My brothers and sisters in the Lord, hear now the word of God as it comes to you from Acts, chapter 28, verses 1 through 16:
“Now, when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 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. 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.
“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. But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 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.
“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. 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. And so when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways, and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.
“After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the twin brothers which had wintered at the island. And landing in Syracuse we stayed three days. From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew, and the next day we came to Puteoli, where we found the brethren and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. 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. Now. 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.”
And thus far the reading of God’s word this morning may he bless it to our understanding. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God abides forevermore. Amen.
Well, brothers and sisters, this portion of the book of Acts really is the concluding section of that subdivision in which we read about Paul’s fateful voyage on the sea to Rome. This has been Paul’s intention. His desire ultimately was to bring the Gospel to the capital city of the empire. And we learn from the book of Hebrews, or, excuse me, the book of Romans, chapter 16, his desire was actually to even go beyond Rome unto Spain. Paul was a tireless servant of the Lord and his longing was to see that the whole world of the Mediterranean heard the gospel and that churches were established all around that particular empire.
Now the passage before us is concluding what we began in chapter 27 when we saw that he was on the ship, the Alexandrian ship, flag full of grain, heading towards Rome. But they run into a storm because they take a chance of going on the sea right at the shift of the seasons from the fall to the winter months, when the winds begin to shift and change and it’s very precarious and they become shipwrecked. God is merciful and spares not only Paul, but all of those on the vessel, though the vessel and its cargo is completely lost. And we’re resuming that narrative when we come to chapter 28. This is not really the best chapter division in scripture because you can clearly see that we’re still on that particular event. We’re told that after they had escaped, that is, escape from the sea, escape from the doomed ship, they found that the island upon which they landed themselves was called Malta. That’s the modern day name for the island. In the ancient world it was known as Melita. But it’s an island that’s about halfway or better than halfway to Rome. It is just south of Sicily and it’s a very small island, only about 18 miles in length and about 8 miles wide. Wide. But this is not some deserted island like you saw when you were growing up watching Gilligan’s island. And they were deserted and couldn’t find their way off. This was an inhabited island. In fact, there was a port on the island. But when the ship wrecks, it wrecks on the side of the island that doesn’t have the port. And this is the reason, perhaps also because of the darkness, that the sailors do not recognize immediately where they are. But thankfully, they land on an inhabited island, and on the other side there is a port and there is a ship waiting for them.
So this is the conclusion of the perilous journey that Paul takes by ship on his way to Rome, where they arrive safely on the island, are shown a measure of hospitality. They winter there for three months, and then once the winds once again shift in the early spring and they’re able to resume their voyage, they join another Alexandrian ship and continue and make their way to Rome. You can see a clear, definitive end to this subsection of the book. Because they arrive in Rome and Paul is much encouraged, we also see that there is a group of believers already in Rome.
Commentators have struggled with understanding exactly how this could be, since Paul had a desire to preach the Gospel in Rome, as if there was no evangelism that ever reached that place. And the best we can come up with was these were probably people who had come to Pentecost on the day of the pouring out of the Spirit. And some of those who were converted to Christ on that occasion, because they had made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast, went back and settled in Rome and began to spread the Gospel there. So Paul is not merely breaking ground, he is rather tilling that which is still there and hoeing it so that it is free of weeds and further establishing the church there. We know from Paul’s letter to the Romans he was not ignorant of this existence of believers there. But as I said, he wanted to stop at Rome and make his way on to Spain. But because he’s in chains, he cannot be liberated to go as far as Spain and until he first is heard by Caesar. And so our sub narrative ends here, where Paul is under house arrest. He is shown great kindness by the Romans, perhaps because he’s a Roman citizen himself, and he is not put in the normal prison with the rest of those that had been carried on the vessel to that particular place, but is allowed to rent a home of his own, though he is under constant guard and is likely chained to a soldier there so that he will not flee. Of course, Paul’s intention is to do no such thing. His desire has always been to establish the Christians there in Rome. The chapter could be divided, or this section, I should say, should be divided into two main parts. The first is Paul’s exploits on the island of Malta. And this takes us from verses one through ten and the Second is his resumption of the voyage and arrival in Rome, verses 11 through 16.
Each of those divisions could be further subdivided. We see first of all in verses one through six, the event of Paul being bit by this viper, but suffering no harm, and the natives being perplexed as to how this can be so. And then you’ll see in verses 7 through 10 of that first subsection that he is shown by a leading Roman citizen, Publius. Three Days Hospitality and Paul begins to minister to his family and ultimately to many of the inhabitants on the island by performing the miracle of healing. And then in the second subsection, verses 11 through 16, we likewise have two subdivisions. We could divide it different ways, but I think probably the easiest way to divide it is is number one, verses 11 through 15, in which Paul is still on his way to Rome. And then in verse 16, perhaps the middle of verse 15 through verse 16, when he actually arrives in Rome and is settled and it is awaiting his hearing before Caesar.
