Acts 28
Acts 28
[00:00:00] Hey, everyone. Welcome to God's plan. Your part year two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire new Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. Today, we are finishing up the book of Acts with Acts chapter 28. In some ways, this is kind of final details of what Paul is up to.
Uh, fun fact, Paul's story continues beyond the book of Acts, but it does feel final when we read it in Acts. So as we read over acts 28, what do you think? Well, I think it's important to remember that most of the things that we still have yet to learn from Paul are actively happening. It's just, it's not like record, recorded word for word in Acts.
So like it is all happening and this is kind of like nearing the end here, um, but I think chapter 28 was unique because there was a little bit more of like actual what is going on very detailed as far as like in a specific instance. [00:01:00] So as we talked about yesterday. When they arrived, well actually they didn't really arrive, they wrecked and they like just so happened to arrive on this island I can imagine like the fear of the unknown of just like Landing in this random place that God told you you're gonna land And finding these people who actually I don't know where I had read it I think it must have been another commentary I was looking at, but it said that these guys were considered to be like barbarians or non Greek speaking individuals.
Yeah. Um, which doesn't necessarily mean that they were like terrible, awful, gonna like eat you alive or something. It was just that they were not of the same, like language, same customs, that type of thing. What's unique about them is that they're super duper welcoming. And they like, they see the despair of what just happened to all these men, including Paul and Luke, and are very hospitable to them.
They offer them warmth. They offer them food. Um, [00:02:00] so it was like, I guess what I would have been expecting. total opposite of that is what happens to them when they land. Okay. So one fun thing about this chapter, if you look at verse three, Paul's gathering up kindling for a fire and a Viper comes out and bites him.
This is unique. Can I say something about that? Yeah. Apparently this, this would have been a colder time of the year too. So like the fact that this snake even came out to get to him was very odd, but because the fire was going, it like, it's very possible that that like, I don't know warmed it enough to give it the energy to even want to go after someone and it just so happens To go after paul, which is like crazy because this viper is very poisonous and life threatening Um, so the fact that this is even a situation It's probably like very unique in the time of year and climate that they have going on.
Okay, so it's in the end of Mark's gospel. If you look at Mark 16, 17, it says, These signs [00:03:00] will accompany those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up serpents with their hands, and they will drink deadly poison and it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
So there is controversy about that because most likely this is a later written epilogue to the book of Mark. Um, and it's, it's actually noted in the ESV Bible that we use that the earliest manuscripts did not have these later verses. Um, but who, If it was added or if it was original, whatever, um, it does call out that people will be bitten, like believers will be bitten by snakes and not perish.
And so it's very interesting that here in Acts 28, Paul is being bitten by a serpent and not perishing. And it actually firms up the faith of everyone who sees what sees what's happening as well as the latter part of that, where it says they will heal those with diseases. And that is also part of this chapter as well, what Paul does.
Um, so he, he is. Bitten by this viper and the [00:04:00] people immediately think that and keep in mind these are people that do not hold any of the same beliefs as Paul and Right and Luke at this point or even those of the ship that have just been converted So they're like very leery of this man because you're like well The only reason that you would have gotten bit is because you're a murderer like you've done something really bad to deserve this kind of like that karma idea But what's it?
crazy is that they're waiting. They're essentially just waiting for Paul to die and he doesn't. So in their mind, something that struck my attention or got my attention was, it says that they thought that they, that Paul was a god because he was able to essentially live through this, this, this. This bite from this viper and just doesn't happen.
He doesn't die. So they have this thought in their mind. And what caught my attention was that they didn't call it our, at least it doesn't say that in the text that, because I mean, in the past, we, if something like that would have been brought up, it's usually Peter is like straight up. No way. Don't even for a second, think that that's [00:05:00] who we are.
Um, it's interesting that Paul didn't necessarily in the text. Say explicitly like that's not what's going on here. It's not addressed right away certainly He did not entertain the fact that he was a god. He did not allow them to worship himself or anything like that I think he goes on to heal a man who's very sick Um, and I think ultimately brings glory to God because of that.
