There is a lot of significance surrounding Paul’s sea voyage and the events that happened in Malta. The last 2 chapters of Acts record the fulfilment of Paul’s great ambition to go to Rome. Ever since the purpose of going to Rome had been planted in Paul’s mind by the Holy Spirit, his plans had been formulated with that goal in view. He had been confronted with one crisis after another, but he had divine assurance that Rome would be reached. The final stage of this journey takes Paul on an eventful, dangerous and exciting sea journey. Marshall Points out that in proportion to the book as a whole, the length of the narrative describing Paul’s sea journey to Rome is remarkable.
Paul was sent to Rome along with other prisoners in the custody of a centurion called Julius. He probably took enough troops with him to guard the prisoners, or even kill them if necessary. As a Roman Citizen Paul had greater privileges than the other prisoners. It is also clear that Julius liked Paul and treated him with respect. Aristarchus of Thessalonica is mentioned as a fellow passenger. He too was on his way to trial. The narrative changes from third person to first suggesting that Luke was on board with Paul. Some scholars suggest that he may have signed up to be the ships doctor. It was not a direct journey to Italy. Passengers could travel as far as a ship was going was going in their direction, disembark and then join on another ship whenever one was available. The first ship used sailed out of Adramyttium, a port on the northwest coast near Traos. It stopped at Sideon to unload and load cargo and Julius let Paul visit his friends although he was accompanied by a soldier. Fernando describes how this was one of Julius’ first acts of kindness towards Paul. The ship sailed north up the east side of Cyprus, headed north to the coast of Cilicia and turned West past Pamphylia. Paul and company got off at Myra in Lycia and transferred to another ship which was destined for Italy. After some difficulty reaching Cnidus, a wind forced Paul’s ship southwest to the island of Crete. The captain of the ship hoped to reach Italy before the bad weather had set in. Unfortunately winds were not in their favour and the ship had difficulty reaching fair havens, a harbour near Crete. As it was an open harbour, it was vulnerable to damage from storms and ships lacked the protection that land around them would provide. This outlines the significance of Paul’s sea voyage and the events in Malta.
Paul who had been shipwrecked three times already recommended staying in Fair Havens for the winter arguing that to attempt moving on would risk lobes as well as the cargo. Fernando comments that we do not know whether this advice was given through direct divine guidance or through Paul’s human wisdom. There was another harbour, Phoenix, on the same southern coast of Crete which was on the direct route to Italy. On the first day, they set out from port expecting to reach Phoenix safely. There was a gentle south wind but the weather seemed to be fine and they took every precaution by staying as close to the shore as they could. However, the gentle wind was short lived and was soon replaced by a violent North-easterly gale, formed by a meeting of winds from the north and the east. As they drifted past the small island of Cauda, 23 miles, south of where they had hoped to land, the crew had to pull in the little lifeboat attached to the larger ship to keep it from crashing into their ship by the winds. They also had to support the ship to keep it from crashing into their ships by the winds. They also had to support the ship by passing ropes under the ship to reinforce the internal braces of the hull. The ship must have been taking on too much water because the next day they lightened the ship and on the third day they threw the tackle overboard. However, the storm would not die down and for several days they sailed not knowing where they were because the storm would not die down and for several days they sailed, not knowing where they were because the storm prevented them from even knowing if it was day or night. Eventually they gave up all hope and, became sick and were too distressed to even eat. Paul took the opportunity to reassure them. He told them that during the night that during the night an angel of God had stood by him and told him that he would stand before Caesar in Rome and that all those on board the ship are safe. This presents Paul “as the man full of faith who dominates his fearful situation”. This outlines the significance of Paul’s sea voyage and the events in Malta.
After a fortnight, the sailors saw signs that they were approaching land. They could have smelled the land, which is something experienced sailors sense, or they may have heard the waves breaking on the shore. The tied a weight to a line and threw it into the sea to determine the depth of the water. When the water got less deep, they stopped, casting out four anchors to stop the ship being smashed against the rocks. It was the middle of the night and they waited anxiously until morning. However, some of the crew became scared and tried to leave the ship by escaping in the little life boat. They pretended they wanted to use the lifeboat to cast anchors out of the bow of the ship. Paul asserted his leadership by urging everyone to eat in order to gain strength for the work of getting ashore and assured them that no one would be hurt. They saw a cove ahead, which they thought would make a good harbour for the ship. They had to throw out the rest of the wheat to help the ship sail towards the land. However, the ship struck a sandbar and got stuck in the mud and sand. The soldiers realised they would have to pay with their own lives if any of the prisoners escaped so they planned to kill them, in case they tried to escape. However, the Centurion ordered them to stop as he needed to keep Paul alive. He ordered all who could swim to swim to land and those who couldn’t were to take pieces of the boat and float in. Everyone reached the shore safely, as predicted by Paul. This outlines the significance of Paul’s sea voyage and the events in Malta.
God has complete control over circumstances in order to ensure that Paul ministered in Rome. It begins with the kind hospitality of the natives of the island, who lit a fire and received Paul and the others. Luke called them ‘barbarians’ because they couldn’t speak Greek. Paul had an immediate influence on these people as when he was placing wood on a fire a viper crawled up and bit his hand. Paul took no notice and shook the snake into the fire. However, the islanders believed that he had committed a crime and that the snake was sent by gods to destroy Paul but when his hand didn’t swell up and he showed no signs of him being poisoned they changed their minds and thought he was a God. The ruler of the island called Publius provided somewhere for Paul and the other to stay for three days. His father was ill and Paul healed him. News of this miracle spread and people came to get spiritual and physical healing from Paul. This shows Jesus’ healing ministry still carrying on. When it was time for Paul and the others to go the islanders gave them all they needed for their journey, honouring them, especially Paul as best they could. They then set sail and arrived safely in Puteoli. This outlines the significance of Paul’s sea voyage and the events in Malta.
In conclusion, it seems that Paul accepted everyone, even Jews with openness and unhindered. Spencer argues that this leads the reader into the hopeful future, which was particularly important to Christians at the time because the persecutions of Christians by the Romans had begun. To end with the fact that Paul was “without hindrance” in his ministry brought hope to Christians who were indeed hindered in their own time. By ending with these last two verses, Luke was attempting to focus on the positive side of Christianity. Dillon aptly concludes that “as the reader closes Acts, Paul’s personal fate was overshadowed by this open minded triumph of the gospel over its powerful opposition”. The gospel had reached the centre of the known world. The reader is left anticipating the further spread of the gospel. This outlines the significance of Paul’s sea voyage and the events in Malta.