27  Paul’s Journey  to Rome, Part 2  The Last Lap:  Malta to Rome  (Acts 28:1–16)

And when they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. And 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 on his hand. And 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 came about 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. And after this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. And they also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed. And at the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. And after we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. And from there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. And when we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. (28:1–16)

It is a foundational biblical truth that obedience brings God’s blessing, disobedience His chastening. In Luke 11:28, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it.” James reveals that it is the “effectual doer” who “shall be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). In Deuteronomy 11:26–28, Moses exhorted the Israelites:

Because of his obedience, King Uzziah “was marvelously helped until he was strong” (2 Chron. 26:15). “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense” (v. 16). For that act of disobedience God struck him with leprosy, and he lived in disgrace the rest of his life.

One way God blesses those who obey Him is by granting their desires. In Psalm 21:1–2, David wrote, “O Lord, in Thy strength the king will be glad, and in Thy salvation how greatly he will rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and Thou hast not withheld the request of his lips.” Psalm 37:4 promises, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart,” while Psalm 145:19 declares,” He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him.” Proverbs 10:24 contrasts the disobedient with the obedient: “What the wicked fears will come upon him,” but “the desire of the righteous will be granted.”

The apostle Paul had desired for many years to visit Rome. In Acts 19:21 he said, “After I have been there [Jerusalem], I must also see Rome.” He repeatedly expressed that desire to the Roman Christians:

At long last, the time had come for God to grant His faithful servant’s desire. After years of waiting, two years in a Roman prison, a terrifying two-week-long storm at sea, and his fourth shipwreck (cf. 2 Cor. 11:25), Paul would at last see Rome. This climactic passage records the story of the apostle’s arrival in the imperial capital.

Acts 28 opens with Paul on the Mediterranean island of Malta. He had left Caesarea more than two months earlier, bound for Rome to have his appeal heard by the emperor. In a risky attempt to reach a more favorable harbor on Crete to winter in, the apostle’s ship had been caught in the dreaded Euraquilo. That violent storm had driven the vessel for fourteen terror-filled days across the Mediterranean to Malta. There the crew attempted to beach the ship, but it ran aground and was destroyed by the pounding surf. Miraculously, all 276 persons on board managed to reach the shore safely. God had promised Paul that although the ship would be destroyed, no lives would be lost (27:22). He had also promised that the ship would run aground on an island (27:26). Both promises were fulfilled when the ship reached Malta.

The events of Acts 28:1–16 unfold in five scenes: pagan hospitality, potential harm, public healing, the promise honored, and private housing.

PAGAN HOSPITALITY

And when they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. And 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.(28:1–2)

Having made it safely through the breakers to the beach, the people from the wrecked freighter huddled wet and exhausted on the shore. It was only then that they found out that the island they were on was Malta. Although some of the crew had probably been to Malta before, they had never seen St. Paul’s Bay. They would have stopped at the main port, called Valletta.

Malta, located fifty-eight miles south of Sicily, is about seventeen miles long and nine miles wide. Since it is not a large island, it would not have taken the sailors long to discover where they were. They may have found out from the nearby inhabitants. Those inhabitants were of Phoenician descent, and the name Malta meant, appropriately, “a place of refuge” in the Phoenician language. Malta became a British possession early in the nineteenth century and gained its independence in 1964.

Luke’s use of the term natives to describe the people of Malta does not mean they were primitive or uncivilized. Barbaroi (natives) denotes people whose native language was not Greek or Latin; it is not necessarily a derogatory term.

The reaction of the Maltese to their unexpected visitors proves that they were anything but uncivilized. Luke records that they showed extraordinary kindness, beyond what would normally be expected. They did not murder or enslave the victims of the shipwreck, as sometimes happened in the ancient world. Instead, Luke says, because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. Exhausted from their long ordeal, soaked from their swim to shore, drenched by the driving rain, and chilled by the cold November wind, they welcomed a fire to warm themselves.