Well, and to be very specific, it's also like the chief person of the land. Like he's like, almost like the leader of these people. Um, there's someone who, uh, I guess was, was it sick within his neighborhood or something like that? Or, uh, did you do, let's see, no, it was the father of this person who was sick with a fever and dysentery.
And Paul. Yeah. He just went and healed him, which is a kind of that, that tagline of the, the verse before from Mark. Like, he was not only bitten by this super poisonous deadly snake, he's also healing people and I think the [00:06:00] fact that it is this specific person. That he's healing. It's influential. That's catching the attention of everyone.
So eventually they set sail, uh, they're, like, they kind of weather this, the, I mean, they wreck on this island and they figure everything out and they continue to sail to Rome and Paul finally arrives in Rome, just as God promised. Also, everyone survives the shipwreck. Um, but we get like the end of this chapter and really the end of the book is Paul's ministry in Rome.
And one of the things that's pretty cool is when he does finally arrive in Rome, it does say that the brothers received him. That's first, uh, 15. And the brothers there, when they heard about this came from the forum of APS and three taverns. So like people heard that Paul was coming, so they came and Paul is able to preach to brothers apparently, and also to Jews apparently.
So again, following the same pattern that we have seen him follow throughout the book and following the same pattern. Some people come to believe, some [00:07:00] people doubt, some people receive the truth that he has. Some people do not. And, you know, really a lot of. Paul in Rome, this last little part of this chapter, plays out just like we've seen him in other major cities.
I think that's something that I was aware, like, I wasn't really aware of, but like, obviously, this shows his humanity as well. Like, he is not God himself. Um, but even God himself, Jesus, As a human came into contact with people who did not believe. And they like, they called him out and said that he was a liar, that he was, um, from Satan.
But Paul, same thing. Sometimes I think I put them, I put like these early, these early influential people in the Bible of like early Christian faith to be like. I don't know, almost invincible in their field and their ability to minister to people. But it's pretty interesting in verse 24 that it says, Some were convinced by what Paul said when he was speaking to them about the law of Moses and the prophets and what Jesus had done.
[00:08:00] Um, but some, others had disbelieved. So I think that is also just really helpful to me because I think sometimes I put these men, unfortunately, on pedestals. Like, yes, they are certainly, like, major pillars of, like, example to us of how to live out our faith. But at the same time, they came up against and fought against many people who disbelieved as well.
And I think that sometimes in my own Like very small, which is kind of sad. Um, like my own experience in ministry or missions work, if I've gone on trips or whatever, when people kind of like, yeah, that's nice. No thanks. It is like, it feels like an attack on me or just like, Oh, that hurts really bad. Like I get those like weird feelings of like, Oh man, maybe I didn't do enough.
Or maybe I know, like the word of God is, it is like laid out clearly. And. If people reject it, it will [00:09:00] happen, and there's nothing that we can do about it. Like, our job is simply to make people aware of the power that God has in what He's done with Jesus, His Son. Um, and there will be people, just like what happened to Paul, that don't care, and they just walk away.
Somehow, God is sovereign over all things, and He determines all things, and at the same time, He has determined that we have some level of choice in our lives. In the matter, and so it is important that we spread the gospel. It is important that we share the truth with people, but at the same time, we cannot ensure that more people will come, uh, even though, even though we are doing our best to spread the message.
And I think it's a great example. We should, we should honor Paul. Um, we should see him as a great example of someone who did everything he could to honor God and preach the gospel. We should not worship Paul. We should not worship the apostles. Uh, but we honor them and I think we, we do what we can to hold them up as incredible examples to follow in what's in my mind is [00:10:00] just like the writer of Hebrews 11, uh, holds up all of the people who they held in high esteem, like these, these Bible characters that were giants of their time.
Like we can honor these people. We can use these people as good examples to follow, but ultimately the power comes from God and we recognize the power, the authority, the love that God has for us. Um, Basically, like, the book kind of ends. I mean, you get Paul's sermon to these folks. Um, you see, there's like a little bit of a, like a commentary at the end.
Therefore let it be known. Okay. Sorry. This is him talking about salvation of the Gentiles. And then verse 30 says he lived there two whole years at his own expense 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.
