Acts 28:1-10

CRITICAL REMARKS

Acts 28:1. The best authorities read, “And when we were escaped, then we knew”—lit., And having been saved, then we knew, or learned (by intercourse with the inhabitants) Melita.—Not Meleda, an island off the Illyrian coast in the Gulf of Venice, but the modern Malta.

Acts 28:2. The barbarous people, οἱ βάρβαροι, were not savages, but natives who spoke neither the Greek nor the Roman tongue (compare Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 14:11; Colossians 3:11), but most likely the Punic—i.e., Phœnician as used by the Carthaginians. No little kindness.—Meant kindness not to be met with every day, uncommon (compare Acts 19:11). They received us.—Not to their fire (Meyer), but to their regards, as in Romans 14:1. The present rain.—Not the rain which came on suddenly (Meyer), but the rain then falling.

Acts 28:3. But when Paul had gathered—lit., twisted together—a bundle, large quantity, or heap, of sticks.—It does not militate against the truthfulness of this part of the narrative, that Malta now shows a great absence of wood; since the growth of population in the island may have led to the destruction of the forests, while, as an additional consideration, the sticks collected by Paul may have been driftwood from the wreck. A viper.—ἔχιδνα, the female adder, the male being ἕχις. The reptile here referred to, the Vipera aspis, was common in the Mediterranean isles (Tristram). Out of.—ἐκ pointing to the local source. The best MSS. read ἀπό which might signify by reason of (compare Acts 20:9; Luke 19:3). The heat.—According to Agassiz vipers become torpid when the warmth of the air sinks below the mean temperature of the place they inhabit. The fact that poisonous serpents are not now found in Malta was formerly adduced (Coleridge) as a difficulty connected with the present narrative; but the disappearance of noxious reptiles from Malta may be satisfactorily accounted for by the increase of population and the cutting down of the timber in the island. In this way vipers have almost entirely disappeared from the island of Arran in Scotland (The Landsboroughs: Arran, its Topography, etc., p. 242).

Acts 28:4. The venomous beast.—Aristotle (Eth. Nic., Acts 7:1) uses the word θηρίον to denote any animal below the nature of man; Dioscorides Physicus (A.D. 60) to designate a reptile. θηριακὰ (from which comes our word “treacle”) φάρμακα mean antidotes against the bites of poisonous animals. Hang—lit., hanging—on his hand.—“The newer critics (Ewald, Lekebush, Hausrath, and others) suppose either that the viper curled itself round and hung from the Apostle’s hand without biting, or that though it fastened itself by biting, it was not poisonous; but this opinion neither the natives nor the writer entertained” (Holtzmann). A murderer.—This the natives probably supposed Paul to be, not because the viper had fastened on his hand (Kuinoel), or because a serpent’s bite was the Maltese punishment for murder (Heinsius), but because they observed his chains (vincula videbant), and concluded him to be a notorious criminal (Bengel). Vengeance.—Better, Justice, or Nemesis, ἡ δίκη. The goddess Dike who avenged crimes was no mere poetical personification, but a divinity honoured with a special sanctuary in the harbour town of Megaris. Her mother was Themis, the ruling world power; her sisters were Irene (Peace) and Eunomia (Good order)” (Holtzmann).

Acts 28:5. Felt or took no harm.—A fulfilment of Mark 16:12 (compare Luke 10:19).

Acts 28:6. Swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly.—“Sudden collapse and death often ensue from the bite of serpents” (Hackett). “Both these, the inflammation of the body and the falling down dead suddenly, are recorded as results of the bite of the African serpents” (Alford). Lucan, 9:790, describes the bite of an African serpent, Prester, named from the verb πίμπρασθαι—

“Nasidium Marsi cultorem torridus agri
Percussit Prestes. Illi ruber igneus ora
Succendit, tenditque cutem, pereunte figurâ.”

which may thus be rendered—

“Nasidius toiling in the Marsian fields
The burning Prestes bit—a fiery flush
Lit up his face and set the skin astretch,
And all its comely grace had passed away.”

And said that he was a god.—Compare Acts 14:13. “Aut latro, inquiunt, aut deus: sic modo tauri, modo lapides. Datur tertium; homo deo” (Bengel). What god the Maltese imagined Paul to be, whether Hercules (Grotius) or Æsculapius (Wetstein), cannot be determined.