Now in these verses we encounter, I believe, three particular prominent themes. They are ministering to others in need, number one, having faith in God’s protection and provision, number two, and then being grateful for the ways that God encourages us in the midst of journey, number three. So ministry number one, faith number two, and gratitude number three. I want to consider each of these three themes as they are exemplified before our eyes in this passage of Scripture and consider how we are as God’s people today to embrace these ideas and these dispositions in our day to day lives and treatment of others around us. Theme number one, then, the theme of ministering to others. We learn from various examples in this passage of Scripture that God’s people should minister to others who are around them.
God’s people should minister to others who are around them. Now this is demonstrated for us on two different levels in the text. There is the demonstration of ministry by showing hospitality, and there is the demonstration of ministry by serving others in need. They are not mutually exclusive ideas, of course, but they are nuances that have their own distinct realities. Hospitality is gladly receiving guests and tending to their needs without expectation of return. Service is when we are, as it were, humbling ourselves and offering our services to those who have needs so that those needs can be met. One might argue that hospitality is the context in which service is rendered. But however you understand it, brothers and sisters, we do have these two levels here. First of all, I want you to notice the hospitality that we repeatedly encounter in this short passage of Scripture. The first is in verses one and two where the natives show hospitality and concern for those who have fled the sea and are shipwrecked. Notice verse one and verse two. Now, when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 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. Of the cold.
Now, the new King James version that renders this particular Greek word in verse two as natives, you may note in a different translation, is translated barbarians, and that’s a literal translation. They were barbarians. And so you can understand Luke here when he says the barbarians showed us unusual kindness. It’s not something that they would expect.
Now, barbarians in the ancient world are not to be understood necessarily as uncultured people, but rather those literally who could not speak the Greek language.
These Maltese people did not speak the Greek language. They were originally from Phoenicia, and they still had a dialect of the Phoenicians, and that was their native tongue. And so they referred to barbarians not in the sense that they’re not clothed or they’re behaving in very odd manner, but rather that they were considered not Roman, not Greek. They did not speak Greek, and they didn’t expect in light of that, that they would be shown such kindness. But in an unusual way, kindness is what they receive. They realize these people have just come from the cold waters of the sea, they have escaped a perilous storm, and so they’ve already built a fire. And they bring them to the fire, all of these individuals, so that they can warm themselves and dry their clothes. Here is a picture of hospitality and service.
The second example that we find of this is in verse 7, the subdivision of this first section. We’re told that in that region there was an estate of a leading citizen of the island. This is a Roman appointee whose name was Publius. That actually is his title more than his name, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. He received us and entertained us courteously for three days. That is to say, he took them under his roof, he provided them a place to sleep, he gave them warm and comfortable environment, and he provided food for them. He showed them, in other words, hospitality, kindness, and gave them service.
The third example of this is found very clearly in verses 14 and 15 in the next subdivision of the text. We’re told the next day they had come to Puteoli, where they found brethren and notice were invited to stay with them seven days.
They found other Christians in Puteoli, and these Christians welcomed Paul and his companions and said, let us host you for a whole week.
So we see hospitality, we see service.
Brothers and sisters, the passage of Scripture that we’ve encountered even this morning in our reading of God’s commands to us reminds us of the importance of not being proud or high minded, or treating others with selfishness, but rather giving ourselves unto others to meet their needs. Think not only of yourself, Paul says in Philippians 2, but think of those around you. Do not only for yourself, but do for others around you. Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who did not consider equality with God something to be held onto, but freely humbled himself and emptied himself and became a servant, obedient even unto death on the cross.
We are told in other passages of Scripture how important this idea of ministering to others through hospitality and service. And hear the words of Hebrews 13:1 2 Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some of you have unwittingly entertained angels.
1st Peter 4, 9, 10 the apostle says, be hospitable to one another without grumbling about it, as each one has received a gift. Minister that to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Be hospitable, Peter says, Romans 12:10, 13 Once again the Apostle Paul, he exhorts us, be kindly affectionate to one another, with brotherly love and honor, giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulations, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, and given to hospitality.
This is something our Savior wants us to embrace. We won’t quote the whole verses, but in 1 Timothy 3, 2 and in Titus 1:8 we’re told that one of the qualifications of officers in the church is that they be men who are hospitable.
