Acts 28

Paul and his companions, rescued from the shipwreck, are welcomed on Malta, where God protects Paul from a snake and heals many. They then travel on to Rome, where Paul is a prisoner under guard. There he explains the gospel to the Jewish leaders, some believe and some do not, and Acts ends with Paul preaching boldly and without hindrance.

Acts 28:1

After the storm and the wreck, everyone on board reached land alive, just as God had promised Paul. Only then did they learn where they were: Malta, an island south of Sicily. God had brought them through to a place of shelter.

BSA: safely (“having escaped, rescued”): The word stresses that they were brought out of real danger, not that they simply drifted ashore.

See also: Acts 27:44.

Acts 28:2

The islanders spoke their own local language, so Greeks and Romans called them foreigners. But they showed real goodness to cold, wet, shipwrecked strangers. They lit a fire and took in all 276 people. Kindness from unexpected people is a gift God uses.

BSA: kindness (“benevolence, love for humanity”): Their care was a plain, warm love for fellow human beings, shown to strangers who could not repay it.

Greek: φιλανθρωπίαν (philanthrōpian, G5363) — “love for mankind, humane kindness.” The word is where we get ‘philanthropy’. It describes generous goodwill toward people simply because they are people.

See also: Hebrews 13:2.

Acts 28:3

Paul pitched in with the work, gathering sticks for the fire. The heat drove out a viper hidden in the bundle, and it bit into his hand. Even the apostle was not spared sudden danger, and this was one more trial on a hard journey.

BSA: viper (“a poisonous snake”): This was a venomous snake, so the bite was a real threat to his life.

Acts 28:4

The islanders saw the snake hanging there and drew a quick conclusion. They believed in a power of justice that punishes wrongdoers, so they decided Paul must be a murderer who had escaped the sea only to be caught another way. People often read suffering that way, but it is not always true.

BSA: Justice (“vengeance, condemnation”): They pictured justice as a force that hunts down and condemns a guilty person.

Greek: Δίκη (Dikē, G1349) — “Justice, the goddess of justice.” The islanders spoke of Justice as a person, a pagan figure who punishes crime. Paul’s God is the real Judge, and He had other plans for Paul.

See also: John 9:1-3.

Acts 28:5

Paul simply shook the snake into the fire and was not hurt. He did not panic or make a show of it. God’s protection of him here echoes the promise Jesus gave that His servants would be kept safe from serpents.

See also: Mark 16:18; Luke 10:19.

Acts 28:6

The people watched for a long time, expecting him to swell up or fall dead. When nothing happened, they swung to the opposite verdict and called him a god. Paul was neither a murderer nor a god, only a man God was keeping safe.

BSA: god (“a divine being, having God’s nature”): They thought Paul had a divine nature, and in doing so they gave him honor that belongs to God alone.

See also: Acts 14:11-15.

Acts 28:7

Publius was the leading Roman official on the island, and he owned land nearby. He took Paul’s party into his home and looked after them for three days. Paul’s company, once castaways, were now guests of the island’s first man.

BSA: chief official (“first, foremost”): The title simply means the foremost man of the island, its leading figure.

Acts 28:8

Publius’s father lay ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed and laid hands on him, and he was healed. The healing came in answer to prayer, and it showed that the power was God’s and not Paul’s own.

BSA: praying (“worshiping, petitioning God”): Paul turned to God in worship and request first, so the cure came from God and not from Paul. healed (“restored to health, cured”): The man was fully restored, not just helped.

See also: James 5:14-15.

Acts 28:9-10

When news of the healing spread, other sick people on the island came and were cured. The islanders showed their thanks with honors and gifts, and loaded the ship with what the travelers needed. God’s mercy on Malta came through suffering people who had been shipwrecked there.

BSA: honored (“showed great respect, honored us highly”): The islanders gave real respect and gratitude to Paul and his companions.

Acts 28:11

After three winter months, they sailed on a second grain ship from Alexandria that had also spent the winter on Malta. Its figurehead showed the Twin Brothers, Castor and Pollux, pagan gods thought to protect sailors. Paul’s safety, though, rested on the true God.

BSA: Twin Brothers (“Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, the twin gods”): These were twin gods of Greek and Roman myth, and sailors prayed to them for safe voyages.

Greek: Διοσκούροις (Dioskouroi, G1359) — “sons of Zeus (the twin gods).” Luke names the ship’s pagan emblem plainly. The detail reminds us that Paul sailed into the heart of the pagan world.

Acts 28:12-13

The ship called at Syracuse in Sicily for three days, then went on to Rhegium at the toe of Italy. A south wind carried them to Puteoli the next day. These details trace a steady voyage nearing Rome.

BSA: south (“the southern region”): A wind from the south was the right wind to push them northward up the Italian coast.

Acts 28:14

At Puteoli, a busy port, Paul found Christian brothers and stayed a week with them. The gospel had already reached Italy before him. Believers who were strangers to him welcomed him as family. Then the road led on to Rome.

BSA: brothers (“fellow Christians, brethren”): These were fellow believers, joined to Paul by Christ and not by blood.

See also: Romans 1:11-12.

Acts 28:15

News of Paul’s coming had reached Rome. Believers walked out some forty or fifty miles along the Appian Way to meet him, some at the Forum of Appius and others at the Three Taverns. Their welcome lifted Paul, and he thanked God.

BSA: encouraged (“took courage, felt confident”): Seeing them gave Paul fresh strength after a long, hard journey.

