Acts 27:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It was no small miracle that the others also were saved for Paul's sake. Men, he says, I perceive that this voyage will be with hardship and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. Thus Paul commanded them to stop and foretold the future. See how free he is from pride. So that it would not be evident that he was prophesying, but would seem to speak by conjecture, he said, I perceive. They would not have believed the prophecy if he had stated it directly. Were the souls, then, destined to perish? They would have perished if God had not saved them. According to the natural order of things they could have perished, but God did not permit this.

But to show that he is not prophesying, but speaking by conjecture, he says, “I perceive.” For they would not have believed him at once even if he had said this as a prophet.

When the ship stopped in the bay of Fair Havens, the season was already late. The fast of the Day of Atonement had already passed, on the tenth day of the month Tishri, in the second half of September. The winter months, dangerous for navigation, had arrived. Paul had gained considerable experience in sea journeys during his apostolic travels. He advised them to spend the winter in Fair Havens. But this bay was unsuitable for wintering. Therefore the centurion, trusting the helmsman and the ship's master more, agreed to the advice of others. They wished, if possible, to reach the harbor of Phoenix for the winter. It lay on the same shore of Crete, but capes jutting into the sea protected it better from the southwest and northwest winds.

It was already late autumn, and the time for navigation was drawing to a close. Therefore, when the ship, struggling against contrary winds, barely reached the so-called Fair Havens on the southern coast of Crete, near the city of Lasea, the Apostle Paul advised them to winter there. Even in the sorrowful condition of a prisoner, he had succeeded in gaining the respect of those around him. He rightly warned against further sailing at such a stormy season.

He advised them, saying, and so forth: the Apostle of Christ had experienced much during his sea journeys; 2 Cor 11:25. He was sufficiently practiced to foresee a disastrous voyage and to advise the sailors to refrain for a time from continuing the journey. Not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives: Paul said this from foreknowledge of the unfavorable voyage. He had not yet received the special revelation that only the ship would be lost, while the people would be saved; verses 22-24. The Apostle, of course, was sure of the preservation of his own life on the basis of the revelation already given him; Acts 23:11. But here he speaks of the common danger for all who were on the ship if they continued sailing.

The travelers spent a very long time circling around Crete. Among other places, they entered the so-called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea, on the southern shore of Crete. The time was drawing near the stormy days after the autumn equinox, in the second half of September, Tishri, when the days of cleansing end. The Apostle Paul, well acquainted with the terrors of sea travel; see 2 Cor 11:25, advised stopping the further voyage over the Mediterranean Sea. He foresaw danger for the cargo and the people. But they did not heed him, since he was not a sailor. See, says Saint John Chrysostom, how free Paul is from pride. So that it would not be evident that he was prophesying, but would seem to speak by conjecture, he said, I perceive.