Now why is this? It is because, brothers and sisters, we are to follow in the example of our Redeemer and the Lord Jesus Christ is one who is a servant and shows hospitality.
We recognize, brothers and sisters, how he came into this world, quoting from Philippians chapter two Again he humbled himself and became a servant, and gave his life even on the cruel cross of Calvary. You might remember also In John chapter 13, how Jesus in the upper room, though the master, though the Lord, and though the leader of the feast, girds himself with a towel and takes up a basin of water and washes his disciples feet.
And he says to them, on that occasion, do you know What I have done to you, as I have done do to one another. We are to follow in the footsteps of the Savior. But brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that this is a two way street as well. We are not only exhorted to show hospitality and service to others and our efforts of ministering. We need to be the kind of gracious people that when we have a legitimate need, we are willing to receive that hospitality.
I have encountered Christians who are great at opening up their homes and showing others kindness and meeting their needs when they arise.
But the pride gets the better of them when they have a need and they are too proud to humble themselves and say, I need help.
Paul was not too proud to receive the help of the Maltese people.
He received it gladly. Paul did not say, when these Christians and puteoli came and said, let’s host you for seven days. Oh no, no, no, no. I can host you, but you can’t host me, because after all, I’m the apostle.
He gladly received this ministry.
Now this is, to be sure, not something that we should take advantage of. There are a lot of people in this world that take advantage of the charity of others. We are not to be lazy people. We are not to be selfish people. We are not to use in the name of charity our brother and sister in Christ. But we are to willingly receive as we have need, as much as we should be willing to give when others have need.
And is not Jesus the example of this himself? Jesus says on the one hand that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. And yet we see throughout his ministry that he was constantly being served by others, particularly women.
Martha and Mary are perhaps the most conspicuous examples of this. How they constantly fed him and housed him and met his needs, and he willingly and graciously received it. Even when the disciples began to rumble and complain that someone would waste a costly perfume by pouring upon the head and the feet of the Savior. Jesus says, don’t treat her that way.
She is ministering to me in preparation for my burial and this is a good thing.
In other words, brothers and sisters, it’s a two way street. We need to be open and willing to share and serve. But we also need to be humble enough that when circumstances demand it, we’re willing to say, please help me. The church is to be here for one another. Our deacons fund is there not just for those in the community, though indeed it is there for that. But brothers and sisters, it’s there first and foremost for you. And if you have a need, don’t be afraid to ask for help. The devil likes to isolate God’s people, to cause them to think that they are all alone. And in the midst of that loneliness, to feel like no one cares. We are to show kindness towards one another by giving and receiving in a humble and a faithful way, and in so doing exemplify the character of our Redeemer, who gave Himself willingly, but also willingly received the loving service of those who wanted to honor Him.
And, brothers and sisters, before I move on from this idea of hospitality, I want to remind you that there’s a very real sense in which every Sunday we are reminded of the hospitality and the service of our Lord because we come to this table.
The main thing that people would receive when they received hospitality was a place to sleep and food to eat.
You and I come into this place which is the Lord’s house. We come, as it were, under his roof. Not that he only has possession of one building or another, but you know what I mean.
And we come to his table and we sit with him, and we dine with him, and he serves us not merely earthly bread and earthly wine, but Himself. He gives Himself to you, and he calls upon you in return to give yourself to him and by extension, to one another. Because every one of us are a part of the Body of Christ.
Is ministry important in your life, brothers and sisters? We should cultivate it. None of us are perfect at it, to be sure, but it should be something that’s important to us, and we should cultivate it so that it improves throughout our days. Let us walk after the way of Christ in ministry. The second theme that we encounter in this passage of Scripture is that of faith. Faith, particularly in God’s divine protection and providence.
Now, there’s a general sense in which this is seen in this text, but there’s a very particular way that this is seen in the text. The general sense is that they make it to the island safely. Now, when they had escaped verse one, they then found that the island was called Malta.
Malta comes from the ancient name for the island, Melita, which is from the Phoenician, which means the place of refuge, the place of refuge. And indeed it was a refuge for Paul and his companions on this occasion, was it not? They escaped from the sea and they find a refuge for themselves where they might find provision and survive.
We see that God has protected Paul. We saw in chapter 27 how God appeared to him even in the midst of the storm and says, take Heart, Paul, do not fear, for you will reach Rome as you have been promised. And not only will you survive this storm, but all who are on board will survive it as well. God is gracious.
But there’s a very particular way that we see protection, divine protection that is to be trusted in. And that is how Paul survives the snakebite.
