Acts 28: 1 – 31
Unusual kindness
28 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3 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 on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. 7 In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. 10 They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. 11 After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island. 12 And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. 13 From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli, 14 where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. 15 And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. 16 Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. 17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, 18 who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. 19 But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. 20 For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” 21 Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.” 23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. 24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. 25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; 27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”’ 28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. 30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
Have you ever experienced unusual kindness? Are you aware that there is a day dedicated just for these extraordinary acts of kindness, love and compassion by ordinary people? November 13th is World Kindness Day!
We all would like to experience unusual kindness but have we ever done this to others? IF you ever wanted to do these acts than you can get started in showing kindness by practicing hospitality.
To get started here are a few scripture passages to inspire and teach you God’s thoughts on this subject;
Romans 12:9-13, “9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
1 Peter 4, “8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[c] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.’
Hebrews 13, “Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
By definition, ‘hospitality’ is the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. In the New Testament, the Greek word philoxenia is the word used for hospitality, and it is made up of the word philos, which means, “loving”, and the word xenos, which means, “a stranger or a guest”. So the biblical definition of hospitality is showing love to strangers and guests. You might notice that all three of our passages mention hospitality in the context of loving one another. Biblical hospitality is concerned with more than a beautifully presented meal and engaging after-dinner entertainment. It is concerned with seeking to love others by serving them.
We should show hospitality because all Christians are commanded to do so in the Scriptures. It is one of our means of showing Christian love to believers and unbelievers alike.
We should show hospitality because we have been shown the ultimate act of hospitality by God. While we were yet sinners – strangers to His holiness, alienated from Him because of our sin – He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who died so that we might be invited into His family. God opened His home to us and we did not deserve it! It is only fitting that we, in turn, reflect this grace as we interact with others and exemplify the love of Christ to them.
If we look at the three passages above, we can see that we are to be hospitable to one another as saints, but as has already been indicated, it does not say that we are to be hospitable only to people we know. In these busy times, we often find it hard to show hospitality even to our closest friends and relatives, but we are called as Christians to do more than that – we are called to show hospitality to strangers – people we don’t know very well, if at all. Does this bind us to extend a dinner invitation to every person we encounter in the course of our day? -Of course not. That would not be possible, practical, wise, or necessary. But it does mean that we should be open and intentional about being hospitable to the people we meet. It means being willing to invite people over when they need a meal or a conversation, even if it’s not the most convenient time. It means being ready to invite a visitor who is new to the church home for lunch with you. It means thinking creatively about how you might be able to meet even a small need in someone else’s life in a way that is meaningful to them. In the Bible, we see many examples of hospitality shown to fellow believers, unbelievers, widows, orphans, the poor and needy, missionaries, foreigners, and travelers. We may not be presented with opportunities to show hospitality to people in every one of these categories, but we should be thinking about who we can serve. Hospitality offers us a wonderful opportunity to show Christ’s love to a broken world.
We should practice hospitality without grumbling? This may be the hardest part! How often do we find ourselves struggling to serve others cheerfully? The command to be hospitable is unconditional. It does not say, “Show hospitality if you have time….or, if it is convenient….or, if you have a big enough house…or, if you have a complete set of matching dishes.” We are called to be hospitable no matter who we are and no matter what our circumstances are, AND we are to do it without complaining.
The opposite of complaining is gladness – the willingness to cheerfully accept the inconvenience, labor, and cost of hospitality. Hospitality is a form of giving, and “God loves a cheerful giver” which is taught in the book of 2 Corinthians 9:7 I do not know about you but I need to ask God to give me a cheerful spirit as I want to practice hospitality. Certainly the ministry with its inconveniences can easily rattle our grumbling bones. Hospitality demands old fashioned word. It may be costly and inconvenient. It is time consuming. It places strain on the family. Sometimes guests abuse their Christian brothers and sisters hospitality. And during times of persecution, hospitality can even be dangerous.
Hospitality, therefore, is a concrete, down-to-earth test of our fervent love for God and His people. Love can be an abstract, indistinct idea; hospitality is specific and tangible. We seldom complain about loving others too much, but we do complain about the inconveniences of hospitality. Hospitality is love in action. Through caring acts of hospitality, the reality of our love is tested.
Today we are going to see a perfect example of strangers showing unusual kindness. It is given to people you most likely want to stay away from. It is given to prisoners.
