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PAUL’S
JOURNEY TO ROME - 4 (Acts 28:1-10) 08/28/16 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. SAFE ON MALTA (1) A. The Island of Malta - Luke’s
details are impeccable in regard to the identification of the island of
Malta. How could the sailors end up on a little island called Malta, when it
was pitch black dark while they were being blown by hurricane like winds? 1. Historians, archaeologists, and nautical
scholars have determined that the island of Clauda is approximately 476 miles
away from Malta. According to various calculations, a vessel during
hurricane-like conditions would travel approximately 36 miles per day or a
crawl of about 1.5 miles per hour. 2. It would take approximately 13 days to
span the distance of 476 miles under those conditions. 3. If we include a day’s voyage to cover the
distance between Fair Havens and the island of Clauda, it would add to a
total of fourteen days. 4. Paul had maintained that the day of the
shipwreck and the swim to shore was the “fourteenth day” (Act 27:33). B. A Bay with a Beach – In Act 27:39
the sailors did not recognize the land but did spot a “bay with a beach.” The
traditional location for Paul’s shipwreck was in St. Paul’s Bay found at the
top of the northeastern part of the island. 1. This location has a reef in the middle
where “two seas meet” (Act 27:41). 2. In addition, the water floor can account
for the incline between twenty fathoms and fifteen (Act 27:28). 3. The wooden ship would not have survived
2,000 years. However, a set of four anchors had been recovered in another bay
of the island (cf. Act 27:40), which also fits Luke’s criteria. Only one
anchor remains, the others were melted down for scuba diving weights. a) Dr.
Anthony Bonano, head of the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the
University of Malta, upon investigation of the fourth anchor, said: What you
have just shown me is, to be precise, part of an anchor, called an anchor
stock, which is lead and is an essential part of a typical Roman anchor. Its
flourishing period would be around the first century A.D., though its use
would have spanned from the first to second century A.D. back to the second
or third century B.C. It would be considered universally Roman, and could
have come from a ship from Rome or from Alexandria . . . . Of course, a ship
would have several of these. b) II. SNAKE BITES PAUL (2-6) A. Natives Kindled a Fire (2) 1. “Native” is the Greek word from which we
derive the English word “barbarian.” But it is best not to take the English
meaning as much as the Greek meaning. It comes from the Greek word “barbaros”
and refers to non-Greek speaking people. To Greek ears, the less superior
languages sound like the onomatopoetic sound “bar… bar… bar…etc.” 2. These natives were not barbarians for
they showed extraordinary kindness to them. They received and welcomed
them, built a fire(s), and met the needs of all 276 passengers. B. Viper Bites Paul (3) 1. We find Paul helping to assist the needs
of the party by gathering kindling for the fire. 2. Paul was unaware that a snake lay dormant
among the bundle of sticks. But as soon as it neared the heat of the fire it
came out and fastened itself to Paul’s hand. 3. Specifically, it was a “viper” (echidna
– viper, poisonous snake, adder, Mat
3:7; 12:34; 23:33), a member of the venomous snake
family found in most parts of the world (Viperidae, i.e. Rattlesnake). They
have long needle-like fangs that pierce the skin and inject poisonous venom. 4. Venoms typically contain an abundance of protein-degrading enzymes,
called proteases, that produce symptoms such as pain, strong local swelling
and necrosis (death of cells), blood loss from cardiovascular damage
complicated by coagulopathy, and disruption of the blood-clotting system.
Death is usually caused by collapse in blood pressure. Wikipedia C. Superstition of Natives (4) 1. The natives saw the “creature” (thęrion
– wild beast or creature. Aristotle
and the medical writers apply the word to venomous serpents, the viper in
particular. RWP) hanging from his hand. 2. Being one of the prisoners, the natives
assumed Paul was a criminal. Because Paul had been bitten by a snake, they
superstitiously assumed that Paul was a criminal who committed murder.
3. They construed that somehow Paul had
cheated death by surviving the shipwreck but in the end, “justice” (may
be referring to Dikę, the native goddess) caught up with Paul. 4. Though the natives were superstitious and
did not know the living God, this illustrated the truth in Rom 2:14-15 that
the Law is written on the hearts of men. They possessed some sense of
morality though they incorrect theology. D. Paul was Unharmed (5) 1. Their superstitious beliefs had no basis
for Paul shook off the snake from his hand into the fire. As for Paul
himself, he “suffered no harm.” 2. God had intervened and protected Paul
from the snake’s venomous poison. E. Natives Claimed Paul’s Deity (6) 1. Luke made it easy for the readers to
picture the natives whispering to one another and catching coy glances toward
each other in regard to Paul. They were expecting (imperfect tense
of prosdokaō, kept waiting and waiting etc.) something to happen to
Paul. 2. But nothing happened to Paul. He did not
suddenly fall down dead, nor was there any swelling. 3. Realizing that their first assumption was
wrong about Paul, they now assumed he was a god. For only a god could sustain
a venomous snake bite without incident. 4. Luke does not record Paul’s response but
we can presume he did something similar as he did in chapter fourteen. When
Paul healed a lame man at Lystra, the people began to call both Paul and
Barnabas gods. Paul responded in horror, tearing his robe and crying in a
loud voice that he was a mere man (Act 14:11-15). III. SIGNS OF APOSTLESHIP (7-10) A. Publius Opened Home to Paul (7) 1. The leading man of the island was named
Publius. The phrase “leading man of the island” does not infer that
Publius was the wealthiest man on the island, for his Father was still alive.