Acts 28:7. In the same quarters.—Better, in the parts about, or in the neighbourhood of (R.V.) that place. Possessions.—Estates or lands, χωρία, as in Acts 4:34. The chief (or first πρῶτος, as in Acts 28:17; Acts 13:50; Acts 25:2) man of the island was the Roman governor, the legate or deputy of the prætor of Sicily, to which, as in the time of Cicero (4 Ver., c. 11) the smaller island was most propably annexed. The use of this official designation, πρῶτος, has justly been regarded as a striking proof of Luke’s historical accuracy (Baumgarten, Tholuck, Ebrard, Lardner, Paley, Howson), two inscriptions, one in Greek and another in Latin, having been discovered in Malta at Citta Vecchia, in which this title is similarly employed. Moreover, as the person named on the inscription is called Prudens, a Roman knight, it has been inferred that Publius may have belonged to this class. Publius could hardly have been called the first of the Melitæans, πρῶτος Μελιταίων, from his social rank or wealth, so long as his father lived. The us whom he received were probably, besides Paul and his companions, Luke and Aristarchus, Julius the centurion. The notion can scarcely be entertained that Publius provided for the whole ship’s company of two hundred and seventy-six persons.

Acts 28:8. The specification of the disease under which Publius’s father suffered as a fever and bloody flux or dysentery, besides according with Luke’s professional character as a physician, was another testimony to his accuracy as a narrator of facts. Whereas formerly the dry climate of Malta was supposed to be unfavourable to dysentery and inflammation of the lower bowels, physicians resident in the island now report these diseases as by no means uncommon among the inhabitants. Laid his hands on him—as in James 5:14—and healed him.—Whether through the co-operation of Luke the physician is not stated—though the probability is not. Yet the healings in Acts 28:9 may have been affected partly through Luke’s aid.

Acts 28:10. They laded us with such things as were necessary.—Better, they put on board such things as we needed for our journey.

HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 28:1

Three Months in Malta; or, Two Remarkable Incidents.—

1. The Preservation of Paul

I. The fire upon the beach (Acts 28:2).—

1. The name of the island on which they had been cast ashore, the shipwrecked voyagers ascertained, presumably, by inquiring of the natives. Formerly believed to be the island of Meleda, in the Gulf of Venice, and near the coast of Illyricum, the scene of Paul’s shipwreck is now universally considered to have been the modern Malta (according to some ancient authorities, Melitene) in the Mediterranean, about sixty miles south of Sicily. The argument on which this conclusion rests one may sum up thus: Malta lies in the track of a vessel driven by a north-east wind, such as the Euroclydon or Euraquilo was; the reputed locality of the wreck, as mentioned in the apocryphal acts of Peter and of Paul, agrees with Luke’s account; the Alexandrian ship in which re-embarkment was made would naturally winter there, rather than at Meleda; the subsequent course of the voyage to Puteoli was that which a vessel would pursue in going from Malta, but not from Meleda (Hackett, Zöckler).

2. The kindness of the natives showed them to be barbarians in speech only, but not in heart. The tongue they used was that of neither Greece nor Rome, but most likely Funic, or a Carthaginian dialect of Phœnician. Nevertheless the service they rendered to the cold and shivering sailors and soldiers whom Providence had cast upon their coast, proved them to be less degraded than many who have borne the Christian name, but by their cruel treatment of shipwrecked mariners and passengers have placed themselves outside the pale of humanity. Observing the hapless plight of the two hundred threescore and sixteen souls who had been rescued from the waves, and who, besides being drenched with brine, were exposed to the combined severity of a strong north-east wind and a steady rain, the natives proceeded to light a fire for their comfort. It was a small thing to do, but it was the right thing at the right time, and evinced the thoughtful consideration of those who did it.

3. The co-operation of Paul was almost what might have been expected from one who had previously taken part in lightening the ship (Acts 27:19). The writer represents him on this occasion as actively engaged in assisting the barbarians by gathering up and twisting together into a bundle a quantity of sticks to cast upon the flame. Some have objected to the truthfulness of the story on the ground that the Malta of to-day is distinguished by a great absence of wood, but the Malta of Paul’s time must have been a barren spot indeed if it contained no brushwood; and in any case there must have been within easy reach, strewed along the beach, pieces of the wreck, which could have been made available for the purpose of keeping up the fire when once it had been lighted.

