Acts 28:1-16
Dear RTB’ers,
Paul on Malta and continuing on his way to Rome. 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 … He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. (vv. 3, 5) In our local news we often read about snake-handling in parts of Kentucky and West Virginia. Mostly we read of this practice when someone has died. But snake-handling churches do exist and they draw their Scriptural justification from Acts 28.
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. (v. 7) I wonder who the “us” is in this sentence. Was it only Paul and Luke and Julius? …or the soldiers and the sailors also? …or all 276 men from the ship? Already the natives were thinking of Paul as a god. Maybe it was Paul who was being honored by Publius and he brought along whomever he wanted? Wondering…
…and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. (vv. 13b-14a) Puteoli was on the Bay of Naples on the mainland of Italy and (according to my Study Bible) the chief port for Rome, some 75 miles to the north. From Puteoli Paul and his companions and guards could walk to Rome – no more sailing! And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. (v. 15a) In our chronological study we had read Paul’s epistle to the Romans while Paul was staying those 18 months in Corinth on his second missionary journey. So for today’s reading, it has been three years or more since Paul wrote Romans. So there has been plenty of time for the epistle to the Romans to have circulated through the entire area around Rome and the believers in that area have come to know one another. So for Paul, coming to Rome is like a homecoming; he has many friends there even though he’s never been there himself!
Blessings!
Take Fred’s last paragraph: “So for Paul, coming to Rome is like a homecoming; he has many friends there even though he’s never been there himself!”
And change to, “so for us, going to heaven is like a homecoming; we have many friends and family there even though we’ve never been there ourselves!” Oh what a great thought to meditate on.
So true, Courtenay!