That's the end of the book of Acts. Um, Church history tells us that it's very likely that Paul made his own defense, uh, in this case, this specific case that was, like, goes all the way back to Festus and Agrippa and, um, what was the [00:11:00] other, the other, Felix, like, that charge, most likely, he successfully defended himself against and was able to stay in Rome and continue to be working in Rome.
It's very likely he went on some more missionary journeys. Some people say to Spain, um, but he finds himself in trouble again and ends up in Rome again, uh, this time unable to make a case of defense. And this time he is martyred. We don't know exactly how long that was exactly how much time passed. Um, but pretty much all of church tradition is aligned on the fact that Paul gave his life in Rome.
Well, and our study Bibles mention, um, The fact that there's a historian named Eusebius, uh, who actually gives a detailed, like, record of what would have happened after Paul was released and then arrested again and then eventually martyred in Rome. So I think, Ryan, you love reading about Eusebius and so I think [00:12:00] you can probably speak a little bit more to this than I can.
So the book that I'm reading from is, uh, called The Church History. Obviously it's not in the original language, but you can get I always say use of this Jenny thinks it's you CBS. I looked up there is a right way to pronounce it. I'm sure, um, but you can get the book and you can read it and it is what he has written down.
And a lot of times it's accompanied by commentary so that people can like kind of speak into how it's translated and all that kind of stuff. Um, but this is what he says. Um, the way that people quote this is like there's, there's chapters and sections. So this would be 225 and it's a lengthy paragraph.
Um, but I'm reading from Eusebius. So this guy's writing, it's a very early account of what occurred and it's a pretty reliable account of what occurred. So it says, so it happened that this man, and he's referring to Nero. That was an emperor that hated Christians, came to hate Christians. So it happened to this man, Nero, the first to be announced as a public fighter against God was led on to slaughter the apostles.
It is related that in his reign, Paul was beheaded in Rome itself and that [00:13:00] Peter was also crucified and the cemeteries there still called by the names of Peter and Paul confirmed the record. So does a churchman named Gaius who lives in Zephyrnus, uh, was a bishop of Rome. In a written dialogue with Proculus, the leader of the Phrygian opinion, the Montanists, Gaius says the following about the places where the sacred remains of the apostles in question are laid.
And this is a quote from this guy. I can point out the trophies, meaning monuments, of the apostles. If you will go to the Vatican or the Austrian way, you will find the trophies, meaning monuments, of those who founded This church, and then this is Eusebius and that they were both martyred at the same time.
Bishop Dionysius of Corinth affirms in a letter written to the Romans. So now this is a quote of this Dionysius Bishop by your great council. You have bound together what has grown from the seed that Peter and Paul sowed among the Romans and the Corinthians for both of them sowed in our Corinthians.
Uh, both of them sowed in our Corinth and instructed us together in Italy, too. They taught [00:14:00] jointly in the same place and were martyred at the same time. So these are very early accounts of what happened. They are extra biblical, meaning you can't find chapter and verse in the Bible, uh, but it's pretty reliable that that is what happened.
So it sounds like both Peter and Paul ended up in Rome, both of them preaching like fiercely and without fear. Um. Preaching the gospel to the people, boldness and without hindrance, and it's very cool that it's very likely at the end of their lives. These are two men who did not always see eye to eye.
These are two men that were not always like one was working on Jews, one was working on Gentiles. These like two very prominent men in the Book of Acts. It's very likely that they found themselves in Rome preaching the gospel to whoever would hear and perhaps were martyred at the same time. One being beheaded and one being crucified.
Upside down. And that's, that's like the end of Paul's story. So all of that's extra biblical. I do want you to understand that I'm taking these from other sources, but they are reliable sources from Christian history. I love reading that [00:15:00] stuff because I like knowing what happened to these guys. What do you mean when you say extra biblical?
Just meaning outside the Bible. Oh, okay. So like it's, you can't point to chapter and verse. It's not Acts 29. Right, right, right. Um, it's, it's Eusebius or Eusebius. I prefer Eusebius, but anyway. And even Eusebius is quoting other people that he probably had letters or whatever. Yeah. And it's helpful, I think, to hear from those accounts, the things that back up what's happening.
