“Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.Howbeit, we must be cast upon a certain island.”[164]
Fourteen days had now passed, during which the ship had been driven hither and thither over the foaming billows of the Adriatic Sea. About midnight of the fourteenth, the sailors saw some indications that they were approaching land,—probably by the roar of breakers, which a practised ear will discern even amidst the wildest tumult of a storm. Upon sounding, they found twenty fathoms of water. Soon sounding again, they found but fifteen fathoms. Thus warned of their danger of being hurled in midnight darkness upon the rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and waited impatiently for the dawn.
Some of the sailors, as usual, were disposed to get out the only boat and escape to the shore, leaving the others to their fate. They pretended that it was their object to cast some more anchors out of the foreship. Paul, perceiving this, said to the centurion who was in command of the guardof soldiers, “Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.”
The soldiers, in prompt obedience to military command, cut the ropes, and the boat drifted off into the darkness of the stormy sea. As the day was beginning to dawn, Paul entreated them all to refresh themselves with food, saying that this was needful to strengthen them for the fatigues still before them, and assuring them that they should all be saved without the slightest bodily harm. It is very evident that the exalted Christian character of Paul had given him great influence with all on board. “He took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all; and, when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer.”
Further to lighten the ship, that they might draw nearer to the shore, they threw out the remainder of the cargo of wheat into the sea. With the early dawn, they saw the outline of an unknown island at a little distance before them. As the light increased, they saw a small bay, or indentation of the shore, where there was some slight protection from the violence of the sea. Raising their anchors, and spreading their mainsail, they ran the ship as far as possible upon the land. The bows struck the sand; while the stern, still floating, was tossed up and down by the surging billows; and thus the ship was rapidly being broken to pieces. The soldiers, with their characteristic recklessness of human life, proposed that the prisoners should be put to death, lest they should escape by swimming; but the more humane centurion, cherishing kindly feelings for Paul, gave liberty to each one to save himself as best he could. Passengers and crew all now made for the shore. The strong swimmers sprang boldly into the sea; others, on boards or fragments of the ship, reached the land. Thus they stood upon the beach, drenched, and shivering in the cold wintry wind, having lost every thing, their lives only being preserved. The storm still continued, and the rain was falling.
Some of the natives of the island soon collected around them, and informed them that they were upon the Island of Malta, in the Adriatic Sea, about four hundred and eightymiles from Crete. By the aid of the inhabitants, a fire was soon kindled, and they all assembled around it. As Paul gathered some sticks to throw upon the fire, a viper, one of the most venomous of reptiles, whose bite was deemed certain death, fastened itself upon his hand. Paul shook the reptile into the flames. They all looked to see him drop dead, supposing him to be a murderer who could not escape divine vengeance; but soon, seeing no harm befall him, they went to the other extreme, declaring him to be a god.
The shipwrecked company remained for three months upon the island before any opportunity was presented to leave it. That Paul devoted these three months to energetic efforts in the service of his Master, no one can doubt; but we have no record of the incidents he encountered, or of the results of his labors, with one exception. In the narrative of Luke we find the following brief statement:—
“In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody-flux; to whom Paul entered in and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So, when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed; who also honored us with many honors;and, when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.”[165]
A ship from Alexandria by the name of “Castor and Pollux,” which had wintered in the isle, was to sail with the returning spring for Rome. The shipwrecked prisoners, with their guard, were taken on board, and the sails were spread. They touched at Syracuse, the capital of the Island of Sicily, which was on their direct route. Here they remained three days; and then, weighing anchor, they directed their course towards the Straits of Messina, and landed at Rhegium, on the southern extremity of Italy. Thence, running along the western coast of the Italian peninsula, they came to Puteoli, about seven miles south-west of the present city of Naples. Puteoli was then the principal seaport in Southern Italy.
Here they found Christian brethren; but it is not known by whom the gospel was brought to their region. Paul was permitted to tarry with them seven days. Thus there was opportunity for the tidings to reach Rome (which was but fifty-six miles distant) of the approach of the renowned apostle. The Christians in Rome were doubtless pretty well acquainted with Paul’s career. His Epistle to the Romans had been written about five years before this.