28 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta
Once ashore having escaped the sea they learned that the island on which they had landed was Malta. Malta, also called Melita (meaning refuge) which it was for many a sailor, lies about 60 miles south of the island of Sicily, and about 500 miles west of Crete. It is 18 miles long and 8 miles wide. The people who inhabited it in Paul’s day were of Phoenician origin.
2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.
There the people of the island welcomed them with extraordinary kindness, coming out into the appalling weather and kindling a fire for them to gather round as an antidote to the rain and the cold. Many from the boat would be suffering from hypothermia. The fire was literally a lifesaver.
There can be no doubt that God had landed the passengers in the right place. On other beaches they might have found people waiting to kill them as they landed so as to collect their possessions, or people so eager to gather the wood coming in from the vessel that they had not time to care for the desperate. But here all was kindness. Even the hearts of the people had been prepared.
3 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 on his hand. 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
The able ones among the rescued no doubt busied themselves in doing what they could for the others. And as usual Paul was busy seeking to serve, and he assisted by gathering a bundle of sticks, laying them on the fire. But then a snake came out as he tossed them on the fire. It had been comatose in the cold, but disturbed by the heat, fastened itself on Paul’s hand.
4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”
It was of a type known to the islanders to be venomous, and the inhabitants of the island looked meaningfully at one another, and said that he must be a murderer who, even though he had escaped the sea, Justice would not allow to live.
There seems little doubt that Luke sees this incident as symbolic. To all Christians the snake represented Satan who was seeking to destroy Paul, but failing (as he had in the storm). As Jesus Himself had said, ‘Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you’ (Luke 10.19). The Enemy had once again attacked, and had failed. Thus was indicated that the conqueror of Satan was on his way to Rome, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, and Satan was powerless to do anything about it.
6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
The island citizens, however, stood around watching him and waiting for the signs of the poison to reveal take effect, expecting him to swell up and die at any moment. But when after some time nothing had happened, they changed their minds about him and decided that he was a god.
7 In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.
While they were there Paul learned that Publius’, the leading official on the island, father was ill with intermittent fever and dysentery and he went to his sick room and prayed, laying his hands on him and healing him. The power of the name of Jesus has come to Malta.
The prayer before the laying on of hands is mentioned in 6.6. Here it was necessary so that a people who thought that Paul was a god would recognize the true source of healing power.
9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. 10 They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.
The natural result of this was that many people on the island brought their sick and they were all healed. And as a result the people honored them with many honors. They were received with complete acceptance and treated with great respect.
We now witness the continued trip of Paul as he is now rapturously welcomed as he approaches Rome with the Christian’s equivalent of the emperor’s Triumph being granted to him. First at Puteoli, then at the Appii Forum and then at The Three Taverns he is greeted with joy before taking up residence in his own private residence. One of God’s Witnesses of the resurrection has come to Rome to establish the Kingdom of God.
11 After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island. 12 And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. 13 From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli,
Three months were spent in Malta. No ship would put to sea over those three winter months. But there was a grain ship from Alexandria wintering in the island. Its figurehead was the Twin Brothers (Castor and Pollux - the ‘sons of Zeus’). Luke no doubt saw it as ironic that the sons of Zeus should carry to Rome the greatest opponent of Zeus in the Roman Empire. So they went aboard and set sail, arriving at Syracuse, on the east coast of Sicily, where they lingered a few days. This may have been because of the weather, or because of something needed aboard ship, or because of a small extra cargo being unloaded.
After this they had to take an indirect route to Rhegium on the toe of Italy, because of the weather, but then a south wind sprang up and they were able to sail for Puteoli, 180 miles up the coast.
14 where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.
Sailing time was good and on the second day they arrived at Puteoli which competed with Ostia as the main grain terminal for Rome. There they found a group of Christians and were heartily welcomed among them for ‘seven days’, a period of joy and bliss. This meant that they could spend time with them both the Sabbath day and the first day of the week, celebrating together the Lord’s Supper. So having started off with a seven day stay at Troas so long ago at the commencement of his ‘journey’ (to Rome via Jerusalem) he now experiences the same thing at the end. All is well. God has not changed.
Luke does not explain how this seven days was managed, for after all Paul was a prisoner. But Paul was now the hero of the shipwreck and may well have been given some license. It may, however, be that on arrival at his destination the centurion had some formalities to complete which necessitated a seven day wait. Possibly arrangements had to be made for the disposal of the prisoners. This was the Rome terminal. Or possibly their papers had been lost at sea, necessitating further instructions
The statement ‘And so we came to Rome is not a travel description, but a triumphant eulogy. ‘This is how we came to Rome, into the bosom of believers.’ They were in fact not quite there yet, but to these weary travelers it seemed like a homecoming at their first real landing on Italian soil. To them Puteoli in Italy spelt Rome. (To arrive at Ostia or Puteoli signified Rome to all sea travelers. They were Rome’s grain terminals). This would be how they would ever remember their arrival in ‘Rome’.
