Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: The study of Acts chapter 27. And give it to the rest of the people in the family around the table. That is not the Lord's Supper, but this is the giving thanks that is the way we have been taught, and the people of Israel have been taught all their life.

Especially through in this case, it is a rabbinical custom that has been developed long time ago, even when Yeshua the Messiah, if you remember, sat at the upper room to celebrate Pesach with his disciples, the custom was the same. It is the way in which the Apostle Paul as a Jewish man, a believer in Yeshua, he took the bread, he gave thanks, he broken it, he eaten of it and given to the others.

Interesting way in which he practiced this right at sea with the Roman soldiers, as well as the mariners and all the prisoners there at the sea. Could you please turn with me to the Gospel of Luke for a moment into chapter 24? Those points and this order have been practiced by Yeshua the Messiah himself as he met the two on the way to Emmaus.

In Luke chapter 24, we find the very same thing that Yeshua is doing with the two on the way to Emmaus. That is not the Lord's Supper. It is the custom of giving thanks for the bread and the wine that God provided for his own people, the people of Israel in this case.

Look, we read in verse 28. Luke 24:28. "They drew nigh unto the village, where they went. And he made as though, this is Yeshua, as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him saying to him, 'Abide with us, for it is towards evening and the day is far spent.' And he went and he tarried with them. Yeshua came in to those two who went to Emmaus on their return."

In verse 30: "It came to pass that as he sat at meat with them, you notice that here he is a guest, but he becomes the host. And he's sitting with them, he took bread." Notice verse 30. "Then he blessed it. And then he break it. And then he gave it to them." The very same order that we see found in our chapter in verse 35 of Acts chapter 27.

The custom that Apostle Paul, that Sha'ul maintained throughout his life as a believer in Yeshua the Messiah. Taking bread, blessing the bread, giving thanks to God. "Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz." Blessed are thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who gives us the bread out of the earth. And then he break it, tear it apart and ate and gave a portion to the rest.

What an example Sha'ul had been, always giving thanks. It is something that we never should forget. We should never neglect as believers, wherever we are, at home, whether we are in a restaurant, whether we are on the highway, wherever we are, to develop in our hearts a thankful heart for whatever the Lord is giving to us.

Simple and yet so profound shows us the heart, the spiritual condition of the Apostle Paul, of Sha'ul. He gave thanks for the bread and he broke it after he ate, he gave it to the others. And you see now in verse 36 to verse 38 of our chapter, look at how the people have eaten and been satisfied.

It says in verse 36, "Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took of the bread of the food, some of it and they ate." You see that? They have been satisfied now because they haven't eaten for two weeks because of the storm. They were fasting, not so much fasting out of commitment to God, but fasting out of fear, no desire to eat anything. Paul is now meeting their need.

Beloved brothers and sisters, can you imagine how many people were on that ship? Moving along with Paul and the others and Luke on the way to Rome, there were 276 souls that now finally have eaten on the sea there on the ship. "And we were in all in the ship 276 souls." Luke included himself. You notice he used the word "we"?

This is Luke, the writer. How particular he was. He is telling us the measurement of the depth of the sea. He is mentioning the names of every island and every port. He is mentioning the amount of people that were on the ship as they journeyed on their journey to Rome. He is very meticulous, very particular, this man, this writer of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.

This man, this great physician by the name of Dr. Luke. What an amazing writer he was. Of course, he was divinely inspired and yet he is giving us all these details, mentioning to us here in this book of Acts. And you notice that it says there were two hundred and three score and sixteen souls. This is 276 souls now in connection here. It's in connection with the eating of the bread.

All of them did not eat and he mentioning 276 souls now have finally put some bread and have eaten. And now they have been having good cheer. They have been satisfied. And then verse 38, it says "When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and cast out the wheat into the sea." You remember earlier they also cast out the cargo, but they didn't cast out the food.

Now they are just getting closer to shore. Paul had promised that no one's hair will be lost. They all will remain alive. He met their need by encouraging them now to eat bread. Now that they have been satisfied, they cast the rest of the leftover food because it says they cast out the wheat into the sea. From wheat you make bread and they even cast this out now because they are anticipating to get to shore one way or another.

The casting of the rest of the cargo is found in verse 38. So far, beloved brothers and sisters, two things we learn on this message today from verse 27 to verse 44. Number one, that Paul gave them warning to abide in the ship, verses 27 to 32. Secondly, he gave them an encouragement to eat food, to eat bread from verse 33 to verse 38.

Finally now, in the last portion of this chapter in verse 39 to 44, Paul's promise from God came true. You can see the word Paul have said to them that were with him at sea truly have been fulfilled because God had given him this promise. And so we see here, brothers and sisters, in verses 39 to the end of the chapter how this promise that he received from God truly came to pass.

So here in verse 39 to verse 41, there is a plan to get the ship to shore. They are trying to get it to shore. In verse 39, by the time that they could see the shore, they did not recognize where they were arriving. They didn't recognize what land, what portion it was. Verse 39: "When it was daytime, they knew not the land."

