January 29, 2006
When Paul arrived on the island of Malta, the locals welcomed him with hospitality and honor, and God worked through him to heal many who were sick. Later, when Paul and his companions finally arrived in Rome, they praised God and were encouraged by the Christian fellowship that greeted them. In this message, Alistair Begg draws on Paul’s experiences to highlight the importance of cultivating friendships with unbelievers, prioritizing Christian fellowship, and using God-given gifts to magnify Christ.
7Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and vprayed, and wputting his hands on him, healed him. 9And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10They also honored us greatly,3 and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
11After three months we set sail in xa ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods4 as a figurehead. 12Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14There we found ybrothers5 and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15And ythe brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, zPaul thanked God and took courage. 16And when we came into Rome, aPaul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.