II. The viper on Paul’s hand.—

1. The possibility of the incident. That no such venomous reptiles are now to be found in Malta does not prove that none such existed there in Paul’s day, any more than the fact that vipers are now almost extinct in Arran in the Frith of Clyde shows they were not formerly numerous in that island. That Paul should have grasped a snake in the handful of brushwood he collected is explainable by remembering that in consequence of the coldness and lateness of the season the reptile may have been in a torpid state, it being characteristic of such creatures that they sink into this condition when the warmth of the air falls below the mean temperature of the place they inhabit. That the beast was restored to activity by the heat of the fire into which it was flung goes without saying, while that it could easily have leaped high enough to fasten on Paul’s hand as he stood in the vicinity of the flames is quite credible, since vipers are accustomed to lurk in rocky places, from which they dart out upon their enemies (Ecclesiastes 10:8), rising sometimes several feet at a bound.

2. The danger arising from the incident. Though not expressly stated that the viper bit Paul, this was probably the case, and was evidently believed to be the case by such of the natives as were standing round and observed what had taken place. Knowing well the deadly nature of the reptile’s sting, they expected every moment to behold the apostle either swelling up in his arm with strong inflammation, or dropping down suddenly to the ground, as Shakespeare (Antony and Cleopatra, Act v., sc. 2) says when speaking of the asp-bitten Cleopatra and her maid Charmian—

“If they had swallowed poison, ’twould appear
By external swelling”;

and of Charmian, who, following Cleopatra’s example, applied the asp to her bosom—

“Tremblingly she stood

And on the sudden dropped.”

(See “Critical Remarks.”)

3. The termination of the incident. Neither of the results anticipated by the spectators followed. Calmly the apostle shook the beast back into the fire, out of which it never again rose; and, though the wondering natives kept on in momentary expectation that something amiss would happen to the apostle, he suffered no evil effects whatever. Rationalist interpreters would like, if they could, to ascribe this either to the non-poisonous character of the reptile or to the fact that it did not bite the apostle, but it is certain that whether the creature bit him or not Paul would see in his preservation a result due to the providential care and special mercy of God. Nor does it seem unreasonable to suppose that Paul was enabled to behave throughout with the calmness he displayed, because he recalled the promise which his Master had given to the eleven, and of which he must have heard (Mark 16:18), and bethought himself of the twice-given assurance (Acts 23:11; Acts 27:24) that he would see Rome, and therefore could not perish in Malta.

III. The thoughts of the Maltese.—These were various and deep, but mistaken.

1. A wrong conclusion. When they saw the reptile springing from the flames and fastening on Paul’s hand, they reasoned, probably observing his fettered wrists, that he must be some notorious criminal—a murderer, for instance—whom, though he had escaped the waves, Divine Justice, that awful minister of high Heaven’s wrath that ever follows on the heels of crime, would not permit to live. This suspicion, which they whispered to each other, bore a striking testimony to the sense or apprehension of Divine justice which sleeps in every man, even the most degraded; supplied a signal instance of man’s readiness to lapse into error when interpreting providential occurrences or pronouncing upon the characters of others; and gave a salutary reminder to all that even the best of men may be misjudged by their fellows.

2. A disappointed expectation. When the natives remembered what the bite of a viper signified they expected to witness the apostle either dropping down before them a dead man or swelling up along his arm and throughout his body with a strong inflammation; but in this also they were at fault, because of not knowing Him who had promised, “They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall in no wise hurt them.” Verily there were more things in heaven and on earth than had been dreamt of in their philosophy!

3. A superstitious exclamation. When they found, as they kept looking on to witness the final collapse of the apostle’s vitality, that nothing happened, and certainly that nothing amiss befell him, they changed their minds, and ejaculated again to themselves and to each other, “He is a God!”—whether “Æsculapius, the god of physicians, who ruled over the serpent, or Hercules, who crushed serpents in his cradle” (Stier), for both were worshipped in Malta, cannot be determined. Once more they were as sadly astray as when they had pronounced him a murderer. Thus “the multitude know no moderation; it either exalts one to heaven, or thrusts him down to hell” (Starke). If Paul understood what the natives said about him, it need hardly be doubted he would correct their misapprehension, as he did that of the men of Lycaonia (Acts 14:13).

