Acts Chapter Twenty – Eight
Read Acts 28:1-10
v.1 “AND
WHEN THEY WERE ESCAPED, THEN THEY KNEW THAT THE ISLAND WAS CALLED MELITA.”
Paul and his shipmates have run aground, the ship
destroyed by the waves and cast up on an island. This island of Melita or
v.2 “AND
THE BARBAROUS PEOPLE SHEWED US NO LITTLE KINDNESS: FOR THEY KINDLED A FIRE, AND
RECEIVED US EVERY ONE, BECAUSE OF THE PRESENT RAIN, AND BECAUSE OF THE COLD.”
The people of Melita are called barbarians here by Luke
simply because this was the common terminology used during that period of
history by the Greeks for anyone who did not speak Greek. Those shipwrecked were wet from their need to
swim or make their way to shore on debris from the ship; it was cold and can be
so during a winter storm, even in the
Colossians
v.3 “AND
WHEN PAUL HAD GATHERED A BUNDLE OF STICKS, AND LAID them ON THE FIRE, THERE
CAME A VIPER OUT OF THE HEAT, AND FASTENED ON HIS HAND.”
In their situation, we see Paul making himself
useful, just as many of us might do but; in his case there are
consequences. It’s
winter, it’s raining and comparatively cold and a snake would be somewhat
lethargic in this situation until he felt the heat of the fire. This poisonous snake strikes out of the
bundle of wood and fastens itself on Paul’s hand. We are not told what kind of snake it was and
can only speculate as
v.4 “AND
WHEN THE BARBARIANS SAW THE venomous BEAST HANG ON HIS HAND,
THEY SAID AMONG THEMSELVES, NO DOUBT THIS MAN IS A MURDERER, WHOM, THOUGH HE
HATH ESCAPED THE SEA, YET VENGEANCE [Justice] SUFFERTH NOT TO LIVE.”
The people who see the snake bite Paul jump to the same
conclusion that anyone would who believes that all things happen for a
purpose. Here is this man who has
escaped the shipwreck but before he can even get warm and dry is bitten by a poisonous
snake and is expected to drop dead in just a manner of moments. They believe that this is a result of
“Justice” being served. But that isn’t
what happens.
v.5 “AND
HE SHOOK OFF THE BEAST INTO THE FIRE, AND FELT NO HARM.”
Just as Jesus had promised his disciples, perhaps even
with this incident in mind:
Mark
v.6
“HOWBEIT THEY LOOKED WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE SWOLLEN, OR FALLEN DOWN DEAD SUDDENLY:
BUT AFTER THEY HAD LOOKED A GREAT WHILE, AND SAW NO HARM COME TO HIM, THEY
CHANGED THEIR MINDS, AND SAID THAT HE WAS A GOD.”
Things just aren’t happening the way these people
expect. Paul exhibits no harm, illness
or effect of the snake bite at all. They
wait, probably discussing this phenomena among
themselves, but nothing happens. They
change their minds and become just like those people at Lycaonia when Paul
healed the crippled man:
Acts 14:11
“AND WHEN THE PEOPLE SAW WHAT PAUL HAD DONE, THEY LIFTED UP THEIR VOICES,
SAYING IN THE SPEECH OF LYCAONIA, THE GODS ARE COME DOWN TO US IN THE LIKENESS
OF MEN.”
v.7 “IN
THE SAME QUARTERS WERE POSSESSIONS OF THE CHIEF MAN OF THE ISLAND, WHOSE NAME
WAS PUBLIUS; WHO RECEIVED US, AND LODGED US THREE DAYS COURTEOUSLY.”
Their shipwreck occurred near the headquarters of the ruler
of the island, a man named Publius.
Publius accepts them as guests and provides for them for three days.
v.8 “AND
IT CAME TO PASS, THAT THE FATHER OF PUBLIUS LAY SICK OF A FEVER AND OF A BLOODY
FLUX [dysentery]: TO WHOM PAUL ENTERED IN, AND PRAYED, AND LAID HIS HANDS ON
HIM, AND HEALED HIM.”