They discovered a certain creek with a shore into which they were minded if it were possible to thrust in the ship. So apparently daytime have arrived. Earlier it was midnight, verse 27. Now the day have broken. They see the land, but they don't know where they are. Remember, they were nearly 500 miles that they were driven by the wind and by the waves without any human control of the ship.

They have arrived now. They saw a land, they didn't know. They discovered that there was a creek. Apparently there was a certain breakthrough that they could reach with driving or seeking to control the ship to go into that creek that will lead them to shore. So they as it says "into which they were minded if it were possible that they will thrust the ship." They will try somehow to govern the ship to use that creek to get to shore.

Notice now verse 40, it says "They lifted up everything." Listen. "When they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea. They loose the rudder bands, and they hoisted up the mainsail to the wind and made toward the shore." Verse 40, they really come to a point that they trusted themselves to the sea.

They have done three things. They took up the anchors. You remember those four anchors in verse 29? They threw in the back part to stop the ship from moving. Now they have lifted up the anchor. Secondly, they loose the rudder, the bands. You know, there was the ropes that they govern the rudder in the back. They loosen it up, they let it go.

Thirdly, it says here that they hoist up the mainsail to the wind. The mainsail that control the direction of the ship. They simply hoist it up and they committed themselves unto the sea. They were hoping that they will go into shore through that creek mentioned in verse 39, but they committed themselves to the sea and they made toward the shore.

Verse 41 of course tells us what happened to the ship. It says here in verse 41 that falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground. And the forepart stuck fast and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the water. So as the ship was moving forward into that creek towards shore, apparently they touched land.

As the ship was moving forward into that creek towards shore, apparently they touched land and the front part of the ship stuck in the sand, but because the waves were hitting the rest of the ship, the back part of the ship apparently was broken. And a broken ship let water come in, and then they are ready to sink and to drown. But it is interesting to see that they have trusted, they committed themselves into the sea and they end up having a broken ship.

Just to conclude here with this chapter, and I think it is important to end up with these thoughts here, because remember that I said from the beginning of the study of chapter 27, that the journey of the Apostle Paul with the rest of the people that were with him is a picture of the journey and the condition of the church throughout the ages.

How at the end of this journey that the ship is broken is a picture of the church that is broken to pieces and that it's divided and scattered and totally broken. And yet, there is a promise that God had given that every person will get safe to shore at the end. And in this we can see how it really happened here that even though the ship was broken, as it said in verse 41.

The ship was broken with the violence of the waves. In verse 42, we see what the soldiers wanted to do. The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners lest any of them should swim out and escape. You see, the Roman soldiers knew that for them to lose a prisoner, that may mean that they themselves will lose their lives. They could not lose a prisoner.

If you remember, if you go back for a moment to chapter 16 where the Apostle Paul and Silas were in prison. And you remember at midnight that we read in verse 25 of Acts chapter 16, at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing and praising God. And the prisoners heard them all singing. In Luke chapter 24, we find out that the doors were open. There was an earthquake.

In the foundation of the prison was shaken and the doors were open and every band was loosed. Many people, many prisoners got loosed at that midnight when Paul and Silas were singing in prison. And you remember what happened? It says that the keeper of the prisoner awakened from his sleep. He saw that the prison doors were open, he drew out his sword. This is verse 27.

He supposed that the prisoners had been fled. You see, he knew very well that if he will lose any prisoner, he will lose his own life. That's why he was ready to kill himself. You can't lose a prisoner. And Paul, of course, and Silas said to him, they cried to him and they said, "Do not harm yourself. We are all here. Don't be afraid. We are all here. Don't harm yourself."

Well, here at sea, they are just arriving to the island. They didn't know where they were. So the soldiers naturally, they took counsel together and they said, "Listen, let's kill those prisoners lest any of them would swim out and escape." Because had those prisoners escaped and they will find out that these soldiers let them go, they know that they themselves are going to end up to be killed and to lose their own life.

Because had those prisoners escaped and they will find out that these soldiers let them go, they know that they themselves are going to end up to be killed and to lose their own life. So they were planning now as they're arriving towards shore, they said, "Let's kill those prisoners so they will not escape from us." But the commander, and here you can see that centurion who knows maybe that centurion became a believer in Yeshua the Messiah by the end of this journey.

He is the one that his purpose was to save the life of Paul and ultimately to submit to what Paul have said. It says here in verse 43, "The centurion willing to save Paul, he kept them from their purpose." And he commanded that they which could swim would cast themselves first into the sea and get to land. You see, the soldiers would want to kill all the prisoners but Paul was a prisoner.

The centurion treated Paul so graciously. You can see it throughout this journey. He allowed the Apostle Paul to go to visit the brethren and to be encouraged earlier. He allowed the Apostle Paul to say and to counsel them and so on. The centurion must have been so moved with what the Apostle Paul was saying to him and the behavior of the Apostle Paul.

