ACTS 28. “SO, WE CAME TO ROME.” Three months on Malta God had promised His servant Paul that he would testify of the Lord Jesus at Rome, but He had not told him of all he would experience on the way there. The short visit at Sidon would have cheered his heart and that of Aristarchus and Luke, who traveled with him. Then came increasingly bad weather, which ended in a shipwreck on the shore of Malta. The storm that drove them from Crete to Malta was no quick-passing low-pressure storm. “For many days,” the storm raged until, for most of those on board, “all hope was gone.” But for the man of faith who said, “I believe God,” even though it was an uncomfortable journey, he knew his God keeps all His promises, and God, through an angel, told him not to be afraid.
Suffering in life's journey to the promised land, our heavenly home, is to be expected by those who live for God. The lives of believers are very different from that of society all around us. Our lifestyle, the way we speak, and hopefully our attitude toward God, people, and life are not compatible with that which is socially accepted. We embarrass people who know what is right but choose to do what is wrong. On the other hand, if we try to adapt to the social life and business life around us, and even the religious life, a Christian, a true child of God, will be the one who is embarrassed. It is very hard to be an effective testimony for the Lord while seeking to accommodate those who “love not our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Sixty miles lay between Malta and Sicily, so those who had been shipwrecked had to stay there for the winter. In His divine wisdom, the Lord of the harvest had three laborers in the middle of a “harvest field” ready for harvesting. Every spiritual experience seems to have some suffering attached to it to counterbalance the whole thing, lest we become complacent and think we are succeeding in our limited strength and wisdom.
Unexpected Kindness, v.2. “The islanders showed us unusual kindness.” God had prepared people who were not Romans nor Jews but had kindness in their hearts. They were superstitious and idolaters, but “in every nation,” the Lord had His way of connecting them to the truth of God when they sought it. Perhaps Paul looked on that warm fire as a work of God on their behalf and so did not hesitate to assist in the work of the One he served.
Sometimes, it is difficult to think God cares for us when we are storm-tossed by life and all it throws at us. Just when we think we are safe and the storm has passed, the enemy of our souls takes another way to try to bring us down in defeat. A viper bite is usually nothing to ignore.
Humble Service, v.3. “Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks.” To some people who think of themselves above others, to do menial tasks is beneath their dignity and would be a humiliation to them. To warm those who are cold and dry the clothes of those who are wet may seem like an insignificant matter, but when we show grace in the small things, God’s grace that is far greater is often seen. To serve the Master by picking up sticks in humble service “as to the Lord” is evidence of spiritual maturity. Paul wasn’t forced to do the “little” things. It was part of his spiritual nature and insight so that when he saw a need he could fill, he did it for the benefit of others.
Another Trial, v.3-4. “There came a viper out of the heat and fastened on his hand, and he shook off the beast into the fire.” We might ask ourselves, why does the good we seek to do for others sometimes bring pain to us? That doesn’t seem fair of God to allow that to happen. Moreover, when that happens, we may wonder about the words. “All things work together for good to them that love God.” Sometimes, the “heat” that brings the “viper” to bite us may really be one of God’s mercies toward other people through us. We must not allow ourselves to be fixated on that which is slimy and evil. Just shake it off into “the fire”; then keep on doing what we know is right and profitable.
False Judgment, v.4-6. “A murderer… a god.” Most people who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ make judgments based on what they hear as rumors and occasionally on what they see but misinterpret. When things actually become real and clear to them; not based on external evidence, then the truth of a matter is not far away from them. It is up to believers to act appropriately when either the frown or the favor of others is directed toward them. Criticism can come quickly when people are looking for a reason to justify their own misbehavior. Applause and flattery may also come quickly and are probably more dangerous than criticism. Satan will continue to seek ways to defeat a child of God, but his end is to be “cast into the lake of fire.” “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.”
Generosity Rewarded, v.7. “Received us and lodged us three days courteously.” God is no man’s debtor, and it is important that God’s servants openly express appreciation for the kindness shown to them. If at all possible, when a need is evident, seek to meet that need. Publius was fully recompensed for his kindness when God healed his father from “Malta fever” through the hand of Paul, His servant. Malta fever was common on some Mediterranean islands and has been traced to the milk of Maltese goats. The fever can last for several months and occasionally longer.
