Print

By Tyson Thorne

November 13, 2014
 
 

PaulInRome large

Once all the crew, soldiers, passengers and criminals in transport were accounted for they were greeted by the natives. The Greek word used here is “barbarians” and indicates the people were neither Roman nor Jewish. Lest we assume these were a tribe of ignorant natives, these men and women were likely of Phoenician and Sicilian heritage and worshiped the gods of the Greeks and Romans. Their religious ties to Rome are apparent later in the chapter when the reference the goddess Justice. They showed the shipwrecked men great hospitality and welcomed them into their homes, which were likely free-standing structures made of stone.

As was his habit, Paul made himself useful by gathering some brush with which to feed the fire. Unbeknownst to Paul a venomous snake was in the brush he collected and, as he approached the warmth of the fire, crawled out and latched onto his hand in the way common to vipers. This caused the Maltese people to assume Paul to be the worst kind of criminal, for while he survived the shipwreck this poisonous snake was surely delivering its deadly payload of venom. Luke does not tell us Paul’s initial reaction, but surely he was surprised and immediately shook the snake free and into the fire. Everyone watched Paul closely afterward, waiting for him to die. Instead, God’s providence continued to protect Paul and the rest of the ship’s crew and passengers from harm.

After a few hours had passed and Paul seemed none the worse for wear the people of Malta changed their minds about Paul being a murderer and instead assumed he was a god. This is not the first time Paul was mistaken for a god; if you recall the people of Lystra thought he was Hermes. This no doubt caused a great stir among the people, one which was noticed by the Romans governing the island, for they were soon visited by the chief official. The official, named Publius, welcomed Paul and others into his home and provided them food and housing for three days. During this time Paul continued to amaze the inhabitants, this time by healing Publius’ father and many of the island’s sick. God showed much grace to these people, likely because they had received his messenger with such great warmth and hospitality.

We need to remember that God choses to bless whom he wishes to bless and curses those he wishes to curse. Even though the islands inhabitants did not serve God, he blessed them through his presence and work in Paul. To this day Christianity is still the greatest religion on the island.

They stayed on Malta three months before finally boarding a ship and setting sail for Rome. The islanders provided Paul and the others with everything they had need and – though Luke doesn’t say so – Paul likely made good use of the time teaching all who would listen about the Messiah Jesus. They made port in various cities, staying with fellow Christians a few days here and a week there, so that by the time they reached the capital of the known world Paul’s spirits were lifted and he was greatly encouraged. Once in Rome Paul was permitted to live in a small home with Julius until his trial.

During that time – two years to be exact – Paul continued to take the gospel message first to the Jews in Rome, then the Gentiles. The Jewish community was divided, some accepted Paul’s message and other’s rejected it. Of those that accepted the gospel and trusted in Jesus, a few became trusted friends. And though Luke does not take us all the way through Paul’s trial in Rome, we know that none of those Roman friends, nor any of the elders of the churches in Macedonia or the province of Asia, or any of the other apostles testified on Paul’s behalf. Not even his Roman guard, Julius, stood by his side.

Paul made his defense before Nero on his own we know from two verses. The first verse is Acts 23.11 where Jesus tells Paul, “Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” The second is in 2 Timothy 4.16-.18 where Paul describes his time before Nero, “At my first defense no one appeared in my support; instead they all deserted me – may they not be held accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed for all the Gentiles to hear. And so I was delivered from the lion’s mouth! The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen.”

What other adventure’s Paul had, other parts of the world he may have visited, and other miracles he may have witnessed remain unknown. We will have to wait until we reach eternity and find out from the man himself.