The father of the ruler of this island is sick with a
fever and a bloody flux or dysentery, as it is translated in other
versions. Paul is provided the
opportunity to repay Publius for his hospitality and does so, exercising his
power as an apostle of God just as he did in the province of
Acts
We also note that Paul healed this man even though Luke,
who is a physician, a doctor is present as well.
v.9-10 “SO WHEN THIS WAS DONE, OTHERS ALSO, WHICH HAD DISEASES IN THE ISLAND,
CAME, AND WERE HEALED: WHO ALSO HONOURED US WITH MANY HONOURS; AND WHEN WE
DEPARTED, THEY LADED US WITH SUCH THINGS AS WERE NECESSARY.”
As was common throughout the ministry of Jesus, when the
people see that Paul has power over sickness and can heal their diseases they
bring him everyone on the island that has this need. They are very appreciative of his work and
when it comes time for them to leave they provide Paul and his shipmates with
everything that they need. Of course,
they had been left with nothing more than the clothes they had on their backs
when they went overboard from their ship.
Read Acts 28:11-16
v.11 “AND
AFTER THREE MONTHS WE DEPARTED IN A SHIP OF ALEXANDRIA, WHICH HAD WINTERED IN
THE ISLE, WHOSE SIGN WAS CASTOR AND POLLUX [The Twin Brothers].”
They stay on Melita for three months. Time has passed since their departure until
it is now about late February or early March.
Still not the best time to be sailing in the
v.12 “AND
LANDING AT
Syracuse was the chief seaport on the east side of the
island of Sicily, about eighty miles north of Melita, or Malta and a normal
stopping place for ships sailing that route to Italy.
v.13 “AND
FROM THENCE WE FETCHED A COMPASS [made a circuit], AND CAME TO RHEGIUM: AND
AFTER ONE DAY THE SOUTH WIND BLEW, AND WE CAME THE NEXT DAY TO PUTEOLI:”
They “made a circuit”, went around as would be the
literal translation of the Greek. They
apparently didn’t get the south wind that they needed and had to work their way
from
v.14 “WHERE
WE FOUND BRETHREN, AND WERE DESIRED TO TARRY WITH THEM SEVEN DAYS: AND SO WE
WENT TOWARD ROME.”
At the seaport of Puteoli they found brethren, a
situation not unexpected as there had been Christians in
v.15 “AND
FROM THENCE, WHEN THE BRETHREN HEARD OF US, THEY CAME TO MEET US AS FAR AS
APPII FORUM, AND THE THREE TAVERNS: WHOM WHEN PAUL SAW, HE THANKED GOD, AND
TOOK COURAGE.
Paul is treated as a celebrity. One group of brethren come 43 miles from Rome
to Appii Forum and others come 30 miles to a place
called Three Taverns to meet Paul. This
is a great encouragement to him and he was thankful for their support.
v.16 “AND
WHEN WE CAME TO
Luke and the others are still with Paul. Julius, the centurion, completes his mission
and turns the prisoners over to what is called here the “CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD”. Scholars speculate about who this was, some
say it was the captain of the Imperial Guard who protected the Caesars, others
that it was a man that today would be called the chief of police for
Philippians 1:12-13 “BUT I WOULD YE SHOULD UNDERSTAND, BRETHREN, THAT THE THINGS which
happened UNTO ME HAVE FALLEN OUT RATHER UNTO THE FOREMOST OF THE
GOSPEL; SO THAT MY BONDS IN CHRIST ARE MANIFEST IN ALL THE PALACE [throughout
the whole praetorian guard] AND IN ALL OTHER places”
Read Acts 28:17-29
v.17 “AND
IT CAME TO PASS, THAT AFTER THREE DAYS PAUL CALLED THE CHIEF OF THE JEWS
TOGETHER; AND WHEN THEY WERE COME TOGETHER HE SAID UNTO THEM, MEN AND BRETHREN,
THOUGH I HAVE COMMITTED NOTHING AGAINST THE PEOPLE, OR CUSTOMS OF OUR FATHERS,
YET WAS I DELIVERED PRISONER FROM JERUSALEM INTO THE HANDS OF THE ROMANS.”
