Chapter XLIX: Preface (9)

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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. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve, saying, 'Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.' Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island."

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I. THE APPIAN WAY, OVER WHICH PAUL TRAVELED TO ROME.
The ruins are those of ancient tombs. In the foreground are stones of
the old Roman pavement.

Owned by Prof. E. J. Brady, Department of Latin, Smith College, and
used by his kind permission.

The "Via Appia," the oldest and most celebrated of Roman roads, was
constructed as far as Capua A. U. C. 442 by the censor, Appius
Claudius. Procopius, writing 800 years later, describes it as broad
enough for two chariots to pass. It was paved with stones brought from
distant quarries and so fitted together as to seem formed by nature.
He says that the road was then in perfect condition.
[End illustration]

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But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to land; and they sounded, and found twenty fathoms: and after a little space, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing lest we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for the day. And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved."

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, "This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I beseech you to take some food: for this is for your safety: for there shall not a hair perish from the head of any of you."

And when he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all: and he broke it, and began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took food. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing {474} out the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they perceived a certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether they could drive the ship upon it. And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing the bands of the rudders; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow struck and remained unmovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land: and the rest, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to the land.

III

AT MALTA

_Paul Sails Again for Rome on the Ship "Twin Brothers._"

And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Malta. And the barbarians showed us uncommon kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, a viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

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II. ALONG THE APPIAN WAY, THE GREAT ROMAN AQUEDUCT.

Owned by Prof. E. J. Brady, Department of Latin, Smith College,
and used by his kind permission.

The Appian Way has been called the "Queen of Roads." It was in Paul's time the crowded approach to the metropolis of the world. Near the city the road passed under the aqueduct, which was continually dripping water, hence called by Juvenal "the moist gate".

"Praetors, proconsuls to their provinces
Hasting, or on return in robes of state;
Lictors and rods, the ensigns of their power,
Legions and cohorts, turms of horse and wings;
Or embassies from regions far remote,
In various habits on the Appian Way."
--_Milton's "Paradise Regained"_
[End illustration]

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And when the barbarians saw the reptile hanging from his hand, they said one to another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live."

Howbeit he shook off the reptile into the fire, and took no harm. But they expected that he would have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but when they were long in expectation, and beheld nothing amiss come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius; who received us, and entertained us three days courteously. And it was so, that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him. And when this was done, the rest also which had diseases in the island came, and were cured: who also honored us with many honors; and when we sailed, they put on board such things as we needed.

And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the island, whose sign was "The Twin Brothers." And touching at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli: where we found brethren, and were intreated to tarry with them seven days: and so we came to Rome. And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius, and The Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

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PAUL AT THE CITY ON THE TIBER.

_He Preaches the Gospel in the Capital of the World_.

And when we entered into Rome, Paul was permitted to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him.

And it came to pass, that after three days he called together those that were the chief of the Jews: and when they were come together, he said unto them, "I, brethren, though I had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, yet was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans: who, when they had examined me, desired to set me at liberty, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spoke against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had anything to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore did I intreat you to see and to speak with me: for because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."

And they said unto him, "We neither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against."

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STATUE OF PAUL ON THE ISLAND OF MALTA.
[End illustration]

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And when they had appointed him a day, they came to him into his lodging in great number; to whom he expounded the matter, testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after Paul had spoken one word, "Well spoke the Holy Spirit by Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers, saying,--

'Go thou unto this people, and say,
By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand;
And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross,
And their ears are dull of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed;
Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And shall turn again,
And I should heal them.'

Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear."

And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him.

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This is the close of the story of Paul as it is given in the Acts, but half his service for the world, and half the adventures which attended that service are not told here. We have a glimpse of what the complete story must have been, in these words of his which might be inscribed to his honor in the world's temple of fame:--

"Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep:
in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers,
in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethern; in labor and travail, in
watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold
and nakedness.

To this should be added the great hero's farewell. In prison, aged, infirm, about to die, he wrote these words, yet they are filled with the same dauntless spirit of courage and faith which always animated Paul, the Apostle.

"For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept
the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me
at that day; and not only to me, but also to all them that have loved
his appearing."

