The Acts of the Apostles- 93
Pastor Marty Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 2:32PM Subtitle: When the Serpent Bites
Acts 28:1-10. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 23, 2025.
There is a literal serpent bite in this passage, but it can also have a metaphorical lesson for us.
Similar to how disease and the attendant viruses, prions, etc. can be a picture of spiritual problems, dangerous creatures, venom, toxins, etc. become pictures of spiritual attack.
Viruses work to get past our natural defenses and then commandeer the cells’ factories in order to replicate itself, rather than replicating what God made the cell to replicate. Of course, spiritual truths can pop in our minds as we think about such things. The enemy hates the fact that humans are made to be imagers of God. He operates to erase any remnant of God in our image and turn us to imaging him. Sin really began with the serpent questioning as such. “Did God really say…?” He also directly questioned the truth of God’s decree that they would die in the day that they ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
They were metaphorically bitten by the serpent that day, and a mind toxin was inserted into them. Humans have never been well since, except by the touch of Jesus Christ..
Let’s look at our passage and get into the details.
They safely make it to land (v. 1-6)
We left the story last week as the crew and passengers abandoned a ship that was stuck on a sandbar with the wind and surf tearing the ship apart. They all made it to land safely. However, just as God had spoken through Paul, they all made it safely to land. The New King James Version uses the phrase in verse 1, “And when they had escaped…” In the New American Standard Bible, it is translated, “When they had been brought safely through…” We tend to think of escaping in the sense of avoiding and not having to go through something. However, this word reflects an escape from death, yet still going through the ordeal. God kept them through the trial. We see this in 1 Corinthians 10:31. “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (NKJV). We can see the idea of escaping, but also an enabling to endure temptation without succumbing to its allure.
Temptations can often be avoided. We too often set ourselves up for difficulty through the things we say and do. We can even make those temptations worse than they need to be. Trials on the other hand are a difficult thing that typically “tempts” us to lose faith in God. There are some trials that we can avoid, but in general, we will not avoid all trials. We see Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed, praying to God. In the end, he trusts the Father to bring him through the trial into death, and back to life.
Thus, it is important to recognize that God can keep us out of trials. However, if He kept us out of all trials, then we would be missing something big. God can take us through trials and overcome them by faith. God then uses the trial to develop spiritual maturity in us.
We are told that the natives (literally barbarians) gave them “extraordinary kindness.” This is the same word that is used of the miracles done through Paul in Acts 19:11. Yes, men and women can be kind at times, even unbelievers. However, this was an uncommon, unusual kindness. They went above and beyond what would be expected.
They take pity on these shipwreck survivors who landed on their shores. Instead of hiding and taking on a defensive posture, they kindled a fire (probably more than one) for the survivors to warm up. This is important because the water is cold, it is the beginning of winter, they are sopping wet and exhausted. They could escape the waves only to succumb to hypothermia.
This brings up the question. How do I respond to the tragedy of others? Do we protect ourselves and watch the tragedy from a safe distance? Christians are to be bold and show extraordinary kindness in such times. Of course, we shouldn’t suspend our thinking and situational awareness. At the same time, we should be led by the Lord in how to help others. This requires us to be a praying people.
These natives are not Christians. Yet, God has touched their heart to be kind to these men. We should recognize that not all Jesus calls us to do is impossible for unbelievers to do. We have just come through a time when several hurricanes devastated many parts of our eastern States. Fires also consumed many places in California. Many unbelievers gave money and helped out with recovery efforts, and this is commendable. However, we tend to do good things for our own glory and justification. Christians want to do these things for the glory of God and for His purposes. Thus, a good work for the glory of God becomes a much better thing than helping people, as good as that is. Good works can be done for the wrong reasons. They cannot make a heart better, but they will flow from a good heart.
God may have put you in someone else’s tragedy for such a time as this. The person you help may be a Christian or they may not be one. Believers should be quick to help others. Yet, a person who does not know Jesus has a big spiritual need on top of their natural tragedy. May God help us to show extraordinary kindness in the time when tragedy strikes people around us. May He help us to minister to their spiritual needs as well.
Paul was helping to gather sticks to put on the fire and had picked up a bundle to throw on the fire. The heat from the fire causes a viper to bite him. The natives watch as this snake fastens onto Paul’s hand and is dangling from him.
Of all the guys on the ship, don’t you find it just a bit suspicious that it was Paul who was bitten? Of course we can let that suspicion go several different ways. We can become suspicious of God’s care for us. “God, what do you have against me!” Imagine the whole ordeal that they have just come through and then to be bitten by a snake. How would you feel if it was you?
We should recognize that God’s dealings with Paul are not about how comfortable Paul is. Sometimes the mission of God in our life will lead us into uncomfortable times. It has nothing to do with God’s feelings towards you and everything to do with the difficulty of the task.