Paul doesn’t waste much time. After three days, probably the amount of time
required for Paul to find a place to live, he calls together what is called the
chief of the Jews. This would include
the rulers of the synagogues and any elders or heads of prominent families that
lived in
v.18 “WHO,
WHEN THEY HAD EXAMINED ME, WOULD HAVE LET me GO, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CAUSE OF
DEATH IN ME.”
He rehearses the occurrences that we studied in Acts chapters 22, 25 and 26.
He was tried and the Romans could find no reason to put him to death.
v.19 “BUT
WHEN THE JEWS SPAKE AGAINST it, I
WAS CONSTRAINED TO APPEAL UNTO CAESAR; NOT THAT I OUGHT [aught] TO ACCUSE MY
NATION OF.”
Even though the Romans could find no reason to hold him
he was forced by the circumstances to appeal to Caesar. He assures them that he has no intention of
bringing any kind of charges against his countrymen or
v.20 “FOR
THIS CAUSE THEREFORE HAVE I CALLED FOR YOU, TO SEE you, AND TO SPEAK WITH you;
BECAUSE THAT FOR THE HOPE OF
Just as Paul had presented before Herod Agrippa, the
reason that he has been accused of all these terrible crimes, the reason that
the Jewish rulers have tried to condemn him is because of his hope of
glory. The Hope of Israel, the Messiah
that was promised, has come and it is because of Paul’s dedication to Him that he
has been brought him to this state of affairs.
Just as Paul wrote to the Ephesian brethren:
Ephesians 3:1 “FOR THIS CAUSE I PAUL, THE PRISONER OF JESUS
CHRIST FOR YOU GENTILES.”
v.21 “AND
THEY SAID UNTO HIM, WE NEITHER RECEIVED LETTERS OUT OF JUDAEA CONCERNING THEE,
NEITHER ANY OF THE BRETHREN THAT CAME SHEWED OR SPAKE ANY HARM OF THEE.”
They say that they have not heard anything about
Paul. There has been no letters of
condemnation, no communication concerning his charges; no one has come to them
speaking anything against him at all. Of
course, we’re told of no plan for the Jews to pursue Paul to
v.22 “BUT
WE DESIRE TO HEAR OF THEE WHAT THOU THINKEST; FOR AS CONCERNING THIS SECT, WE
KNOW THAT EVERY WHERE IT IS SPOKEN AGAINST.”
These Jews had not heard anything about Paul but they had
heard about the church; but nothing that was good. They call it a sect. In the Greek the word translated sect is the
same source word from which we get the word heresy. The number of Christians in
Acts 18:2
“AND FOUND A CERTAIN JEW NAMED AQUILA, BORN IN PONTUS, LATELY COME FROM ITALY,
WITH HIS WIFE PRISCILLA; BECAUSE THAT CLAUDIUS HAD COMMANDED ALL JEWS TO DEPART
FROM ROME:) AND CAME UNTO THEM.”
These Jews wanted to hear what Paul knew and thought
about Jesus of Nazareth and this sect and this gives him the opportunity to
bring the gospel to them. Of course,
this was not a sect at all but rather the natural progression of God’s plan for
the redemption of mankind. It was
replacement for the covenant given only to a single nation with a covenant that
is now extended to all men, everywhere for all time (Hebrews 8:6-7).
v.23 “AND
WHEN THEY HAD APPOINTED HIM A DAY, THERE CAME MANY TO HIM INTO his
LODGING; TO WHOM HE EXPOUNDED AND TESTIFIED THE KINGDOM OF GOD, PERSUADING THEM
CONCERNING JESUS, BOTH OUT OF THE LAW OF MOSES AND out of THE PROPHETS, FROM
MORNING TILL EVENING.”
