Shake Off the Snake

The viper slithered out from a pile of wood arranged for a bonfire. The serpent struck fast. It sunk its fangs into the hand of the one gathering sticks. The gatherer was wet and weary after surviving a shipwreck at a beach on Malta, an island in the Mediterranean.

The islanders gasped and murmured at the sight. They understood that the doomed ship was being employed to transport prisoners to Rome.  To their minds, a killer had just gotten what was due to him. He may have escaped the sea and the storm, but they were sure that fate cast its cold hard eyes on a dark criminal heart.

They watched and waited for his body to swell and for him to die as the venom did its work. For some reason, executions stimulate morbid curiosity and attract hundreds of eyes. Hangings in the wild, wild frontier of the American West were events that drew crowds. Some even carried picnic baskets as families made a day of supposedly seeing justice served.

Death did not come for this man. Rather, he merrily busied himself with the task at hand. His mind was on those in the crowd of survivors from the ship who struggled to get warm and dry in a biting rain.

Paul, the missionary apostle of Jesus Christ, “shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm” (Acts 28:3).

The whole scene had to have been a wonder to the inhabitants of Malta. They had witnessed shipwrecks before. Bodies that washed ashore were stripped and buried as a matter of course.

What they saw here was new, a miracle even, something supernatural.

Gospel Island

Some 276 people survived this catastrophe. They came all at once splashing and clinging to flotsam after their vessel wedged itself deep into a sandbar and became violently disassembled by waves agitated by a weeks’ long Nor’easter.

Malta residents, as Luke the writer expressed it, showed “unusual kindness” to the group of newcomers. Still, they were wary of them, especially Paul.

Where was the bloating that came with these kinds of bites? Hours passed and this man was still on his feet. Smiling and praising the Lord, I am sure. The promise made to him and his shipmates had been fulfilled. God had told him that all aboard would be saved from the depths.

A new opinion circulated among the native people concerning Paul. “A god,” they reasoned he must be. How else to explain his ability to ward off the poison put into him?

A god? More than this was Paul. He was not like any deity crafted by human imagination. He was a saint, saved by grace and joined to the Christ, the Son of the Living God, made One with Him through salvation by faith.

Malta received a surprise visitation, and the island would never be same for it. For three months, Paul and the others lived there as they awaited a season more suitable for sailing. Share on X

Malta received a surprise visitation, and the island would never be same for it. For three months, Paul and the others lived there as they awaited a season more suitable for sailing.

Meanwhile, that hand that the viper attacked was being put to use in ministry. A man suffering from fever and dysentery was healed through the prayers and the touch of Paul. News of this circulated and all those diseased on the island came and were cured.

At last, a ship bound for Italy and Rome was secured. The last leg of Paul’s journey was to begin. The whole traveling company was abundantly supplied by the Maltese people and the visitors were sent off with fanfare.

The grace of God was proclaimed and Malta became an early bastion of Christianity.  Publius, the son of the man healed of dysentery, is said to have become a bishop. Even today, more than 80 percent of the population of 545,000 claim to be Christian. There are 359 registered churches on Malta.

The Defeated Serpent

I like the word picture given to us at the beginning of Acts 28. The serpent that fastened itself to Paul wound up getting tossed into the fire. The bite produced no lingering effects on the man of God.

We can turn toward the end of our Bibles and there discover a parallel passage: “… the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

Satan, the accuser, deceiver, liar, murderer, faces a destiny of torment. His end is determined and sure. The Lord shall put him away once and for all. Our deceiver is marked for total defeat.

Let us keep that in mind when we get bitten by the details of life. Our troubles and trials are things that Hell tries to use against us as preoccupations and over-occupations.

Let us keep that in mind when we get bitten by the details of life. Our troubles and trials are things that Hell tries to use against us as preoccupations and over-occupations. Share on X

Cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you.

Back to Paul and his arrival at Rome as we finish our look at the book of Acts. News reached the believers in Italy and the apostle was greeted by brothers and sisters in series of towns en route to the imperial capital and the home of Caesar.

Again, imagine the wonder that fell upon the neighbors of those who welcomed Paul. This prisoner of the Empire proved to have celebrity status. As it happened on Malta, testimonies and witnesses were given all along the way. The seed of the Gospel was being sown.

Once in Rome, Paul found accommodations and was “allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him” (Acts 28:16).

I don’t think this apostle could have been any happier at that point in his life. Consider what he wrote in his letter to the Romans: “… I have longed for many years to come to you. … I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ” (Romans 15:23. 29).

Open Door, Bold Message

Almost at once, Paul sent word to the Jewish community in the city. He expected that sinister reports of him and Christianity had preceded his arrival. But this was not the case, according the city’s Jewish leaders. “…We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against” (Acts 28:23-24).

These Jews were curious and they showed up in great numbers to hear Paul speak of “the Kingdom of God, trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.”

Some did believe the message; others did not. Paul chided them. God’s own Chosen people had grown dull of hearing and cold to the Holy Spirit. “Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen,” he said.

Just months before Paul watched Malta embrace the gift of grace. It surely saddened him to see that so many of his Jewish brethren were still confounded over the Gospel.

Still, Paul pressed on in his work for the Lord.  He opened wide his doors “and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28: 30-31).

Unhindered boldness – this belongs to all of us who are called saints of God. May we be strong, and may our hearts take courage. We walk on holy ground because the Lord lives in us.

Shake off the snakes. Imagine them falling into fire. Hear in your hearts the words of the Lord to Joshua: “… Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).