15 And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Even more joyous was it to be met on the last part of the journey, as they travelled along the Via Appia, by other brethren who came to meet them at the Market of Appius, a market town forty three miles from Rome, and at the Three Taverns, thirty three miles from Rome. They had received his treasured letter to the Romans three years before and now they could meet the famed apostle, who was the author, for themselves. Paul must have felt like a conquering emperor being welcomed into Rome. It was as though it was his ‘Triumph’. (One difference being that he had not staged it himself, or even expected it). It was a further reminder that God was there, and was with him (even Paul must have suffered some apprehension as the moment of meeting with Caesar drew closer). So ‘he thanked God and took courage.’
16 Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.
Thus entering Rome in humble triumph the King’s representative was allowed to live by himself (with his companions) with a soldier guarding him. The Apostolate had at last entered Rome, and was ‘free’ to carry out his ministry there. It was God’s first main step towards taking over Rome. It was from Rome that the Good News could flow out to all parts of the empire. Now were to be fulfilled Jesus’ words, ‘you shall be my witnesses --- to the uttermost parts of the earth’.
17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, 18 who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death.
After a few days of settling in Paul sent a message to the leading elders among the Jews and called them together, speaking as one Jew to others. They were still very much his people. He was concerned to know what charges had been sent against him, and how he was viewed among Jews here in Rome.
So once they had come together he introduced himself. He explained that although he was innocent of any fault against his people, or against their customs, they had delivered him up as a prisoner into the hands of the Romans. The Romans, however, had examined him and found that he did not deserve death, and wanted to set him free..
19 But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation.
But, he added, the Jews in Jerusalem had spoken against it, with the result that he had had to appeal to Caesar. It was not because he wanted to bring a charge against the Jews, but simply that they had brought a charge against him and would not drop it. And that was why he was here under house arrest.
20 For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”
And it was the reason why he had called them together to see him and speak to him. Because he wanted them to know that he was not an apostate. It was for the hope of Israel that he was bound within this chain that they saw on him. As we have already seen the hope of Israel was a twin hope, the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection of the body.
21 Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you.
They then told him that no letters had arrived at the synagogues concerning him, nor had any visitors come and reported anything or in any way spoken evil of him. As far as they were concerned he was in the clear. Their words seem to suggest that that would be how they would like it to remain. They did not want any more trouble with the Roman authorities. They had had enough under Caesar Claudius. We should note that they are being wary and giving him the benefit of the doubt. They are only claiming not to have had any official complaints. They are not talking of private ‘rumors’.
The news that no charges had come through must have quite surprised him, for he would have expected the Jews in Jerusalem to have made some efforts to bring charges against him in Rome. They had had sufficient time. Were they not to do so within eighteen months the charge against him would probably be dropped for lack of evidence?
Had we only had this to go by we may have surmised that there had simply been a delay in messengers getting through. After all it had taken him and his fellow travelers a good while to make the journey, although any accusations could have left Caesarea earlier than he did. But Luke then describes the passage of two years, and the impression we are given is that there were still no charges against him.
However, that should not necessarily surprise us. They got rid of him from Palestine, and it was one thing to bring charges not backed by evidence to a provincial governor whom they could lean on, it was quite another to bring them before Caesar. That could bring them into serious trouble where it mattered.
22 But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”
Meanwhile the Jewish leaders expressed their desire to hear his views, for they did know of the Christians and claimed that no one had any good to say about them. They are probably not being quite as vague as it might at first seem. Rather they have recognized Paul’s quality, have probably heard from him his background, and are saying, ‘while we look on Christians as having a bad reputation, as everyone knows, we are ready to listen to anything by which you can convince us otherwise. You may know what we do not know’. Their words suggest that at this time the Jews in Rome had little to do with the Christians, and avoided them in case there was trouble. There are grounds for believing that there had been such trouble in the time of Claudius so it is possible that they had agreed to an uneasy peace and avoided each other.
23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.
Then having appointed a day on which they could meet him they came in even greater numbers. There was a keen interest in learning what he had to say.
