Read: Acts 27:1-26
When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. (v. 1)
We believe that Luke, the writer of Acts (and the gospel of Luke), was a doctor because Paul lovingly identified him as the “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). One of the reasons that biblical scholars feel sure about that identification is Luke’s attention to detail. He has the careful eye of a diagnostician, whose usefulness depends on the ability to see things, and it shows in this passage. Luke doesn’t simply tell us that Paul was accompanied by soldiers; he gives us their rank and company. Furthermore he doesn’t simply say the soldiers were civil toward him; he describes their kindness in allowing Paul to visit friends when they docked in Syria (v. 3). And even beyond that, he gives precise weather conditions, referring to the fierce wind as a “northeaster” (v. 14). All of these are examples of a person trained to pay attention.
The details matter to God too. The psalmist tell us that God knew us in our mother’s womb (Ps. 139:13-14). God knows our going out and are coming in (121:8). And aren’t we told more than once that Jesus saw the needs of the hurting and could even feel power leave him when he was touched. Our passage today ends with Paul’s confident declaration of faith in God’s careful plans. Our loving God pays attention to us, and our lives are completely owing to his care and love.
As you pray, thank God for paying attention and caring for you.
Dr. Timothy Brown is the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching and President Emeritus at Western Theological Seminary where he served from 1995-2021. Tim continues to actively coach and encourage former students and pastors who seek help in their preaching life and he has become a certified public school substitute teacher so that he can continue investing in the lives of young people. He is married to Nancy and together they have three children and ten grandchildren.
