Building Spiritual Influence | Acts 27-28
On Paul’s journey to Rome, he models five steps in building spiritual influence: (1) gain trust; (2) give encouragement; (3) set an example; (4) meet needs; and (5) preach the word. This sermon is part 6 of “Unhindered,” Bryan Craddock’s verse-by-verse sermon series on Acts 21-28.
It’s been said that no man is an island, because we are all connected. But many people today live such insular lives that it can feel as if they have locked themselves behind towering walls in a fortress on an island. How can you reach someone like that? Do you just shout across the divide? Can you draw them out and attract them to your side with something flashy and exciting?
Christians often seem to approach evangelistic outreach in one of these two ways, and God sometimes works through those efforts. But I think that we should instead approach outreach as if we are building a bridge. That is what Jesus did. He crossed over from heaven to earth by becoming human. He then died and rose again to build a way for us to cross over into a relationship with God that will last forever. So, in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, Paul says,
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Now I’m not suggesting that any of us can do what Jesus did. He is the one and only mediator that we need. But as we tell others about him, shouldn’t we do it in a way that reflects his humble, sacrificial character? Shouldn’t we make the effort to build bridges and cross over the deep divisions in our society to lead people to Christ?
Our study of the book of Acts has taught us great lessons about building the church (chs 1-7) and spreading the faith (chs 8-20) as faithful witnesses for Jesus. We have also been learning about how Paul lived an unhindered life (chs 21-28) during his imprisonment by drawing upon the power of fellowship, experiencing freedom in God’s truth, and finding confidence in God’s providence. But Luke concludes the book in chapters 27 and 28 with Paul being taken to Rome and held in confinement as a prisoner of the Roman government. It seems like a strange way to end the story. So, what’s the point?
These chapters give us a unique glimpse of Paul interacting with people outside the context of church ministry. There are soldiers and sailors who neither recognize his apostolic authority as Christians do nor vilify him as the Jewish leaders do. Initially, they probably regard him as nothing more than a political prisoner. But during his tumultuous journey, Paul models five steps in building spiritual influence, and I think that all of us as Christians should follow the same process. This is our blueprint for building bridges, and it starts with something basic that many people ignore.
Gain Trust
The first step in crossing a chasm is to throw a rope across. Someone on the other side must catch it. Then both ends need to be firmly tied to some kind of anchor. But before you put any weight on it, it needs to be tested to see if it will hold.
We see a similar process in relationships. Most people are not ready to receive your life-changing advice the first time that they meet you. There may be exceptions. God might prepare someone’s heart to listen. But most of the time a connection must be built. You must gain their trust.
I think that is what Proverbs 11:30 is talking about when it says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” Instead of “captures,” most English translations speak of winning souls. This is an unusual phrase that we don’t see anywhere else in the Old Testament. The idea seems to be that the life-giving influence of righteousness requires a bond. People must be won over. Their trust must be gained. It may require significant time and effort, but relationships like that are a wise and worthwhile investment.
We see these dynamics in Paul’s relationship with the centurion who is responsible for him. Paul must have made a good impression on him, because he is quick to extend some degree of trust. Acts 27:1-3 says,
And 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. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.
Since the author says “we put to sea,” it is clear that both Aristarchus and Luke are allowed to accompany Paul. They seem to be on a merchant vessel not a military ship. Rather than heading west across open sea, they take the safer route making their way north along the coast for a day or so before stopping at Sidon. Surprisingly, Julius already trusts Paul enough to allow him to go visit friends. He does not seem to be worried that Paul might try to escape.
Then they continue their journey. Verses 4-8 tell us,
And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
So, the winds are getting difficult. But after switching ships in Myra, they make their way to a safe spot on the south side of Crete. That’s when Paul speaks up and offers some advice. Does Julius trust him enough to listen? Verses 9-12 say,
Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, "Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
The Fast mentioned here is probably the Day of Atonement late in the fall. Mediterranean weather can be bad around that time. So, Paul advises caution, but his opinion does not carry much weight. That will change when their short hop to the next harbor goes bad, and Paul is proven right. But sometimes that is how the trust building process works. Their failure to listen to Paul gives him the opportunity to take another step in exerting greater influence.
