What does Acts 27:9 mean?
Paul was arrested for crimes he didn't commit (Acts 26:31–32). When two years passed without justice, Paul appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:6–12). It seems Aristarchus did the same (Colossians 4:10). They're both in custody of a centurion who is charged with bringing them to trial in Rome. Luke is accompanying them (Acts 27:1).Traveling from Caesarea Maritima to Rome is safer by land but faster by sea—if the weather cooperates. On their first leg, they hit contrary winds that forced them to detour around Cyprus. Now, they've been pushed farther south than they wished, to the southern shore of Crete. They find mooring in Fair Havens, just past Lasea. Lasea has a good, sheltered port where ships can sit out the winter storms; Fair Havens doesn't. Further on, Phoenix also has a winter port. Paul wants to stay where they are. The owner of the ship and the shipmaster want to go on to Phoenix (Acts 27:10–12).
The tense of the Greek word translated "advised" is imperfect; this implies something ongoing and incomplete. Paul isn't thoughtfully sharing his point of view; he's been nagging them. Ordinarily, it would be wise to do as the shipmaster says, but either the Holy Spirit is warning Paul or he's relying on extensive travel experience. He later specifies when God has spoken to him (Acts 27:23), so this instance is likely just a gut feeling. Although the centurion sides with the owner and the pilot this time, he quickly learns to trust Paul (Acts 27:30–32, 42–43).
The "Fast" is the Day of Atonement. The description given in the Mosaic law says on the Day of Atonement, observants must "afflict" themselves (Leviticus 23:27). The Jews interpret this to mean abstaining from food, although the law doesn't explicitly mention fasting. The Day of Atonement falls at the end of September or beginning of October; storms in the Mediterranean start in mid-September. Scholars have worked through Luke's narrative—including the arrival of Governor Festus (Acts 24:27)—and determined that this is probably AD 59. The group left Caesarea in August or early September and didn't arrive at Rome until the following March.
