“Acts 28:1-10”

Thursday, February 25, 2016

“When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. They also honored us with many [marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.”

---End of Scripture verses---

All the ship's passengers landed safely, as God had promised they would (Acts 27:22-23), on the island of Malta after their ship was destroyed. Malta, also known as Melita, is located 175 miles south of the mainland of Italy and 425 miles from the city of Rome. It was probably an early Phoenician colony and it served as an important naval station having excellent harbors. It produced cotton, fine fruits and fine honey (melitos), from whence it acquired its name.

The King James Version called the natives of the island “barbarous” (verse 2). This was not an indication that they were uncivilized but that their language was unintelligible to the Romans and the Greeks. These people were very hospitable to Paul; it was his own countrymen that behaved as barbarians toward him. Luke wrote of the kindness of the local natives in verse 2: “Because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.” Paul, being his usual industrious self, grabbed some sticks and joined in the fire-building (verse 3).

When a poisonous snake slithered out of the firewood and latched on to Paul’s hand, the Maltese people saw this as an indication that justice was being served (verse 4). They just knew that this was karma and that, although Paul had escaped the perils of the stormy seas, the Fates would not allow him to elude death. Of course, when Paul shook the critter off showing no signs of ill effects, they then deduced that he must be a god (verse 6).

Isn’t it something how people continuously misjudge things and jump from one conclusion to another? This is a part of “human nature” that hasn’t changed much over the millennia. Please be careful about trying to read “signs” into all the mishaps and misfortunes that we experience in our lives or witness occurring in the world around us. Sometimes stuff just happens (Ecclesiastes 9:1; Luke 13:1-5). Just because a viper bit Paul on the hand, that didn’t mean he was a bad person. And when he walked away unscathed, that didn’t mean he was a god either. It did indicate that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ though, and this miracle was designed to confirm the Gospel which he was preaching (Mark 16:18).

Mark 16:15-18 – “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Tomorrow it's on to Rome! Please read the rest of Acts 28 (verses 11-31).

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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