Acts 28

Introduction

Chapter 27, which we studied together last week, was a record of Paul’s journey from Caesarea towards Rome. And on the way there was a storm which lasted for something like fourteen days and nights. And the ship that Paul was on was tossed about on the Mediterranean Sea. And then it was finally battered to pieces by the waves after it ran aground near a beach. And those who could swim swam ashore; and those who couldn’t swim held on to pieces of timber and whatever else they could find to keep them afloat as they too made their way to the beach. And in the end, not one of the people on board was lost. Every person was saved.

And last week we thought about God’s providence and how nothing happens by chance, but by the hand of our Heavenly Father. And so, that storm did not happen by chance, but God sent it. God caused that wind to blow. He caused the ship to be driven across the sea. He caused the ship to run aground and to break apart. God caused all of this to happen.

We might now know why he caused it to happen, but we know that he did cause it to happen, because he upholds and governs all things. And we know that he graciously and freely preserved Paul’s life and the life of everyone on board. The reason none of them drowned is because God kept them alive.

And in whatever troubles and trials we face, we should believe that these things do not happen by chance, but according to God’s will. Btu we also need to remember and believe that God’s will for his people is always good, because God is good. And therefore we should trust in him.

In today’s chapter, which is the last chapter in the book of Acts, they discover that they’ve been washed up on the island of Malta. Apparently there’s a town in Malta today which is called St Paul’s Bay. I’m not sure whether the town is really where Paul and the others were washed up, but the town clearly gets its name from this incident. And after staying in Malta for a time, they put out to sea once again, because they still had to get to Rome. And Luke tells us what happened when they got there. So, the chapter can be divided into three parts. There’s their time in Malta in verses 1 to 10. There’s the voyage from Malta to Rome in verses 11 to 15. And there’s Paul’s time in Rome in verses 16 to 31.

Verses 1 to 10

According to verse 1, once they were safely on shore, they discovered where they were. And the islanders showed them unusual kindness by lighting a fire and welcoming all of them. It seems it was raining and it was cold and, of course, they would be soaked to the skin after swimming through the sea. And so, no doubt, they appreciated the fire and the welcome.

Luke tells us that Paul was gathering firewood. Here he is: an apostle of the Lord and a prisoner of Rome. But he’s still willing to do what he can to love and serve his fellow travellers. But as he gathered the firewood, a snake fastened itself onto his hand. In other words, it bit him and would not let go. When the islanders saw it, they concluded that the gods must be angry with Paul. He’s managed to escape from the sea, but the gods will not let him live. But when Paul shook the snake away and survived, they changed their minds about him and decided that he must be a god.

And this is often what happens with people who don’t know the one, true and living God. Because they don’t know the Creator, who made all things and who governs all things, then they don’t know how to make sense of life in this world. And so, they fasten on to one idea which seems to explain the world to them. But when that idea proves false, then fasten on to another idea and then on to another and another. Maybe this is true; or maybe this is true. Maybe this is the way to understand things; or maybe this is the way. Maybe the gods are angry with this person; or maybe this person is a god. It might be this or it might be that.

And the reason such people can’t make sense of anything is because they don’t know the God who made all things and who governs all things and who says to us, ‘This is the way it is.’ And so, knowing the one, true and living God, who made all things and who sustains all things, gives us stability. He gives us a foundation for life.

But let’s move on, because Luke goes on to tell us that there was an estate nearby which belonged to this man, Publius, who was the chief official on the island. And he welcomed them to his home and entertained them hospitably for three days. And the reason Luke records this is because Publius’s father was very sick. And Paul went to see him and Paul prayed for him and laid his hands on him and healed him.

Of course, it’s wasn’t Paul who healed the man, but God. Paul prayed to God to heal the man; and God heard and answered his prayer. And when people heard what had happened, then everyone else on the island who was sick came to Paul and they too were cured. And because of what Paul was able to do for them, they honoured Paul and his companions in many ways and furnished them with many things. And in this way, God provided Paul and his companions with everything they needed for their onward journey.

Verses 11 to 15

And now we come to verses 11 to 15. Luke tells us that they stayed in Malta for three months. They had to wait for winter to be over and for the weather conditions to improve. And when the time was right, they set sail in another ship.

Luke, who was with Paul, notes for us that the ship had on the front of it the twin gods, Castor and Pollux. Apparently the Romans and Greek trusted in these two gods to help them in times of distress; and presumably statues of the gods were on the ship to say that the crew was relying on them to keep them safe at sea. But, of course, those two gods are nothing. They’re only idols made of wood or metal and they cannot see and they cannot speak and they cannot do anything to help anyone, because they’re not real. Meanwhile Paul’s God, who is the one, true and living God who made all things, is the one we’re to trust, because he made and he controls the sea and wind and everything else. We’re to look to him for the help we need. And we come to him through his Son, Jesus Christ, who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins and to make peace for us with God. Through faith in Christ, God becomes our Heavenly Father and we can therefore trust in him to care for us.