Learn.—

1. That human nature at its worst estate is not wholly lost. Soft places exist even in the hardest hearts.
2. That Christ’s people should always be forward in helping their fellows. Paul, though an apostle, disdained not to assist in collecting sticks for the fire.
3. That God is able to protect His people in the midst of greatest dangers. Paul, who had been rescued from the waves, was again shielded from the serpent’s bite.
4. That the best of men are often mistaken for the worst. Paul was looked upon as a notorious criminal. Paul’s master had been condemned as a malefactor.
5. That ignorance and superstition are exceedingly unstable in their judgments. The one moment Paul was shunned as a murderer, the next moment honoured as a God.

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Acts 28:2. No common kindness. The behaviour of the natives of Malta to Paul and his fellow-voyagers was—

I. A testimony to God’s providential care in providing for their wants in a time of urgent necessity, in raising up for them friends in a place where, and at a time when, these could least have been expected.

II. A proof of the. remnant of goodness to be found in the hearts of even the most degraded, which renders their ultimate recovery neither impossible nor hopeless.

III. A rebuke to many Christians whose conduct in showing kindness to their fellow-men falls far behind that of these untutored islanders. “Christian dwellers at the coast may learn a Samaritan love from these strangers” (Besser).

Two Fires upon the Beach.

I. On the shore of the Galilean Lake (John 21:9).—Prepared by Christ for His disciples. An emblem of Christ’s love towards, thoughtful care of, and bounteous provision for, His people.

II. On the shore of St. Paul’s Bay in Malta (Acts 28:2).—Prepared by the islanders for the shipwrecked voyagers. An emblem of the kindness which men, and more especially Christ’s followers, should show towards one another, in sympathising with and assisting one another.

Acts 28:3. The Incident of the Viper; or, Faith and Superstition.

I. The barbarians’ eyes of superstition beheld in the incident four things:

1. An ordinary occurrence, the bite of a serpent, which they expected to be followed by the usual result, the death of the bitten one.

2. A supernatural detection of an evildoer as they supposed, whom Divine justice would not allow to live.

3. An inexplicable phenomenon, which led them to as erroneous a conclusion as that they abandoned.

4. The presence of a Divine being, in which thought they were right, though the Divine presence was not that of Paul, but of Paul’s Master and Lord.

II. Paul’s eye of faith beheld in the incident four things:

1. A miracle of Divine power. Either in preserving him from being bitten by the adder, or, if bitten, in protecting him against hurt.

2. A token of Divine goodness in thus shielding him from being injured by what might otherwise have proved his death.

3. A proof of the Divine faithfulness. Christ having promised to His disciples before His ascension that they should take up serpents and not be hurt (Mark 16:17).

4. A mark of Divine honour. Put upon Paul in presence of the islanders, not for his sake alone, but for theirs as well, to open for him a door of usefulness among them so long as he remained in the island.

Acts 28:1. The Necessity of the Advent for the Barbarian World. Exemplified by the barbarian life and religion of the inhabitants of Melita.

I. Barbarian virtues.—Two errors held on the subject of natural goodness:

1. That of those who deny to fallen man any goodness at all, and refuse to admit even kindness of feeling, contradicted by the virtues of hospitality and sympathy which were found among the islanders.

2. The opposite error of placing too high a value on those natural virtues. These Melitans, who “showed no little kindness” to the wrecked crew, belonged to a stock who, in the most civilised days of Carthage, offered human sacrifice, and after every successful battle with the Romans burnt the chief prisoners alive as a thank-offering to Heaven.

3. The advent of Christ brought a new spirit into the world. “A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another.” That was not the new part. The Melitans would not have disagreed with that. “As I have loved you.” … That makes all new.

II. Barbarian ideas of retribution.—In some form or another the idea of retribution underlies all mythologies, and constitutes the basis of all natural religion.

1. In the barbarian conception of it, however, there was something gross, corporeal, and dangerous; because they misinterpreted natural laws into vengeance. If we ask where these Melitans got their idea of retribution, the reply is out of their own hearts. They felt the external connection between wrongdoing and penalty. The penalty they would have executed on murder was death. They naturally threw this idea of theirs into the character of God, and blended together what was theirs and what is His. This is valuable as a proof of the instinctive testimony of man’s heart to the realities of retribution. It is utterly worthless as a testimony to the form in which retributive justice works, because it is not borne out by the facts of life.

2. As information increased this idea of retribution disappears. Natural laws are understood and retribution vanishes. Assuredly there is no vengeance such as this which suffers not the murderer to live, but arms the powers of nature against him. So the idea of retribution goes for those who can see no deeper than the outward chance of penalty.