I'm confident that the Apostle Paul shared with him and the others about Yeshua the Messiah. So he wanted to spare the life of Paul. So he kept the soldiers from killing the prisoners. He gave two words, two suggestions. He said to them, listen, verse 43, he commanded, and by the way, if something would have happened to the prisoners, if somebody would have told that he did not kill the prisoners, he himself endangered his very own life as a centurion, as a commander.

He really took a chance here by not killing the prisoners. He said, "Whoever can swim, jump overboard, start to swim to shore." That's the first thing that he said. The rest of them, in verse 44, "the rest, some on boards and some on broken pieces of the ship." Those who could not swim, "you take boards and lay on them and then get yourself into the shore."

Apparently, because the ship was so much beaten by the waves and the wind, it was broken into pieces and they took some broken pieces of the ship to lay on them and to get to shore, those who could not swim took boards or took parts of the pieces of the ship. Brothers and sisters, you know the chapter is concluding with this statement in verse 44 at the end. "They escaped all safe to land."

None of them lost their lives. All of them, as it was promised in verse 22, and I'm repeating verse 22. "Now I exhort you," Paul said, "to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you but only the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve. And he said to me, 'Fear not, Paul. You must be brought before Caesar and lo, God has given to you, Paul, all them that sail with thee.'"

That was the promise that the angel of God gave Paul from the Lord himself. Notice in verse 34, Paul said again, "For there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you." And the chapter is concluding in verse 44: "They escaped all safe to land." Amazing journey. They haven't arrived yet to Rome. Much of the journey, driven away by the wave, by the sea, by the wind.

Amazing journey. They haven't arrived yet to Rome. Much of the journey, driven away by the wave, by the sea, by the wind. About 500 miles, not controlling themselves the ship at all. 14 days have passed by, totally at the mercy of God. And yet they have arrived safely to shore. Not one of them lost their life.

It is all because God had promised Paul and he said to them, "I have given the people to you, that they will not lose their life." And so it is interesting, this journey of the Apostle Paul. Really this is the continuation of the journey of Paul towards Rome. And we see here a total shipwreck.

Boards had to be used from the ship to get to shore. Broken pieces of the ship had to be used. Those who could swim had to go to swim to get to shore, but all have arrived and escaped the storm safe to land. That tells us the promises of God to protect those that belong to him first of all, and those who are kind of alongside of those that belong to him, that God had promised to protect them.

I again want to conclude here today with the promise that we have in scripture long before the church was born, even in Caesarea Philippi. The question was risen by the Lord himself who asked his disciples, and this is in verse 13 of Matthew chapter 16. He says, "What do people think of me?"

They said, "Some say that you are Yochanan HaMatbil, John the Baptizer. Others say that you are Eliyahu, the prophet Elijah. Others said that you are Yirmiyahu, Jeremiah, or others said you are one of the prophets, maybe Isaiah, maybe Yechezkel, maybe Yeshayahu, one of the prophets of Israel." But Yeshua said, "But whom do you say that I am? What do you think of me?" he said to these disciples.

Then Simon Peter, Shimon Patros, he answered and he said unto him, "You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the living God. Ben Elohim chayim." So Yeshua answered and he said, "Blessed are you, Shimon Bar-Yona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. I say unto you that you are Peter, Patros, a little stone, and upon this rock, this confession of yours, I will build my church."

"And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the assembly, against it." The Lord Yeshua the Messiah said to Peter, "Peter, what you said, that I am the Messiah, the Son of the living God, this is the foundation upon which the assembly, the church will be built, Peter." And then he ended up by saying that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

In other word, what he says, the enemies will seek to destroy the church, the assembly. There will be much confusion and much mishap that is going to happen through church history. There will be many division and friction over the generation. We know it in 2000 of years of church history, how outwardly the church is totally broken, just like the ship was broken to pieces.

There will be a safe arrival of every person that belong to the assembly, to the church. And nothing is going to be able to destroy. No one will be able to prevail against the church of the living God, the assembly of the living God. Any type. It's only a shadow type, weak type, in that sailing in that boat.

There was the protection of the Lord for those who were part of that ship, who were inside and remained inside. And even though the ship was broken in half, yet everyone have arrived safe to shore. What a precious truth to know. You know, it does a lot to us to know, to have this assurance.

Lord, I know that even though I will fail you, and the people of God will fail you, and there will be a lot of frictions and divisions and broken condition in the body of Messiah, Lord, thank you for the assurance that everyone who is truly a child of God, all will arrive safe and sound to the other side to the presence of the Lord.

All will be eternally linked with him because of the fact that he has promised to us in scripture. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I'll give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish and no man will be able to pluck them out of my hand" is the promise of the Lord. May the Lord bless this lesson to us and encourage us to trust the Lord that he will bring to fruition every promise that he had given.

Unto his own people. And may we all say like Paul said in verse 25, "I believe God." Amen.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com.

You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.