Paul takes full advantage of his opportunity. Working from the Mosaic Law and the writings
of the prophets, common ground that they all understood, he expounds, (that
means to explain and convince) them of Jesus Christ. He testifies concerning the
v.24 “AND
SOME BELIEVED THE THINGS WHICH WERE SPOKEN, AND SOME BELIEVED NOT.”
Just as in all other places, some accepted what Paul was
teaching them, some did not. Just as we
encounter today, some will believe but many will not.
v.25 “AND
WHEN THEY AGREED NOT AMONG THEMSELVES, THEY DEPARTED, AFTER THAT PAUL HAD
SPOKEN ONE WORD, WELL SPAKE THE HOLY GHOST BY ESAIAS THE PROPHET UNTO OUR
FATHERS,”
These people were not in agreement, not in harmony. We could possibly even read into this some
emotion, they were like a group of people trying to sing together when they were
all off key but not together. Even
though they heard all of the things prophesied of Jesus the Messiah there were
those who would not believe. Paul then
tells them of the prophesy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10) concerning their
refusal, a prophesy that we encounter other times in the New Testament as Jesus
used it in Matthew
v.26-27
“SAYING, TO UNTO THIS PEOPLE, AND SAY, HEARING YE SHALL HEAR, AND SHALL NOT
UNDERSTAND; AND SEEING YE SHALL SEE, AND NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS
PEOPLE IS WAXED GROSS, AND THEIR EARS ARE DULL OF HEARING, AND THEIR EYES HAVE
THEY CLOSED; LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH their EYES, AND HEAR WITH their
EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH their HEART, AND SHOULD BE
CONVERTED, AND I SHOULD HEAL THEM.”
A literal translation would be that their hearts have
become fat, they were dull, unfeeling, unimpressionable;
they could not be touched. They were
satisfied with their situation as it was and saw no reason to change. This would describe the vast majority of the
people in the world today, both those that are not religious and most who claim
to be such. They do not want to hear,
they do not want to see, they refuse to understand anything except what they
have already perceived as being right for them whether it is right with God or
not.
v.28 “BE IT KNOWN THEREFORE UNTO YOU, THAT THE SALVATION OF GOD IS
SENT UNTO THE GENTILES, AND that THEY WILL HEAR IT.”
Just as Paul and Barnabas told the Jews at Antioch of
Pisidia:
Acts
He now tells the Jews in
v.29 “AND
WHEN HE HAD SAID THESE WORDS, THE JEWS DEPARTED, AND HAD GREAT REASONING AMONG
THEMSELVES.”
This verse is missing from the American Standard
Version. Some scholars think that it was
a margin note that has been added to the text, others include it as part of the
original manuscript. Regardless, it
would be the logical result of their meeting with Paul. Some believed, some didn’t and it would be
natural for them to debate their positions as they leave the meeting place.
Read Acts 28:30-31
v.30-31
“AND PAUL DWELT TWO WHOLE YEARS IN HIS OWN HIRED HOUSE, AND RECEIVED ALL THAT
CAME IN UNTO HIM, PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND TEACHING THOSE
THINGS WHICH CONCERN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WITH ALL CONFIDENCE, NO MAN
FORBIDDING HIM.”
Thus we have the end of the history of the first century
church and the spread of the gospel to the world known to man at that
time. Paul was allowed to maintain his
own house, hired or rented for a price.
We know that the epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and
the letter of Philemon were written during this two year period. We know that Luke, Timothy, Epaphras, Mark,
Aristarchus and Tychicus were with him at various times but we don’t know much
more than that. He continued to preach
the gospel of Jesus Christ to any and all that would come to him and
listen. He was not allowed the
opportunity to travel and we don’t know whether there was any restriction
keeping him from moving about the city or not, the scripture just doesn’t tell
us. Luke records that none stopped or
restrained him from his teaching and preaching.
Luke has completed his purpose in writing to Theophilus; he has
completed the purpose given by the Holy Spirit and so ends his writing. Paul’s history does not end here, however.
History and other writers tell us of his being released,
preaching the gospel for a number of years, even going as Clemens records “to
the boundary of the West”. In the