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Notes

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NOTES

The wise men were perhaps Jews, though it is generally thought that they belonged to some other people, who looked and longed for a great king who should free them from the Romans. Many Jews lived in the East, and had become wise in the arts of astrology. They studied the stars and thought that in them could be read the signs of things about to happen on the earth. Indeed, it is not many centuries since, all over Europe, men thought that a comet foreboded much evil of some sort. So to those pious men God sent at last the sign for which they had so long waited. The Bible tells nothing about the men themselves, but the church was so fond of thinking of them and the honor they paid to the little baby who should be the Master, that many stories were told of them. Their number was sometimes given as twelve, but more often as three, until now perhaps some people almost think that the Bible story says three; but it does not. The popular stories made them also kings and gave them names, and told how they represented three great races of the world, European, Asiatic, and African. But in the Bible they are only wise men with costly gifts, and they go out into history all unknown.

_John_ tried to get the people to see how they ought to repent and lead good lives, that God might send the long-expected Messiah. A saying of the rabbis was, "If Israel should keep the law for one day, the Messiah would come." The custom of baptism was in use before he took it up. It signified the desire that God should make the life pure and wash away the sins of the past.

_The family of the Herods_ were the descendants of a courtier of Idumea, in the northern part of Arabia. Herod the Great married a princess of the heroic family of the Maccabees, so that most of the Herods of the New Testament are partly Jewish in blood. The {486} family of Herod were very able, but very cruel and selfish, and the people heartily hated them. It is said that Herod the Great gave orders that when he died a large number of the chief men should be killed at Jericho that the people might mourn at his death. Perhaps the poor king was half insane when he ordered this. Anyway, it was not done.

The following is a table of the Herodian family, but only giving those mentioned in the New Testament:--

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While dried _fish_ were brought from abroad, the great source of supply in Palestine was the Lake of Galilee. Its waters abounded in fish. Two methods were used by fishermen: the small hand-net and the great drag-net. The best time for fishing was after sunset or before sunrise, but sometimes men worked all night. In the daytime fishermen took the fish to market, mended their nets, and rested. The fish were eaten fresh by the people in the many villages about the lake, or, dried in the sun and salted, were carried far and wide, and used as a relish with bread.

The custom of a body of _disciples_ was not new to Jesus. John had disciples, and so did the rabbis, who were considered great teachers. It was a sort of primitive university by which a teacher attracted to his personal following a group of loyal, loving pupils who would carry his teaching to others. Socrates and Plato in Greece, Buddha in India, and many another man in other countries, had done the same thing. The difference between Jesus' disciples and other like groups was not in the custom of discipleship but in the kind of a teacher they had; for never was there a teacher like Jesus.

_Almsgiving and prayers_ were two of the most important acts of worship in the Jewish religion. Their books praise giving alms to the poor very highly. It was, indeed, one of the great ways open to them to show an unselfish and brotherly spirit, and in the ancient world, most unfortunate people--the lame, the blind, those unable to work--were supported only by charity, and were expected to beg in the streets for their living.

_Decapolis_ (ten cities). A region lying east of the Jordan, except the city of Scythopolis (the old Bethshean). Its population was much mixed, and many Gentiles lived in it, so that the stricter Jews looked down upon the inhabitants, but Jesus did not hesitate to go among the towns and teach the people.

_Ruler of the Synagogue_. An officer who was responsible for the proper conduct of the service and the order of the congregation. He did not conduct the service himself, but decided who should take part in it. The position was one of honor, but did not require particular learning like that of the scribes.

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_Pharisees and Sadducees_. Two of the religious divisions of the Jews. The Pharisees were earnest students of the law, and tried hard to do right. But they were proud, and thought their way of seeing God was the only true way. The Sadducees were not so religious. They were richer, cared less about the law, and did not try so hard to keep it as did the Pharisees. But they also were proud and haughty, and between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the common people found few friends, and many more were willing to tell them how bad they were than to show them the way to become good. That was one reason why, when Jesus came with kindness, "the common people heard him gladly."

_Threshing floor_. A flat piece of ground, trodden hard, where the oxen threshed out the grain by being driven back and forth over it. The "fan" was a sort of shovel with which the grain was tossed in the air for winnowing.

