Acts 28:1-6 "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."

A. "Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta." 

1. Melita or Malta (NASB) is an island located 50 miles southwest of Sicily 

2. Immediately the friendly residents of the island began gathering wood for a fire, since the shipwrecked men were wet and it was raining as well.

B. "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." 

1. Paul was quite willing to help them gather wood. But when he picked up an armful he did not realize that he had picked up a poisonous snake as well. 

2. The hot fire awakened the poisonous serpent and he struck at the nearest thing, Paul=s hand. 

3. The islanders were certain that Paul would die on the spot. They had evidently discovered that he was a prisoner on the way to Rome. They whispered a common held believe, that things that happen to people are direct judgements from heaven for their actions. 

4. Paul simply shook off the vicious creature into the fire, seemingly without any harm. The natives were not so certain. They watched Paul for a long time, expecting him to fall over dead. 

5. When he did not they decided that Paul must be a god. This was not the first time when some had come to believe that Paul was a god. (Acts 14:8ff, Paul and Barnabas at Lystra. Notice that they opposite took place here on Malta. Here Paul was first taken for a murderer, then thought as a god. In Lystra he and Barnabas was first taken for a god, then stoned). 

 

A. "In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius" 

1. For a number of years many stated a doubt in Luke's record based on the title of Publius. The term "leading citizen" or "chief man of the island" (KJV) was not know in more modern times. It has, however, been found in inscriptions on the island and is beyond doubt accurate. Thus fall all statements of doubt about the veracity of Luke's record. 

2. This Publius (literally, "pertaining to the people.") was evidently a very generous and hospitable man. He saw to the comfort of the shipwrecked men himself. Being in a position of high authority and respect, he evidently feel a responsibility to care for the men.

B. "And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery...."

1. This was not an unusual occurrence in the ancient world, as it is in the western world today. Even today in third world countries dysentery can be fatal. It is quite likely that the father of Publius would have died if Paul had not saved him. 

2. Paul laid hands on him and healed him. Here we see Jesus' principle found in Mark 9:41.

C. "So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed..." 

1. Word spread fast of Paul=s miraculous powers. Before long others were coming to him for healing. Paul refused to turn away these people in need. 

2. While it is not specifically mentioned, there can be little doubt that Paul and his friends remained silent about the one by whose power Paul was healing. It is certain that there was preaching, or at least private teaching concerning Jesus. One wonders if Publius or his father turned to the Lord and became Christians. 

3. At length provisions were made for a ship. The residents of Malta treated Paul and his friends with every courtesy and honor that could be bestowed before their departure. 

 

A. "After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island." 

1. Paul and his companions spent the rest of the winter on Malta, living comfortably. 

2. This made their last voyage at about the middle of February. They were given passage on an Alexandrian grain ship which evidently had fared better than they. 

3. According to Greek mythology, Jupiter or Zeus had two sons by one of the goddesses named Leda. These sons were supposed to have been translated into the sky and as the Ashining stars@ had a good influence on the ocean and hence were the patron gods of the sailors. The names of these two sons were Castor and Pollux. The ship upon which Paul and the others embarked was named after these gods. .

B. Luke describes the final leg of the journey. 

1. Syracuse -Major city on the island of Sicily. It was strong enough to defeat an attack from Athens in 413 B.C. but was defeated by Rome in 212 B.C. It became the residence of the governor of Sicily under Roman government. It enjoyed great prosperity during the Roman years. 

2. Rhegium - Place name either derived from the Greek rhegnym (rent, torn) or from the Latin regium (royal). Port located at the southwestern tip of the Italian boot about seven miles across the strait of Messina from Sicily. Rhegium was settled by Greek colonists and retained Greek language and institutions into the first century. 

3. Puteoli was located on the coast of Italy about 140 miles from Rome. It was the Agranary for Rome.@ Here they found brethren who were eager to welcome them. Paul enjoyed their hospitality for seven days. 

4. From here Paul and his company began the final leg of their journey. Have disembarked from their ship, they began the final journey, either on horseback or on foot.

C. "And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns." 

1. Appii Forum and Three Inns were two stops on the Appian way which were forty and thirty miles away from Rome, respectively. 

2. McGarvey states that there must have been groups of brethren who set out from Rome to meet him separately and met him at each place.

3. These kind, courageous acts, served to encourage and strengthen Paul.

D. "Now when we came to Rome..." 

1. Paul had finally reached his destination that he had earnestly desired, Rome. Paul had desired to come to the brethren to Aimpart some gift@ to them. See Roman 1:10-11. 

2. Paul was once again favored above the rest of the prisoners. They were delivered to the Praetorian Prefect (commander of the Praetorian Guard) to be jailed until imperial hearing. But Paul was allowed to dwell in a rented house with only one guard. Thus, Paul was able to serve as missionary to the Praetorian Guard, since the one guard would be changed regularly. 

3. This shows that Paul must have been a man of some means, since the house he stayed in was likely one that he would pay for himself. 

4. But a velvet cage still has it's bars. Paul was a prisoner. He was not free to go where he chose. He was not able to travel to the great Forum to preach, or reason in the synagogues. 

