Acts 28

Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 1—16. Paul’s shipwreck at Melita, 1er. Some, however with the learned Jacob Bryant, are of opinion, that this island was Melita in the Adriatic gulf, near Ilyricum; but it may be sufficient to observe, that the course of the Alexandrian ship, first to Syracuse, and then to Rhegium, proves that it was the present Malta, as the proper course. This Melita was the well-known isle of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea; but, a few years since, the very learned and ingenious Jacob Bryant opposed this idea, and strenuously contended, that the Melita here named must intend not Malta, but Meleda, a smaller island in the Adriatic Gulf, or Gulf of Venice; and Prebendary Townsend has presented his objections and arguments in a manner so forcible, that we were about adopting it, till we met with a letter from (Revelation 5)

Daniel Temple, who has lately left the island, after residing there more than two years. His letter we have subjoined in the notes. This has fully inclined us to the former opinion, that Melita was Malta. Several objections, however, have been raised against the tradition, that St. Paul’s Melita is Malta, some of which are obviated in our notes. That which is chiefly insisted on seems to be, that the inhabitants of Malta were at this time far from being ‘‘barbarians,” as here called, Malta being not only a place of trade, but containing elegant buildings and curiosities of art, as well as nature. To this we would reply, that the term barbarous was applied by the Greeks to all who had languages which themselves did not understand; and these were evidently not barbarians in conduct or behaviour.

If we compare with this the case of a vessel wrecked on the coast of Cornwall, only in the last century, and the treatment which the crew would then and there have met with, we fear it would furnish a much stronger argument that Britons were then barbarians, than this history does, that the Maltese were so eighteen centuries before; for we read here of no wreckers flocking to the shore to plunder. As to the argument from vipers being found there, that the country was not yet cleared from wood, we believe that these animals are not even yet extinct in England; but the history before us presents one viper only, and that was thought so extraordinary, that they concluded it must be a visitation from heaven to punish murder.

The people, though heathens, were not savages, but, on the contrary, displayed that kindness and hospitality which would have disgraced the inhabitants of no part of either Italy or Greece. When the strangers landed, they made a fire to warm them, and, as Paul expresses it, ‘‘showed no little kindness.” They were afterwards, at least Paul and his companions, received into the house of Publius, the chief man on the island; and when Paul had cured him of a fever, this brought other sick persons to him with various disorders, and they discovered more gratitude and good sense than the apostle seems to have met with elsewhere—“Who honoured us (saith he) with many honours, and when we departed they laded us with such things as were necessary.”

Here Paul and his companions, as also the centurion and his company, stopped three months, and then sailed towards Rome in the ship Castor and Pollux, (or the sign Gemini in the Zodiac.) By the way, however, they stopped three days at Syracuse, and seven at Puteoli. From thence they went on as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns, (a place so called,) where sundry brethren met them from Rome; “whom, when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage:” and it is well when our Christian intercourse has the happy effect to excite our gratitude toward God, and to animate us in our Christian Paul having arrived at Rome, accompanied by his Christian friends, the centurion who had treated him with the greatest kindness through all his journey, now surrendered him and his fellow-prisoners to the captain of the guard; doubtless, not without a recommendation to his kind attentions.

Indeed, such was the conduct and behaviour of the apostle, and such the gracious protection of his heavenly Master, that wherever he went he appears to have found a friend. In the present instance, Paul was suffered to dwell in his own hired house, under the care of a single soldier, and all his friends were allowed to visit him. Ver. 17—31. Paul appeals to the Jews, and afterwards to the Gentiles.—Paul’s object was one only, wherever he might go. It was to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour of the world, both to Jews and Gentiles. Accordingly, he no sooner arrives at Rome, than he calls together his countrymen, tells them the reason of his coming thither, and the true ground of his being persecuted by his brethren—“For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain!” exhibiting the chain which bound him to a Roman soldier.