God requires Christians, both church leaders (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8) and all believers (Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9), to show hospitality. That the pagan Maltese exhibited it illustrates an important theological truth. One aspect of God’s general revelation to all people is the moral law written on their hearts. Although the specifics may vary, every culture holds some things to be right and other things to be wrong. Paul sets forth that truth in his letter to the Romans:

Because God has so revealed Himself, all men are without excuse:

God can justly condemn those who never hear the gospel because they fail to keep the moral standards they impose on others. Because “there is no partiality with God,… all who have sinned without the Law [who have only general revelation] will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law” (Rom. 2:11–12).

POTENTIAL HARM

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. And 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. (28:3–6)

Wood needed to be added continually to the bonfire to keep it from going out. It is a measure of Paul’s character that he humbly stooped to perform such a menial task. Humility is essential to true leadership. “Even the Son of Man,” Jesus said, “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He gave the classic illustration of humble service by washing the quarrelsome disciples’ feet (John 13:3ff.).

Having gathered a bundle of sticks, Paul laid them on the fire. Unfortunately, one of the “sticks” was alive, and a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. Startled from its lethargy by the sudden heat, the venomous reptile immediately bit Paul on the hand.

Critics have charged that this is a fictional attempt by Luke to glorify Paul, or that Luke mistook a harmless snake for a poisonous one. They raise those objections because Malta today has no poisonous snakes. But that does not prove that there were none there nineteen centuries ago. They have disappeared due to the progress of civilization on Malta since Paul’s day.

As a trained physician, Luke would be unlikely to mistake a harmless snake for a poisonous one. Sir William Ramsay notes that “a trained medical man in ancient times was usually a good authority about serpents, to which great respect was paid in ancient medicine and custom” (Luke the Physician [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 63–64). But the most convincing proof that this was in fact a poisonous snake comes from the reaction of the islanders, who fully expected Paul to die after being bitten. When the natives saw the creature (thōrion—”Aristotle and the medical writers apply the word to venomous serpents, the viper in particular” [A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker’s reprint of the 1930 edition), 3:479]) 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.”

Here is another illustration of the truth that all cultures have a sense of justice. The islanders had no doubt from the presence of Roman soldiers that Paul was a serious criminal, likely a murderer, and as such would not escape his fate. Although he had been saved from the sea, justice (probably a reference to Dikō, the goddess of justice) would not allow him to live. The pagan Maltese had a clear sense of right and wrong; they “show[ed] the work of the Law written in their hearts” (Rom. 2:15).

Although once disposed to killing Christians, Paul, since his conversion, was no murderer. He merely shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. The apostle’s calmness was conspicuous; most people bitten by poisonous snakes panic. But Paul had absolute faith in God’s repeated promises that he would see Rome (Acts 23:11; 27:24). Therefore, he knew he would not die on Malta. As always in Acts, God used this miracle to authenticate His message and His messenger.

The islanders, however, were still expecting Paul’s hand to swell up from the bite, or that he would suddenly fall down dead. But when 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. Obviously they had been mistaken; this was no victim of their goddess but a god himself, they thought. Such divine beings were, they believed, impervious to such trivialities as snakebite. This was not the first time Paul had been mistaken for a god (Acts 14:6ff.), and he no doubt quickly set the islanders straight.

PUBLIC HEALING

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 came about 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. And after this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. And they also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed. And at the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. (28:7–11)

Not far from St. Paul’s Bay were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius. As his title the leading man of the island (tō prōtō tōs nōsou) indicates, he was the Roman governor of Malta. Inscriptional evidence confirms Luke’s use of that title (cf. Bruce, Acts, 523). Publius graciously welcomed all 276 persons and entertained them courteously for three days until they could make arrangements for winter quarters.

Publius extended hospitality even though his father was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery. The recurrent fever was likely the gastric fever, caused by a microbe found in goat’s milk, which was common on Malta. Dysentery, often resulting from poor sanitation, was also common in the ancient world.

God often rewards acts of kindness to His people (cf. Gen. 12:3; Matt. 10:40–42; 25:31ff.), and Paul was able to repay Publius for his hospitality. He went in to see Publius’s father, and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. Paul’s prayer acknowledged his dependence on God’s power; his laying on of hands affirmed that God was working through him.

