Acts 28:1-6
The sailors, prisoners and soldiers all escaped the grips of the Euroclydon. After 14 days of being tossed and beaten by the storm they were glad to be on land. This land was the island of Malta. Strangely enough, Malta means "refuge". After 2 weeks of being tossed at sea, you know these folks appreciated the protection and shelter of this place. They were thankful to be alive. The sailors would have known the island of Malta, but they were used to coming to the port on the other side of the island. It was a small island, only 17 miles wide by 9 miles long. They didn't recognize this side of the island. This place later became known as St. Paul's Bay. This is a popular vacation spot now. The island of Malta is one of the most densely populated islands today, especially during tourist season. It's also very rich in history. Every year on February 10, the island celebrates the shipwreck of the apostle Paul.
Malta also has some of the oldest temples in all of Europe. They are stone monoliths still in tact. They date back to 2500 B.C. or older; older than the pyramids and Stonehenge.
If you are like me, when you see the word native you picture some dude with a bone in his nose. And he has a big pot boiling over the fire. And he is having some of these folks over for dinner, or maybe they are the dinner. That's from watching too much Gilligan's Island as a kid. These natives were just the people of Malta. They were folks that made their home on the island. They welcomed the visitors and showed them kindness. It was cold and raining and they built a fire for them to warm themselves. This had to be a pretty good size fire to warm 276 people.
The servant heart of Paul kicked in. He saw an opportunity to serve and went to gather fire wood. As he was laying the wood on the fire, a snake came out of the wood pile and sunk its teeth into his hand. Paul was trying to serve and ended up in another trial. The natives saw the snake bite Paul and came to the conclusion that he was getting what he deserved. They are sure it is a sign and that he must be a murderer. It was their belief that he unjustly escaped the sea, so justice came to shore in the form of a poisonous snake.
The phrase "yet justice does not allow to live "is actually a reference to the Greek goddess of justice, Dikee, the daughter of Zeus. In Greek mythology, Dikee was a goddess of moral justice and worked through circumstances to bring justice. These natives knew of this Greek mythology. They assumed Paul had committed a great crime, and the goddess of justice wouldn't allow Paul to escape unpunished. How does Paul handle the accusation of injustice? For all we know he said nothing. No complaint. He's been through worse things by far. He shook off the accusation just like he shook off the snake, like it was a mild nuisance.
All eyes are on Paul. The Maltans were waiting for him to swell up and drop dead. Paul was sitting by the fire warming his hands. They watched Paul for a while and when he didn't die, they decided he wasn't a murderer after all, instead he must be a god. That's a big change of mind.
It's an interesting fact that there are no poisonous snakes on Malta today. Some folks claim this fact as evidence the story about Paul didn't really happen. The folks at Malta believed it was poisonous and the bible doesn't lie. In addition, maybe the snake came off the ship?
Acts 28:7-10
The leader of that part (maybe all) of the island was this man named Publius. This man showed Paul and company hospitality. During the visit, Paul discovered that the father of Publius was sick. This may have been a common disease called Maltese Fever. This could last from 4 months to years. It was later traced to Maltese Goat milk as the source. Paul was led to lay hands on this man and pray for him and the man was healed.
When everyone heard of this, they brought all the sick and diseased to Paul also. The word 'healed' here is not the same word used for miraculous healing of Publius. The rest of these folks may have been healed by Dr. Luke acting as a missionary doctor. Either way, God had brought them healing.
The people of Malta honored Paul and they were given all they needed as they got ready to set sail.
Acts 28:11-16
Imagine getting on a ship again after their previous harrowing experience. The stay on Malta lasted for 3 months. This was because travel by ship was nearly impossible during that time. When the dangerous season passed, they set sail on an Alexandrian ship. This was probably another ship of the imperial grain fleet. The twin brothers of the figurehead are Castor and Pollux, the sons of Zeus in Greek mythology. They were also known as the Gemini. When sailors saw the Gemini constellation it was thought to be good luck and a good omen. This mention of the Gemini may have been a little wry humor by Luke. They were boarding the good luck ship.
