Acts 28

28:1,2The island of Malta is 60 miles south of Siclly. It had excellent harbors and was ideally located for trade. The islanders On Malta were of Phoenician ancestry.

28:3God had promised safe passage to Paul (27:23-25), and he would let nothing stop his servant. The poisonous snake that bit Paul was unable to harm him. Our life is in God’s hands. to Continue on or to come to an end in his good timing. God still had work for Paul to do.

28:6These people were very superstitious and believed in many gods. When they saw that Paul was unhurt by the poisonous snake, they thought he was a god. A similar assessment is reported in 14:11-18.

28:7,8Paul continued to minister to others, even as a shipwrecked prisoner. On this trip alone, the Roman army officer, the chief official of Malta, and many others were affected. It is no wonder that the Good News spread like wildfire.

49:9Paul spoke ina lecture hall at this school. Such halls were used in the morning for teaching philosophy, but they were empty during the hot part of the day (about 11am to 4 pm). Because many people did not work during those hours, they would come to hear Paul’s preaching.

28:15Where did the Roman believers come from? The Good News had spread to Rome by various methods. Many Jews who tived in Rome would visit Jerusalem for retigious festivals. Some DAU RORNMR "tr, i . Maye a Rome Ny moves Taveméa Forum=*: & on the Appian gf Syracuse waa Mediterranean Sea 150 Mi 150 Km. had been present at Pentecost (2:10), had believed in Jesus, and had brought the message back to Rome. Also, Paul had written his letter to the Romans before this time.

28:15The Forum on the Appian Way was a town about 43 miles south of Rome; The Three Taverns was located about 35 miles south of Rome. A tavern was a shop or a place that provided food and lodging for travelers. The Christians openly went to meet Paul and encourage him.

28:17The decree of Claudius expelling Jews from Rome (18:2) must have been temporary because Jewish leaders were back in Rome.

28:17-20Paul wanted to preach the Good News in Rome, and he eventually got there—in chains, through shipwreck, and after many trials. Although he may have wished for an easier passage, he knew that God had blessed him greatly in allowing him to meet the believers in Rome and preach the message to both Jews and Gentiles in that great city. In all things, God worked for Paut’s good (Romans 8:28). You can trust God to do the same for you. God may not make you comfortable or secure, but he will provide the opportunity to do his work.

47:22Paul was well prepared to speak to this group. He came from Tarsus, an educational center, and had the training and knowledge to present his beliefs clearly and persuasively. Paul was a rabbi, taught by the finest scholar of his day, Gamaliel, and he had spent much of his life thinking and reasoning through the Scriptures. It is not enough to teach or preach with conviction. Like Paul, we must be prepared. The more we know about the Bible, what it means, and how to apply it to life, the more convincing our words will be. This does not mean that we should avoid presenting the Good News until we feel adequately prepared. We should use what we have learned but always seek to know more in order to be an effective witness and be able to respond to people’s questions and arguments.

28:22Christians were denounced everywhere by the Romans because they were seen as a threat to the Roman establishment. They believed in one God, whereas the Romans had many gods, including Caesar. The Christians were committed to an authority higher than Caesar.

28:23Paul used the Old Testament to teach the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, the fulfillment of God’s promises. The book of Romans, written 10 years earlier, reveals Paul’s ongoing dialogue with the Jews in Rome

28:30Paul remained in Rome under guard (28:16) in a rented house for two years (28:30). There sat the greatest apostle and spokesman for Christianity—unable to move freely and minister as he desired. However, Paul didn’t complain or despair. He simply did what he could. Able to receive visitors, he taught, preached, and counseled even while he was confined to quarters. He wrote letters, commonly called his Prison Letters, to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians—letters that have impacted millions of believers down through the centuries. He also wrote personal letters, such as the one to Philemon. Luke was with Paul in Rome (2 Timothy 4:11). Timothy often visited him (Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1:1), as did Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21), Epaphroditus (Philippians 4:18), and Mark (Colossians 4:10}, Paul witnessed to the whole Roman guard (Philippians 1:13) and was involved with the Roman believers. If you find yourself in a “negative” or unpleasant situation, look for ways to redeem the circumstances. There is never a time or place in which you can’t glorify and serve God.

28:30Tradition says that Paul was released after two years of house arrest in Rome and that he then left on a fourth missionary journey. Some reasons for this tradition are as follows: (1) Luke does not give us an account of Paul's trial before Caesar, and Luke was a detailed chronicler; {2} the prosecution had two years to bring the case to trial, and time may have run out; (3) in his letter to the Philippians, written during his imprisonment in Rome, Paul implied that he would soon be released and wouid do further traveling; (4) Paul mentions several places where he intended to take the Good News, but he never visited those places in his first three journeys; (5) early Christian Jiterature talks plainly about other travels by Paul.

40:45Cornelius and Peter were very different people. Cornelius was wealthy, a Gentile, and a military man. Peter was a Jewish fisherman turned preacher. But God’s plan included both of them. In Cornelius’s house that day, a new chapter in Christian history was written as a Jewish Christian leader and a Gentile Christian convert each discovered something significant about the other. Cornelius needed Peter in order to hear the Good News and know the way of salvation. Peter needed Cornelius in order to know that Gentiles were included in God’s pian. You and another believer may also need each other to understand how God works!