“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.” 1 John 1:1

One of my favorite book genres is the legal thriller. I love the intrigue of detective work, the unfolding drama of courtroom ebbs and flows, and the suspense of a jury deliberating over the verdict. Whether there is a conviction or not often hinges on one key factor: was there or was there not credible and convincing eyewitnesses. 

John begins his epistle by establishing his cache as one who had heard, seen, and touched the Lord Jesus. It gave him street cred. It guaranteed that his words carried weight, that his instructions and warnings would be heeded, and obeyed. 

Luke was a doctor and a historian. Although he wrote his gospel based upon the testimony and records of others, there are sections in Acts where he writes in the first person. He served alongside Paul, a trusted co-laborer, as one who stuck with him in persecution and imprisonment even as others abandoned him. When Paul endured a murderous storm, Luke was there to capture intimate details of the shipwreck, as well as give us unique insights into the heart and soul of Paul as he boldly stared down certain death. Aside from the times Paul is transparent and brutally honest in his writings, there is probably no better way to understand what wound him up and made him tick than the last two chapters of the book of Acts. 

Something that strikes me about this section is Paul was not “on mission”. He was a prisoner being transported to Rome to have his case heard by Caesar’s court. As such, it reveals an underlying reality: It was impossible to extract Paul the missionary from Paul the man. He did not wear two hats. He did not punch the clock. He was the same person in the market and in the pulpit. His message was fully corroborated by his actions and reactions. As the last remnants of hope’s bubble burst upon the decks of that fated boat, a man of enormous, iconic stature emerged.

Luke chronicles the descent into the perilous and inconsolable plight gripping the shipmates. Fourteen darkened and tempest-tossed days, heaving the ship’s tackle overboard, abstaining from food, oppressed by malignant fear…and yet, Paul, the lowest of the low, a bound convict, rises to lift their spirits and assuage their paranoia. Luke’s own soul had been buoyed by Paul’s courageous pronouncement: “I now urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you…just as [God] told me” (v.22-25). 

Luke too had suffered hunger pangs after fourteen days. He shared their despair and terror, the sea-sickened and sleepless nights. So when Paul urged the entire ship to eat for their survival, that “not a hair will fall from the head of any of you”, Luke included himself to be among those who “were all encouraged” (vs. 34,36). When they had finally run aground, each man jumping into the frigid waters as the battered ship broke into pieces, they each saw for themselves that Paul’s was a Miracle-working God. They all escaped. They all made it safely to shore. No one was injured. Not a hair had been lost. 

For Luke, this was personal. When Paul contended in prayer for every soul on board, he counted himself among the two hundred and seventy-six of whom Paul had been given assurance: “indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you” (v.24). He had boarded the ship with a shackled man whom he had witnessed become the de facto captain over the entire crew, who had earned their trust and respect, and who had made them a part of unforgettable history. 

2 Cor 11:25 says Paul was shipwrecked three times. If Luke had not been with Paul on this fateful journey, the attitudes, the confidence, the faith that Paul exhibited in the midst of such extreme adversity would be lost to us. Luke had watched Paul board that ship, not as a great apostle, but as a bound, empty-handed, ordinary man, who through faith showed us what Moses meant when he told the Israelites, “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God” (Dt 28:13). 

When all deliberations are done, the verdict that our God is faithful and ever the miracle-working Ruler of all will be unanimous. I for one am so thankful for all the credible and convincing eyewitnesses who have testified to the greatness of our God.