And essentially, because I think Acts ends, it kind of just seems like it's so abrupt. Like, okay, well, eventually he made it and then there were two years and, um, he was also proclaiming the kingdom of God and blah, blah, blah, like all these things. It's like very quick wrap up. It is. But it's helpful to go back to some of those accounts to know, like, The events that were happening in that very condensed little paragraph and after like at the end of acts he when he makes his defense and is like essentially released he writes a lot of his letters that we have today and then Probably when he's in his [00:16:00] second time in prison where he is going to be martyred is probably when he writes the second Timothy because second Timothy has a much heavier tone and he seems very aware that he's gonna die but he's also But a lot of people today will try to pit Peter against Paul.
And they'll try to say like, well, Peter had it right. And Paul was doing this crazy thing. But what a lot of those folks don't understand is that the two of them ended up in Rome together, preaching and teaching the gospel side by side and gave their lives together side by side. It's pretty hard to pit them against each other when you understand how their lives ended and where their commitments were.
Yeah. So I guess out of all this. I guess maybe like even an Acts overview, um, I love the book and Acts 28, your part for today. Um, be encouraged. It feels like a lot of times we've been saying that be encouraged, be committed. God is faithful to his promises. It feels like this whole second half of the book of Acts is like, God is going to do what God is going to do.
He gives us an opportunity to support his mission [00:17:00] and we have an opportunity to be obedient to him, to serve him regardless of the outcomes. Right. Like Paul got his head chopped off, like seriously. So it's pretty hard to see yourself as an incredible success when your head is lying in the dirt in a Coliseum somewhere.
Seriously. Yeah. Um, but he was faithful to the end and that is an encouragement for us. I think also too, some of us might be thinking, well, like Paul literally had God stand in front of him or an angel of God and tell him what to do. We had talked about this a little bit earlier, just to tag onto this year part, here we are at the end.
I think it is deserved. Um, When you are actively seeking God, reading his word, and communion with God, these types of instances where you feel so connected with God and understand, like, what his plan is for your life, it's so much easier to know what that is. If you are someone who, very much like myself, just starts to get into that day to day rhythm where we just kind of forget and get lazy and [00:18:00] forget God, um, The signs are not going to be as obvious to us, like they're everywhere.
We were talking about that earlier. The Holy Spirit is with you always. It's just a matter of, are you paying attention? Are you listening? Are you actually like looking for those things? Or is it just something that's like easily forgotten? So that I think is also helpful too. So thanks for joining us for this episode, but also for all of Acts.
We're excited to start Romans tomorrow and we'll see you then. Thanks for joining today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part. As always, please consider partnering with us as we are a listener supported podcast that we hope to continue to grow with support from listeners just like you. We've made it super easy to partner with us, and you can support us by following the link in our show notes or our description.
You can support us with as little as 3 a month. Every little bit of this helps so much, and we're so thankful for your support. With that in mind, here's today's reading. Acts, Chapter 28 After we were brought [00:19:00] safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all.
Because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.
He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead, but when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.
It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery, and Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him [00:20:00] healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods of a figurehead. Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days, and from there we made a circuit and arrived at Regium. And after one day, a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.
There we found brothers, and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came from the forum of Apius and three taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage, and when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.
After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered he said to them, Brothers, [00:21:00] though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.
But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain. And they said to him, We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here have 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. When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. For morning till evening he expounded them, testifying to the kingdom of God, and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.
And some were [00:22:00] convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. And disagreeing among themselves they departed after Paul had made one statement. The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers, through Isaiah the prophet, Go to the people and say, You will indeed hear, but never understand, And you will indeed see, but never perceive.
For this people's heart has grown dull, And with their ears they can barely hear, And their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And turn, and I would heal them. Therefore let it be known to you, That this salvation of God, Has been sent to the Gentiles, they will listen.
He lived there two whole years at his own expense 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. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, your part. Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform and YouTube.
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