Acts 28:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

NIV: When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.

NASB: After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being cured.

CSB: After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

NLT: Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed.

KJV: So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

NKJV: So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

When a hidden snake attached itself to Paul, the people of Malta figured he must be a murderer receiving punishment from the gods. When he didn't die, the people thought he was a god. In that event, Paul apparently didn't attribute the possibly miraculous escape to God. He knew it wasn't his time to die, so he just shook the snake into the fire, not realizing the impact it would have on the people (Acts 28:3–6).

When Paul healed the father of the chief man of the island, however, he stopped and prayed. Luke doesn't tell us if Paul shared Jesus' message, but he does indicate through his actions that his power to heal comes from God, not himself (Acts 28:7–8). Now, the people realize he is not only associated with power, but mercifully willing to share that power with others.

The people respond with gratitude. They provide for the needs of the castaways during winter and give them provisions when they sail off three months later (Acts 28:10–11). Whether the Holy Spirit gave Paul the ability to heal specifically to affirm his message, or merely so the people would give them supplies, the support has to be a welcome change from spending two weeks on a ship in a tempest in the Mediterranean (Acts 27).

Acts 28:7–10 records how Paul, Luke, Aristarchus, and 273 other shipwreck victims find their situation greatly improved. Paul has survived a snake attack, drawing the attention of the leader of the island of Malta. The leader invites Paul's group to stay at his home for a few days and Paul heals the leader's sick father. Before long, every person on the island struck with a disease shows up. Paul heals them, and they provide for their guests for their three-month stay as well as their final voyage to Rome.

Acts 28 records Paul's three-month stay on the island of Malta and two-year house arrest in Rome. On Malta, God empowers Paul to perform healing miracles which endear him to the locals. Once he reaches the shores of Italy, many other believers accompany him on his last leg to Rome. In Rome, he finds the Jews just as accepting of Jesus as elsewhere; some believe, but many don't. Paul reaffirms his mission to the Gentiles and spends his time preaching while under house arrest.

Acts 28 is the end of Luke's story of the witness of Jesus' story (Acts 1:8). After his wrongful imprisonment in Caesarea Maritima, Paul appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:1–12). He, Aristarchus, and Luke survived a raging winter storm before finally reaching Rome (Acts 27). Again under house arrest, Paul is able to share Jesus' offer of forgiveness with any who wish to visit. While there, he writes the letters Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. After two years, Paul is released; tradition says he takes one more evangelistic tour before being arrested and eventually martyred around AD 67.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.