This expression, “the hope of Israel,” may be applied both to the person of the Messiah, who was truly “the hope of Israel,” and to the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and especially of Christ, which was the hope for which he had repeatedly been “called in question.” His brethren expressed a readiness to hear him; and accordingly, on an appointed day, came to him at his lodging, when he “testified to them the kingdom of God,” that is, of the Messiah; “persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning until evening.” And the consequence was, as generally has been found, some believed, and others believed not. To the latter he applied the same Scripture (Isaiah vi.

9.) that our Lord had applied to them at Jerusalem, about thirty years before—“The heart of this people is waxed gross,” &c, (see (Matthew 13:14-15);) and in consequence confined his chief attention to the Gentiles. Thus Paul dwelt two years in his own hired house, preaching with all confidence, no man forbidding him. Paul’s arrival in Rome is dated in Bible chronology, in A. D. 63, and by others two years earlier; but his Epistle to the Romans is supposed to have been written in 57 or 58; and even then we hear that their faith was spoken of throughout the world, so that the gospel must have been planted in the capital of the Roman empire at a very early period, though by whom is not recorded.

On Paul’s approaching the city, we find a deputation from the church went out to meet and welcome him, by whom he was much encouraged and refreshed. While here, beside constant preaching, both to Jews and Gentiles, he appears to have written his Epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians; probably that to the Hebrews, and more certainly that to Philemon. His second to Timothy was also written from Rome, but at a later period, and but just before his death.

Notes on the verses

Newton, who was more conversant with nautical affairs than most commentators. See note on ch. xxviii. 1. Ver. 40. Taken up—Margin, “cut”—the anchors, they committed themselves.—Margin, “they left them [the anchors] in the sea.”——Loosed the rudder bands—Or, ‘the bands of the rudders;” for large vessels in ancient times had two or more rudders, which were fastened to the ship by means of bands, or chains, by which they were hoisted out of the water when incapable of being used. ‘These bands being loosed, the rudders would fall into their proper places, and serve to steer the vessel into the creek, which they had in view.——— Hoised—Obsolete, for ‘‘hoisted.”——The mainsail.—So our translators render the Greek word: but Grotius (who contends that the original in ver.

17. signifies the mainmast, and consequently that the mainsail was now gone, ver. 19,) supposes that it was a sail near the fore part of the ship, answering either to what we call the foresail or the jib; which is more in accordance with the account that Stephens has collected from the best autho- Ver. 41. Where two seas met.—Bochart, ‘‘washed on each side by the sea;” meaning an isthmus, or narrow neck of land; but Bryant understands the phrase to refer to a cape, or headland, the natural barrier of a harbour. See Parkhurst in Dithalassos. See note on (Acts 28:1). Ver. 43. Willing to save Paul.—Because Paul was a Roman citizen, and could not be put to death without a trial and condemnation.

Some suppose, that the Centurion had become either a Christian or decidedly favourable to Christianity, and was confident of the innocence of Paul. Doddridge makes the following remark: ‘‘Thus God, for Paul’s sake, not only saved all the rest of the ship’s company from being lost in the sea, but kept the prisoners from being murdered according to the unjust and barbarous proposal of the soldiers, who could have thought of no worse scheme had they been all condemned malefactors, and had these guards, instead of conveying them to their trial, been carrying them to the place of execution. They which could swim—Were commanded first to cast themselves into the sea and get to land; in order either to assist the others who were unable to swim, or, if they were soldiers, to keep a guard over the prisoners.

Ver. 44. Some on boards, &c.—Notwithstanding the revelation made to Paul, ‘that there should be no loss of any man’s life, but of the ship,” ver. 22, and “there shall not a hair fall from the head of any,” ver. 34, still it was incumbent on them to use diligently all the means of safety within their reach. ‘The purposes of God always include the means requisite for the accomplishment of those purposes. It was necessary for the shipmen to remain on board and do their duty in managing the ship, ver. 30 and 31. It was necessary that the 276 persons in the ship should either swim or use the boards and broken pieces, or they would have failed of safety. Dependence upon God does not supersede activity.