Paul then expounded to them his teaching on the present and future Rule of God, and on the call of God to His people to respond to it. This was then followed up by his introduction of Jesus as the King in question, as evidenced both through his own experience and through his studies in the Law of Moses and the prophets. This testifying and expounding continued ‘from morning until evening’, so that the subjects were thoroughly dealt with.
24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. 25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; 27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”’
Once he perceived that not all were in agreement with him, Paul, who thought the Scriptures described crystal clear the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, reminded them of the words of Isaiah the prophet about the unwillingness of the ancient people of Israel to believe the truth. It had been true in the prophet’s case. It was sad if it was true this day.
For it was the Holy Spirit Himself Who had said to their fathers through the prophets, ‘Tell the people that their hearing, their seeing and their hearts are at fault. Because of this they will hear and not understand, they will see and will not perceive.’ And this in turn was because their hearts were fat with luxuries; their ears did not want to hear what did not please them, their eyes refused to believe what they did not want to see. And why was this? In the end it was because they loved their sin. They did not want to be healed and restored. Until that attitude was altered there could be no hope for them.
So now the choice was before them. They must decide if they wanted the truth, if they really wanted God’s Will, or whether they were just saving face and pretending that they did. Their choice was as to whether they would continue as Jews under condemnation by their own Scriptures, or whether they would respond to those Scriptures and become true Jews.
As with Isaiah 6.9-11 this was not a rejection but a warning. Paul is speaking to them as the new Isaiah. He and those who followed him would go on preaching to them until the final Day of Judgment. It was they who must take heed to the condition of their ears, eyes and hearts. Now, however, the message was to go to a wider audience than that of Isaiah. The Gentiles also would hear, as Isaiah had later declared. The Servant had come (Isaiah 42.6-7).
28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”
Meanwhile let them know, (and he wanted to provoke them to jealousy by this - Romans 11.11) that this salvation of God available through the Messiah is sent to the Gentiles who will hear it, just as many Jews do. True ‘Judaism’ is now open to the world.
So it was now open to all Jews to consider their response, recognizing that some Jews had already responded and that many Gentiles were also to receive God’s offer and would hear. He did not want them to be left behind. And on that note they departed, with some believing, some considering, and some saying, ‘No way!’.
The thing that stands out most strongly from these last few verses and the lack of any reference to the church separately in this final passage is that Paul is still concerned that Christianity be seen and recognized as the true fulfillment of Judaism. It is not a question of choosing between being a Jew or a Christian, it is a matter of a Jewish Christian being the true Jew, and the Christ-rejecter not being a true Jew. Those who believe are engrafted. Those who do not believe are cut off (Romans 11.17-27). And while Gentile Christians may not practice all the customs of the Jews, they do become an essential part of Israel (Romans 11.17-27) for as will be later pointed out they are circumcised with the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2.11).
29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. 30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
These final summaries have a twofold purpose. To bring to a summation the passage that they follow, and to summaries all that has happened throughout the preceding section. This one is no different from the others, except that it also brings the whole of Acts to summation.
First it points out that throughout the section which speaks of his journey to Jerusalem and his imprisonment he had preached the Kingdom of God and taught the things concerning The Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness (as indeed we have seen).
Secondly it points out that in perfect peace and safety, under the very eye of the emperor, he has continued to teach and proclaim it in Rome, and not as under Rome but at his own expense. And he has done this for two years, two representing the completeness of witness. ‘Two years’ is regularly a picture of a complete testimony.
A good thought here is relative to the question as to the result of Paul's appeal to Cesar. It is not settled by direct scriptural evidence, yet it is determined, to the satisfaction of nearly biblical scholars, that he was released at the end of the two years mentioned by Luke. As mentioned accusing parties had two years in which to show up and present their case. Luke has given us the hint that this did not happen when he mentioned that Paul stayed two years in his own house. After two years the case would be dropped and then Paul was free to leave. Also through review of Paul’s epistles we find additional evidence on which this conclusion is based consists partly in the unanimous testimony of the earliest Christian writers after the apostles, and partly in the difficulty of fixing a date for the epistles to Timothy and Titus without this supposition. There are events mentioned in these epistles, for which no place can be found in the preceding history; such as his leaving Timothy in Ephesus, to counteract the influence of false teachers, while he went into Macedonia (1 Timothy 1.3); his leaving Titus in Crete, to set in order the things that were wanting there, and to ordain elders (Titus 1.5); his visit to Miletus, when he left Trophimus there sick; (2 Timothy 4.20); and to Nicopolis, where he spent the winter (Titus 3.12).”
