Acts28

After a shipwreck, Paul and his companions landed on Melita, where Paul miraculously survived a viper's bite and healed many islanders. Continuing their journey, they arrived in Rome, where Paul met with Jewish leaders, explaining his appeal and testifying concerning Jesus. Despite some Jewish unbelief, Paul declared God's salvation would now go to the Gentiles. For two years, Paul freely preached the Kingdom of God in Rome, unhindered.

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Paul Shipwrecked on Malta

Once we were safely ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta.

The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.

Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.

When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

The islanders were expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Nearby stood an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days.

The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man.

After this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured as well.

The islanders honored us in many ways and supplied our needs when we were ready to sail.

Journey to Rome

After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island. It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead.

Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there three days.

From there we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day, a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli.

There we found some brothers who invited us to spend the week with them. And so we came to Rome.

The brothers there had heard about us and traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and gave thanks to God.

When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to stay by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Paul Meets with Roman Jewish Leaders

After three days, he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

They examined me and wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.

But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.

So for this reason I have called to see you and speak with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

The leaders replied, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the brothers from there reported or even mentioned anything bad about you.

But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”

So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe.

They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

Not present in the manuscripts this translation follows.

The Gospel Unhindered in Rome

Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him.

Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Study Notes for Acts 28

Verse 1

Melita is modern Malta, an island south of Sicily. This section details the events of the three months Paul and his companions spent there waiting for winter to pass.

Verse 2

The term 'barbarous people' (Gk. *barbaroi*) does not imply savagery, but simply refers to people who did not speak Greek or Latin, showing Luke’s accurate use of Roman terminology.

Verse 3

This incident recalls the promise of protection given by Christ (Mark 16:18). The viper incident served as immediate confirmation of Paul’s divine authority to the inhabitants of the island.

Verse 4

The islanders immediately assumed Paul was guilty of a capital crime. They believed the goddess Dike (Vengeance or Justice) had preserved him from the sea only to ensure he suffered a more painful, certain death.

Verse 6

Their reaction shifted rapidly from viewing Paul as a wicked murderer to viewing him as a god, illustrating the superstition and fickle nature of pagan religious belief.

Verse 7

Publius is identified as the 'chief man' (Gk. *protos*) of the island. Inscriptions found on Malta confirm that this was the official title of the Roman governor or magistrate there, demonstrating Luke’s historical accuracy.

Verse 8

Paul’s ministry on Malta mirrors that of Jesus and the apostles: preaching accompanied by signs. He first prayed, then used the physical sign of laying on hands to effect the healing.

Verse 11

The ship had the figurehead of Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri), twin gods revered by sailors as protectors. Luke notes this common detail of first-century maritime life.

Verse 14

The presence of 'brethren' (believers) in Puteoli, a major port, illustrates the widespread, organic growth of Christianity throughout the empire even before Paul reached Rome.

Verse 15

Appii forum and The three taverns were two well-known post-stops on the Appian Way. The Roman Christians traveled a great distance (40-50 miles) to welcome Paul, which greatly encouraged him.

Verse 16

Paul was placed under 'house arrest' (*custodia libera*), a privileged status likely due to the lack of serious charges against him and his Roman citizenship. This allowed him freedom to receive visitors and minister.

Verse 17

Paul follows his usual custom of first addressing the Jewish community, ensuring they heard the gospel directly from him and understood the nature of his arrest.

Verse 20

Paul clarifies that his imprisonment is not for political crimes but for believing in the 'hope of Israel'—the fulfillment of the messianic promises and the resurrection of the dead, realized in Jesus.

Verse 22

The Jewish leaders refer to Christianity as 'this sect' (Gk. *hairesis*). Their statement confirms that Christianity was widely known, and widely maligned, throughout the diaspora.

Verse 23

Paul’s persistent method was to demonstrate from the Mosaic Law and the Prophets that Jesus was the promised Messiah who inaugurated the Kingdom of God. This debate lasted all day.

Verse 25

When the Jews disagreed, Paul used the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10, echoing Jesus’s own use of the passage (Matt 13:14) to explain why some hearts remained willfully hardened to the message.

Verse 28

This statement is a climactic summary of the theological turning point in Acts. Paul formally declares the redirection of the gospel from the largely resistant Jewish nation to the receptive Gentile world.

Verse 30

Paul’s two years in Rome covered the period before the presumed trial before Caesar (likely postponed or delayed). During this time, he wrote important letters, including Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

Verse 31

The final verse emphasizes the core themes of Acts: the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the teaching of Jesus Christ, done 'with all confidence, no man forbidding him.' The book ends on a note of triumph—the gospel has reached the capital of the world and is advancing unhindered.

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Acts28

Paul Shipwrecked on Malta

Journey to Rome

Paul Meets with Roman Jewish Leaders

The Gospel Unhindered in Rome

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