But when properly viewed, it is a strong motive to the vigorous performance of all that lies in our power. Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 1. Melita.—Melita, now Malta, is an island in the Mediterranean sea, about fifty miles from the coast of Sicily, towards Africa: and is one immense rock of white soft freestone, twenty miles long, twelve in its greatest breadth, and sixty in circumference. It has alternately been possessed by the Phœnicians, Phenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Goths, Saracens, Sicilians, Knights of St. John, French, and now by the English. ‘The present population, including troops, is 102,000, which, considering that the whole island is little else than a rock, is very large; being 670 to the square mile.

‘* The space that in England supports 152 people and in Holland 224, contains in Malta 1103. The rock is soft and friable; and much of it has been broken up, walled into terraces, and covered with soil, some of which has been imported from Sicily. It is an island of platforms or terraces; ascend a hill, and you look down upon a surface of the richest green; but look up, from the shore, and you see only the gray walls that support the terraces, and Malta seems to be one entire rock. ‘There are many level and fertile spots, but the enclosures are small and the walls high. ‘The fields seem at a distance little larger than pounds, in that pleasant country where there are pounds and field-drivers.

The roads are mere lanes, generally too narrow for two carriages to pass abreast, and when one enters, a horn is sounded to keep others out: but most of the roads are too rough for wheels.”—Modern Traveller. From the Illyrian Melita would have been first to Rhegium, before it reached Syracuse, which indeed it need not have gone to at all. On the identity of this with Malta, we subjoin the following letter, extracted from the New York Observer of August 21, 1824. “My dear Christian Brother—You will perhaps think it strange, that I should reside more than two entire years in this island, without once visiting, during that period, the spot where it is supposed the apostle to the Gentiles was shipwrecked. A few days ago, for the first time, I visited what is here called ‘St.

Paul’s Bay,’ distant from Valetta, the principal city in the island, about six miles. In reading the account of the apostle’s shipwreck as it is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, I have always encountered difficulties which I could not overcome. The difficulty of understanding this account, is much greater in our English translation than in the original. In the English, we hear of their ‘falling into a place where two seas met;’ the original is (eis topon dithalasson) a place washed on both sides by the sea. On the N. W. side of St. Paul’s Bay, there is a tongue of land extremely rocky, that extends half a mile, perhaps, or more, into the sea, in a direction from S. W. to N. E. This, of course, is washed on both sides, as often as the wind blows from the east, or N.

E., which was anciently called Euroclydon, but at present Gregale. The sea, brought in by this wind, dashes upon the point of this tongue of land, is divided, and sweeps along on both its sides. Upon this point the natives say the vessel struck, and its present appearance renders this opinion highly probable to my own mind, though others might think differently. The vessel struck upon the rocks, probably, for I saw no sand near the place, and I believe there is none. ‘Our translation informs us, that they discovered ‘a certain creek with a shore.’ This language, to me, conveys no idea. A creek without a shore would be a paradox. Who ever saw a creek without two shores? The original is not attended by this difficulty.

They discovered a certain gulf, or bay, having a shore or a convenient landing place. Such in reality is the bay of St. Paul. It can be distinctly and easily seen from the ocean, that this bay has a good and convenient shore for landing, while many other parts of the island present to the ocean a bold and appalling shore, where it would be totally impracticable, if not impossible, to land, especially during a storm. “The depth of water in this bay is not great, for you can distinctly see the bottom when half a mile, or more, from the land; and as you approach the land the depth is gradually diminished, until you would imagine that it were possible to wade, while you are several rods distant from the shore.

The bottom is solid rock, and not sand. The bay extends inland, I should think, (for we did not measure it,) at least a mile, and probably considerably farther, and is, perhaps, half a mile in width. “There is a small church standing on the spot where it is said the apostle gathered the bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, whence the viper came forth and fastened on his hand. A bundle of sticks might easily be gathered now near the same spot, from the branches of fig trees, carob trees, and other small trees, growing within the neighbouring enclosures. “Our visit to this bay was by water, and from nearly the same direction in which the apostle probably was driven by the furious Euroclydon.

