Tag Archives: Malta

THE BOOK OF ACTS – A MARKED MAN

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CHAPTER 28

A MARKED MAN

“Once everyone was accounted for and we realised that we all made it, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold and we were already soaked to the bone, but they built a huge bonfire and gathered us around it.

Paul pitched in and helped. He had gathered up a bundle of sticks, but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from its torpor by the heat, struck his hand and held on. Seeing the snake hanging from Paul’s hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was murderer getting his just deserts. Paul shook the snake off into the fire, none the worse for wear. They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn’t going to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god!”  Acts 28:1-6 (The Message).

Talk about drama! Never a dull moment with Paul around! It was obvious that Paul was a marked man. If it was not one thing, it was another. Since the storm had not taken him out at the end of a long line of assassination attempts, here’s another trick up Satan’s sleeve. A venomous snake was just the thing to finish him off and this time no one could help him.

But there was a word from God to cover even a situation like this one. “And these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and when they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.” Mark 16:17-18 (NIV).

Paul was not fazed by the sight of a deadly snake dangling from his hand. Why should he be? Was he not walking on the Word of God? He shook it off as though it were a bug and carried on feeding the fire. Unlike his hosts, he wasn’t expecting to drop dead because he was going to Rome!

The reaction of the islanders was typical of people who interpreted life from a superstitious world view. To them everything was a series of cause-and-effect events as a tit-for-tat response to their behaviour. When the snake struck, according to their understanding Paul was being punished because he was an evil-doer but when nothing happened to him, they changed their tune. He must be a god!

There is a valuable spiritual lesson for us even in this bizarre happening. What was it that prevented the serpent’s venom from circulating through Paul’s body and doing its fatal damage? Was it not Paul’s attitude? Had fear taken hold of him so would the snake poison have done? He was protected from death by his confidence in the words Jesus had spoken.

How many times we are “bitten” by the venomous words spoken to or about us! Words have the power to strike and latch on to our minds like a viper’s fangs. We have one of two options: receive them and allow the poison to seep into our minds and affect and infect our lives, or shake them off and remain immune to their deadly intention. “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit — you choose.” Proverbs 18:21 (The Message).

How we deal with them depends largely upon what we think of ourselves. A few days ago we looked at the reason why Paul was so unaffected by his circumstances. He was already a dead man. He died on the day he met Jesus. Since you can’t kill a dead man, not even a poisonous snake could kill him. He was in the hands of God, not circumstances, so he could shake off the circumstances and stake his life on what God had spoken.

What a way to live! Carefree in the care of God! When you are walking on the Word, your feet are more securely planted than on solid earth!

Mission Accomplished!

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

“The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius’ father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man’s room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed.” Acts 28:7-9 (The Message).

Imagine a small community of islanders having to play host to 256 unexpected guests, and not just for a day!

But with Paul among them, they were not parasites. Through him, God repaid their hosts’ kindness and generosity in ways that were far beyond what money could buy. Wherever he went, you could count on it that Paul would share his priceless message and the mercy of God that reached out to all people. In the unshakeable knowledge of God’s grace, he gave away the gift of healing to people who were ignorant and undeserving but who needed to know Him as much as anyone else.

Once again the devil’s agenda was thwarted and what could have been a terrible disaster turned out to be another of God’s opportunities to share His love with an isolated community which might not have otherwise heard. Paul did it in a very practical way, dispensing healing through the power of the Holy Spirit to the whole island. I’m sure many of the people would have wished they were sick just to experience God’s healing power!

“We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that wintered there in the harbour prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: “The Heavenly Twins.”

“We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week.” Acts 28:10-14 (The Message).

Mission accomplished! The Roman centurion and soldiers must have breathed a sigh of relief when they placed their feet on Italian soil. Luke does not specify, but it seems that the centurion trusted Paul enough to allow him to stay with friends until they could deliver him to Caesar. Perhaps he left him in the custody of one or two soldiers while he continued on to Rome to make arrangements for Paul.

One wonders why Luke commented on the figurehead on the Egyptian ship. Was he telling his reader that the ship sailed under the protection of “Gemini” until the moment that Paul and his little company of believers stepped on board? From then on, while they were on the ship, it sailed under the covering of Paul’s God. The company that boarded the ship after their own was wrecked had learned that anywhere was safe, even in a hurricane storm, where they were in the hands of God.

Would they ever forget their interlude in the company of Paul? Their time on Malta was no trial –they had experienced the bounty of God’s provision through the islanders, and all because God was showing them the care and favour of a loving Father. No doubt Paul took every opportunity to tell them the story of Jesus and demonstrate His resurrection power by healing sick people.

Wherever he went, Paul was a living, walking, breathing testimony to Jesus. He turned every disaster into an opportunity to put the glory of his Master on display. As turbulent and eventful as his life had been, it was all lived for and focussed on the one person who had captured his heart and transformed him from angry persecutor to passionate preacher. For Paul, God’s peace which was his priceless possession was all that mattered and came to him through his unassailable trust in God.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NIV).