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 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸ When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹ But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.” ²¹ And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴ And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” (ESV)

There is an emphasis on Paul’s innocence right through to the last chapter of the book – and on the rejection of the gospel offer by the Jews. These are repeated themes

We also see the divided response we have witnessed before. Jesus said that He had come to bring a ”sword”, and a sword divides (see Matt.10:34).Those who rejected the good news were wilfully blind and deaf to what would ”heal” them. The truth is that Christianity brings the profoundest good into a person’s life, but it is rejected for lesser ‘goods’ which are marketed as greater ‘goods’ (and may not be ‘goods’ at all). Imagine being offered treatment for a deadly disease and turning it down.

‘The blindness of unbelievers in no way detracts from the clarity of the gospel; the sun is no less bright because blind men do not perceive its light.’ John Calvin

After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. ¹² Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³ And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶ And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. (ESV)

”And so we came to Rome.”

I’m struck by the simplicity of that sentence. Entirely without fanfare. Yet it represents an event of great magnitude. There is a sense of peace about Paul’s arrival in Rome, and of the good Hand of God being upon Him. God is in control, not Rome. He has His man exactly where He wants him.

‘Paul went toward Rome, as we have seen, under very different circumstances from those that he originally anticipated; but, after all, they gave him the greatest opportunity of his life. The things that befell him were for the furtherance of the gospel. In no other way could he have approached or touched such men as the centurion, or the members of Caesar’s household, or Publius, or Nero himself…How he had longed to see mighty Rome! He was now allowed to live in his own house, chained to a soldier. In these circumstances he was secure from the hatred and plottings of the Jews, who in every city had endangered his life and impeded his labours.’ F.B. Meyer

”Brothers.” What a precious, family word. How it warms our hearts, whenever we travel at home or abroad, and we encounter brothers and sisters in Christ.

‘Even an apostle needs to be encouraged at times, and the saints who met Paul did just that. The group at Appii Forum travelled about ten miles farther than the other group. How far would you go to encourage a fellow believer?’ Warren W. Wiersbe.

 After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. (ESV)

These gods referred to were Castor and Pollux. What a contrast with Paul. Dead gods cannot help us in life’s storms. But Paul is a living embodiment of what trust in the true God can do.

My parents had a plaque sitting on top of their fireplace which read, ‘In God we trust.’ It was their story, and the predominant atmosphere of our home. I’m sure they would admit that their trust in God was imperfect, and possibly even patchy at times. I’m sure that trust was tested. But I’m grateful that we were raised in a home where the overwhelming ethos was one of trust in God. They did not want to hide this from anyone who entered their living room.

‘”We cannot always trace God’s hand but we can always trust God’s heart.” Charles Spurgeon

Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹ And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰ They also honoured us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed. (ESV)

In one of my favourite hymns, there is a line that goes: ‘Under the anointing daily let me live…’

F.B. Meyer writes: ‘Paul’s unfailing influence for good shows what a blessing even one Christian man can be wherever he goes, if he lives in the power of God.’

Maybe you would want to pray today, ‘Lord, make me such a man; make me such a woman.’

Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹ And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰ They also honoured us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed. (ESV)

”It happened…”

Some may have regarded it as a coincidence that Paul should be on the island when Publius’ father was so sick. But I prefer to see it as a ‘God-incidence’: a miracle of divine timing. The healing of this one man led to the healing of many others. Sometimes, more than we can imagine depends on ”It happened…” moments. See what great doors open on seemingly small hinges.

Again we see that as Paul made his journey to Rome, beset by lots of difficulties, the Lord surrounded him with many kindnesses.

PRAYER: Lord, we can’t manufacture miracles. We confess our weakness. But we dare to ask for ‘signs’ to accompany the preaching of your Word, to the glory of your name.

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴ When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. (ESV)

”Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7: ESV)

‘Had he not already been through enough suffering? When Satan cannot win as the lion (1 Pet.5:8), then he comes as the serpent (2 Cor.11:3). We must constantly be on guard and trust the Lord to care for us (Mark 16:18)’ Warren Wiersbe.

‘Let us also shake off temptation. We cannot prevent its attacking us, but we need not take the viper into our heart.’ F.B. Meyer

Or, as Martin Luther said, you can’t prevent the birds from flying about your head, but you can prevent them building a nest in your hair!

Let us become absolutely convinced of the victory we have in Jesus the Victor

After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. ² The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. ³ When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴ When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. (ESV)

There is an atmosphere of great kindness in verses 1-7, but even so it shows that public opinion can be fickle. As we see brothers and sisters suffer in various ways, may we kept from thinking and saying hurtful, judgmental things, and only adding to their pain. Someone said that the Christian church is the only army to shoot its own wounded! May God keep us far from the ranks of ‘Job’s comforters.’

‘How changeable is human opinion, shifting in a moment from the highest to the lowest estimate of our fellows, and basing that estimate solely on the favoUrable or unfavoUrable aspect of outward circumstances! Let us not judge by appearance, but righteously. Because Paul cast off the viper, they accounted him divine; if he had died, they would have thought him a felon.’ F.B. Meyer

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks…(ESV)

Warren Wiersbe highlights the potential surprise of Paul picking up the sticks in this story. He says: ‘If you had saved 276 people from drowning, would you feel it necessary to do menial labour like picking up sticks? Certainly the grateful passengers would have relieved Paul of the task! But Paul was a servant and he did the job that needed to be done (Phil.2:1-11).’

The highest position on offer in the Kingdom of ‘the Suffering Servant’, Jesus, is that of a servant. The way up is the way down. The top of the tree is actually at the bottom. No wonder someone observed, ‘Anyone who follows Him (Jesus) must undergo a transvaluation of values!’ We have entered ‘the Upside-down Kingdom.’

I do have a slight problem though: ‘I don’t mind being a servant until I’m treated like one!’

PRAYER: Lord grant that I never grow so big in my own estimation that I am reluctant to ‘pick up sticks’.

PS: When we seek to serve in Jesus’ Name, we should not be surprised if the old serpent comes after us: ”Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 ESV). He doesn’t have to win.

 After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. ² The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. (ESV)

William Wordsworth in ‘Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey’, wrote about:

‘That best portion of a good man’s life,

His little, nameless, unremembered acts

Of kindness and love.’

Stephen Winward writes in his excellent book on ‘Fruit of the Spirit’: ‘Amid all that is superficial and transient in life, kindness, like the everlasting hills, endures.’

‘Life is mostly froth and bubble,

Two things stand like stone,

Kindness in another’s trouble,

Courage in your own.’ (Adam Gordon)

It has been said that kindness is a language ‘The deaf can hear and the blind can see.’

We may be surprised to read about such kindness shown by the pagan natives of the island. Indeed, we may be surprised to find just where God’s kindness reaches us, and how, and through whom.

‘Luke…recognised ungrudgingly this great kindness of the pagans. Christians should be glad and grateful whenever they see kindness in those who do not belong to Christ.

This is not to deny, however, that there is a distinctive kindness, the grace of kindness, the fruit of the Spirit, given to those who belong to the fellowship of the Spirit. This new kindness, brought into the world by Jesus Christ, was, and should always be, distinctive of the Christian and the Christian community’ (Stephen Winward).

PRAYER: Lord, fill me please with ”the kindness of God”, and may it ever overflow to others (see 2 Samuel 9:1)