Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 27:21

"And when they had been long without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss." — Acts 27:21 (ASV)

Undoubtedly Paul shared the general pessimism on board ship (cf. the inclusive use of “we” in v.20). But one night toward the close of the fourteenday storm, “an angel of God” stood by him and reassured him with a message of comfort for this time of crisis (cf. 23:11). The next morning when Paul shared this vision with his companions on shipboard, he was human enough to (in effect) say “I told you so” to those who had not taken his advice at Fair Havens. He added that in his opinion they would not be saved without running aground on some island.