Acts · chapter 28 of 28
Updated on
Acts 28 tells how Paul and his companions reach the island of Malta safely, where a viper bites Paul without harming him and he heals the father of Publius and other sick people. Three months later they continue to Rome. There Paul, under guard, explains the gospel to the Jewish leaders and, for two years in a rented house, proclaims the kingdom of God and teaches about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness.
Acts 27 ended with all 276 passengers safe on shore, as God had promised. Chapter 28 closes the book of Acts: the gospel, which began in Jerusalem, reaches Rome, the center of the empire. The narrative does not end with Paul's death or a trial but with the Word advancing unhindered, which is the central message of the whole book.
The shipwrecked learn that the island is called Malta. Its people kindle a fire and welcome them kindly. A viper fastens on Paul's hand; they think he is a murderer, but he shakes it into the fire unharmed, and then they say he is a god. Publius, the chief man of the island, entertains them for three days. Paul prays and lays his hands on Publius's father, sick with fever and dysentery, and heals him; the other sick on the island are then cured.
After three months they sail in an Alexandrian ship, pass through Syracuse, Rhegium and Puteoli, where they stay seven days with brothers, and go on to Rome. Brothers from Rome come out to meet them as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns, and Paul thanks God and takes courage. In Rome he lives by himself with a soldier guarding him.
After three days he calls together the Jewish leaders: he explains that he did nothing against his people, that he was handed over to the Romans and appealed to Caesar, and that he wears chains for the hope of Israel. On an appointed day many come, and from morning till evening Paul explains the kingdom of God and speaks of Jesus from the Law and the Prophets. Some believe and others do not. Paul quotes Isaiah and declares that this salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, who will listen.
The book ends with Paul two whole years in a rented house, welcoming all, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Paul shakes the viper into the fire and suffers no harm. It is a sign of God's care for his servant and shows that Paul is not the criminal the islanders supposed.
The brothers from Rome come out to meet Paul as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns, and when he sees them he thanks God and takes courage. It is a gesture of fellowship that strengthens the apostle before he enters the capital.
Paul explains to the Jews of Rome the kingdom of God and tries to persuade them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. His method is the same as always: to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures.
For two whole years Paul lives in a rented house, welcomes all, proclaims the kingdom of God and teaches about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. So the book ends: the prisoner is chained, but the Word is not.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The island of Malta. — Acts 28:1
Answer: Paul shook it off into the fire and suffered no harm. — Acts 28:3-5
Answer: Publius's father, who was sick with fever and dysentery. — Acts 28:7-8
Answer: Brothers from Rome, who met him at the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. — Acts 28:15
Answer: Because of the hope of Israel. — Acts 28:20
Answer: Two whole years, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness. — Acts 28:30-31
Acts 28 shows that God guides his people even by unexpected paths: a shipwreck, an island and house arrest. Paul did not reach Rome as he had imagined, but he reached it, and from there he kept proclaiming Christ. In a small group you can talk about how to keep serving God when circumstances are not what we planned, and how to see opportunities for witness in difficult places.
The chapter also invites hospitality. The people of Malta, though they did not know Paul's God, showed unusual kindness to the shipwrecked. And the church in Rome went out on the road to meet the apostle. A church that welcomes and encourages those who arrive weary reflects the heart of God. Finally, the open ending of the book reminds us that the story of Acts continues today through every believer who proclaims the kingdom boldly and without shame.
Acts 28 closes the book with Paul in Rome, under guard but free to proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. The book does not tell the outcome of his case: it leaves the reader with the picture of the Word advancing unhindered, from Jerusalem to the center of the empire, as Jesus had foretold.
The book does not explain. Several reasons have been proposed, including that the author wrote while Paul was still in Rome or that his purpose was to show how the gospel reached the capital. What the text stresses is that the Word advances without hindrance, not the apostle's final fate.
At first they thought he was a murderer whom justice would not let live and expected him to die from the bite. When nothing happened to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. Paul does not correct this judgment in the text, but the narrative shows that the power is God's, not Paul's.
Paul, facing the division among the Jews of Rome, declares that God's salvation is directed to the Gentiles, who will listen. It does not mean God has abandoned Israel; in the book of Acts Paul keeps preaching first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, and here he stresses the opening of the mission to all nations.