Acts 28:21-31 - God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles

28:21,22

The Jewish leaders had not heard anything much about Paul and seemed to be unaware of the controversy.  However, they did know that the “sect”, as they referred to Christians, did have a lot of people speaking against it. So they want to hear from Paul, what he has to say for himself.

28:23-27

A time was set, and a large number of people came to hear Paul. Paul spent a whole day “explaining about the kingdom of God”. He tried to persuade them that Jesus was the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. Some believed, some did not. Luke quotes Is 6:9,10 to sum up the situation with regard to the Jews and the Gospel, pointing to the hardness of heart of the Jews. Obviously this did not apply to all Jews, Paul himself was a Jew and there were other Jewish believers, but it was an accurate generalisation.

28:28-31

The book of Acts is brought to a close with the conclusion that while the Jews in general had rejected the gospel, the gospel had been sent to the Gentiles, and they would listen. Again, this is a generalisation, for many Gentiles did not receive the gospel. Paul spent two years explaining and presenting the gospel to all who would listen. And that is where Acts ends. There is no mention of Paul’s final fate, though tradition has it that he was martyred.

1 Samuel 3:10-14 - Samuel! Samuel!

3:10

The Lord does call a fourth time, and this time says “Samuel, Samuel”, rather than just “Samuel”. The repetition indicates urgency. When Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac the angel of the Lord called out “Abraham, Abraham” (Gen 22:11). This time Samuel replies “Speak, for your servant is listening”. It is imperative that we respond to the Lord when He speaks to us, and we must be ready to listen to Him.

3:11-14

God does not speak an easy word to Samuel, but tells him of forthcoming judgement. The reference to making the ears tingle indicates that terrible things are about to happen. Now, remember that previously a prophet had spoken words of judgement to Eli. God tells Samuel that all these things will now come to pass. He also tells Samuel why these things will happen. It was because his sons blasphemed God, and Eli failed to restrain them. Samuel’s ministry would not be an easy one, and it was vital that from the outset he was prepared for what lay ahead. No amount of sacrifices would atone for the guilt of Eli’s house.

Acts 28:14-20 - It is because of the hope of Israel

28:14-16

The gospel had already reached Rome, so while Paul is the main focus of attention in the second half of Acts, he was not the only means by which the gospel was spreading. There were some believers near Puteoli who invited Paul and his companions to stay with them. Hospitality was a vital part of church life, and is emphasised in a number of the letters. The warm welcome was of great encouragement to Paul. Eventually Paul arrived in Rome. He was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. He was not considered to be a great danger.

28:17-20

Paul maintained his custom of giving the Jews “first refusal”. So he met with the local Jewish leaders. They would probably be giving evidence against Paul in the trial before Caesar. However, Paul did not consider the Jews as “the enemy”, so he met with them to try and win them over. Paul recounts the events in Jerusalem. He also seeks to explain how the gospel is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, rather than being opposed to it.

1 Samuel 3:5-9 - Here I am; you called me

3:5,6

Samuel ran to Eli, thinking it was Eli who had called him. Of course, it wasn’t Eli, and he sent Samuel back to bed. The Lord called to Samuel again, and again Samuel thought that it was Eli. Eli’s response seems to hint that he is getting a bit fed up with being woken up in the middle of the night.

3:7

“Samuel did not yet know the Lord”. Samuel would have known various things about the Law and about God, but he did not know the Lord on a personal level. God desires an intimate relationship with us. “The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him”. Again we see the strong implication that the normal state of affairs for a servant of God is to know Him at a deep level, and to have a deep understanding of the word of the Lord.

3:8,9

The Lord is quite persistent! He calls on Samuel a third time, who still thinks it must be Eli calling him. However, by this time Eli has worked out what is happening, he knew that it was the Lord calling Samuel. So Eli tells Samuel to go and lie down and if he hears the voice again he should say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”.

Acts 28:7-13 - Paul placed his hands on him and healed him

28:7-10

The warm welcome they received continued with the chief official of the island, a man called Publius. Maybe it was because it was an island and they appreciated the importance and dangers of the sea that they were so welcoming.  Publius’ kindness was rewarded. His father was sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul prayed for him, and he was healed. News about this spread around the island and many other sick people came to him and were cured. Sometimes the argument is made that the number of reported miracles and healings declines as we progress through Acts, and therefore we should expect fewer healings today. This verse shows that this is a very weak argument. Miracles did still happen. Luke did not write his account so that we had a record of all the healings, and his purpose developed as we work through Acts. The kindness of the islanders continued until they were ready to leave.

28:11-13

It was three months before they put to sea again, going on another ship that had wintered there. Luke gives a few more details, as was his habit. Castor and Pollux were the twin sins of Zeus, in Greek mythology. They were thought to provide protection for sailors. There were a couple of stops on the way, at Syracuse and Rhegium. Syracuse was on Sicily, and Rhegium was at the southern tip of Italy. Finally they arrived at Puteoli, a major port for Rome.

1 Samuel 3:1-4 - The word of the Lord was rare

3:1

The focus now turns to Samuel. Eli’s house has been told that they will be removed, and dealt with very severely, but there would be no vacuum, for God’s man, Samuel, would be made a prophet for Israel. We are told here that “in those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions”. Note the implication that the normal state of affairs is that God speaks to His people, both as individuals and corporately. This is what we see happening throughout the Bible. The foundation for all this is the written word of God, the Bible. The Bible should not be just a book, but the living word of God. There will also be times when there are prophecies or visions from the Lord.

3:2-4

Eli was already very old, and now his sight is starting to go. Meanwhile Samuel was lying “in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was”. The reference to the ark of God perhaps implies the presence of God. God certainly was present, for He called out to Samuel. Samuel answered “Here I am”, but did not realise who was calling him.

Acts 28:1-6 - They said he was a god

28:1-3

After they were all safely ashore, they discovered that the island was the island of Malta. The islanders seem to have been very friendly and treated the shipwrecked crew and prisoners with great kindness. It was a wet and cold time of year, and hence the storm. So they built a fire. Paul joined in with gathering brushwood. In the course of doing this he picked up a snake. The snake is called a viper. Nowadays there are no vipers on Malta, and it may have been some other breed.

28:4-6

The snake had fastened itself to Paul’s hand. I guess this means it had bitten him, though I suppose it could just have coiled itself around his arm. Whatever the case, the islanders immediately decided this meant he was a murderer and the god of justice had finally got him, having failed to do so by wrecking the ship. Paul managed to shake the snake off his hand and into the fire it went. The islanders expected Paul to swell up and die. However, he suffered no ill effects at all. The islanders then changed their mind and decided that he must be a god! The opinions of men are not always a particularly reliable guide!