Shadows in the water

Luke's description of Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27 represents the most detailed, comprehensive account of sailing in all of ancient literature. The passage is studied, not just by Bible students, but by history buffs simply interested in the culture of the ancient world.

“Now, you know when God the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write this, he didn’t write it so he'd have the most detailed ancient description of sailing," reasons Jordan. “If Paul had three previous shipwrecks that weren’t even recorded in the Book of Acts, and this one was, then this one has some doctrinal significance.

“With all the miracles and things that happened in Acts, something else could have been reported. So why did Luke choose to record what he did and not something else? Because what’s there is designed to illustrate the doctrine being taught.

“Acts 13 is an example of what I’m saying. When Paul leaves Antioch and first sets out with his ministry, he performs a miracle with Elymas, the Jewish sorcerer, and the Gentile man Sergius Paulus.

“Sergius Paulus wanted to hear God’s Word from Paul but Elymas withstood him. So, here’s a Gentile who wants to hear and an unbelieving Jew who tries to stop God’s Word from going to the Gentile. And Paul pronounced a curse on the sorcerer.

"As Luke details in Acts 13: 9-12, 'Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
[10] And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
[11] And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
[12] Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.'

“Sergius Paulus saw the event and therefore believed what Paul said, and in that doctrine he believed was illustrated exactly what happened to Elymas. It’s through the blinding of that unbelieving Jew that salvation went to that Gentile, which is what Paul’s ministry is all about—‘through their fall, salvation has come unto the Gentiles.’

The miracle of Paul blinding the Jew represents not only the first miracle in his ministry, but the whole thrust of his ministry. What’s fascinating is that this same scenario is true of both the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ and the ministry of Peter!

For Christ, His first miracle was turning water into wine at the wedding of Canaan of Galilee. Peter’s first miracle was healing the lame man at the gate.

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"When Jesus Christ says to His disciples and the little flock, ‘I want you to go out and teach all nations,’ they’re not going to go teach Israel; they’re going to go teach the Gentiles.

“You say, ‘Well, why wouldn’t they need to teach Israel? Wouldn’t they need to get saved too? What’s going on here?!’ Well, when you realize what Israel’s program is, it isn’t that hard to figure.

“Look at Hebrews 8: 7-11: ‘For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
[8] For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
[9] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
[10] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
[11] And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.’

“In other words, when He puts the new covenant into effect (after Christ’s Second Coming in the future kingdom program), the whole nation Israel is going to be converted. And when all Israel is saved, what’s redeemed Israel supposed to do? Well, now they’ve got a commission and that’s Matthew 28!

“It’s then that redeemed Israel will take their blessings and message out to the rest of the world. Once the message has gone over Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the time is ready for them to go out, and Matthew 28 fits in that future kingdom! That’s the kingdom commission! That’s the commission where saved, regenerated Israel will take God’s Word out of Zion—out of Jerusalem—into the nations.

“As Isaiah 2:2-3 says, ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.’

“By the way, in Acts 2, Peter refers to the day of Pentecost as the ‘last days,’ meaning the ‘last days’ over there in that future kingdom program. Pentecost is not the first days of anything! It’s the last days of Israel’s prophetic program!

“Once they’ve been redeemed into their kingdom, they’re to go out and take God’s Word to the nations, like Isaiah 2’s talking about, baptizing in the name of the father, son and Holy Ghost. Now, why would you baptize Gentiles? Never say baptism is Jewish because there’s Gentile baptism in that passage.

“I know sometimes people say water baptism is part of the Jewish program, and that’s true, but there’s the Gentiles getting baptized. Why? Baptism is a part of the kingdom program. The kingdom belongs to Israel but it’s also going to extend out to the nations.

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“Luke doesn’t say a thing about baptism in Luke 24. He says, ‘For repentance and remission of sins.’ In Acts 3:19, he doesn’t say ‘repent and be baptized’; he says ‘repent and be converted,’ because they’re looking at the core issue of the spiritual status of the nation, and the outward expression of that was obedience to the Word.

“What was water baptism? You remember we looked at Ezekiel 36:25—boy, you've got to get this concept! The difference between the individual and the nation and how can you be a part of the redeemed nation . . . individually you have to have faith, and you expressed your identification with other Believers through baptism for the remission of sins, but water baptism was simply a ceremonial cleansing. Water never washed away sins. If the blood of bulls and goats can’t, neither can water.

“Well, what was it? It was a like figure unto Noah’s Ark. Peter said it’s a ‘like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ’? In Ezekiel 36:25, God said, ‘I will sprinkle you with clean water and cleanse you of all the filthiness of your idolatry.’

“Baptism was the way God set them apart and identified them as people who recognized Christ. They repented; they changed their mind. They realized, ‘He wasn’t a fake; He wasn’t an impostor. He’s the Messiah! We made a mistake when we crucified Him. We’ve broken the covenants.’ And they did exactly what Daniel did in Daniel 9. He says, ‘I confessed my sins and the sins of my people.’

“Those who rejected it, rejected it by refusing to be baptized because the heart of faith believes God’s Word and that’s why Christ says, ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.’

“The heart had to believe, and without faith the work’s of no value. That’s why God could tell Israel repeatedly in the Old Testament, ‘I don’t want your sacrifices.’

“You say, ‘Well, He told them to bring ’em!’ He never commanded them to bring them, though. He always said, ‘If a man will bring them . . .’ In other words, you had to bring them in faith: ‘If you want to approach me, here’s how you do it, but you got to do it by faith. These sacrifices don’t do anything; it’s your faith bringing them that’s valuable.’

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“Jesus says in Matthew 5:17, ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.’ Now, I know people erroneously—and I emphasize erroneously—take that passage and say it’s referring to the Cross. But that passage is not referring to the Crosswork because all of the law and all of the prophets are not fulfilled on the Cross! How do I know that? Two ways.

“First, there’s Matthew 16: 21: ‘From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.’

“If at this point, Jesus Christ BEGAN to tell about His death, had He told them about His death prior to this? Well, that’s not hard to figure.

“That means in chapter 5, He wasn’t talking about His death, right? If He was talking about His death there He couldn’t have begun to talk to them about it 11 chapters later! He would have already been talking about it! You see, there’s more to be fulfilled in the law and the prophets than just the accomplished Crosswork, okay?

“The Crosswork did fulfill things in the law and in the prophets but that doesn’t completely fulfill everything in them!

“The other way you know is by looking at what the Apostle Paul writes in Colossians, in the dispensation of grace after the transition period’s over with. Colossians 2:16-17 says, ‘Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.’ ”