Acts 27:33-34
And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.”
Everything that is written in the Bible is there because the Holy Spirit of God inspired it to be written there. There are no coincidences, no fluke occurrences, no pointless words. Everything is Holy Spirit inspired to educate the reader about one topic: Jesus Christ.
I know what you’re asking: where’s Jesus in this passage? I’ll answer that question by first telling you where and what He isn’t! He’s not the boat, the storm, or the crash. He’s not the beach on which the men were stranded. He’s not the chains on the prisoners, the lifeboat (skiff), or the centurion guard. Jesus isn’t to be found in any of the things we typically look for Him in, that is, in the midst of our troubles.
Therein lies a completely different, yet altogether as important topic: why are we always looking for Jesus in the bad things? Why aren’t we, who are purchased and redeemed through His blood, looking for Jesus in the good things? Instead we look to the storms of life, the shipwrecks of our walk, and the chains by which we are bound, trying to find the blessed hope of Jesus Christ. We look to the bad trying to find good when the truth is this: the Good, that is Jesus, is not associated with the bad! He is holy and apart from all bad things!
Anyway, I digress...
Paul, knowing full well what was about to happen to the ship, the crew, and the prisoners, decided it was time for them to eat. But in announcing “dinner” he did something that not all of us would have done under those conditions. Paul made it a point to declare how long it had been since they had eaten. “Today is the fourteenth day...” Why on earth did he say that? Paul goes on to make a very bold statement, telling the crew and prisoners to eat, for survival (some translations say “health,” translated from a word meaning deliverance or salvation). He punctuates this with “not a hair will fall from the head of any of you”. Basically, Paul is telling the men this: eat and live, be healthy, no harm.
After Paul makes these bold statements he takes bread, gives thanks to God, and eats with the men. Sound familiar? That’s because Jesus did it first (Luke 22:19)! The fourteen is what stuck out to me, though. You see, back in Exodus 12, God instituted the first Passover in Egypt before bringing His people out of bondage. They [the Hebrews] were in a storm of life, in bondage to an evil man, but God was about to save them. Their ship, called slavery, was about to crash and there was nothing they could do to stop it. God’s Passover, His salvation mission, would begin on the fourteenth day of the month (Exodus 12:6).
Paul had a spur of the moment Passover feast on a doomed vessel with both Jews and Gentiles alike (a New Testamentism). And do you know what happened? The Bible says they were all of good cheer and everyone on board was saved (Acts 27:36-37)! As the boat was torn apart by the wind and the waves, the men were of good cheer! That is the awesome nature of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ: salvation, blessings, and good cheer!
Today, I urge you, don’t look for Christ in the shipwreck you’re enduring; His salvation is apart from your troubles. Not only that, but His forever grace will protect you from the waves, keep you from being dashed to bits on the rocks, and bring you the peace and good cheer of hope! Even if you can’t swim, He’ll provide a floatation device (Acts 27:44). He’s just that cool!
When going through the trials of life, let’s remember Jesus. Let’s pause, reflect on what we’ve been going through, give thanks to God for the Bread of Life, broken for us, eat, and be of good cheer. Our salvation has come. Life, health, and security are ahead through by power of God’s grace and total restoration through the cross of Jesus Christ!
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