They set sail from Malta and put in at Syracuse on Sicily. Then they sailed for Rhegium on the mainland. Then they reached Puteoli, which is not far from Rome. And there they found some fellow believers, who invited them to stay a week.

‘And so we came to Rome’ it says at the end of verse 14. However, they’re not quite there yet, but they’re almost there. The believers in Rome heard Paul was coming and they went out to meet him. This is what people did in those days when they were expecting an important visitor. If the Emperor was coming, for instance, or another important official, the townspeople would come out of the town to welcome the visitor. And together they would come into the town. And though Paul is a Roman prisoner, the Christians in Rome know that he’s also an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, they go out to meet him and to accompany him on the final leg of his journey.

And when Paul saw them — and Paul has wanted to get to Rome for a long time now — when Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged. He was encouraged because God had done when he said he would do, which was to bring Paul to Rome to testify to the Romans of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Verses 16 to 31

And in the verses which follow — verses 16 to 31 — Luke tells us what happened when Paul reached Rome.

According to verse 15 he was allowed to live by himself, but with a soldier to guard him. In other words, unlike in Caesarea, where he was kept in prison, in Rome he was allowed to live in a private home. But since he was still a prisoner, there had to be a guard with him at all times. And in verse 20 he refers to a chain. So, he was chained to the guard.

But he was clearly allowed to have visitors, because Luke tells us in verse 17 that he called together the leaders of the Jews. The leaders of the Jews are probably the elders in the local synagogues. And when they assembled, he told them his story and how he had done nothing wrong, but nevertheless he was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. The Romans examined him and wanted to release him because he was not guilty of any crime deserving the death penalty. But when the Jews objected, Paul appealed to Caesar. And now that he’s in Rome, he has called them together to explain to them that the reason he’s a prisoner is because of the hope of Israel. And when he refers to the hope of Israel, he means the hope of the resurrection. God promises his people that he will raise them from the dead. This is what the Jews believed and it’s what Christians also believe. But what Christians believe — and this is what Paul preached — is that the Lord Jesus was the first to be raised. He was the first, but he will not be the last, because everyone who believes in him will also rise to live with God for ever.

The Jewish leaders answered Paul by saying that they have not received any letters from Judea concerning Paul. In other words, this is all new to them. They haven’t heard from anyone in Jerusalem about Paul and what he may or may not have done. And none of their fellow Jews who have come to Rome from Judea have mentioned it. It’s all new to them.

But they want to hear more about what Paul believes, because they know that people everywhere are talking about this sect. They’re referring to Christianity. And though they haven’t heard anything about Paul, they have heard about Christianity, because everyone is talking about it. And they want to know more.

And so, they arranged to come back another day. And when that day arrived, they brought lots more people with them. And from morning to evening, Paul explained and declared to them the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is ultimately eternal life in the new creation to come, where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever. That’s what the kingdom of God is ultimately. But one of the remarkable things we learn about the kingdom of God in the New Testament is that it has already come. It has already come, because the Lord Jesus is the king of God’s kingdom. And when he was on the earth, he went about preaching about the kingdom and calling men and women and children into it. And now that he’s in heaven, he continues to call men and woman and children into it through preachers sent by God. And we enter it through faith in the Saviour who died for sinners before rising again. And Christ the King will continue to build his kingdom here on earth until he comes again. And when he comes again, he’ll bring his people into the new creation to come, where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever.

So, Paul explained and declared to them the kingdom of God. And he tried to convince them from the Law of Moses and the Prophets about Jesus. That is to say, he tried to convince them from the Old Testament Scriptures that the Lord Jesus really is the king of God’s kingdom; and we must trust in him for eternal life in God’s kingdom.

And how did the Jews respond? Look at verse 24. Some were convinced by what Paul said. But others would not believe. They therefore disagreed among themselves: some believing and some not believing.

And to those who would not believe, Paul quoted from the prophet Isaiah. So, he said to the Jews in Rome that what the Holy Spirit once said about the Jews in Israel applies to them as well. And what did the Holy Spirit say about the Jews in Israel in the days of Isaiah? He said to them that they will be ever hearing, but never understanding. And they will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.

So, they’ll hear God’s word, but they won’t understand it. They’ll see what God is doing, but they won’t get it. And the reason they will hear, but not understand and the reason they will see, but not perceive is because their heart has become calloused. That is to say, their hearts are hard. If your finger is calloused, the skin has become hard. And when the skin around your finger is hard, then you can’t feel things properly. There’s a kind of numbness. And by saying their hearts are hard, the Holy Spirit was saying they were suffering from a kind of spiritual numbness which prevented them from paying attention to everything God was doing and to everything God was saying to them. As a result, they hardly hear with their ears and they’ve closed their eyes.

