Acts 28:1-10

Over the past few sermons, I have noted that we are in the section of Acts that has Neapolitan miracles, rather than Wow miracles.  What I mean by this is since Acts 20 and the bringing back to life of Eutychus, who went to sleep and fell out of the window to his death, there haven’t been any sudden, poof, instantaneous, Wow miracles.  The nature of the last 7 chapters in Acts has been the behind the scenes working of God in Paul’s life; Neapolitan miracles.  He has escaped from death on a couple of occasions by the providence of God;
-rescued from the crowd in the Temple,
-rescued from a beating by being a Roman citizen,
-a fiendish plot was discovered by his nephew, 
-rescued from the storm by following an angel’s instructions. 

But there haven’t been any wow miracles for quite a while.  The point I have made about this shift from wow to Neapolitan is that in our ordinary, everyday lives most of the miracles we are going to experience are Neapolitan; not Wow.  God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform and that is not typically wow. 

But in the first part of Acts 28, we find another set of wow miracles along with some pretty impressive Neapolitan miracles; all mixed together.  I have to ask the question, why?  Why, after several years of time passing, with Paul in prison and no miraculous escapes or calming the storms, or walking on water or even any healings, do we have a set of wow miracles, as we close out the book?  Let’s read Acts 28:1-10 and see what we can find out.

Remember from Acts 27, after 14 days in a storm, their ship stuck on a sandbar and was broken into pieces.  All 276 people on the boat jumped into the sea and swam to shore of an unknown island.  That is where Acts 28 begins.

Acts 28:1-4  Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.  The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.  When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."

From the islander’s perspective justice was fulfilled.  The storm, from the gods, had failed to take the life of this obvious criminal but then the gods got him with a snake.  That would have been the same conclusion I reached.  If this were a movie, the bad guy got away from a big disaster only to meet his end in a small disaster.   Justice was served.  And that is one of the points Luke is making here.  Justice was served, only Paul is innocent.

Acts 28:5-6  But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.  The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

The islanders knew what happened when that particular snake bit people; they swelled up and died.  So, they watched.  And they waited.  And they checked their watches and said, “You know people usually die before now.”  Then after twice or three times the normal falling over dead time, they changed their option from, “He got what he deserved,” to “This guy is superhuman.” 

So, why this wow miracle, now?  Note verse 2 again.

Acts 28:2   The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.

That is a clue.  The islanders could have stayed in their warm houses and left the survivors out in the cold rain to fend for themselves; they didn’t take these people to raise; “They got what the deserved.”  Instead, they came out and built a big fire to warm up their unexpected guests.  “They showed unusual kindness” and God showed them a wow miracle.  Ah Ha! Let’s keep reading.

Acts 28:7-9  There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.  When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.

Here we have more wow miracles.  Publius had a very sick dad.  Paul went in and prayed and placed his hands on him and healed him.  Interesting footnote here; this is the only time in Acts where a healing is done with both prayer and hands being laid on him.  This reminds me of a story we studied last year.

Luke 4:38-41  Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.  When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

The stories are similar.  Both have: invites into homes, relatives with fever, healing and then crowds are healed.  But the difference is also informative.  Paul prayed and laid on hands; Jesus rebuked and laid hands. Jesus spoke with the authority of God!  Paul is not God, but he had a connection to God. 

But still I have my question.  Why is Paul, now, able to heal Publius’ father? Why wow, now?  Read verse 7 again.

Acts 28:7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.

There is that hospitality thing again.  Luke is making a connection between hospitality and wow miracles.  Let’s finish the story.  The connection is made again.

Acts 28:9-11  When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.  They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.

Everyone else on the small island of Malta, which is only 18 miles long and 8 miles wide, brought their sick and everyone was healed.  The islanders put them up for three months and then gave them the supplies they needed for their journey on to Rome.   Hospitality and wow.  Three hospitalities and three wows. Note also the Neapolitan miracle of finding another Alexandrian ship on its way to Rome.  Let’s not forget the Neapolitan miracle as we focus on the wow miracles. 

Here is the point I think Luke is making, if not, it is the point I am making; God honors hospitality.  Here we have a bunch of convicts and Roman soldiers and crusty old sailors all crash on their nice little island in this perfect storm.  The islanders could have looked the other way.  They could have left them to take care of themselves.  They could have been afraid of this group. These prisoners weren’t arrested for jaywalking.  But instead they came out of their homes and warmed them up and gave them food and invited them into their homes and then sent them on their way with provisions.  And God honored their hospitality with wow miracles; everyone on the island was cured from hang nails to heart attacks; from sore throats to small pox; from flux to fevers; from plaque to the plague; because these people offered unusual hospitality.  God blessed them. 

That should be an example for us.  Not that we should be nice to people so God will grant us wow miracles, but there is a principle of God honoring our hospitality with blessings.  One of the fundamental Christian qualities God has always required is hospitality! Just listen:

Romans 12:13   Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

1 Peter 4:9  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

At the risk of pressing Luke’s story too far, note there are three kinds of hospitality offered in the story which I think is a model for us.  What is the theme of this year?  We witness in hospitality! 

1) Hospitality in crisis.  Without warning 276 people crashed into their lives.  And they dealt with it.   Some storms come without warning and we need to be ready to help.  Organizations such at the C of C National Disaster Relief and the HOPE pregnancy center are examples of this.  Individually, we need margins in our lives both financially and with our time to be able to respond quickly to the storms in people’s lives.  That is what we are called to be as Christians; people who are ready to build a fire in the storm.  Is your family in a position to help?  Do you witness in crisis?  God honors hospitality!

2) Hospitality in homes. Just like Publius, do we use the beautiful homes God has blessed us with, to entertain and help others?  How often do you have others over for a meal?  How often do you share your home for activities?  How often do you put people up for a few nights?  Do you have a guest bedroom?   Is your home ready to witness?  God honors hospitality!

3) Hospitality in mission.  As Paul continued on his God-ordained journey to Rome, the people helped him.  We are called to help missionaries; to help those who are doing God’s will; to help organizations with God’s vision for sharing the Gospel with others.  How much do we help those who are called to witness to the world?  God honors hospitality!

The people on this small island of Malta were unusually kind with their hospitality.  And because of this God broke out in wow miracles.   God’s blessings are tied to our hospitality. 

There is one more detail about this story that I don’t want you to miss.  Did you notice in our story that Luke recorded the figurehead on the bow of the boat that God Neapolitanly placed on Malta? 

Acts 28:11  After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.

Why does Luke include this detail?  Paul has sailed dozens of times in the book of Acts and Luke has never mentioned anything like this about any of the other boats.  Why, in this story, does Luke tell us there was a figurehead of Castor and Pollux?  If you are up on your ancient Roman gods you know these are the twin gods known as Gemini.  Trivia question for you ancient historians; what are Gemini known for? They were the protectors of ships and sailors.  They were the ones sailors prayed to in a storm.  

Here is a thought.   Luke, in his subtle and metaphorical way, is saying; God is going to protect this ship which was given in hospitality.  Wow! Think about it. 

Los Alamos Church of Christ
November 16, 2008