In the past few weeks, we watched two major hurricanes strike our nation. Hurricane Helene slammed into the Big Bend region of Florida on September 27th, moving further inland invading Georgia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Effects of the storm were also seen in South Carolina and Virginia, causing massive floods and power outages. To date, over two hundred and thirty deaths are attributed to Hurricane Helene making it the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
This past week, Hurricane Milton roared into Florida’s western coast and violently tracked across the Sunshine State. In the process it spun up over one hundred and fifty tornadoes and killed at least four people. Both storms caused billions of dollars in damages and their effects are still being felt this morning. Certainly, churches have been destroyed leaving our surviving brothers and sisters in Christ without a place to worship. It will likely be years before any sort of normalcy returns to these affected regions. We must pray for the Christians who suffered loss and help in tangible ways as we are able.
Whenever I hear of such terrible natural disasters, I consider them in the light of God’s great and unlimited power. That has led me to ask you, how do tragedies like these fit into your personal theology of God? In your opinion, to what degree does the Lord we worship and serve control such events? Does God cause them or simply allow them to happen? Does He take an active role, or has He simply established natural laws and now observes how events unravel in human history? We read in Psalm 135:6-7, “The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.” (NIV)
Do you remember the gospel account of the Lord Jesus sleeping in a boat as a furious storm raged around Him. We read in Luke 8:22 that the Lord told His disciples to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. After He fell asleep, a “fierce gale of wind descended on the lake and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They (that is, the disciples) came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” I am sure they all thought the end had come for them. And then, quite unexpectedly, “He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples’ unbelief was seen in the next sentence, “They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” (Luke 8:24-25). These men had just seen Jesus, with His sovereign omnipotence, control weather on planet earth. And they were shocked.
Since the Lord Jesus Christ controls the earth’s weather and climate, we must ask the question: “What purpose does He have in such violent events?” In this case, He obviously controlled the storm on the lake to show the disciples His great power and expand their faith. But what about the storms He allows to continue? Does He have purposes in them? In our study of the book of Acts, we have seen the Apostle Paul as a prisoner on a ship being transported to a trial before Emperor Nero in Rome and on the voyage, he was tossed about the Mediterranean Sea in a violent storm for two weeks. After those fourteen days, the ship was destroyed by the waves and Paul, and his companions Luke and Aristarchus, were shipwrecked on an island. Is it possible that the Lord had a purpose in Paul enduring that storm? Was there a reason for him to be shipwrecked on the island of Malta? Let’s see how the Lord used Paul on this tiny Mediterranean island.
SHIPWRECKED AT MALTA. Acts 28:1-6
The Kindness of the Residents. In the first century, the island of Malta was a somewhat remote island about seventeen miles long and nine miles wide. The island had been colonized by Phoenician mariners a thousand years earlier and the inhabitants were of Phoenician descent. They knew minimal Latin and Greek and instead spoke the language of Carthage. It was located fifty-eight miles south of Sicily and one hundred-eighty miles from the north African coast. It was captured by the Romans in 218 B.C., and Emperor Augustus established a governor on the island, giving him the title, “the principle man.” Over the years, Rome settled a number of army veterans on Malta.
All two-hundred seventy-six passengers made it safely to the shore. The Lord had promised Paul that they would be safe and He kept His promise, even to those who did not believe. As they swam to shore on that November day, it was raining and the north wind made it cold. Showing extraordinary kindness, the inhabitants quickly came to help the shipwreck’s survivors. They built a large fire to warm them and dry them out. Although there were several prisoners among the survivors, all were received and shown kindness.
Paul and the Viper. Paul’s humility is seen in that he joins the others in finding wood to fuel the fire. In the wood Paul collected was a poisonous viper that had hibernated and remained unseen until Paul brought it close to the fire. Warmed by the fire, the viper fastened itself to Paul’s hand. Paul seems not to have been frightened by the bite of a poisonous snake and the bite had no effect on Paul.
In the meantime, the residents of the island witnessed this event and thought it showed that Paul was some kind of criminal–perhaps a murderer. In the original language, justice is the word dikē, and that was the name of a goddess from Greek mythology. The people thought Paul had been running from Justice, but she finally caught him and brought him to his required punishment. Unphased, Paul simply shook the creature off into the fire and he suffered no harm.
In this incident, the people of Malta, who were pagans and had never heard of God’s law, instinctively knew that crime required retribution. They had a clear sense of right and wrong. We are told in Romans, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:14-16).
Paul: Protected by God’s Power. The people watched Paul carefully, thinking he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. When he did neither and had no other adverse effect, they decided he was some kind of god. Through these Scriptures, the Lord wants us to see how He protects His people. The Lord not only directed Paul’s ministry and gave him the message of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, He also protected Paul. He protected Paul from the storm, the shipwreck, and the snake. In Acts 23:11, God promised Paul he would bear witness to the gospel in Rome. Based on that promise, Paul knew he would safely travel to Rome.
MINISTRY ON MALTA. Acts 28:7-10
Publius, the Leading Man. The title, “The Leading Man,” probably indicated an elevated government position such as governor. This title likely had some stronger meaning in the local language. Not only was Publius a Roman government official, he was a land owner–he may have even owned the most property on the island. So, his hospitality was important. Remember, Publius not only helped Paul and his team–he helped all two-hundred seventy-six survivors of the shipwreck.
