40a) I was Army, not Navy, so I can’t presume to know much about ships. However, my Study Bible guided me a bit. Presumably there were two rudders on these ancient ships, positioned on either side of the stern (the rear of the vessel). During the storm they had been hoisted up and tied so they would not get destroyed in the storm. Also, with no rudders in the water, the ship would go wherever the storm drove it and the rudders being out of the way would not hinder the ship’s free float in the sea. So now the ropes that held the rudders were being loosened so that the sailors could direct the ship to where they wanted to land. Unfortunately they did not foresee the reef (the “place between two seas”) and the ship ran aground and was destroyed.
But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. (v. 43a) A few posts back I had noted how friendly the centurion seemed to be with Paul – Luke even mentioning his name, Julius, twice. Now in today’s reading we see real evidence of that thought, …the centurion, wishing to save Paul… Now it could be that Paul was such a high-value prisoner that he needed to be brought to Rome alive, but I think not. Julius was being nice!
Slava Bohu!
I am thinking that Julius was a believer, though he himself didn’t know that yet.