 

A. "And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together." 

1. It was a quite normal thing that Paul first call for the leading citizens in the Jewish community, once he had time to settle in. In spite of Claudius' edict ejecting all the Jews some ten year ago, there was now a sizeable group of Jewish who were permanent citizens of Rome. Rome was a metropolitan city, having a sizeable contingent of almost every race found in the empire. Reese states that there were seven synagogues located in Rome.

B. "And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together." 

1. The first impression that Paul wanted to leave with the leaders of the Jewish community was that he was an innocent man who had done nothing against the Law or customs of the Jews. 

2. Paul wanted to make it clear that he would have been released by the Roman authorities, had it not been for the virulent hatred of certain of the Jews. It was quite common to have such enmity among the Jews toward each other in that day. They were deeply divided into various sects. 

3. He made it clear that he had appealed to Caesar to escape his Jewish enemies, not because he was a gross criminal trying to escape lawful sentence. 

4. His final appeal was that he was a man of God who was being imprisoned for the cause of the Lord.

C. The Jewish reaction to his introduction was honest and forthright. 

1. They had not received any correspondence from the leadership in Jerusalem concerning him, nor had they received a bad report from any of the Jews who had recently traveled to Rome from Jerusalem. It seems a bit surprising that they had heard nothing concerning him and the two years that had transpired. Perhaps the Jewish leadership thought Paul was gone and forgotten, never to be heard from again. They were wrong.

2. They only thing they had heard was that the cause of Christ had been spoken against everywhere. They would still consider it a sect of Judaism. Their words show that the church, if it was organized, was not very old or very strong and active in Rome. If the edict of Claudius was given because of disturbances over Christian, which is not certain, it had set back the cause of Christ immensely. But it does do them credit that they were anxious to hear what Paul had to say about this sect.

D. "So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging..." 

1. Before parting they arranged another day to come listen to Paul's introduction of Christianity. 

2. When the appointed time came Paul was ready. He spoke all day from the Old Testament seeking to draw application for the work of Jesus. This was the standard method of preaching, especially when speaking to a Jewish audience. Paul could not hope to convert these persons if he did not convince them that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. 

 

A. "And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved" 

1. Paul's preaching was persuasive to some, and it caused some to disbelieve. The preaching of the word will react differently on individuals, depending of the condition of their hearts. See 2 Corinthians 2:15-16. This reaction reminds us of the Lord=s description of the reaction of people, depending on the condition of their hearts. See Luke 8:4ff.

B. "So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word..." 

1. Coffman is sure that there was much give and taken during the day, with debate on the merits of Paul's case. It is quite possible. 

2. What was the one word that broke up their meeting? While it is not given here it is very possible that it was the report that the Gentiles were also chosen in Christ, as well as the Jews. 

3. Paul concluded, upon the leading of the Holy Spirit that this was a fulfillment of Isaiah's words in Isaiah 6:9-10. Many of them had become hardened to the preaching of God's word. This was true in Isaiah's day. It was true in Jesus' day (See Matthew 13:15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:37-41). It was true in Paul=s day. It should not be surprising that it is true in our day. 

4. It is likely that Paul used this because of some negative reaction in the audience. We can rest assured that he would not have spoke so boldly had there not been good reason for doing so.

C. "Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!" 

1. This had happened before, in Antioch of Pisidia (See Acts 13:46). This also happened in Ephesus (See Acts 18:6). Paul did not mean that he would no longer seek to teach someone who was a Jew, but simply meant that his first and primary field of work would be among the Gentiles. 

2. Paul said that the Gentiles would be eager to accept the message when it would be presented to them.

D. "And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves." 

1. Paul's words cut both ways. Some Jews were convinced of the truthfulness of Paul's message, while some remained unconvinced. This caused an uproar among the Jews. 

2. See Matthew 10:34ff

E. "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him"

1. From previous information it seems clear that Paul wore chains, likely bound by a chain to a Roman soldier. But outside of his house arrest, he was able to receive anyone who came. We can rest assured that Paul received a steady stream of visitors, interested persons, the curious, and the indifferent, and many brethren. We can also rest assured that Paul used his guard as an audience to hear about the truth that sets me free. See Philippians 1:13.

2. We also know that Paul's influence was felt in the household of Nero himself. See Philippians 4:22.

F. "preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him." 

1. These were the days of unrestricted preaching and teaching, early in the reign of Nero. This was before he carried out the bitter persecution of the brethren. 

2. Who knows what fruits Paul was able to bear for the Lord in those two years. 

3. Was Paul released at the conclusion of these two years? Most Scholars believe that Paul was released when he appeared before Caesar's judgment, due to the last of any evidence to support crimes. Some believe that Paul was able to fulfill his earlier desire to travel to Spain. See Romans 15:24, 28. Was Paul then arrested and transported to Rome again to stand trial for his life? It seems certain that Paul's imprisonment in 2 Timothy is far different to his "house arrest" at the conclusion of the book of Acts. 

4. We thus finish the book of Acts. It begins with twelve men in Jerusalem and ends with it's penetration in the capitol city of the Roman Empire. And we see the amazing transformation of Saul of Tarsus, persecutor and murderer, to Paul the Powerful, apostle to the Gentiles.