Give Encouragement
James 3:6 likens the human tongue to a fire. Its destructive power can easily burn down your relational bridges. But when used in the right way, that same fire can give warmth and light that strengthen our bonds. It can even lead people out of the darkness.
Paul and his shipmates were desperately in need of encouragement. Acts 27:13-20 reveals how desperate their situation had become. Luke says,
Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
They just want to make their way around Crete. But the wind drives them out into the sea. They think that they are heading toward the shallow gulfs of the Syrtis on the north coast of Africa. The storm is so severe that their ship feels as if it might break apart. So, they tie it together with ropes and try to lighten the load.
In that dark and hopeless time, Paul speaks up. Verse 21 tells us,
Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.
You might question the wisdom of saying I told you so, but Paul is not complaining. He does not belabor the point or blame people. He simply reminds them of his previous advice to show that his judgment is trustworthy. Then he quickly moves on. According to verses 22-26, he says,
Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island."
He does not encourage them by saying, “You can do it! You got this!” His confidence is not in the crew. He received an explicit promise through an angelic messenger. So, he testifies to his faith in God and encourages the crew to take heart on that basis.
Paul’s encouragement in the middle of this storm models what he wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. There he says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
As you seek to comfort or encourage someone, you probably won’t be able to draw upon an explicit promise from an angelic messenger as Paul did. But we can always find encouragement in the character of our gracious and merciful God. Our words, however, should be supported by our actions. That leads to a third step.
Set an Example
Sometimes people reach a place where they cannot see any way to go on. They are blocked at every turn and exhausted. Verbal encouragement falls on deaf ears. But that is when they are most likely to follow someone who will cut a path and lead them forward step by step.
In Acts 27:27-32, Paul begins to exercise that kind of influence over the centurion and his soldiers. Luke tells us,
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go.
They do not know it at the time, but Luke gives us a hint that they are not as far south as they feared. They are drawing close to land somewhere in the Adriatic Sea. So, the sailors are preparing to sneak away and abandon the ship. But Paul speaks up, the centurion listens, and his soldiers intervene.
The tension between the sailors and soldiers must be intense at this moment. A fight could easily break out, but Paul sets a powerful example. In verses 33-37, Luke says,
As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you." And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.)
Paul does not upbraid the sailors for their treachery. He urges everyone to eat and expresses his confidence in God’s protection. Yet it is probably his actions that have the most influence. He gives thanks to God and begins to eat. It is such a simple and normal thing to do, but in these circumstances, it demonstrates remarkable confidence in God. That is the kind of example that people need during times of trial. They need to see the confidence that comes from trusting God.
So, the centurion’s esteem for Paul continues to grow. Verses 38-44 say,
And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.
Paul’s words are proven true. They are all saved, and his example of faith is confirmed. He showed them how to trust God through life’s trials. Do people find that kind of example in us? As the story continues, we see another step in how Paul’s influence builds.
Meet Needs
People assume that the way to build influence is to climb the ladder of success and rise above the crowd. Prominence is supposed to give you a platform to speak. But that is not what we see in Jesus. He does the exact opposite. He climbs down. In Philippians 2:7-8, Paul says that he emptied himself taking the form of a servant and humbled himself to the point of death. Jesus also taught his disciples to live as servants, even when it means washing someone’s feet as he does in John 13.
So, humbly meeting needs is essential to influencing people for Christ. In Acts 28:1-6, Luke records a surprising account of Paul’s servanthood after their shipwreck. He says,
After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
Malta is a small island around 57 miles south of the big island of Sicily that sits south of the boot tip of Italy. The locals seem superstitious, but their views are probably not too different from other people at that time. They interpret this snakebite as evidence that Paul is a murderer and then a god. They are missing the point. Neither murderers nor gods would spend time doing something so mundane as gathering sticks for a fire.
Paul’s heart is to serve, and the Lord miraculously protects him as he does so. He also enables Paul to serve in miraculous ways. Verses 7-9 say,
Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.
Luke does not mention anything about Paul preaching the gospel in Malta, but it would be surprising if he didn’t. Tradition says that Publius became the first church leader in Malta. Luke, however, continues to focus on deeds of service, but he shifts from Paul meeting needs to describing how Paul’s needs are met. In verses 10-15, he says,
They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed. After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
So, Paul and his fellow travelers finish their journey by sailing up the west coast of the Italian peninsula to Puteoli near Naples and then taking the Appian Way north to Rome. They set off with assistance from the people of Malta. They are hosted by Christians for a week in Puteoli. Then they are met halfway between Puteoli and Rome by Christians who want to welcome them.