This bay so well answers to the description given in the Acts, of the place where Paul was wrecked, that I can entertain no doubt that it is the same. It has certainly all the prominent features of the place, where the pen of inspiration informs us, the ship which bore the apostle was broken in pieces by the violence of the waves. I am not aware, that any other place is pointed out in the island, where that remarkable event is supposed to have happened. “If we reflect on the miraculous preservation of the whole company on board, amounting to 276 persons, wrecked in a tremendous storm upon an unknown coast, the preservation of the apostle from the mortal bite of the viper, and the succeeding miracles which he afterwards wrought in the island, thus exciting universal attention, it seems to me highly probable, and almost certain, that the spot where he was wrecked would be ever afterwards well known.

“The holy apostle and his shipwrecked companions have gone, ages ago, to their long home; the vipers, which then infested the island, have long since disappeared; but every winter hears still the loud roar of the fierce Euroclydon, and the shores feel the terrible shock of the mountain waves which it sets in motion;—but, alas! though the same winds still blow, and the same ocean still roars, the same gospel which Paul preached, is preached here no longer; the same Saviour whom he adored, I fear, is known and adored only by a very few. After reading this short description of St. Paul’s Bay, and then glancing at the present state of the island, you will unite, I trust, with me, in praying, that God would send hither another apostle, holy and zealous as Paul, to preach again the unsearchable riches of Christ, as the natives believe Paul did, when he was sent by Divine Providence to visit this island eighteen hundred years ago.

I remain your very affectionate brother, D. TEMPLE.” Ver. 2. The barbarous people.—Bar, a Chaldee word, which signifies without. Whence Bar, a stranger, or one of another country. In the Samaritan version it is Bari, a foreigner: so that the word being doubled, as Barbari, denotes a great foreigner. ‘The inhabitants of this island, according to Bochart, were originally a colony of Phœnicians, or Carthaginians, and had still their ancient language in use, which, though mixed with some Greek and Latin words, was unintelligible to the Greeks, who called all barbarians whose language was unintelligible.—Orient. Lit. No. 1459. Ver. 3. A viper.—The most venomous and fatal of all serpents, and thought by the ancients to be sent by heaven to punish the most enormous crimes.

Ver. 4. Beast.—Rather, animal, or creature. Ver. 6. Said that he was a god.—But it seems an unlucky conjecture of Grotius and Whitby, that they took him for Hercules, since he was a man of small stature, and weak bodily frame. We should rather have guessed Apollo, or Mercury, as in ch. xiv. 12. Ver. 10. Who honoured us with many honours—That is, bestowed many gifts upon us: “Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy words shall come to pass, we may do thee honour?” that is, may give thee a gift or do thee honour with some gift. See also (Numbers 22:16). and (1 Timothy 5:3).—Lightfoot. Ver. 11. Whose sign—i. e. the name of the vessel, which was generally dedicated to some deity.

Ver. 12. Syracuse.—[Syracuse was the capital of Sicily, situated on the eastern side of the island, 72 miles S. by E. of Messina, and about 112 of Pao. In its ancient state of splendour, it was twenty-two and a half miles in extent, according to Strabo, and such was its opulence, that, when the Romans took it, they found more riches in it, than they did at Carthage.]—B. “Syracuse is built on the extremity of a point of land, (the ancient island of Ortygia,) the neck of which is so fortified that to go out we passed seven gates. Without the gates is the place of the old cities, which had 1,200,060 people, but of which there is now hardly one stone upon another. The plough has not passed over them, for the Sicilians have too little to do with that venerable implement; but the goats browse among them.

Two or three columns have been raised, (I think,) and now stand upon their bases. Wherever the earth is turned up, coins, medals, or statues, are found; and old coins may be had for about their value as copper.” —Modern Traveller. Ver. 13. Rhegium.—Rhegium, now Reggio, was a maritime city and promontory in Italy, opposite Messina.—Puteoli—Now, Pozzuoli, is an ancient sea-port of Campania, in the kingdom of Naples, about eight miles S. W. of that city, standing on a hill in a creek opposite to Baiae.—Bagster. Ver. 14. Tarry with them seven days.—St. Paul and the rest abide at Puteoli (a city, a very great mart-town, where there are havens for ships made by art and labour) seven days, at the entreaty of the Christians of that place: which redounded to the credit of the Centurion, whose leave must be been obtained in that case: so that his yielding so far may somewhat argue, that he favoured Christianity.—Lightfoot.

