Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Crash! Boom! Crack! Everyone loses their balance and falls to the deck as their ship runs aground on a sand bar. Swoosh! Splash! Shouts! People everywhere are screaming as the stern is breaking up by the pounding of the surf. Now people are running all around wondering how to preserve their lives. The centurion is barking out orders: “If you know how to swim, go for it! If not, grab a plank or a piece of the ship and make your way to land!”
All of the sudden passengers and prisoners alike throw themselves overboard. The cold autumn water almost knocks their breath out and all of their muscles tighten as their bodies are baptized by the Mediterranean. They emerge, orient themselves and do the best they can to make it to shore.
When their feet could finally touch the sand on the bottom of the sea, despite their wet and weary bodies, they ran ashore with all the gusto of an Olympic sprinter. And just as if they crossed the finish line in first place, they dropped to their knees in triumph. They made it! They were still alive! They had awoken from their two week nightmare at sea and they kissed the sand in appreciation of dry land.
The Maltese Viper
As the others made it ashore and began to congregate together, they were shocked to find out that all 276 passengers made it safely. As they turned around and watched what was left of their ship being destroyed by the waves, they remembered Paul’s prophecy that not one of them would be lost and they were thankful!
Some of the natives saw their ship and all that had happened to them and came out to greet them. They found out that they were on the tiny island of Malta. It is 58 miles south of Sicily and 180 miles north of the African coast, with a length of only 18 mile sand width of 8 miles.
These natives were of Phoenician descent and spoke mostly a Punic tongue although some of them would have spoken Greek. They showed these vagabond sailors wonderful kindness and hospitality over the three winter months they stayed on the island. Seeing that they were cold and wet, and the fact that it was raining, the natives immediately built a large bonfire to warm their bodies and dry their clothes.
Paul, having a servant’s heart, wanted to show his appreciation and lead by example, so he went to gather some brushwood to throw on the fire. Little did he know that among the bundle of sticks that twigs lurked a venomous viper. As he approached the fire the snake became even more agitated and struck his hand.
Some of the natives saw the serpent sink its fangs into Paul’s flesh and immediately concluded that Paul must be a murderer. According to their superstition a snakebite was a bad omen that revealed divine justice from the gods as punishment for murder. They murmur to themselves about the irony of the situation, “for though he escaped the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” Notice that the word “justice” is capitalized. This is a personification of justice as a goddess, a reference to fate directing events. She was seen as the daughter of Zeus and Themis in Greek and Roman pantheism.
But Paul very calmly shakes the snake off his hand and into the fire where it is consumed by the flames. God had already told him that he would make it to Rome, so he had nothing to fear. The Maltese people had witnessed the results of snakebites in the past, and they knew it wouldn’t be long until the wound would swell, the victim would go into shock, and the venom would stop the heart from beating. That is why, after waiting a considerable time and seeing nothing unusual happen, they were amazed. They quickly changed their minds from believing he was a murderer to believing he was a god. for they had never seen anything like this before.
In the meantime, Publius, the chief official of Malta, hosted all 276 survivors in his home. Could you imagine throwing a dinner party for all of those people for three days straight? Obviously, he was a man of considerable wealth! After everything they had been through, I’m sure the passengers were grateful for good food and a warm place to stay.
During their stay, they found out that Pbulius’ father, who lived with him, was suffering fever and dysentery. This was probably a condition called Malta Fever which was common at the time. It was caused by a certain bacteria in goat’s milk and lasted anywhere from 4 months to 3 years.
Upon finding out about the man’s condition, Paul takes the opportunity to minister to him. The man is lying in bed when Paul comes in to pray for him. He lays his hands on him and prays that God would deliver his body from this condition. Just like Jesus did in the gospels and as Paul had done before, the man is immediately and miraculously cured.
When news of this event got out, many of the sick on the island came to Paul for healing. For the next three months, presumably Paul spent the next three months healing the sick and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Maltese expressed their gratitude by furnishing them with enough supplies for all 276 passengers when they had secured another ship and were ready to sail to Rome in the spring.
Divine Irony
Now a dangerous shipwreck, a vicious Maltese snakebite and a whole Mediterranean island miraculously being cured of disease makes for a great story, but why does Luke write about it? This story is filled with enough drama to make the New York Times Bestseller Novel List or to make a Hollywood Blockbuster, but why is it in the Bible? Sure, this story gives us the history of Paul’s journey to Rome, but so what! Why would Luke give us such a detailed description of their stay on Malta? What theological purpose does this passage serve? What does it tell us about God? How does it apply to our lives today?
To answer these questions we have to examine the text more closely. We may not be able to see it on the surface, but when Luke wrote this story, his pen was dripping with divine irony. Everything that we would expect to happen does not happen and everything we would not expect to happen happens. God’s plan for Paul’s life included many unexpected twists and turns. Let me show you!
