Acts 28:1-10--Paul on Malta

Acts 28:1-10
English Standard Version

Paul on Malta
28 After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

​7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

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Everyone either swam ashore or made it to shore on pieces of driftwood, just like we saw Paul told them would be the case last time.  They eventually found out that they had landed on the island of Malta, just south of Sicily and east of Tunisia in the Mediterranean Sea.  They are almost to Italy where they were trying to get to.  The sailors had apparently never seen this small island before, but the native people showed great kindness to the ship's crew, the soldiers, the captives, and Paul's companions.  It began to rain and was cold so that if it had not been for the help for the native people, it is likely that some of the would have succumbed to the elements.  The native people helped them build a fire to stay warm and dry off.  Paul was tending to the fire putting another bundle of sticks in it to add fuel to the fire when a viper came out of the sticks and bit Paul on the hand.  Luke tells us that it was because of the heat that the snake was attracted to that it struck out at Paul's hand assuming it was some kind of prey, and the text also tells us that the native people interpreted this as some kind of sign that Paul must have been some kind of terrible criminal (remember this was a prisoner transport), perhaps even a murderer, that was worthy of death.  Paul was indeed a murderer worthy of death, but Jesus had made Paul into a new person and forgiven him, and Paul indeed was going to die, but not because of any murder he had committed--he would die for the sake of the gospel.

Mark 16:18 comes to mind here as Jesus made a special promise to the apostles before He left and as Jesus also made Paul to be an apostle, then this promise was meant for Paul as well, but I'm not sure we can all claim this promise for ourselves today in the way that the "snake handler" Christians in Appalachia have come to interpret this verse where they will intentionally handle poisonous snakes and drink poison as a test of someone's faith.


Mark 16:14-20
English Standard Version

The Great Commission
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

​19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

The natives and I'm sure the other passengers from the ship were all waiting for Paul to swell up and die from the viper's bite, but that did not happen, so they changed their minds about him and now imagined him not to be a murderer worth of death, but some kind of god that needed to be worshiped.  This would not be the first time that Paul had to stop people from worshiping him as a god.  Remember Paul's first missionary journey when he got to Lystra in the province of Lycaonia? Paul and Barnabas healed a man that had been crippled from birth and they were mistaken for Zeus and Hermes because the people understood that only a god could do miracles like this (they were pagan people that did not believe in the one true God, but they understood that this was outside the will or power of any mortal man).  In the same way the natives of Malta understood that this was a miracle.

The islanders took Paul and those with him to the chief man of the island, Publius,  who housed them and took care of them for three days, and then they find out that his father was sick with a fever and dysentery.  Paul visited Publius's father and prayed for him and laid hands on him and he was healed.  Then all the people of the island heard about it and all of them with diseases also came and were cured.  The text doesn't tell us that Paul shared the gospel with them, but we know Paul and he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to share Christ with anyone.  He would know that he was sent to these people and these signs would have confirmed it.  So then the people seemed to feel indebted to Paul and those with them so that they cared well for them giving them everything they needed.  The text doesn't mention where the ship came from that rescued--only that it was time for them to set sail which is consistent with how Luke and Paul have been talking about this event.  This is all about God's timing and His purposes and once His purposes were fulfilled, then it was time for them to move on and be obedient to the next thing that God had planned for them, even if that next thing was to stand before Caesar and possibly be put to death.