_Weddings_ in the East were times of elaborate ceremonials. The weddings were in the night, and the friends of the groom went with him, bearing torches, to the house of the bride, then, with the bride and her friends, all returned to the house of the groom. Here a feast of several days was held, with singing of songs and much merriment.

_Samaria_ had been partly settled by foreigners, more than seven hundred years before, but the Jews of Jesus' time still looked down upon the Samaritans, as not being pure Jews. They would not let them worship in the temple, and despised them greatly. To be obliged to say that a Samaritan had done a good deed was not pleasant for a Jew.

_Raca_. "Fool."

_Jot_, jod. The smallest Hebrew letter. _Tittle_. The little points on the letters like the projections from the top of our d.

_Publican_. A tax-gatherer for the Roman government. No patriotic Jew would take the office, and so the publicans were much despised; and indeed they were mostly not the best sort of men.

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_Leprosy_. A loathsome and lingering disease, for which no remedy was known.

_Sea of Galilee, Luke of Gennesaret, Sea of Tiberias_. Different names for the beautiful lake east of Galilee. It is pear shaped, about thirteen miles long and a little less than seven wide.

_Kingdom of God_. Used by the Jews for the great kingdom which they expected the Prince who should come, the Messiah, to set up; used by Jesus to mean the rule of God in the hearts of men, which he came to establish.

_Pennyworth_. About the equivalent of the wages for a day's work.

_Bethesda_. A pool in Jerusalem, fed by an intermittent spring, so that sometimes the water suddenly rose in it. This made the people think that it was powerful to heal diseases.

_Sabbath_ was very strictly kept by the Jews. They were very careful about doing any work. No fire was lighted, no meals cooked, no medicine prepared. They had made the needs of man subordinate to the Sabbath law, rather than the law subordinate to the needs of man.

_Show-bread_. Loaves kept in the temple and renewed every week. The point of Jesus is that the sacredness of the bread yielded to the needs of David and his men.

_Dipped a sop_. It is customary in the East for the host to honor a guest by dipping a piece of bread in the dish of meat or the cup of drink and giving it with his own hand.

_Greek woman, Syro-Phoenician_. A Syrian, resident in Phoenicia, who perhaps spoke Greek.

_Caesarea Philippi_. A town in the far north of Palestine, at the head of the River Jordan.

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_Fuller_. One whose business was to bleach cotton or linen cloth.

_Tormentors_. Those whose duty it was to obtain confessions, or to punish, by scourging and other tortures.

_Hospitality_ is a much-prized virtue in the East. There were not so many accommodations for travelers as there are among us. On the caravan routes there were khans, or inns, and places where one could buy food, but off the frequented routes of travel, among the villages, the traveler had to depend on the kindness of the people for food and shelter. So when the seventy went out, they must depend on the hospitality of their hosts. Jesus advises them not to go about to many houses in the same village, for that would waste much time in the necessary ceremonies of politeness.

_Purifying_. The Old Testament has many laws of ceremonial purification, but the tradition of Judaism had greatly expanded them. There were long directions about the washing of dishes of all sorts, and of the hands--not for the sake of getting them clean merely, but of doing it in a certain way. For example, the hands must be held up so that the water should run from the fingers as far down as the wrists. Jesus taught that the good life came, not from such things as these but from a pure heart.

_Dogs_ abound in all Eastern towns. They lie in large numbers about the streets. Each gang has its own quarters, and woe to the dog which intrudes on the ground of another gang! These street dogs are much despised, and indeed they are wretched curs; but they are necessary to the health of a city where they are the only scavengers. They were sometimes even allowed in the courts of the houses, where they ate the leavings from the table.

_Tombs_ were often cut in the face of the rock, after it had been cut back to a perpendicular surface. The tombs were of all sizes, from mere places in which the body was put, to large rooms with rock-cut shelves on the sides. Many tombs of various grades of elaborateness are found in the rocks about Jerusalem.