Malta – “A Place of Refuge” (1)
Right at the beginning of the story Luke tells us that the passengers on the ship found out that the island they were stranded on was called Malta. Ironically, the name “Malta” literally means “a place of refuge”. How amazing is it to think that a ship that got caught in a catastrophic storm and was in desperate need of rescue and refuge for the winter would find it in a place called “a place of refuge”? that is pretty ironic, isn’t it?
Barbarian Kindness (2)
The second place we see divine irony is in the word “islanders” in verse 2. The native islanders showed the passengers unusual kindness; that is, kindness we would not expect to see. They show kindness by making a fire, providing them with a place to stay, and by furnishing them with the supplies they needed when left in the spring.
Now you ma ask, “What is so ironic about this?” Well, especially in the ancient world we would not expect natives to show kindness toward unexpected guests. Typically, outsiders would be treated with suspicion and hostility. This is especially true when we realize that the Greek word translated here as islanders is “barbaroi” from which we get our English word “barbarians”. this referred to non-Greek and non-Latin speaking people and carried the connotation of ignorant, uncivilized, uncultured, and hostile people. No wonder Luke says their kindness was unusual.
What incredible irony! What an oxymoronic term “Barbarian kindness!” To find out just how ironic this term is, go up to someone this week and say, “I would like to show you some good old-fashioned barbarian kindness.” Let me know how they react!
Divine Justice (4-6)
We also see divine irony in the fact that when Paul was bitten by the snake the natives conclude that he was a murderer. What a fascinating and ironic conclusion—Paul was in fact a murderer! It was also ironic in their minds that Paul would escape the mouth of the sea only to be killed by the mouth of a viper.
But we see further irony when Paul suffers no ill effects and the natives so quickly change their minds and conclude that he is a god. One minute they think he was judged by a god and the next minute they think he is a god. One minute Paul was a degenerate, the next minute he is divine. Now that is ironic!
Healed Hand/Healing Hand (7-9)
Another place we see divine irony is in Paul’s hand. The hand that was bitten by the viper and filled with venom was the same hand that God used to heal Publius’ father and the rest of the island of fever and dysentery. The harmed hand became a healing hand—very unexpected indeed!
Do you see why Luke includes all of these little details? He wants his readers to see that God was in complete control of Paul’s life and ministry. His providence guided every last detail.
Malta Today
There is one more ironic detail that I want to share with you about this story, but it is not found in the text. It has been almost 2,000 years since Paul was shipwrecked and stranded on the island of Malta. Today Malta has a population of 335,000 and is listed in the World Christian Encyclopedia as 100 percent Christian, of which 97 percent is Roman Catholic and 3 percent other forms of Christianity. Every year on February 10th, the island celebrates the shipwreck of the Apostle Paul. Wow! What a legacy for the gospel. I wonder if this had anything to do with God’s plan.
So, what is Luke trying to teach us in this passage today? Get ready, here it is: God’s plan for our lives includes many unexpected twists and turns! Just like Paul, our lives are filled with divine irony. God’s plan for our lives is determined before we are even conceived and it is perfect, but to us it seems so mysterious and uncertain. That is why I believe that every once in awhile God gives us a little glimpse of this divine irony. It reminds us of who is really in control.
Can you think of any occasions in your life where you have experienced divine irony? Has something ever happened to you that you didn’t expect and it altered the course of your life? Has something ever not happened that you expected to happen and that changed the course of your life?
Let me give you a few examples of how this happens today. For instance, how many of you have heard stories where a young person has said, “Are you kidding me, I would never marry that person!” And then a few years later you see them walking down the aisle together. God has a plan for everyone.
Or think about the young couple that gets pregnant on their honeymoon in spite of contraception that is supposedly 99% effective, while another couple has been trying to have kids for years and yet is unsuccessful. Life doesn’t always happened the way we expect it, but God is always in control.
Here is one of my favorites! Think about the person sitting in church on Sunday morning listening to the preacher say that God could call anyone into the ministry, and they sit there thinking to themselves, “Yeah, right, God won’t call me!” Is anyone thinking that right now? Be careful, God often does things we don’t expect. Wouldn’t it be ironic if God called you into the ministry?
Here is one more! I love the person who just retires and says, “Now I can finally have a little rest and relaxation.” Well, if I were you I wouldn’t bet on it. God’s plan for your retirement is often quite different from your plan for your retirement.
I could go on with more examples, but you get the drift. God’s plan for our lives includes many unexpected twists and turns. Paul didn’t expect to be shipwrecked in Malta, bitten by a snake, or have the opportunity to heal a whole island from sickness, but God did! Likewise, we will experience many things that we never expected, some good and some bad, but they are all a part of God’s plan. So, whatever happens to us, I hope that we will be faithful like Paul and realize that God is in control. And always remember that God’s plan for our lives includes many twists and turns!