Luke’s little phrase is packed with meaning: “And so we came to Rome” (Acts 28:14). God called Paul as “a chosen instrument” to carry his “name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). God had confirmed Paul’s desire to preach the gospel in Rome (cf. Acts 19:21 and 23:11). And God kept his promise. From Jerusalem, God’s missionaries have gone to Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth—Rome (Acts 1:8).
Acts 28:1–16 shows God doing exactly as he wills. We don’t know just what our future holds, but we can have hopeful expectations as God works out his will in us.
God Is Kind
The people of Malta met the needs of tired, cold, and hungry shipwreck survivors. That is “unusual kindness” (Acts 28:2) coming from “barbarous people” (Acts 28:4 KJV). The prevailing language and culture of the day were foreign to the Maltese. They owed nothing to the ship’s company. Moreover, they were spiritually confused. Yet, Luke recognizes what he calls “philanthropy:” the love of man. Luke’s point is to laud the kindness of God. His word is used in only one other place in Scripture. Paul writes of “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior” (Titus 3:4). God is a philanthropist. God shows his love through the kindness of others. And we should notice it.
God also shows his kindness by protecting us from harm. When Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, the natives thought justice had caught up with him. When he didn’t die, they assumed he was a god. Both interpretations were wrong. God had covered Paul with favor as with a shield (Ps. 5:12). God was protecting his man until he preached Christ in Rome. This miracle also signified Paul’s apostleship (2 Cor. 12:12). Jesus had promised that those who evangelized the nations would “pick up serpents with their hands” and not be hurt (Mark 16:18).
God uses his children as he wants. But he is kind in his use of us.
God Makes Us Useful
Paul faced countless dangers near the end of his journey to Rome (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–29). He endured a violent shipwreck. Soldiers had planned to kill him. He was bitten by a poisonous snake. But Paul couldn’t die because God still had work for him to do.
Paul’s “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14) writes that the father of Malta’s leading citizen lay sick with “fever and dysentery.” So “Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him” (Acts 28:8). Soon, other sick people came to be healed. Paul continued to pray. Dr. Luke probably helped as he could.
Don’t miss this: Paul was helpful wherever opportunities arose, whether convenient or not. Christians should be the most useful of all people. Believers must be “careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people” (Titus 3:8). This is the fundamental calling of the Christian: “turn away from evil and do good” (1 Peter 3:11). Sometimes the best that we can do is pray. Paul didn’t have any healing powers. But he prayed, believing that “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16 NAS).
God has given you life and graces so that you might imitate him in doing good works.
God Provides Encouragement
Luke describes how Paul met believers upon arriving in Italy. These Christians were technically strangers, but Luke calls them “brothers.” And they behaved like old friends, inviting Paul to stay with them for seven days. This visit profoundly affected Paul. He “thanked God and took courage.”
Isn’t the point of Christian fellowship to produce gratitude and bolster courage? For our informal Christian gatherings to have this effect, we need to resist negativity, which can erode gratitude and cripple courage. Instead, Christian gatherings should breathe a spirit of joy and hope. Jesus Christ is Lord over all things. He has died so that believers might live. And though we face trials, there are more who are for us than against us (2 Kings 6:16–17). Let’s spend more time thinking about things that are good (Phil. 4:8) and take opportunities to speak encouragement. And let’s talk about how God has blessed our noble goals. Three years earlier, Paul told the Roman church that he longed to see them (Rom. 1:11–13, 15; cf. Rom. 15:22–32). And God granted that desire! As we increasingly submit ourselves to his will, what we want and what God wants often coalesce. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4).
Paul’s perilous journey confirms that God always cares for his children. “If we could read this story without knowing Paul’s background or the end of the story we would be led to say, ‘This man will never see Rome.’”[1] But we know Paul’s background and the end of the story. And we know Paul’s God. God will finish his work in us (Phil 1:6). And he will show us kindness, make us useful, and encourage us along the way. This is the song of every child of God: “Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”[2]
[1] G. Campbell Morgan, The Acts of the Apostles, 532.
[2] John Newton, Trinity Psalter Hymnal, 433.