Ver. 15. Appii Forum, and The Three Taverns.—The former was a market in the Appian Way, both which received their names from the Appian family; and probably a fish-market, like Billingsgate, from its being chiefly inhabited by watermen; as “The Three Taverns,” by publicans or innkeepers. Neither place was far from Rome, but The Three Taverns nearest. Via Appia and Appii Forum are much spoken of in authors; but the mention of the three taverns is not so frequent. There is mention, in Zosimus, of the three victualling houses; where Severus the emperor was strangled by the treason of Maximianus Herculius, and Maxentius his son.—Lightfoot. Ver. 16. Rome.—Rome, the capital of Italy, and once of the whole world, is situated on the banks of the Tiber, about 16 miles from the sea; 410 miles S.

S. E. of Vienna, 6008. E. of Paris, 730 E. by N. of Madrid, 760 W. of Constantinople, and 780 S. E. of London.—Bagster.—The captain of the guard.—Doddridge, ‘the prefect (or captain) of the pretorian band.” It was customary for prisoners who were brought to Rome to be delivered to the prefect or commander of the pretorian cohorts, who had the charge of the state prisoners; as appears from the instance of Agrippa, who was taken into custody by Macro, the pretorian prefect who conspired with Sejanus.—U7 tent, Cust. No. 1331.—To dwell by himself.—Doddridge, ‘‘to dwell apart from the other prisoners, in a house of his own.”——With soldier—i. e. chained to one. See note on ch. xxvi. 29. Ver. 20. This chain—(That is, the chain with which he was bound to the “soldier that kept him,”

(ver. 16;) a mode of custody which Lardner has shown was in use among the Romans. It is in exact conformity, therefore, with the truth of St. Paul’s situation at this time, that he declares himself to be “an ambassador in a chain,” ((Ephesians 6:20);) and the exactness is the more remarkable, as a chain is nowhere used in the singular number to express any other kind of custody.)—Bagster. Ver. 25. Well spake the Holy Ghost, &c.—This passage from (Isaiah 6:9-10), is quoted in the New Testament oftener than any other—six times; namely, in each of the gospels, here, and in ch. xi. 8; yet in such variety of expression, as proves the apostles did not confine themselves exactly either to the words of the original, (Hebrew,) or the Greek version.

Ver. 30. In his own hired house.—‘Lardner proves from Ulpian, that the CONCLUDING REMARKS (THE Acts of the Apostles is a most valuable portion of Divine Revelation; and, independently of its universal reception in the Christian church as an authentic and inspired production, it bears the most satisfactory internal evidence of its authenticity and truth. It is not a made up history: the language and manner of every speaker are different; and the same speaker is different in his manner according to the audience he addresses. St. Luke’s long attendance upon St. Paul, and his having been an eye-witness of many of the facts which he has recorded, independently of his divine inspiration, render him a most respectable and credible historian; and his medical knowledge, for he is allowed to have been a physician, enabled him both to form a proper judgment of the miraculous cures which were performed by St.

Paul, and to give an authentic and circumstantial detail of them. ‘The plainness and simplicity of the narrative are also strong circumstances in its favour. The writer evidently appears to have been very honest and impartial; and to have set down, very fairly, the objections which were made to Christianity, both by Jews and Heathens, and the reflections which were cast upon it, and upon its first preachers. He has likewise, with a just and honest freedom, mentioned the weaknesses, faults, and prejudices, both of the Apostles and their converts. There is also a great and remarkable harmony between the occasional hints dispersed throughout St. Paul’s epistles, and this history; so that the Acts is the best clue to guide us in studying the Epistles of that Apostle.

