The mid-eighteenth century was a remarkable time, and what happened to the British Warship "The Wager" is a truly interesting story that, as usual, leaves us thinking.
Coming into Capernaum wasn't what a certain centurion had in mind when he woke up that morning. All was well with him and his family; well, that was what he thought. The day became interesting for him, his family, and, of course, his servant. You can read about it in Matthew 8:5-13
The day also started well for the crew and the captain of The Wager. All was going OK. The ship was great and interesting, and everyone loved it, except, of course, all those poor sailors that had been grabbed off the street and shoved in the ship's hold. Hard to imagine.
The beautiful ship The Wager had set sail during the war between Britain and Spain, and it got all caught up and had to join the huge struggle over the differing trading routes. These routes had allowed the best possible way into the markets of what was known at that time as the Americas.
The Wager ended up as part of a squadron commanded by the greatly admired Admiral George Anson. Anson had a top-secret mission to sneak down around Cape Horn and capture a Spanish Galleon which apparently was carrying heaps of riches that had been stolen from lots of people and pilgrims making their way across the 'new world.'
BUT.... It was not all smooth sailing for Captain Anson and the miserable crew who had been forced aboard the ship. It was apparently doomed!
The Centurion in the Bible had apparently woken that morning to see his servant desperately ill. Must have been a nice boss of the home, or the servant must have been so well-liked. Either way, the bloke took off and met Jesus and fell down at his feet and asked him to heal his servant. He said, "My servant lies at home paralysed and suffering terribly."
A lot of the crew on The Wager were struggling horribly, and many of them were dying of scurvy. To combat scurvy, all that was needed was some citrus, and when they stopped at St Catherine to gather supplies, there was an abundance of limes - the cure - which was an unforbidden fruit
The poor, miserable crew of The Wager continued to suffer terribly. They were struck by what we would term a disastrous storm. Here were the sailors, pretty much all guys kidnapped and shoved into the ship's hold, and suddenly pretty much consumed by a monstrous storm.
The Wager wasn't meant for huge and disastrous weather, and even though the lieutenant Robert Baynes warned the captain that they were headed in the wrong direction, the captain, David Cheap, told him to get below and not take over the captaincy of the ship, and to keep his big mouth shut.
The lieutenant was right, and even though he knew that, he went down below and did what he was told. The ship was struggling through the night in probably one of the more violent storms. It ran aground on a deserted island off Chile in the year 1741.
Poor old David Cheap, with his shoulder all out of joint after the ship was wrecked, insisted he retain command after the horrible mistake he made, and here the survivors found themselves starving and freezing cold.
Jesus told the Centurion he thought he was a very special person to bring him the bad news about his servant and told him to go home; and, believe it or not, the Centurion did just that. At that moment, Jesus said the Centurion's servant was healed. The Centurion didn't really feel his home was up to having the very Son of God enter into his abode. Quite the miracle had happened, and well worth the read.
It's an amazing miracle of Jesus, and you should give it a read. It really makes you think of just how powerful Jesus was and still is.
The miracle of Jesus made me think of the sailors on The Wager. They were in total awe of the weather, and at that stage they were in total awe of the captain. Things did change quite dramatically.
On the island off Chile, it was freezing cold, and many of the sick died during the night from the freezing temperatures. Some found a cave and survived, while others were left in the freezing cold and the pouring rain. The few that remained had nothing to eat and were still suffering from Scurvy. All they could possibly find on the island to eat was wild and sour lemons, which they had to eat. Amazingly, because of the vitamin C that had caused the scurvy, many found themselves feeling so well after everything they had been through.
The Gunner at that time, John Bulkeley, grabbed all of the crew and gave his thoughts about Captain Cheap. he told them he thought Cheap was tyrannical, and he believed that because he caused the ship's destruction, they should strip him of his authority, and so they did. Cheap ended up shooting a senior member of the crew because he suspected him of mutiny.
Very long story cut short - they made up a big boat out of planks they could find and anything else, and it took them a long time, but they sailed off and left David Cheap and his few followers there on the island.
David Cheap and his few followers did the same, and both made-up boats got to England so many years later - so many sailors died on the voyage, and many were so thin and sickly that a lot died after they reached England.
There was a court-martial, and all the different accounts from all the survivors were presented to the court by those who finally made it home. There were very few who did. There was eventually an anticlimactic acquittal for everyone involved. Amazing really. You must read the book - it is mind-altering. Sadly, Captain David Cheap was promoted to lead other ships. Incredible!
Jesus himself was the master of miracles, and he still is. I know because he made a miracle out of my life. I was so far away from him, and I had really no intention of becoming one of his followers. Like the captain of the ship and those following him, he felt he was in charge of everything. Not just the lives of others but everything on earth.
Things change so dramatically if you give your life to Christ. If those poor seamen at that time had followed Jesus, they would be in Heaven right now. Sure, life would still have been horrific while on that dastardly voyage, but they would have known the end from the beginning of their lives.
Coming to God in prayer is vitally important - it is definitely through the passages of prayer that Jesus comes into your life and changes you entirely. God will absolutely answer your prayer when you ask him to come into your life and lead you.
Sometimes when we come to God in prayer and ask him for all sorts of things, his answer to us could be no, and not the answer we may have been expecting. Probably not what we can envisage. Like our guys on board of THE WAGER, they certainly would have been expecting a big yes from God when those who believed in him prayed. God's answer could be a firm no.
It is so different when we first ask God to come into our lives and lead us to salvation. All of us can come and ask him to lead us, and he definitely will. As long as we come to him and truly, by faith, ask him to lead us and to be in charge of our lives. Making him and keeping him first in our life in every situation in which we find ourselves.
In the Bible, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul describes how he asked God to heal him three times, and he felt that God answered his prayer in a much different way than what he imagined. God answered Paul when He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"
God's way of answering our prayers can be different from what we expect, but He will always answer our prayers.
Come to Christ and ask Him to lead you, putting Him first in everything you do and everywhere you go.
God bless you this week. Hope to see you next time.
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