Rather, it suggests that he was perhaps a Roman governor of the island (tō
prōtō tęs nęsou – lit. first or chief of the island , cf.
Prōtos Militaiōn or Primus of Maltese was found on an ancient
Maltese inscriptions.). 2. He too was hospitable welcoming them with
lodging and accommodations for three days. This probably refers just to
Julius and his prisoners, which included Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus. B. Paul Healed Publius’ Father (8) 1. While there, Paul visited Publius’
father, who had been intermittently bed-ridden. Luke diagnosed him with “fevers”
(puretois, plural as in fevers that often reoccurred) and dysentery
(dusenteroin – Eng. dysentery - severe diarrhea with passage of mucus and
blood and usually caused by infection, “bloody flux” KJV). 2. Paul prayed for his healing
showing that all such miracles come from God (cf. Act 9:40). He laid hands
on him showing that God worked such miracles and healing through the
hands of an apostle (Act 9:17-18; 19:11; Mar 16:18). C. Paul Healed the Sick (9) 1. Word soon spread and all those who had
diseases and illnesses on the island came to Paul in the “three months” that
they stayed there (cf. Act 28:11). 2. Luke used the word iaomai for the
word “heal” in Act 28:8. Now he uses the synonym therapeuō (Eng.
“therapeutic”), which some have attributed to Luke’s medicinal services.
However, Luke stated the islanders came to “him” (Paul) and were “getting cured.” Though a medical
term, it was used as a miraculous healing in regard to Jesus (Luk 6:18). D. The Natives Supplied the Ship (10) 1. The natives, in appreciation for all Paul
had done, gave Paul and his companions “marks of respect” (“honored
with honors”), which most likely referred to honorariums for ministry
along with other gifts. 2. The islanders appreciated the ministry of
Paul and his companions that they supplied all of their needs. IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APLICATIONS A. Superstitions and Spirituality. The
natives applied there superstitions to their spirituality. If people do not
get their truth from God and His Word, there is no other place from which to
get truth. There are no other wise men or books that contain truth. Those who
claim they do, are deluded because all false notions come from the
imaginations and superstitions of men. (Tit 1:13-16; 1Ti 1:3-7; 1Ti 4:7; 2Ti
4:1-4) B. Signs and Sermons. Both Jesus’
ministry as well as the apostles has been to work signs, wonders and healing
to show they were God’s spokesmen. Then those spokesmen gave God’s message
(2Co 12:12). The signs always lead to a sermon (message) from God’s spokesmen
(Joh 9:7 cf. Joh 9:13 cf. Joh 9:40-41 cf. Joh 10:14-17; Act 3:6 cf. Act
3:12-13; 2Co 12:12 cf. 2Co 13:3 cf. 2Co 1:19). C. Sermons and Salvation. Because of
Paul’s preaching, Maltese history relates that a church was started by Paul
and its first pastor was a man by name of Publius. This also explains why the
people gave an outpouring of love and gifts to Paul. They had no only
received [physical healing from Paul, but also spiritual healing, they
received salvation. D. Saints and Snakes. Some
denominations believe in handling snakes as a sign of the handler’s faith.
This verse and Mar 16:16 are used to support such practices. But neither
passages fully support that all believers are to be venom and poison proof. 1. In 1910, after reading Mk 16:18, George
Went Hensley introduced snake handling to churches throughout the Appalachian
region. Although this passage is a part of the ending of Mk that is
considered by many not to be original, much of the church for 18 centuries
viewed this passage as authoritative. 2. Therefore, if it is interpreted
literally, one would expect to hear that early Christians obeyed the
directive to pick up snakes. No evidence exists that this ever happened,
other than the Apostle Paul . 3. Paul did not handle the snake, he was
bitten by the snake. If you are going to stick to the biblical account, it
should not be called “snake handling” it should be called “snake-biting.” You
should expect to see absolutely no signs or maladies from the venom 4. Metzger a) The last
twelve verses of the commonly received text of Mark are absent (1) from the
two oldest Greek manuscripts (Aleph and B), (2) from the Old Latin codex Bobiensis (it), (3) the Sinaitic Syriac manuscript, (4) about one hundred Armenian manuscripts,2 (5) and the two oldest Georgian manuscripts
(written A.D. 897 and A.D. 913). b) Some of
the church Fathers had no =knowledge of these verses. (1) Clement
of Alexandria and Origen show no knowledge of the existence of these verses; (2) furthermore Eusebius and Jerome attest that
the passage was absent from almost all Greek copies of Mark known to them. (3) The original form of the Eusebian sections
(drawn up by Ammonius) makes no provision for numbering sections of the text
after 16:8. (4) Not a few manuscripts that contain the
passage have scribal notes stating that older Greek copies lack it, and in
other witnesses the passage is marked with asterisks or obeli, the
conventional signs used by copyists to indicate a spurious addition to a
document. 5. What
about the poison?(Mar 16:18) a) Don’t see
many drinking poison in their church service, except the poison of false
teaching. |
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Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516 |
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