During that night the enemies of God's servant were not forgetful
of him, and forty men bound themselves under a curse neither to
eat nor drink until they had succeeded in killing him.
They accordingly made request to the council that Lysias might
have St. Paul tried once more, purposing in their hearts to lie
in wait as he came out from the castle, and falling upon him,
destroy him.
In some manner which we do not know, the secret transpired, and a
young man related to the Apostle brought news to the castle of
what the forty Zelotes had arranged.
{110}
Lysias listened to his story, but bade him not to speak of the
discovered plot to any one. He then determined to send St. Paul
away that same night, as it was evident that his life was in
peril through the malice of the people. Summoning two of his
centurions, he bade them make ready two hundred soldiers, seventy
horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, who were to take a journey
into Cæsarea at nine o'clock that night, and horses were also to
be provided for the Apostle, who must be safely placed under the
care of Felix the governor of that place.
Lysias knew that this enormous guard would be necessary to ensure
the safety of his prisoner. When all was in readiness for
departure, he had a letter written which was to be given to the
governor of Cæsarea, explaining the reasons for which St. Paul
was sent to him, and all who had any accusation to make against
him were told to go to Felix with the complaint.
{111}
By the dawn of morning, the travellers had accomplished about
thirty-five miles of their journey, reaching Antipatris, where
the foot-soldiers were dismissed; the rest of the guard conducted
the Apostle safely through another day's travel, and then they
entered Cæsarea.
After reading the letter sent by Lysias, Felix asked his prisoner
from what province he came. St. Paul told him that he was from
Cilicia, where he was born.
Felix then gave orders that he should be kept in the
judgment-hall of Herod until his accusers came forward, and his
defence could be heard.
{112}
For several days the Apostle remained thus, until the high priest
Ananias, and others of the Jewish council, arrived with a Roman
advocate, or lawyer, ready to assist them in making their
complaint against him to the Cæsarean governor.
Felix had once been a slave, who by the favour of the Roman
emperor had been raised to his high position; but he was an
unjust and a tyrannical man, who lived in great sin. It was
before him then that St. Paul had to appear, and Tertullus, the
lawyer, commenced his speech by praising Felix, as if he had been
a good man, and laying his accusations against the prisoner.
First, he was charged with being a "pestilent man, raising
seditions among all the Jews throughout the world, and author of
the sedition of the sect of the Nazarenes." On these grounds St.
Paul was deemed an offender against the Roman government, and
against the law of Moses.
{113}
The next charge was that he had brought Gentiles into the temple.
The assembled Jews confirmed the truth of what Tertullus uttered,
and then Felix gave the prisoner permission to defend himself.
He therefore declared that he was not guilty of disputing with
any man, nor had he caused disturbance either in the temple or
synagogue; that he had gone up to the temple to engage in a
Jewish ceremony, and those who had been in his company were not
Gentiles.
{114}
After such a defence, it would have seemed impossible to find any
plea for detaining the Apostle a prisoner, but Felix only put the
matter off, promising to enquire further into it at the coming of
Lysias. Hoping that the Apostle would purchase his freedom, Felix
remanded him to a somewhat light imprisonment, which continued
two years.
One day the governor sent for St. Paul, that he and his wicked
wife Drusilla might hear so famous a teacher speak about his
faith.
The Apostle had the gift of making his addresses exactly
applicable to those who listened to him; and as he knew the
sinful life of Felix, he was not afraid to speak out openly of
that purity of life which the Gospel law enjoins.
He spoke also of the judgment to come, in such forcible words
that the governor's conscience was awakened, and he trembled.
{115}
Still,--like so many wicked people of later times,--he was not
ready to give up his sinful pleasures, but only wished to be rid
of the thought of God's future punishment. "For this time go thy
way;" he said, "when I have a convenient time I will send for
thee."
Thus did Felix close his heart to the influence of the Holy
Spirit, and resist God's grace; nor do we read that he ever had
another opportunity for repentance.
At the close of the two years during which St. Paul was a
prisoner, another governor was appointed in place of Felix, whose
name was Festus.
Scarcely had he come to Cæsarea than he went to visit Jerusalem,
and the Jews took the occasion as a favourable time to ask that
Paul might be tried there, but this request was not granted.
{116}
When Festus returned to Cæsarea, he had the Apostle brought up
before him in the presence of the accusers, and St. Paul replied
to the charges against him in much the same words he had used two
years before.
Festus was perplexed, for it was evident to him that the prisoner
had not created any disturbance against the government; still he
feared the Jews, and therefore asked St. Paul if he would not
like to go up to Jerusalem for trial. But the Apostle replied
that he stood before Cæsar's judgment-seat, and he appealed to
Cæsar.
Then Festus cried, "Hast thou appealed to Cæsar? To Cæsar shalt
thou go;" meaning that he should be sent to Rome for trial.
{117}
Soon after these proceedings, the young King Agrippa, with his
sister Bernice, came upon a visit to the governor of Cæsarea, and
hearing of St. Paul's case, said that he would himself pronounce
judgment upon it.