‘The other parts of the New Testament are likewise in perfect unison with this history, and tend greatly to confirm it; and the doctrines and principles are every where the same. ‘The Gospels close with a reference to those things recorded in the Acts, particularly the promise of the Holy Spirit, which we know from this history, was poured out by Christ upon his disciples after his ascension; and the Epistles of the other Apostles, as well as those of St.

Paul, plainly suppose, that these facts had actually occurred which are related in the Acts of the Apostles. So that the history of the Acts is one of the most important parts of the Sacred History; for, without it, neither the Gospels nor Epistles could have been so clearly understood; but, by the aid of it, the whole scheme of the Christian Revelation is set before us in a clear and easy view. Lastly, even the incidental circumstances mentioned by St. Luke, correspond so exactly, and without any previous view of such correspondence, with the accounts of the best ancient historians, both Jews and Heathens, that no person who had forged such a history in later ages, could have had the same external confirmation; but he must have betrayed himself by alluding to some customs or opinions which have since sprung up, or by misrepresenting some circumstance, or using some phrase or expression not then in use.

The plea of forgery, therefore, in later ages, cannot be allowed; and, if St. Luke had published his history at so early a period, when some of the Apostles, and many other persons concerned in the transactions, were alive, and his account had not been true, he would have exposed himself to an easy confutation, and certain infamy. Since, therefore, the Acts of the Apostles are in themselves consistent and uniform; the incidental relations agreeable to the best historians that have come down to us; and the main facts, supported and confirmed by the other books of the New Testament, as well as by the unanimous testimony of the ancient fathers, we may justly conclude, that if any history of former times deserves credit, the Acts of the Apostles ought to be received and credited; and, if the history of the Acts of the Apostles be true, Christianity cannot be false.]—Bagster.

Ver. 11. Some spiritual gift.—This refers probably to a miraculous gift. See (1 Corinthians 12:1-9); xiv. 1, 12. Ver. 12. By the mutual faith both of you and me.—A pious soul, says Calvin, refuses not to seek confirmation even from mere beginners in knowledge. There is none so poor in the church of Christ, that he cannot add to our stores. We are hindered by pride from availing ourselves of this advantage. Ver. 13. But was let—i. e. hindered. Ver. 16. For it is.—Coz, Boothroyd, &c., ‘‘Because it is,” &c. Ver. 17. For therein is the righteousness, &c.—Macknight, ‘“For the righteousness of God by faith is revealed in it, in order to (produce) faith,” &c. ‘The righteousness of God is the justification or pardoning mercy bestowed on sinners who are under the curse of the divine law.—The just shall live by faith.—This appears to be quoted from (Habakkuk 2:4), and very nearly corresponds with the reading of the LXX. To “live by” (or ‘from,” Gr. ek) faith, implies, that the righteous (or justified) man derives his safety here, and his salvation hereafter, from his faith in God. Ver. 18. Who hold the truth in unrighteousness.—The original verb means either to gain hold, or to keep hold; and the latter, sometimes in the sense of keeping back, or withholding. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). See Parkhurst in Katecho. The heathen did retain, in the works of nature, a sufficient proof of the Divine Providence to render their infidelity inexcusable, and still more so their vices; and those vices also did withhold, or restrain the progress of the truth. Doddridge, “restrain.”

Macknight, “confine.” “Who hinder the truth by unrighteousness.” —Prof. Stuart. The Apostle here particularly designates the heathen as hindering the truth by unrighteousness. Ver. 19. In them.—Macknight, “‘among them.” So Doddridge. Ver. 20. The invisible, &c.—Macknight, “His invisible things, even his eternal power,” &c. ‘God,’ says Aristotle, “who is invisible to every mortal, is seen by his works.” Ver. 24. Gave them up.—See (Genesis 6:3). Ver. 26. Gave them up unto vile affections—‘Those unnatural crimes, which are now considered most scandalous, and most severely punished when discovered, so far from being prohibited by the religion and laws of the heathen, were authorized in both, and avowedly practised by persons of the greatest celebrity among them.”—Cox.

See also Macknight. Many of the heathen philosophers represent virtue and vice as the mere creatures of statute and