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_The Temple_ of the New Testament period is called Herod's temple because it was greatly enlarged and beautified by Herod the Great. He began the work about 20 B.C., and most of it was done before the days of Jesus, but Herod's successors continued to build and beautify for long years after. The temple was now much larger than it was in the Old Testament days, though it still stood in the same place. It was in the eastern part of the city, and looked straight over the city wall and the Valley of Jehoshaphat to the Mount of Olives on the east. South of it was a slope that led down to the Valley of Hinnom, and north was the castle of the city, occupied by the governor and the Roman soldiers. The spot where it stood is still an open walled space, and in the center of it is the so-called mosque of Omar, while to the north a garrison of Turkish soldiers still occupies part of the site of the old castle.

_The Passover_ was the great family feast of the Jews. Many customs had grown up about it as the ages had gone on. Those who could were glad to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem, but of course only a few could do that. The great event of the feast, which lasted seven days, was the supper, when each family procured a lamb and ate it with certain vegetables and with wine. It was a glad feast, and yet a solemn one. In its course one of the children would ask why it was celebrated, and then the father would tell the old, old story of how their fathers, long ago, went out of Egypt in haste one night, and how this feast was in memory of that great deliverance. Then he would tell how the nation still had faith that their God could deliver from all trouble. At the end they sang Psalms 115-118, Psalms 113, 114 having been sung at an earlier part of the meal. These were called Hallel, which means praise, and if you will read the psalms you will see why. Jesus and his disciples made a sort of family, eating the feast thus together.

_Pilate_ was a Roman who was governor of Judea for ten years, from A.D. 26 to 36. The Herodian government of Judea, under which Jesus was born, had been changed for a direct Roman rule in 6 A.D., but the change had worked little good to the people. Pilate was not, as Roman governors went, a bad man. He desired {492} justice and had many good intentions, but he was weak, vacillating, and liable to be violent. He had made himself much hated by the people, and feared they would complain of him to the emperor. So it happened that when he had the great opportunity of his life, and himself much desired to save Jesus from an unjust death, he dared not do what he knew was right because his past crimes had made him fear the Jews. He was at last sent to Rome in disgrace by his superiors in office, but what became of him afterwards is not known. A legend in the early church says that he committed suicide, but there is no good evidence that this is so.

_Caiaphas_, the high priest from 18-36 A.D., was son-in-law of Annas, the former high priest. He seems, from John 2:45-50, to be the one who first suggested the plan to put Jesus to death. He did it because he was afraid, if the people thought Jesus was the Messiah, they would follow him in a revolt against the Romans, which would only bring trouble and massacre to the people. How he misunderstood the purpose of the peaceful Jesus!

_Annas_ was high priest A.D. 6 to 18. He was then deposed by the Roman legate, but, through his own influence and that of his family, long held great power in the nation. The family had booths for the sale of offerings in the temple, and gained great wealth thereby. When Jesus cleansed the temple, he was interfering with their unjust trade, and that may have had a good deal to do with their enmity toward him. Annas and his family were hated by the people, who thought them hypocrites, making gain out of the service of God.

_The trial of Jesus_ divides into the following parts: (1) An appearance before Annas, which was an informal, preliminary inquiry, seemingly to try to get evidence to present at the formal trial. The inquiry was fruitless. (2) The trial before the Sanhedrin, with Caiaphas as the leader. This was the formal Jewish trial. (3) The first appearance before Pilate, to whom the Sanhedrin sent him on the ground of treason to Rome in claiming to be king of the Jews. (4) The appearance before Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, to whom Pilate had sent him, learning that Jesus was a Galilean. Herod accepted the compliment Pilate paid him, but {493} refused to judge in a matter which belonged to a Roman officer, and sent him back to Pilate. (5) The final trial before Pilate, when, finding that he could in no way escape the responsibility, Pilate reluctantly condemned Jesus to crucifixion; so, as he himself admitted, sending an innocent man to death. The Jewish court condemned Jesus for blasphemy; the Roman, ostensibly, for treason.

_Crucifixion_. This cruel custom came to the west from the Phoenicians, and was used by Greeks and Romans. Under the Roman emperors it became common. First it was only used for slaves and persons much despised. Later it was used more widely, but it was always considered a mark of deep disgrace.

_Emmaus_. The locality is unknown; possibly at Kolonieh, on the road from Jerusalem to Joppa.

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The Bible StoryChapter XLIX: Preface (9)

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