Summary of Acts 28:1-10:
Landing on the island of Malta, Paul and the others were welcomed by the islanders. Paul got bit by a viper but was able to shake it off to no ill effects, causing the islanders to think him a god. Paul healed Publius’s father and the rest of the sick on the island. They honored Paul and gave them everything they would need to set sail
BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 27, Day 4: Acts 28:1-10
9) The islanders assumed Paul had done something bad to deserve to be bitten by a viper and face certain death. When Paul didn’t die, they thought him a god.
10) Paul healed Publius’s father and the rest of the sick on the island.
11) Personal Question. My answer: God always puts up right where He wants us. Everywhere we go, we touch others. We have to trust in God’s plans more than our plans.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 27, Day 4: Acts 28:1-10
God uses Paul wherever Paul goes, and God puts Paul right where He wants him. God is so good. He does the same for us.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 27, Day 4: Acts 28:1-10
These experienced sailors would certainly have known the island of Malta, but not this side of the island. Almost all the traffic to Malta came to the main port, on the other side; they didn’t recognize this side of the island.
The meaning of the name Malta is somewhat disputed, depending on if the name is rooted in the language of the ancient Phoenicians or the ancient Greeks. If the name is rooted in early Greek, it probably has the sense of “honey” because of beekeeping on the island. But if the name is rooted in language of the ancient Phoenicians, it probably has the sense of “refuge.”
Paul and the Viper
The great apostle gathered wood for the fire, even though there were probably scores of people among the 276 passengers and crew far more suited for the job. Paul’s servant heart was always evident.
Paul’s reaction seemed calm and unconcerned: He shook off the creature into the fire. I would have been screaming!!
Justice is actually a reference to the Greek goddess of justice, Dikee. The natives, knowing Paul was a prisoner, assumed he committed a great crime, and the goddess of justice would not permit Paul to escape unpunished.
God didn’t preserve Paul from the storm just to let him perish by a snake. Paul was protected. It was promised he would go to Rome (you must also bear witness at Rome, Acts 23:11), and Paul wasn’t to Rome yet. It wasn’t so much that nothing would stop Paul as it was that nothing would stop God’s promise from being fulfilled — not even a snake!
Paul could take God’s past faithfulness as a promise of future blessing and protection.
We also see that “Divine Justice” had no more claim against Paul – it had all been satisfied by Jesus’ work on the cross. God’s justice could never harm Paul, nor anyone who has had all his or her sins paid for by the work of Jesus on the cross.
God gave Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus a season of relief and replenishment when he put them in this man’s care for all their needs.
Some think this was a malady known as Malta fever, which comes from a microorganism found in the milk of Maltese goats. Its symptoms usually last about four months.
God healed this man; yet it happened through the willingness and activity of Paul. God did the work, but Paul made himself ready and available for the work.
Soon, the work Paul did went to many others. This word for healed is not the customary word for a miraculous healing. The word more literally means, “to receive medical attention.” Luke (who was a physician according to Colossians 4:14) served the people of Malta as well.