We can also be suspicious in the sense that we recognize God’s hand. Paul is the one bitten. He is the one that the natives watch, expecting him to swell up or drop dead. God has brought this man to the attention of these natives. Yes, he is just an earthen vessel, but there is a treasure inside of him, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are told that Paul shakes the snake off into the fire and goes about his task. He never swells up and doesn’t drop dead. I believe that these literal things teach us one thing, but that we can also learn something else metaphorically. We don’t push one over the other. Both are important. Satan was not happy with how God was working through the Apostle Paul. His witness to the people on the ship would now be expanded to the inhabitants of this island (Malta). The attack of a literal viper is a picture of the attacks of the spiritual viper, the devil. He seeks to take us out through the same things that take others out. Yet, God’s hand of grace and power is upon Paul. This doesn’t make him invincible. Rather, it makes him to be in the hand of God. He doesn’t have to worry about serpent bites. If God is ready to take him to heaven, then so be it. If not, then let’s get to work. The devil is a threat, but he cannot really do anything to us that is eternal, unless we lose faith and let him. There is coming a day when the viper will be shaken off into the lake of fire by humanity through the work of Jesus Christ. Read Revelation 20:10. We will go on unharmed by his bite over these millennia for the Lord will have healed us!
There is always a purpose behind why God allows such things to happen. For Paul, God was going to use it to demonstrate His blessing upon Paul and aid the natives in listening to him.
However, if God protected believers from everything bad that threatened them, how would that help the world? You might say that more people would become Christians. Well, more people might say they are Christians. Do you not realize how things went with the Church when they didn’t have persecutions and trials like this? It wasn’t good. Yes, many joined the Church, but it was generally for all the wrong reasons. It was in difficult and trying times that true Christianity grew the most. It produced stronger followers of Jesus.
In some cultures, to become a Christian is to lose your job, family and sometimes even life. Maybe, we should be thankful for difficult times because it is then that people can see God in you. They see you going through the same kind of things that they go through, but with a different Spirit and a different purpose. They see hope, life and joy in you when they expect to see despair, despondency and sadness.
At some point, the natives go from thinking that Paul must be a really evil man, for the snake to bite him, to thinking that he must be a god. The world is used to being at the mercy of the “gods” and the fates. They quickly make snap pronouncements about life that can be seemingly right, or self-fulfilling, and even wrong. The demonstrations of God’s power are not given to believers so that others can think we are gods. It is not about elevating Christians above others. This is not the day of elevation. This is the day lowering ourselves so that we can serve the lost with the Truth of God.
The mentality of people who are lost is that of being at the mercy of the “winds and the waves,” the many forces that push our life this way and that- forces we are unable to stop. Christians are taught to make true judgments, and in fact, that we sometimes need to reserve judgment.
This jumping from thinking Paul is an evil man being judged by the gods to a man who is a god is a lot like our society. We see people quickly judging others as evil, while others idolize the person as if they were a god. People may even judge you as being the problem in America because you try to serve Jesus. Don’t lose heart. Even if God hasn’t done the amazing thing that He did with Paul through you, He is working through you to be a light to them. Don’t ask God why He is doing things to you, but what does He want you to do in the midst of them. God will shine through us as we embrace the things that He allows in our life and show people that His love is real.
Paul heals a man (v. 7-10)
The leading man on the island, Publius, takes care of them. On one hand, we can see that God is assisting Paul through this man. Yet, notice how the story turns to a blessing upon the man. God also rewards people who unknowingly treat His people well. Publius typifies the unbeliever who is nice to God’s man, and it produces a reward for him. He is not saved by this act, but God’s goodness can lead him to salvation. It gives grace to them, a witness of God’s love and purpose.
We do not know the long-term effect on Publius, but we do know that a church was started on Malta because of this event. The next time things go bad, don’t question God’s love for you. Rather, ask for His presence and directions. How can I serve Your purposes, Father God?
In the midst of talking with Paul, it becomes evident that Publius’ dad is sick. Perhaps, the Lord spoke to Paul’s heart, or Paul may be recognizing that God is doing something amazing here, and so he steps out in faith. Regardless, Paul prays for the sick dad, and he is healed. This becomes the second thing that gets the attention of these natives. When the people find out that Viper Man can also heal people, they bring sick people to Paul from around the island. Paul prays for them and they were being cured. It is wonderful to be healed physically. Praise God! He has designed our bodies to fight off sickness. Yet, because of the fall of mankind and the presence of sin, our bodies do not work as efficiently as God originally made them to be.
God often worked through Paul with miraculous healings. However, Paul himself had a problem that he called a “thorn in the flesh.” It is not detailed, but in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about asking God to cause it to leave him. Yet, God did not heal him. “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul came to realize that God was keeping him humble.
What if I am not healed? As great as physically healing is, it cannot replace salvation. Our reward with a glorified, heavenly body causes any sickness and weaknesses we experience in this life to be small and only trifles in comparison. Yes, God doesn’t relish in the sickness of people in this world, but even worse, He weeps over the spiritually darkened condition of the lost.
We are told that they honored Paul and well supplied the group when they left 3 months later to go to Rome. We are not told exactly how they are honored other than the supplies. I mentioned earlier that a church was started on Malta. That would be a great honor for any Christian, to know that your witness caused a new church to spring up where one had not been before.
We don’t always know what God will do through us, but we can honor him before the world so that they will know that God doesn’t just heal the sickness of our bodies. He can heal the sickness of our souls! This is our greatest need.
Sometimes the devil (the serpent) uses people to try to harm us or draw us into temptation. In such a way, he seeks to bite us. God intends to demonstrate His power over the devil and his works through us. Unbelievers are not our true enemy. In the face of ugliness and persecution, Paul is being faithful to live for Christ and not for his ego. May we serve God faithfully and diligently. May a demonstration of the Spirit of God reach the heart of those separated from God as we faithfully serve His purposes.