The Healing of Publius’ Father. Doctor Luke gives us a good description of the ailment from which Publius’ father suffered. He says it was a recurrent fever and dysentery. It turns out this was a common sickness on the island of Malta and it infected the local population for centuries. In the late 1800s, it was discovered that there was a microbe, micrococcus melitensis, in the goat’s milk that was peculiar to Malta. Dysentery often resulted from poor sanitary conditions often seen in the ancient world.
We should notice Paul’s four actions that led to the man’s healing. First, he went to see the man, then he prayed, then laid hands on him and then healed him. Clearly, Paul’s prayer acknowledged his dependence on God’s power and by laying his hands on the patient, affirmed that God was working through him.
Many Others Were Healed. Because of the bad weather in the Mediterranean, Paul and the others had to remain on Malta for the three months of winter. During that time, many other sick people came to Paul for healing. It is unlikely that Paul, the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, would not seek to teach and preach about salvation in Jesus Christ. While he convinced the people that he was not a god, he was the messenger of the one, true God and preached salvation in Christ and Christ alone. We also note that the church tradition from Malta states that the church was founded during Paul’s stay on the island and that Publius was the church’s first pastor. Paul’s ministry on Malta endeared him to the people, and they honored him, respected him, and gave him all the supplies he needed for the rest of his journey.
THE FINAL JOURNEY TO ROME. Acts 28:11-16
From Malta to Syracuse. It turned out that there was another Alexandrian grain ship (similar to the one on which Paul was shipwrecked) anchored in Malta’s harbor for the winter. Julius the centurion made arrangements for them to travel north to Italy. Luke mentioned a unique feature of this ship–he said it bore the images of Castor and Pollux which were the names of the twin sons of Zeus and were revered as the protectors of men on the sea. Many Roman ships bore their image as a plea for safety. These are the twins of the constellation Gemini. It was about eighty miles north to Syracuse on the southeastern tip of the island of Sicily, where they stayed for three days before sailing further.
Rhegium and Puteoli. Then, the grain ship took them to Rhegium, located on the southern tip of Italy. The next day, they sailed north and arrived at Puteoli. Puteoli was located on the Bay of Naples and was a city of one hundred thousand in Paul’s day. It was near Mount Vesuvius which would erupt within two decades.
At Puteoli, Paul and his companions found some brothers–Christians who were part of a church established in Puteoli. This is significant because it shows that the gospel had already spread from Rome to this Italian seaport. Since Paul had never been to Italy before, this was no doubt a church that had been planted by Roman Jews who had gone to the Feast of Pentecost years earlier, heard Peter’s sermon, were saved, and returned home with the gospel message. Paul accepted the believers’ invitation to spend a week with them. Once again, Paul, the Roman prisoner, was given unusual freedom by Julius the centurion.
Rome At Last. Paul was now only one hundred and fifty miles from Rome. After seven days at Puteoli, Paul, his team, Julius and the rest of the prisoners walked the rest of the distance. Paul had long wanted to go to Rome. In Acts 19:21, we found, “Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”” In the book of Romans, Paul predicted he would go to Rome, “I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ” (Romans 15:24). Now he was nearly there.
The Christians at Rome soon heard Paul was coming, so they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius (a market town 43 miles from Rome) and the Three Taverns (33 miles from Rome) to meet him and his companions. At the sight of these men, Paul thanked God and was encouraged. At last, God was bringing Paul to Rome. And the welcome of fellow believers, whom he had never met, uplifted his soul.
So, they proceeded on the Appian Way, to the city of Rome. Because he was a trusted prisoner, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. Paul’s residence was in a rented house.
The message of these verses is clear: God is in absolute sovereign control over all of life’s circumstances. Even in Paul’s case, where the struggles and suffering came from the forces of nature instead of the sinfulness of people. Paul and his team could have avoided the storm and the shipwreck if the ship’s officers had listened to his words of wisdom. Still the Lord protected Paul and delivered him safely to the place God had called him to go.
The truth of God’s sovereignty often comes with rigorous exertion especially to those who are deeply self-centered. We remember the Babylonian king who was lifted up in unparalleled pride but whom God humbled. When Nebuchadnezzar’s reason returned to him, he saw God’s sovereignty with great clarity and he “blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”” (Daniel 4:34-35).
It is true that the Lord can still the storms of life, but He does not always immunize Christians from problems and trials that are common to all people. Sometimes He miraculously delivers Christians from such circumstances while at other times He chooses to give Christians courage and strength to endure natural disasters and other catastrophes. In those times we must choose to remember that God’s grace is sufficient to provide endurance in the midst of storms.
What if in the sovereign will of God, He chooses not to spare us the experience of a disaster? Does He not supply the courage to face the crisis, knowing that He alone can “cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose? (Romans 8:28) We live under God’s promises and those promises empower us to face life’s most daunting challenges.
Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? Have you trusted in Him and Him alone to save your soul? Right now, at this moment, He calls you to believe in Him. His invitation is simple and direct. He says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now.