Paul was a prisoner, but he was also an apostle the Lord was using in the foundation of His church. Apostleship gave authority to early apostles, making it possible for doors to open to the Gospel through signs and wonders done by the power of God through those men. Paul was not divine, but he had access to divine power to use for the benefit of others. Many on the island of Malta were restored to health because of Paul’s faithfulness to God. We don’t read of Paul preaching during those three months, but there were good results for the kingdom of God simply because he was there.
Meeting the needs of others when we are able to do so is a means of demonstrating the power of the Gospel. When we are in circumstances in which preaching and teaching in public meetings are not possible, be available and on the lookout for other ways to share the good news of salvation with others. The centurion, the local official, and many others on the island of Malta were blessed by God through His servants, who lived among them for three months.
Needs Supplied, v.10. “They honored us in many ways… they furnished us with the supplies we needed.” Those who had been shipwrecked had nothing, but because of the mercy of God working through Paul, the needs of 276 people were met for three months, and when they left on the last part of the journey to Rome. Believers need to remember the words of the Lord, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” The influence of one man yielded to the will of God and saved them all from death by drowning, and because of his influence, their physical needs were met for the rest of the way.
Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ have an impact on the ungodly around them, even though they may not know it, nor will others say they appreciate it. The “savor” of salt has a real positive effect, even though it is not seen. Some things are “better felt than telt.” Much is taken for granted in this world, but when the Lord calls His own to be with Him at the rapture of the church, the whole world will realize that something important, the church of born-again believers, is missing.
FINALLY, AT ROME Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, includes several geographical descriptions in this account of the final leg of the long journey from Jerusalem to Rome. Each place likely had some significance if he had included a day-to-day account, but the point of those seemingly unnecessary things in the narrative is that there was a goal to reach. It wasn’t to open up a new work in Sicily in the main city of Syracuse. Nor was it God’s intention that Paul would be able to do Gospel work at Rheguim, on the southern tip of Italy. The stop in Malta was one event in the sovereign plans of God, and the next event was to get to Rome after the ship reached the main seaport of Puteoli. Nothing was allowed to sidetrack that objective. Even though he had never been there before, he could spend a week with some believers living there, seventy-five miles away from Rome. God’s work in the Gospel preceded Paul and spread into other parts of Italy besides Rome. Paul’s week of teaching at Puteoli would have greatly blessed the believers living there.
Appii-Forum was a notably wicked place forty-three miles from Rome, but that didn’t keep some believers from Rome from coming to meet Paul there when they heard he was coming. Others also came thirty-three miles to the Three Taverns to meet him there. That interest and welcome would have cheered his heart and Aristarchus and Luke's. There is something very special when you know others want to see you and let you know of their interest in you and the Gospel.
It is a wonderful blessing and joy for believers to meet other Christians, especially new Christians who have enthusiasm for their new-found faith. We know that we are “one with them,” even though we have never met before, let alone known each other. It doesn’t take long before the family bond of faith in Christ draws us close together in spirit, soul, and body. Being members of the body of Christ, of which He is the head, and yet each one, “members in particular,” unites us in a strange way not understood by those who are not children of God. “How do you know them?” is a question often asked by unbelievers when we tell them of our connection to people in far and distant places. We are “one in Christ, one body in the Lord.”
The Cheering Salutation, v.15. “… he thanked God and took courage.” When believers can minister to each other, especially when one has been through a lot of suffering and trials that are very wearisome to the whole person, the self-sacrifice of others on one’s behalf means a lot. To encourage a person who has been through terrible times is within the capability of every Christian. There is wonderful comfort and consolation when mutual faith and love are shared.
To wait for someone to come to you asking for sympathy may never happen. There is a time when one must step out of their comfort zone and meet them where they are and in their confined situation. An effort extended simply for the benefit of others will likely greatly benefit the person who takes the time to “go the extra mile” and demonstrate the reality of Christian grace and love.
The First Meeting, v.16-22. “Three days later, he called together the leaders of the Jews.” Paul was in prison, although allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him. If the guard was chained to him, it would have been the guard who was the captive audience to all that Paul preached, taught and believed. The guard would have listened to Paul's testimony to the Jewish leaders and heard all he said concerning his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God was working in His chosen way to reach people who would have been otherwise unreachable.
The hope of Israel and the hope Paul himself had in Christ were not two different things. Christ was the fulfillment of Jewish hopes, which included the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; it also included the fact that He was the Messiah of the Jews and the King of the coming kingdom. Paul made it plain to them that the hope of the Jewish fathers had brought him to Rome in chains.