The great hall of audience was filled with the royal court, the
tribunes and all the chief men were assembled; and St. Paul took
this opportunity to preach the Gospel to them.
He told the story of his life, of his conversion and subsequent
work amongst men; but when he said that Christ had come to be a
light to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, a loud cry broke
from Festus, "Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning hath
made thee mad."
{118}
"I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth
and soberness," replied the Apostle; then, appealing to the king,
he added, "Believest thou the prophets, O King Agrippa? I know
that thou believest."
Agrippa said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
"Would to God," cried St. Paul, "that not only thou, but all that
hear me this day, should become such as I am, except these
bonds."
The king, with Festus and the rest, rose up to leave the hall.
"This man hath done nothing that merits either death or the
prison," said Agrippa. "He might have been set at liberty if he
had not appealed unto Cæsar."
As it was now necessary to send the Apostle to Rome, Festus had
him placed with some other prisoners on board a ship which was
going part of the way. It was in the year 62 that St. Paul
started as a prisoner, with Luke and Aristarchus to bear him
company.
{119}
Sidon was the first stopping-place, and here the Apostle was
allowed to go on shore to visit the Christians who dwelt there.
When they arrived at Lystra, Julius the centurion, who had charge
of the prisoners, found a large ship going to Italy from
Alexandria, into which he had them removed. But a contrary wind
rose, so that for several days they could proceed but very
slowly. It was a time of year when sailing was difficult and
dangerous, so when they reached a place called Good Havens, St.
Paul said it would be better to remain there during the winter.
But the master of the ship and the centurion determined to go on,
hoping to reach Phenice, and winter there.
{120}
At first a gentle south wind was blowing, but a sudden change
came, and the ship was driven furiously along towards the
dangerous coast of Africa. The sailors were afraid that their
vessel would be broken to pieces in the storm, and they passed
strong chains underneath it and took down all their sails. The
next day they tried to make the ship lighter by throwing over all
they could most easily spare, and upon the third day they even
cast away ropes, sails, and anchors.
It was so dark from the heavy stormy clouds, that the master of
the ship could not discover whereabouts they were, and all hope
seemed gone.
Then St. Paul stood up in the midst of the frightened men, and
bade them take heart, for the life of every one should be
preserved, although the vessel would be lost.
{121}
He gave them his authority for such a promise--"For an Angel of
God, Whose I am, and Whom I serve, stood by me this night,
saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar; and,
behold, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee."
For fourteen long days and nights the vessel was driven about in
the sea of Adria, and then the sailors thought they were drawing
near land, but upon letting down their measuring line they found
the water becoming so shallow that they feared being cast upon
the rocks, so they cast down four anchors to hold the ship
securely until morning.
{122}
Filled, however, with selfish fear, the sailors secretly let down
a boat into the water, meaning to get into it themselves, and
leave the others in their difficulty. St. Paul was given the
power of divining what passed in their hearts, and he told their
scheme to the centurion, who ordered his soldiers to cut the
ropes that the boat might fall over into the sea.
When day broke, the Apostle begged all on board to eat, and he
repeated his promise of safety for all, and taking bread, he
"gave thanks to God in the sight of them all," and they also ate
and were refreshed.
It was now evident that the ship could not be saved, so the wheat
with which it was laden was thrown over, in order that it might
be lightened, and so run close in to the shore. But as the
sailors were endeavouring to get up a little creek, the vessel
stuck fast in the ground, and the hinder part was broken to
pieces by the stormy waves.
{123}
The soldiers would have begun putting the prisoners to death,
lest they might swim to shore and thus escape, but the centurion
prevented them, and ordered those who were able to swim to do so,
while the rest he made hold on to the boards and broken spars of
the ship. In this way every soul was saved of the two hundred and
seventy-six who had been on board the vessel--saved for the sake
of Paul, the beloved servant and Apostle of God.
The island on which they were cast was called Melita--the Malta
of our own day--and no sooner were they landed than a fresh proof
of God's providential care over St. Paul was granted.
A fire of sticks had been kindled by the people of the island,
and as the Apostle assisted the others, gathering together what
faggots he could find, a viper came and fastened upon his hand.
{124}
The ignorant natives observing this, thought it must be some very
wicked man pursued by dreadful judgments, although he had escaped
the perils of the sea; but when St. Paul shook off the viper, and
it was seen that he was wholly uninjured by its poisonous bite,
they changed in their feelings, and believed he could be nothing
less than a god.
It was the Will of Almighty God that still more wonders should be
wrought upon that island.
The father of Publius, the governor of Malta, was lying
dangerously ill, and St. Paul went to visit him as his Master
when on earth visited the sick and suffering, and "laid his hands
on him," and healed, him.
{125}
Seeing this marvel wrought by the touch of the Apostle, all the
people of the island who were in any way sick or diseased came
hastening to St. Paul, and they too received the healing of their
infirmities. For three months the shipwrecked company remained in
Malta, and when at length they departed in a ship bound for
Italy, the people of the island gave them many presents in
gratitude and good-will.
{126}