3. The advent of Christ brought deeper and truer views. It taught what sin is and what suffering is. It showed the innocent on the cross bearing the penalty of the world’s sin, but Himself still the Son of God, with whom the Father was not angry but well pleased.

III. Barbarian conception of Deity.—“They changed their minds and said that he was a god.”

1. This implied a certain advance in religious notions. There is a stage of worship prior to that of man-worship. Men have worshipped the powers of nature and even brute life. The Melitans were a stage beyond this.

2. In this worship of the human, however, it was adoration of the marvellous, not reverence for the good, which they displayed. It was not Paul’s character to which they yielded homage, but the wonderful mystery of his miraculous escape. The mere worship of the mysterious has but a limited existence. As you teach laws you undermine that religion.

3. The Redeemer’s advent taught a deeper truth to man. The apostle spoke almost slightingly of the marvellous (1 Corinthians 13:1). Love is diviner than all wondrous powers. The revelation of the Son was to proclaim a Father, not a mystery.—Robertson, of Brighton.

HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 28:7

Three Months in Malta; or, Two Remarkable Incidents.

2. The Healing of Publius’s Father

I. The subject of the healing.—The father of Publius, the chief, or first man, of the island, whose estates lay in the vicinity of the scene of the shipwreck. That Publius was designated the “first of the Melitæans” was due neither to his wealth, which was presumably great, nor to his rank, which was obviously high, but to his office, which was that of representative, legate, or deputy of the Roman prætor of Sicily, to which the smaller island of Malta was annexed as an appanage. Two inscriptions found in Malta, at Citta Vecchia, belonging to the time of Augustus, one in Greek and the other in Latin, show that the term “first” was frequently so used—the Greek inscription running, Lucius Caius, son of Quirinus, a Roman knight, first of the Melitæans. That his father lived with him was probably a testimony to his filial affection.

II. The motive of the healing.—A threefold desire on the part of Paul.

1. Philanthropical. To relieve, if he could, the suffering of the patient, who lay sick of fever and dysentery. Paul was never unmindful of his own precept—“As therefore ye have opportunity, do good unto all men” (Galatians 6:10; compare Hebrews 13:16). Like his Master, who “went about continually doing good” (Acts 10:38), he was ever on the watch for occasions to serve. Nor can one more closely resemble either Christ or Paul than by ministering to the infirm and afflicted.

2. Evangelical. To find an opening for the gospel, which he believed and was always anxious to preach. Paul was ever ready to enter with his message of salvation into any door that Providence might open, whether in Ephesus or in Rome, in Cyprus or in Malta. Like Jesus Christ, who was always about. His Father’s business (Luke 2:49), and whose meat and drink it was to do His Father’s will (John 4:32), Paul was one that never missed a chance of publishing the good news of grace and eternal life to those who would hear (Romans 1:15).

3. Eucharistical. To make some return for the generous hospitality which for three days had been exhibited towards Paul and his companions, which was only common gratitude, a virtue in which the apostle never failed (2 Timothy 1:16). It is not absolutely certain that Publius’s hospitality was extended to the whole ship’s company, though possibly the meaning of the historian may be just this, that for three days Publius was engaged in showing kindness to the shipwrecked voyagers, having them up in relays to his mansion or grounds, and sumptuously feeding them. Others, however, suppose that the entertainment referred to Paul and his companions, Luke and Aristarchus, with perhaps Julius, the centurion, and the master of the ship. But in either case Paul would naturally feel that such generosity would demand some return.

III. The nature of the healing.—

1. Ordinary. The cure of a fever and dysentery, and yet the only cure of its kind reported of Paul—indeed, only the third work of healing ascribed to him in the Acts, the other two having occurred at Lystra (Acts 14:1) and at Philippi (Acts 16:16), unless the healings and exorcisms attributed to Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:11) be taken into account. That the malady from which Publius’s father suffered was not impossible, even in a dry climate like that of Malta, physicians resident in the island have shown.

2. Miraculous. It is evident that though Luke was a physician, it was not by him but by Paul that the cure was wrought. It was Paul and not Luke who entered into the sick man’s chamber. Yet Paul had no power in himself to cure.