This first phase of the trip to Rome was a seventy-mile jaunt to Syracuse, Sicily. Tradition says that Paul started a church during his 3-day stay there. From Syracuse, to Rhegium, then the south wind blew, and then they were at Puteoli. Puteoli is the main port of Rome. They found some brethren there and stayed with them for 7 days. That was a long seven-day wait to go on into the city, with no indication as to why. Paul had waited a long time to get to Rome. He had to be anxious. Then Luke said, "and so we went toward Rome."
People came from a long way away to see them. The Market of Appius was 43 miles south of Rome. Three Inns was a rest stop on the Appian Way about 30 miles south of Rome. When a king or the emperor came to town it was customary for the crowd to go out and meet them and escort them into the city. That's what these folks were doing. They were treating Paul as a dignitary. They escorted him into the city.
Luke mentioned they arrived in Rome almost in passing. After the long journey and many perils, they were greeted with some modest fanfare but now reality set in. Paul was still a prisoner and he was assigned to Julius. When Julius left Caesarea, he carried the letter that Festus wrote. Paul and the letter were to be presented to Caesar Nero. That letter was never seen after it left Caesarea. It was likely lost at Sea.
Julius delivered Paul to the captain of the guard. But Julius had no letter to give him when he arrived. And by the time they arrived in Rome, Festus had died; no letter, no Festus. This is probably why Paul's hearing before Caesar was delayed.
Acts 28:17-27
Every time Paul went to a city he went to the Jews and to the synagogue first. He didn't change his methods here. He called them together and explained why he was there. Paul called them together to speak with them about the hope of Israel. That would get the attention of any Jew.
When Paul called them together to give his defense, he finds something amazing. They didn't know anything about him; they weren't ready to bring accusations or stone him. He hadn't had this kind of freedom in a long time, even though he stood there in chains.
These men hadn't heard about Paul but they heard about the sect called "The Way". They knew this sect was spoken against everywhere. Christianity had arrived there well before Paul, however it wasn't very widespread or it least it wasn't openly lived out.
Paul told how Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Some of the Jews were persuaded and believed, others disbelieved and this caused disagreement among the Jews. The fact that this was a major source of disagreement is a fulfillment of the scripture Paul quoted. These were the words of Isaiah from chapter 6. Paul said the Holy Spirit had it right when He said this. Paul was telling them if they reject Jesus, they could hear but never understand. They could hear the gospel, hear the word of God but it would never ring true to them because they can't perceive what they hear. Their rejection would cause them to see but not perceive. They could see the power of the Holy Spirit move. They could see Jesus Christ in their culture and history, but they could not perceive it. Their rejection of Jesus would cause a hardening of their heart, because they don't really want to turn to God.
Acts 28:28-30
The word 'Gentiles' was like a trigger to the Jews. This one word caused a great dispute among them. We've seen that over and over in the book of Acts, haven't we? Isn't it strange how mad they got about the gentiles having access or approval or any part in their God?
Paul spent 2 years preaching and teaching from his rented room where he was held prisoner. From there he wrote the letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. And from the rented house, he was able to receive all who came. One example of someone who came was a runaway slave named Onesimus. And Paul sent him back to Philemon with a letter that later became the book of Philemon in your bible.
No one was putting restrictions on Paul, even though he was a prisoner. No one was forbidding him. He had incredible freedom and access to minister. From there, Paul evangelized Rome. No doubt he had the help of Aristarchus and Luke and maybe even Julius, the centurion from the ship.
The book of Acts ends abruptly. It was likely written as a document for the defense of Paul in Rome. Since Jesus told Paul he would stay before the Caesar in Rome, I believe that Paul did. But it doesn't appear there was ever a real hearing or trial. This may well be because there was no letter documenting any charges against Paul. It is believed He was released for some time. Paul later died when he was beheaded as ringleader of the group of Christians in Rome.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:24).
Consider the value of all that we studied in this book. It is only source of a lot of information regarding the Christian life and God working through these original Apostles and disciples.
- The book of Acts gives us the details of the birth of the church.
- We'd know a whole lot less about the works of the Holy Spirit in believers.
- The book provides the timeline and reasoning to match up with Paul's epistles.
- We see Peter ministering with John after the Lord restored him.
- We see him preach the sermon of his life at Pentecost.
- Of Peter's vision and subsequent understanding that the gospel was also for the gentiles.
- We get to see how God changed a Pharisee into a disciple.
©2008, 2014, 2022 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
Facebook