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 22 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. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of God, whose I am, whom also I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Cæsar; and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee. 24 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me. 25 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. 27 “But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country; 28 and they sounded, and found twenty fathoms; and after a little space, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for the day. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under color as tho they would lay out anchors from the foreship, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye can not be saved. 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. 33 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. 34 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. 35 And when he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all; and he brake it, and began to eat. 36 Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took food. 37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, 39 throwing 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. 40 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. 41 But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the foreship struck and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves. 42 And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43 But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should 44 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. 1 “And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarians showed us no common kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3 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. 4 And when the barbarians saw the beast 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. 5 Howbeit he shook off the beast into the fire, and took no harm. 6 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.”
QUESTIONS.
(1) Trace the course of the voyage to Rome, as far as our last lesson carried us. (2) What difficulties were encountered? and what warning had those in command received? (3) When all hope was given up, what did Paul do? What did he say was the cause of their present trouble? Chapter 27: 21. (4) Nevertheless, what exhortation and assurance did he give them? V. 22. (5) What authority had he for this statement? What did he say of his own relation to God? V. 23. (6) What had the angel said to Paul? What did he say that God had given to Paul? V. 24. (7) To what did Paul therefore exhort them? Why was he so confident? V. 25. (8) Nevertheless, what did he say must take place? V. 26. (9) When was it that the sailors thought they were near land? V. 27. (10) What evidence had they? V. 28. (11) What measures did they then take for safety? V. 29. (12) What cowardly act were the sailors about to do? How was this frustrated? Vs. 30–32. (13) As the day dawned, what did Paul desire all to do? How long had they fasted? Verse 33. (14) What did he again assure them? For what did he have thought? V. 34. (15) Having said this, what did he do? What was the effect of his words and example? Vs. 35, 36. (16) How many were on board the ship? Having eaten, what did they do? Vs. 37, 38. (17) What did they discover as soon as it was day? and what did they try to do? V. 39. (18) How did they proceed? and what was the result? Vs. 40, 41. (19) What did the soldiers advise? V. 42. (20) Who kept them from their purpose? Why? What orders did the centurion give? What was the result? Vs. 43, 44. (21) When they came to land, what did they find it to be? Chapter 28: 1. (22) How were they treated by the people of the island? V. 2. (23) How did Paul busy himself? What happened to him as he worked? V. 3. (24) How did the13people of the island regard this? V. 4. (25) How much ado did Paul make over it? V. 5. (26) What did the barbarians confidently expect to see? When they saw that no harm followed, what did they conclude? V. 6.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
(1) Who virtually took command of the ship when it got into danger? (2) How was Ps. 116:10; 2 Cor. 4:13 fulfilled in the case before us? (3) What statement of Christ concerning the immunity of His servants from danger by serpents was fulfilled in Paul’s case? Quote the scripture.
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The Sunday School International Series
Lesson X.—Sunday, June 5, 1898.
JESUS CONDEMNED.
NOTE.—The events comprising the present lesson followed in a few hours after the institution of the Lord’s supper, which was considered in the lesson of last week. Yet, between that celebration of His death, and His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had given much valuable instruction for the church. The very important discourse recorded in John, from chapter 13: 31 to chapter 17, inclusive, was given on that eventful night after the departure of Judas from the company.
11 “Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto Him, Thou sayest. 12 And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then saith Pilate unto Him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against Thee? 14 And He gave him no answer, not even to one word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. 15 Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him up. 19 And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 But the governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? And they said, Barabbas. 22 Pilate saith unto them, What then shall I do unto Jesus which is called Christ? They all say, Let Him be crucified. 23 And he said, Why, what evil hath He done? But they cried out exceedingly, saying, Let Him be crucified. 24 So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it. 25 And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. 26 Then released he unto them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified.”
Golden Text: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) As Jesus stood before the governor, what question did the governor ask? V. 11. (2) How did Jesus reply? Same v. Note 1. (3) How did Jesus treat the accusations of the Jews? V. 12. Note 2. (4) What question did His silence call forth from the governor? V. 13. (5) How did Jesus treat this query? V. 14. (6) How was the governor affected by the prisoner’s silence? Same v. Note 2. (7) What had been the governor’s custom at these annual feasts? V. 15. (8) What notable prisoner was then in custody? V. 16. (9) For what crime was he in prison? Luke 23:19; John 18:40. (10) Whom did Pilate set before the multitude for selection? V. 17. (11) What did he know of the feeling of the rulers toward Jesus? V. 18. (12) What remarkable message came to Pilate as he sat on the judgment-seat? V. 19. Note 3. (13) What did the priests and elders urge the multitude to do? V. 20. (14) What was the result of their persuasion? V. 21. (15) Then what would they have done with Jesus? V. 22. (16) How did the governor express his surprise? V. 23. (17) Then what did the multitude cry? Same v. (18) How did Pilate attempt to throw off the responsibility of putting Jesus to death? V. 24. Notes 4 and 5. (19) What was the answer of the people to this protestation? V. 25. Note 6. (20) When Pilate had released Barabbas, what cruelty did he inflict upon Jesus? V. 26.
NOTES.
1. “Thou sayest.”—That is, thou hast said right, or, thou sayest the truth. In fact, He was the King of all the universe, but He had temporarily laid aside His regal prerogative to become a teacher of righteousness and the Sacrifice for sin. His confession to Pilate might have been taken as corroborative of the charge brought against Him that He assumed to be a king; but Jesus also told the governor that His kingdom was not of this world. His kingship was of a spiritual nature; He was then establishing a kingdom in the hearts of all lovers of truth. See John 18:37.
2. He answered nothing.—About the hardest thing for human nature to bear is to be falsely accused and not reply to it. Few men will bear it without resentment. No wonder the governor, a man of the world—so accustomed to seeing men defend themselves even against the truth—marveled at the silence of Jesus. But Jesus never wrangled with any one; He had exhausted reasonable effort to save His accusers, and nothing more could be done for them.
3. Pilate’s wife’s dream.—The Lord did everything that could be done for the salvation of Pilate, and he passed through a remarkable conflict before he yielded to the enemy of souls and condemned the Just One. The angel of God was sent to the governor’s wife, and, appearing to her in a dream, gave a message of warning for her husband. This message was faithfully delivered in time for him to have escaped the sin of condemning the Saviour of men. But his love of worldly honor overcame his sense of justice, and the golden opportunity to gain eternal life was gone forever. Alas, how many are following his example!
4. “Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing.”—Why could he not prevail?—Because he had yielded point after point, until the Spirit of God, which strove to sustain him, was grieved away, and he was left at the mercy of those whom he should have restrained at the outset. So much for tampering with evil, and yielding to wrong influences to any extent.
5. Pilate washed his hands.—But water could not erase the stain upon his soul caused by judicially consenting to the shedding of innocent blood. Only the blood of Him whom the governor’s own cowardice had permitted to be crucified could wash out that stain.
6. “His blood be on us, and on our children.”—We have here an instance of the desperate lengths to which men will go when they persistently reject the testimony of the Spirit, as given in His Word. We may glean from this some idea of the terrible condition of things on the earth when probation shall have ended, the Spirit of God withdrawn entirely, and men left to themselves to endure the results of their waywardness. See Amos 8:11, 12; Rev. 14:6-11, and chapter 16.
PAUL SHIPWRECKED.
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