Notice after verse two, verse three, we’re told. 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, obviously because it was cold enough.
Snakes and vipers, being cold blooded, would have become very stiff and unresponsive. And Paul, in the midst of the early morning as the sun is rising, is just gathering sticks. Here again, as we see another picture of service to the needs of others. Paul is not too proud to gather sticks to help feed the fire. He inadvertently grabs a snake, a venomous snake, and as he draws close to the fire and begins to drop the sticks in one of which is not a stick at all, but a poisonous viper, the warmth revives the reptile and. And it latches upon his hand.
And we’re told that the natives, when they see this, assume that Paul must be guilty of some great crime and that the gods, even though he has been spared from the tumult at sea, are bringing justice to bear on him. Look at verse four of the text. And so when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, and they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer whom, though he escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.
These people were very superstitious and they were people who believed in multiple gods. They had a great pantheon of gods that they worshipped. And some commentators, like FF Bruce, argue that the word justice here should probably be capitalized. They’re not talking about justice in the sense of just a general principle of right and wrong that’s out there, but that the God of justice looks down upon this man and even though he has been rescued from the sea, will be brought to death because he must have committed some horrible crime.
Perhaps he is a murderer. They think the worst of Paul because of the circumstances. But notice what happens, verse five. He simply shakes off the creature into the fire and suffers no harm.
It’s almost as if Paul just kind of goes, oh, you pesky little thing. And he just shakes it off and into the fire it goes. And he goes about his business. He doesn’t give it another thought.
And so these natives, recognizing the serpent for what it was, a viper, a poisonous Snake.
They’re expecting that in a short order of time, this man’s going to swell up and eventually keel over dead. I can’t help but imagine that there they are around the fire with their popcorn, waiting to see what’s going to transpire.
But an hour goes by and nothing happens. Two hours go by and nothing happens. A few more hours go by and nothing happens. And then something amazing occurs.
These people who at one moment are saying, well, surely this has to be a murderer, because this viper has latched itself upon his hand and justice is going to be served, even though he’s escaped the sea, go from thinking that he’s the worst of all of humanity to saying he’s a God.
Don’t miss the sort of oblique sense of humor that Luke is injecting into the text here. He wants you to smile just a little bit.
He wants you to understand that what we have here are people who are deeply superstitious. And what you see is a juxtaposition, a side by side comparison. Paul, who sees this pesky little creature, a viper, and shakes it off into the fire and then goes about his business without a care in the world. And the others are going, he’s going to die any minute. He’s going to die any minute. He’s not dead.
He’s still not dead. Well, obviously we were wrong. He’s not a murderer after all. He’s a God.
He shows the lunacy, the ludicrous way that these Maltese people are thinking, and compares it to the trust, the implicit trust that the apostle has in God’s protection.
Now, of course, we’re privy to the fact that in chapter 27, God sent an angel to Paul and said, you’re going to make it to Rome. So when this thing latches onto Paul, you can imagine Paul saying to himself, God said, I’m going to make it to Rome. This is not going to be the end of me. Doesn’t mean I might not get sick, but I’m not going to die. So get off of me. And he goes about his business.
We have a picture of faith in the face of pagan superstition.
Brothers and sisters, you and I need to recognize how important it is that we have faith in God’s protective power over our lives. The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. We are not to embrace superstition.
I had an uncle when I was growing up. He was perhaps the most superstitious man I ever met in my entire life. First time I encountered this was when he. I asked if I could borrow his pocket knife. He lent me his pocket knife, and I opened it up and did what I was going to do with the pocket knife. And then I handed it back to him with the blade open. And he said, boy, close that blade. And at first I thought it was simply because he didn’t want to get cut. And I said, well, why do you want me to close it? Why can’t you close it? He says, because it’s bad luck for someone to open a blade and then not close it.
Have you ever heard that? He believed that now he was very superstitious. If a mirror broke, he left the room.
If someone started walking, he was a carpenter. If someone started walking under a ladder, he would say, stop, go the other way around. And one time when we were down near the Chesapeake Bay, we were driving around, he was in the driver’s seat, and we’re driving around this little quiet neighborhood, and up ahead, a black cat walked across the street.
He slammed on the brakes. My mother went right into the dashboard, and she said, what are you doing? He said, I’m not going to cross that path. That black cat just walked across. He hit the thing in reverse. He turned around, he went around the block, because he’s not going to have any bad luck.
That’s superstition.
But, brothers and sisters, when we look at something that obvious, we kind of laugh and chuckle. But there’s a lot of ways that people can be superstitious.