But if they had seen with their eyes and if they had heard with their ears — if they had paid attention to the word of the Lord and to all that God was doing around them — and if they had understood with their hearts, then they would have turned back to God. And if they had turned back to God, God would have healed them. He would have saved them from their sin and guilt. He would have delivered them from all their misery. He was ready to fill their lives with good things and not with evil. He was ready to do good to them. He was willing to pour out on them one good thing after another if only they turned back to him in repentance and faith. But they would not listen.

And Paul took that message which the Holy Spirit spoke to the Jews in Israel in the days of Isaiah and he applied it to the Jews in Rome in his own day. He was saying to them: You’re just like the Jews in Israel, because here I am, like Isaiah, declaring to you the word of the Lord about Jesus Christ his Son. Here I am telling you the way to be saved and how to have eternal life in the kingdom of God. But you’re not listening to me. If only you would listen to me, then you’d turn to God through Christ for salvation. But as it is, you refuse to believe.

Therefore, says Paul to the Jews in Rome in verse 28, I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen. So, because you Jews will not listen to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, God is sending me to the Gentiles. And they will listen.

Application

And they will listen, not because the Gentiles are better than the Jews. Because they’re not. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. All have sinned — Jews and Gentiles alike. All are sinners and the Gentiles are not better than the Jews. But the Gentiles will listen, because this is God’s will for them.

God’s will is to reach out in love to men and women and boys and girls in every nation of the world and to draw them to himself through Jesus Christ his Son and by his Spirit. And because this is his will for them, the Lord Jesus appointed the apostles to go and to make disciples of all nations. And at the beginning of the book of Acts, the Lord Jesus told them that they will receive the help of the Holy Spirit to enable them to bear witness to him in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And throughout the book of Acts, we have seen how the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus has enabled his apostles and others to do precisely that. First, he enabled them to declare his word to the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. And thousands of them were converted to faith in Christ. Then he sent them out of Jerusalem and Judea and they proclaimed the gospel to the Samaritans in Samaria. And then the Lord Jesus sent them throughout the Roman Empire and to the ends of the known world to declare to the Gentiles the greatness of God’s love for sinners and his willingness to deliver us by his Son from our sin and misery and to perfect us by his Spirit.

And the Lord not only sent out his apostles, but he sent the Holy Spirit to make the reading and preaching of his word effective. The Holy Spirit opened the hearts of unbelievers and he enabled them to believe the good news and to call out to Christ for salvation. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And I wonder do you remember what the disciples asked the Lord at the beginning of the book of Acts? Before the Lord ascended to heaven, they asked him if he was going to restore the kingdom to Israel at that time. At that time, they still didn’t understand God’s purposes. They believed that the Lord Jesus was indeed the King of God’s kingdom. But they thought he was a king like David and that God had appointed him to raise an army to drive the Romans from Israel and to restore Israel to the way things were in the days of David and Solomon. At that time, God’s people lived in the land of Israel and they kept themselves separate from the pagan nations who did not believe.

But that was not God’s plan or purpose. God’s plan — as has become clear — was for them to leave Israel and to extend God’s kingdom throughout the world. His plan was for his kingdom to fill the earth. His plan was for his kingdom to exist in every nation. But his kingdom grows throughout the nations, not by force, but by persuasion. It grows, not by the sword, but through the preaching of the gospel in the power of the Spirit. Through the preaching of the gospel in the power of the Spirit, men and women and boys and girls are, in a sense, conquered for Christ. They gladly bow their knee and submit to him as their King.

And what the Lord Jesus began to do in the days of the apostles, he’s still doing today. He’s still raising up preachers and he’s still sending them throughout the world to proclaim the kingdom of God and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And all over the world, men and women and boys and girls are meeting today in churches to worship God and to give thanks to him for saving them from their sin and misery through Christ the King, who gave up his life on the cross to pay for their sins and who shed his blood to cleanse them from all that is not right.

And the Lord Jesus comes to us in the preaching of his word and he calls every one here to believe in his name for salvation and to enter his kingdom, which is an everlasting kingdom, which he’s building on the earth through the reading and preaching of his word.

And he calls us to worship him with one another and to serve him in our daily lives and to do all things for the glory of his name.

And when the time is right, Christ our King will come again and he’ll gather his people from every nation and from every generation and he’ll bring us into the new creation, where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever. That’s the great hope we receive when we trust in Christ the King. And with grateful hearts, we should give thanks to God and we should live our lives for his glory.