Greek: ἀπάντησιν (apantēsin, G529) — “a meeting, a welcome party going out.” This word was used when a city sent people out to greet an honored visitor and bring him in. Paul was received like a dignitary, though he came in chains.

See also: 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Acts 28:16

At last Paul entered Rome, as he had long hoped. He was still a prisoner, but he was allowed to live in his own lodging with one soldier guarding him. His chains did not stop his work, and the gospel still moved forward.

BSA: permitted (“allowed, suffered”): Paul was given this relative freedom under the Roman authorities, who allowed it but kept him under guard.

See also: Philippians 1:12-13.

Acts 28:17

Three days later Paul called the Jewish leaders of Rome together. As always, he went to his own people first. He explained that he had done nothing against Israel or its ancestral ways, yet had been seized in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

BSA: leaders (“chief, principal men”): These were the principal men of the Jewish community, the ones who could speak for the others.

See also: Romans 1:16.

Acts 28:18-19

Paul says that the Romans looked into his case and wanted to release him, finding nothing deserving death. When Jewish opponents objected, he had to appeal to Caesar. He makes clear that he was not accusing his own people, only protecting himself.

BSA: compelled (“constrained, forced”): Paul appealed to Caesar only because he had no other safe way out, not because he wanted to.

See also: Acts 25:11; Acts 26:31-32.

Acts 28:20

Paul tells them why he asked to see them: he wears this chain because of Israel’s hope. That hope is the promised Messiah and the resurrection of the dead. To Paul, believing in Jesus fulfills Israel’s faith and does not betray it.

BSA: hope (“expectation, trust”): This is Israel’s confident waiting for what God promised, and Paul says Jesus is the answer to it. bound (“restrained, confined”): Paul was physically held, yet he saw his confinement as the price of the gospel.

Greek: ἅλυσιν (halysin, G254) — “chain.” Paul was literally chained to a soldier. He calls it his chain ‘for the hope of Israel’, which turns a mark of shame into a mark of loyalty.

See also: Acts 26:6-7; Ephesians 6:20.

Acts 28:21-22

The leaders say they have heard no bad report about Paul, either by letter or from visitors. But they know that this movement is spoken against everywhere, so they are willing to listen. Open ears are a good place to begin.

BSA: sect (“group, party, religious movement”): They saw the Christians as a faction or party within Judaism, one that had stirred up much opposition.

See also: Acts 24:14.

Acts 28:23

On the appointed day, a large number came to Paul’s lodging. He spent the whole day laying out the kingdom of God and urging them to trust Jesus. He drew on the Law and the Prophets, showing that Moses and the prophets pointed to Christ.

BSA: expounded (“explained, gave a detailed account”): Paul went through the Scriptures carefully and thoroughly, not in a hurried summary. testifying (“bearing witness, giving a solemn declaration”): He spoke as an eyewitness giving serious testimony, not just offering opinions.

Greek: ἐξετίθετο (exetitheto, G1620) — “he set out, laid out.” The word pictures spreading something out on a table so it can be seen in full. Paul laid out the Scriptures piece by piece.

See also: Luke 24:27.

Acts 28:24

The result was divided. Some were persuaded by what Paul said, and others would not believe. The same message, plainly given, leads to different responses, and this has been true wherever the gospel has gone.

See also: Acts 17:32-34.

Acts 28:25

The listeners argued among themselves and began to leave. Paul then spoke one last word, saying that the Holy Spirit had spoken rightly through Isaiah to their fathers. He points to Scripture as God’s own voice, speaking to the present moment.

BSA: disagreed (“could not agree, were discordant”): The group fell out of harmony with one another, divided over who Jesus is.

Acts 28:26-27

Paul quotes Isaiah’s commission. A people can hear and see yet not understand, because their hearts have grown dull. They have shut their eyes, so they do not turn and are not healed. This is a sad warning, and the sorrow in it is that God wishes to heal.

BSA: callous (“has become spiritually dull, waxed gross”): The heart has grown thick and insensitive, like skin hardened by long wear. turn (“repent, be converted”): Turning means a real change of direction toward God, and healing follows it.

Greek: ἐπαχύνθη (epachynthē, G3975) — “has grown thick, become fat or dull.” The verb pictures a heart grown thick and heavy, so that the message cannot get in. It is something that happens gradually.

See also: Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-15.

Acts 28:28

Paul concludes that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen. This does not close the door on Jews, since Paul kept preaching to all who came. It marks the gospel’s reach across the whole world.

BSA: salvation (“deliverance, spiritual rescue”): This is God’s full rescue of people from sin and death, offered to the nations as well as to Israel.

See also: Acts 13:46-47; Romans 1:16.

Acts 28:30

For two full years Paul lived in a rented house in Rome, still under guard. He received everyone who came to him. A prisoner’s room became a place of welcome where anyone could hear about Jesus.

BSA: welcoming (“receiving”): Paul kept his door open and received each visitor without turning anyone away.

See also: Philippians 1:12-14.

Acts 28:31

Acts ends with Paul proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, boldly and unhindered. The last word of the book in Greek means ‘unhindered’, and it shows that no chain or prison could stop the gospel.

BSA: Boldly (“with all confidence, without fear”): Paul spoke openly and with confidence, though he was in custody. freely (“without hindrance, unforbidden”): No one stopped him from teaching, so the message went out unrestrained.

Greek: ἀκωλύτως (akōlytōs, G209) — “without hindrance, unhindered.” This is the very last word of Acts in the Greek. The book closes by saying that, whatever men do to the messenger, the word of God is not bound.

See also: 2 Timothy 2:9; Ephesians 6:19-20.