Part of being a servant is accepting honor and help from others and responding with humble gratitude. Meeting one another’s needs builds strong connections, and it’s something that we all can do. But we cannot neglect one more step.
Preach the Word
Sometimes at a restaurant the dish you order isn’t what you expect? Chefs can get caught up in their own personal objectives. They might want to conform to idealistic dietary guidelines or to use unusual ingredients. They might want to show off their creative presentation. But none of that matters if the customer isn’t pleased.
A similar problem can happen when we try to influence people. It can end up being all about you and your personal objectives. You might focus on conforming to some doctrinal guideline, pushing your own unusual ideas, or showing off your creative presentation. Meeting needs would seem to correct that problem, but it often leads to another one.
We might focus on satisfying people. But we must understand that they are not the true customer. The Lord is! The goal of building spiritual influence is to please him, and we do that by preaching his word in a way that faithfully represents his character and authority.
As Paul settles into his imprisonment in Rome, he stays focused on that mission. In Acts 28:16-20, Luke tells us,
And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar--though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain."
Paul does not waste any time. He believes that the gospel should be taken to the Jew first. He followed this pattern throughout his ministry journeys. He would always start in the local synagogue if there was one. So, he does that here. He contacts the local Jews in Rome, explains his situation, and tells them that he brings a message of hope for Israel.
They show a surprising degree of openness. Verses 21-24 say,
And they said to him, "We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against." When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.
Paul relies upon the Old Testament Scriptures to make his case. He shows how the hope of God’s kingdom promise will be fulfilled through the death, resurrection, and return of Jesus. He wants to persuade them all, but he understands the reality that some will not believe. His job is to faithfully preach the word as the Lord’s representative. So, verses 25-28 tell us,
And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 'Go to this people, and say, "You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive." For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."
This quote is from Isaiah 6:9-10, and it was part of Isaiah’s call when he saw the glory of the Lord in the temple. From the very outset of his ministry, he knew that people would not listen. But that did not alter his mission. God wanted him to faithfully proclaim the message anyway.
The same principle applies to Paul and to all of us who follow Jesus. We must faithfully proclaim the biblical message of the gospel whether people accept it or reject it. We do it to please the Lord. He is the supreme authority over everyone, and Paul makes that clear to the Jews by pointing out that Gentiles will listen.
Most modern translations put verse 29 as a footnote because it is not in the earliest manuscripts of Acts. It essentially restates the division among the Jews. But in verses 30-31, Luke concludes the book by speaking of Paul and saying,
He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Paul’s imprisonment does not stop his bold witness for Christ. He keeps preaching and teaching with boldness unhindered. So, no matter what obstacles or limitations we face, every Christian should follow his example.
__________
So, to fulfill Christ’s mission, we must strive to build bridges of spiritual influence for Christ with everyone we meet. Work to gain their trust, to give encouragement, to set an example, to meet needs, and to preach the word. When this process is ignored, great damage can be done to the cause of Christ.
A lot of people have heard biblical truth proclaimed by those who violate their trust and verbally tear them down, setting a poor example of selfish behavior. If that has been your experience, you need to know that it shouldn’t be that way. That is a distortion of how Jesus calls his followers to live. I plead with you to look beyond that experience to Jesus and his word. Genuine salvation transforms people, and I encourage you to receive that salvation by placing your faith in Christ today. If you want to learn more about how believers should relate to others, 1 Thessalonians 2 would be a good chapter to read.
If you’re a believer, are you working to build bridges and influence people? It’s not easy. It goes against the isolation of our culture. But it’s essential in being a Christlike witness. So, if you aren’t making the effort to reach out, I encourage you to start. Perhaps you need to focus on one of the steps that we’ve considered today. May people see Christ in us!
Reflect
Who has exercised the most spiritual influence in your life? How did that relationship develop?
How are you currently building spiritual influence in people’s lives?
How should you change your efforts based upon what we have considered from this passage?