River Valley Church SOAP - Part 11Sample

Paul received the opportunity to appeal his case to Ceasar in Rome and boarded a ship from the port of Cesarea Phillii to Italy. Owners of these transportation ships were usually wealthy but had a meager social status; often, grain was the most lucrative good to be transported on a ship.  This trip took months, and ships would rarely travel from November to March because storms could rise quickly, making the journey very difficult. Paul eventually got caught in a storm and became shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Paul, bitten by a viper but did not get ill or sick in any way.  People attributed the fact that he did not get sick as a  judgment of the “gods” and even cited the Goddess of Justice bringing retribution on Paul.  Paul surviving the shipwreck and the bite of a viper caused people to see him as a god because of this divine protection.