When we teach the word of God, it is important that we make the message we preach relevant to those who are listening. “The chief of the Jews” hadn’t heard about Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem. Still, they were well aware of the Jewish dispute over whether Jesus was the Messiah, as Christians believe, or a deceiver, as the high priest and those who had arranged to have Jesus crucified, believed. Christians in those days were denounced by the Romans also because they were perceived to be a threat to Caesar, who claimed to be a god. The whole city of Rome was given over to idolatry of some kind or another. The Christians were committed to an authority greater than Caesar, and they were willing to die for that Person they knew had died in their place and had risen again. Our Lord is supreme above all, and our Lord Jesus Christ has the preeminence in all things.
The Message, v.23. The prisoner was the preacher. The prison/house was the meeting place where the Gospel was preached. The message was about the kingdom of God and things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ and Him crucified was Paul’s theme then, and it is the same for us now. “Preaching the kingdom of God” was in contrast to the empire of Rome, where Nero was the supreme person. The kingdom of God is also in contrast to the kingdom of heaven in that it is not just for the Jews, but also for the Romans and all who are outside of the kingdom and who do not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
“Teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ” would unfold to those hearers who Jesus is, what He did when He was here, what he is doing now, and what is coming in the future. Some believed and some believed not then, and the same is true in our day. Even though we may not see the results we had hoped for when we preach the Gospel, God, the Holy Spirit, can bring to the minds of those who have heard the message of salvation in the past, the truth of salvation in another time, place, or circumstance.
Two Years of Ministry. “Those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ” would include what Paul wrote and what he taught and preached. During the two years Paul was imprisoned in that house, he wrote the book of Philippians, which tells us that Christ is the Source of our joy as those whose minds are focused on the Lord Jesus. He wrote Colossians, which emphasizes the Lord Jesus Christ as the Preeminent One who is the Person and Glory of God in a human body. He also wrote the book of Ephesians when he was in prison in Rome, which unfolds Christ as the Head of the church, revealing Him to the world. He has removed the barrier between Jews and Gentiles and has made of both, “One new man, so making peace.” The short letter to Philemon was sent along with the converted slave, Onesimus, showing us that Christ is why rejected slaves can become beloved brothers to their masters. “Put that on my account” would have had a lasting impression on Philemon from the one who brought him to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The message of the book of Acts is that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Lord of all who believe in Him. The actions of the Holy Spirit through people from all walks of life, of many nationalities, and of many divergent backgrounds have brought a vibrant and vital body of truth to the world of lost souls. The book of Acts talks about the spread of the Gospel to many places in one generation. Luke recounts how it was preached, where it was preached, to whom it was preached, and the attitude and actions of those who preached the Gospel.
It is a very optimistic book that doesn’t have a real conclusion because what was started then continues today worldwide. The Gospel remains unchanged despite the turmoil, wars, atrocities, and failures of twenty-one centuries of human history since Luke wrote this. People are still being born-again into the family of God. Believers in Christ are still committed to a life of faith. Sinners are still being saved for all eternity. Eternal life is daily being lived out in the lives of those who are children of God. Our lives can still be abundant because our Lord Jesus Christ gave them to us. God is not done showing the exceeding riches of His grace toward us and all mankind.
GOSPEL WORK IN THE BOOK OF ACTS #1. Principles of Gospel work (introduction). #1. Motivation for Gospel work #2. Commission for Gospel work #3. Reaching people through Gospel work #4. Opposition to Gospel work #5. Witnessing in Gospel work #6. Serving in Gospel work #7. Preparing for Gospel work #8. Confidence in Gospel work #9. Submission in Gospel work #10. New opportunities in Gospel work #11. Common sense in Gospel work #12. Tough times in Gospel work #13. The labor of Gospel work #14. Sharing Gospel work #15. Prejudice against Gospel work #16. New laborers in Gospel work #17. Reactions to Gospel work #18. Training for Gospel work #19. Spiritual discernment in Gospel work #20. Spiritual leadership in Gospel work #21. Maturity in Gospel work #22. Guide for Gospel work #23. God's love in Gospel work #24. False accusations toward Gospel work #25. Trusting God alone in Gospel work #26. Personal testimony in Gospel work #27. Disappointment in Gospel work #28. Balance in Gospel work “ONE JESUS”