These Maltese people were superstitious. They believed in pagan and false gods. But there’s only one true and living God, and it’s the God that Paul represents.
And we see Paul a man of steadfast faith in the promises of God. Not superstition, not pagan idolatry, not strange practices that are customary in one society or another, but relying upon the promise of the living God who says, I will bring you there, we see an implicit faith. You and I need to have faith in God’s protective power as well. Now, this brings us to the final theme, and it’s the theme of gratitude. The theme of gratitude.
I want you to notice here that there’s this reality of receiving the hospitality and the ministry of others with grateful heart. The Apostle Paul, he receives the ministry of this leading citizen of the island. Verses seven and following. And as a way of showing his gratitude, when he sees that Publius’s father lay sick with a fever and dysentery, Paul went in to him and prayed and laid hands on him, and he was healed.
And then as a consequence of this, we See that the people of the island take note and they begin to bring to Paul many who have diseases, and he heals them as well.
One might surmise possibly that this is Paul’s not only compassion and love, but for his fellow man created in the image of God. But it is also a demonstration of his gratitude for the hospitality and the ministry that they have shown unto him. He returns the favor, as it were. But more than anything, it’s a picture of the fact that he’s following in the footsteps of Christ. Many have noted that there is a parallel here between Paul’s experience in ministry with Jesus himself, who went into the house of Peter and found his mother in law sick with a fever and healed her and raised her up, and then she began to serve them. And then all the people from around the region began to come to the house with their diseased and asking for his mercy. And he healed them. Paul is following in the footsteps of Christ, as we should.
But particularly I want to draw your attention to when they arrive at Puteoli and then ultimately come to Rome. What we read. Look at verse 14 again. We came to Puteoli where we found brethren, I.e. christians, and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And then we traveled on to Rome. And from there, when the brethren, that is the brethren, the Christians in Rome heard about us, they came out to meet us as far as the Appii Forum and the three inns several miles from Rome.
And when Paul saw them, and here’s the key part of the verse, when Paul beheld them, he thanked God and took courage.
He thanked God and he took courage.
Gratitude. Now, why does he thank God? We can only speculate, but there are probably numerous reasons. He thanked God that he made it to his destination, but we’re told specifically that when he saw them, he thanked God. Perhaps he’s thanking God because he realizes there are believers already in Rome. But I have a tendency to think, as I mentioned earlier in the sermon, that he’s already written to believers in Rome. So I don’t think he’s surprised by this. He’s just grateful to behold them.
Isn’t it wonderful when you’ve been away from those whom you love, when you see them again, you’re grateful. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say. Now Paul has probably not laid eyes on any of these brothers or sisters, with maybe the exception of one or two before, but he is grateful that there is a church in Rome. He is grateful that that the family of God comes out to meet him. He is Grateful that he receives a warm reception, he gives praise to God for the ministry of others who care enough not to simply wait until he arrives in the imperial capital but are going to go out to greet him. Here again we see a beautiful parallel between Paul and his master, the Lord Jesus Christ. For Jesus came to a capital city as well, did he not? To Jerusalem.
And the people didn’t wait for him to arrive. They came out and they greeted him and they escorted him back to the city. That’s the same kind of thing that we have going on here.
But Paul is grateful.
What is it that we learn from this, then? How important it is for us brothers and sisters, to be grateful for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to be grateful for, for the ministry of others who care about us.
To praise God for the fact that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church, but that he continues to build up the Body of Christ in every place.
We need to think beyond our four walls and recognize that we’re just part of a greater host of believers that are saved by grace. There are numerous denominations and numerous local congregations in this country and around the world that worship the triune God just as we do.
And even though we don’t know them by face, we don’t know them by name. We’re all part of the same glorious family of God. For there’s only one household of faith, and it’s found in the church.
So, yes, we have things that we distinguish ourselves from other believers, but never allow those distinguishing characteristics to cause you to be so proud as to think you’re the only ones that God cares about. He cares for all his people, all his people, wherever they may be. And we should be grateful for them and pray for them and receive their ministry and minister to them as we have need. Do you cultivate, beloved, an attitude of gratitude? Do you recognize that it is only by the grace of God that you stand as a member of the household of faith? And are you thankful that you are not alone? That there are others who stand with you to uphold your hands when they grow weak, to strengthen your knees when they buckle, and that in turn you are to do the same for others? Give as you have received, brothers and sisters. May the Lord give us grace that we might understand from these good examples the call that we have to minister in love to others, to have faith in God’s protection and provision, to bring us where we are appointed to go, and to be thankful for all that he has given us, but chiefly for the Body of Christ.