Acts 28: 1-15

(Acts 28: 1-15)

 

And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:  Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary. And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.  And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.  And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:  Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.  And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

 

The first appearance of Paul in Acts is chapter 8. In chapter 8, instead of the Greek name of Paul, it appears under the Hebrew name of Saul. Saul's appearance was intertwined with a large incident of persecution triggered by Stephen's death. Saul took Deacon Stephen's death for granted, and after a massive persecution against the church in Jerusalem began, Saul took the lead and began to destroy the church. In Chapter 9, Saul headed to Damascus to search for all Christians in Jewish communities scattered throughout the country due to persecution. At this time, Saul was a young man who had a strong confidence from the high priest and a promising evangelism. After meeting the risen Lord, he was converted, and from preaching the Gospel, he was driven from the Jews as an apostate and was threatened with murder. Without doing so, with the help of his brothers, he went down to his hometown of Tarsus and lived there.

 

Later, in Acts 11, Saul's name appeared again. This is because Barnabas went to Tarsus to minister to the Antioch Church and called Saul. Thirteen years had passed since Paul had escaped the threat of murder by the Jews and had been in Tarsus. And from chapter 13, Paul stood as the main character leading the second half of the book of Acts. From chapters 13 to 28, the Acts of the Apostles conveys through the footsteps of the Apostle Paul the way the gospel of Jesus Christ is spreading beyond Asia to Europe and to Rome, the center of the world at that time. Chapters 13 through 28 are all sixteen. However, after finishing the third evangelistic trip, Paul entered Jerusalem in chapter 21 and was arrested there. In terms of the volume of the book of Acts, it is the point at which the apostle Paul is half of what appears as the main character. From this time until the end of the book of Acts, until the death of Paul, Paul lives in a prisoner, not a free status.

 

Paul, who was confiscated in a boat to Italy, was only one prisoner. Paul, who had the experience and insight accumulated through his long travels, expressed the opinion that he should not depart, to the centurion in charge of transporting prisoners. Nevertheless, he listened more to the captain and owner, who were far more experienced sailing experts than Paul. However, shortly after departure, it proved how wrong the decision was. It vividly shows the tremendous disaster that resulted from ignoring the advice of only one prisoner. Amid the disaster, 270 people except Paul and his companions completely lost their hope for survival and were in despair and fear. It was in the despair and fear of this disaster that Paul's ability to respond to crises and spiritual leadership began to shine.

 

Paul stopped sailors trying to escape and found a way for everyone to live. The centurion, who ignored Paul's words as a prisoner without any reason, now fully trusted Paul's words. The centurion's attitude wasn't just because Paul accurately predicted the disaster. Paul delivered God's message to those who believed that there was a god over the sea.

 

『 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 』

 

Paul gave them the God they believed in and the word of God to them who had no hope of salvation. He showed that God would deliver not only himself, but the lives of everyone on the boat. He was a prisoner, but God spoke through the prisoner. Influence or leadership is not created by status or position.

 

As Paul said, 276 people were rescued on the island of Melide, without any injury or death. And they were warmly welcomed by the natives there. A fire was made, and while Paul was putting in a tree, a viper hiding in the tree bit Paul's hand. The natives then regarded it as the realization of justice. 『And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. The prisoner who killed the murderer survived the frenzy, but in the end, the goddess of justice sent a viper to judge him.

 

But even after a long wait, nothing happened to Paul. Then people worshiped Paul as a god. For this, Paul was treated with great hospitality by Boblio, the head of the natives there. When he learned that Boblio's father was lying with a fever and dysentery, Paul prayed to him, laid his hands on him, and healed him. When this was known, the sick people on the island came to Paul to be healed. In return, Paul and his companions were treated well by the people there and were able to receive abundant supplies for sailing. At the start of this voyage, Paul was nothing more than a prisoner that no one noticed. However, by the end of this voyage, Paul was respected not only by the people on board but also by the natives of Melide Island as the most noble man.