# Acts Chapter 27
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## Smmarrium
Paul travelling with Julius the centurion embarks for Italy and eventually arrives, by prison transport, at a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea. By this point the weather is turning and the centurion wants to make Rome before the weather makes this prohibitive. Paul urges caution pointing out there will be a substantial loss of cargo and lives if they go but Julius decides to go anyway.

There is a storm that lasts many days and night and the crew jettison the cargo to lighten the ship and prevent it from being wrecked. They even attempt to get in the smaller boats to fix anchors to the ship to prevent it from being destroyed but abandon this plan after Paul warns them that they need to remain on the ship to be saved. The crew listen and the ships are jettisoned to prevent further temptation.

Eventually the ship is wrecked on a reef surrounding an unknown island and the soldiers decide to kill the prisoners on board the ship given there is no way to manage them. Paul is spared as Julius advocates on his behalf and is brought safely to land.

## Meditatio
It is interesting how Paul is used instrumentally to bring about the salvation of the crew. He receives an messenger of the Lord who confirms there will be no loss of life. Oddly this stands in contrast to Paul's original claim, in verse 10, that there would be injury much loss of both cargo, the ship and lives.

It make me wonder, is this Paul speculating given the time of the year, the weather and his knowledge of the region? Is this warning in verse 10 a prophetic word that if heeded Julius might have avoided disaster? Is it message from God? If so this leads me to wonder again is this evidence of Grace? The original plan being that if the ship sailed there would be a total loss of life, but the coming of the Kingdom through Paul changes everything. 

It could of course also be an example of the limitation of post ressurection prophecy which only see's in part. There are a lot of questions raised by this passage. But it offers an interesting view into a dramatic set of circumstance Paul faces. This man has been beaten, subject to numerous accusations and now shipwrecked. The world is trying to kill or discredit Paul and yet he finds ways to overcome it.