Not surprisingly, after this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to Paul and getting cured. Although Luke does not mention it, Paul undoubtedly preached the gospel to the Maltese, since the purpose of miracles was to authenticate Paul as God’s messenger. Given Julius’s lenient treatment of him, and their three-month stay (v. 11), Paul would have had many opportunities to preach. According to tradition, the church on Malta dates from this time, with Publius as its first pastor.

Verse 10 also implies that a church was founded at this time on Malta. Luke records that the islanders honored Paul and the others with many marks of respect; and when they were setting sail, supplied them with all they needed. That outpouring of love suggests that at least some of the Maltese were receptive to the preaching of the gospel.

After spending the three months of winter on Malta, Paul and his companions were finally able to leave. With sea travel beginning again, Julius was able to arrange transport to Italy for his soldiers and prisoners on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. The Alexandrian ship was probably another in the imperial grain fleet. Luke’s note that it had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead serves to identify the specific ship on which they traveled. The Twin Brothers were Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus in Greek mythology and viewed as the gods who protected sailors.

THE PROMISE HONORED

And after we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. And from there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. (28:12–15)

Leaving Malta, the ship put in at Syracuse, 100 miles away on the southeastern shore of Sicily. According to tradition, Paul founded a church in Syracuse during the three days the ship stopped there. After their short visit, the travelers sailed around (tacked against the wind) and arrived at Rhegium, on the southern tip of the Italian peninsula. There they waited for a favorable wind to take the ship through the Straits of Messina (which separate Sicily from the Italian mainland). The next day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day after leaving Rhegium, the ship arrived at Puteoli. Puteoli, modern Pozzuoli, was the most important commercial port in Italy. Although almost 150 miles from Rome, it was the capital’s chief seaport. (Ostia, an artificial harbor near Rome, had already been built. It would not significantly affect Puteoli’s trade, however, until early in the second century.) Located on the bay of Naples near Neapolis (modern Naples) and the doomed city of Pompeii, Puteoli in Paul’s day was a city of 100,000 people. It is thought to have been the chief port for the Egyptian grain fleet.

Not unexpectedly in a city of that size, Paul and his companions found some brethren (Christians) in Puteoli. Those believers invited the travelers to stay with them, and, with Julius’s permission (cf. 27:3), they stayed for seven days. From there, Luke notes with dramatic understatement, we came to Rome.

Luke then fills in, briefly, the details of their journey along the Appian Way from Puteoli to Rome. The brethren (Christians) of Rome, when they heard about us (undoubtedly from the Christians of Puteoli), came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. Some walked as far south as the Market of Appius, forty-three miles from Rome; others, possibly getting a later start, met Paul ten miles closer to Rome at the Three Inns. Deeply moved by their visible demonstration of love for him, Paul thanked God and took courage.

THE PRISONER HOUSED

And when we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. (28:16)

Paul’s lenient treatment by Roman officials continued. After the apostle and his party entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with a soldier guarding him. That soldier (probably several in turn) was chained to Paul’s wrist (v. 20).

This passage reveals several ways in which God blesses His faithful servants.

First, He surrounds them with kindness. Julius showed Paul kindness by allowing him to go ashore in Sidon (27:3). The Maltese also showed him kindness after the shipwreck (28:1–2, 10).

Second, God meets their needs. Publius provided Paul with a place to stay on Malta (28:7), as did the Christians at Puteoli (28:14).

Third, God encourages them. During the terrifying ordeal of the storm at sea, God sent an angel to hearten Paul (27:23–24). And the apostle was greatly encouraged by the Roman Christians, who eagerly met him well outside the city (28:15).

Fourth, God delivers them from harm. He delivered Paul from a storm, a shipwreck, and a snakebite.

Fifth, God blesses their influence. Paul greatly affected those who survived the storm and shipwreck. And through his ministry, a church was most likely begun on Malta and possibly at Syracuse.

Finally, God fulfills their desires. Paul had yearned for many years to see Rome; now that desire had been granted. Proverbs 28:20 sums it up in the promise “a faithful man will abound with blessing.”