IV. The method of the healing—

1. Prayer. The apostle followed the usual practice of Peter in attempting the sick man’s cure (Acts 9:40). It is possible that on entering the patient’s chamber Paul had no idea beyond that of praying for his restoration to health (James 5:14), and that the impulse to perform a miraculous act of healing was communicated to his mind during prayer. If he contemplated a miracle from the first, then the precedence of the prayer would assist the patient to detect the source whence his cure proceeded.

2. Imposition of hands. In so acting Paul imitated the method of Christ (Mark 6:5; Luke 4:20; Luke 13:13). The action would in part serve to connect the healing and the prayer as well as to aid the faith of him on whom the miracle was wrought.

V. The effect of the healing.—Threefold.

1. Spread of fame. The rest of the islanders who had diseases on them came to Paul for assistance, which, like his Master, he denied not, but freely granted, laying his hands upon them and healing them all (Luke 4:40), but whether in every instance miraculously, or with the assistance of Luke, is not told.

2. Increase of honour. The patients whom he cured honoured him and his companions with many honours—not rewards for their services, which Paul would hardly have accepted (Acts 20:33; Philippians 4:17), but “attentions,” marks of favour, in attestation of the kindly feelings with which they were regarded.

3. Supply of need. When the time arrived for departure from the island the natives put on board ship everything they could think of that might be needful for the voyage of Paul and his companions, as once before the friends at Sidon had done (Acts 27:3).

Learn—

1. That Christians should never allow themselves to be surpassed in courtesy by men of the world, though they sometimes are.
2. That Christ’s people should be distinguished for their gratitude to those who show them kindness, which they sometimes are not.
3. That wherever Christians go they should endeavour to leave those they meet the better for their society, which they do not always do.
4. That Christians will lose nothing either in this world or in that which is to come by doing good, which they frequently forget.

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Acts 28:7. The First Man in Malta: a Sermon on true Greatness.—Exemplified in Publius.

I. First in rank.—The deputy of the Sicilian prætor, the representative of Imperial Rome. Exalted station a great talent, conferring great powers and creating great responsibilities.

II. First in wealth.—A reasonable inference from the mention of “lands.” Like social dignity, riches a splendid endowment which, when rightly used, may be productive of immense good to their holder as well as to his less fortunate fellows in society around.

III. First in goodness.—Which after all is the only greatness. Publius, it is obvious, was distinguished by at least three virtues which are rare.

1. Filial devotion. The presence of his aged father in his official mansion probably spoke well for his respect for and attention to his parents (Ephesians 6:1).

2. Humble condescension. Though a great man, he did not shrink from condescending to men of low estate like the shipwrecked sailors and prisoners who had been cast upon his island (Romans 12:16).

3. Generous hospitality. A wealthy landowner, he freely parted with his means to supply the necessities of the poor voyagers whose whole goods had been devoured by the sea (Proverbs 21:26; Psalms 112:9; 1 Timothy 6:18).

Acts 28:1. The People of Malta: an Expressive Representation of the Heathen World.

I. In their need of redemption.—Their dark superstition (Acts 28:4), their manifold misery (Acts 28:8).

II. In their capability of redemption.—Their friendly hospitality Acts 28:2); their dim knowledge of God Acts 28:4); their lively susceptibilities for impressions of the Divine (Acts 28:6); their childlike gratitude for kindnesses received (Acts 28:10).

III. In their relation to redemption.—The gospel which Paul carried with him to the island and doubtless preached to its inhabitants having been intended for them, adapted to them, offered to them, and to some extent, it may be hoped, believed and enjoyed by them, as it is in the heathen world to-day.—Enlarged from Gerok.

Acts 28:4. The Mistakes of the Maltese.

I. They misinterpreted the providence of God (Acts 28:4).

II. They misjudged the character of Paul (Acts 28:4; Acts 28:6).

III. They misunderstood their own needs (Acts 28:9).

Acts 28:7. The Beauty and the Profit of Kindness. Illustrated by and in Publius and Paul.

I. The beauty of kindness.—Shown by—

1. The courteous entertainment of Paul and his companions by Publius.

2. The unstinted philanthropy of Paul in healing not only Publius’ father, but all the diseased islanders who came to him.

II. The profit of kindness.—Experienced by—

1. Publius, who must have felt his generosity to the apostle more than repaid by the healing of his father.

2. Paul, who doubtless also owned himself abundantly recompensed for his labours among the islanders by the tributes of affection he bore away with him from Malta.