Daily Scripture Reading Acts 27:39 - 28:10

There are well-known organizations which have the mission of providing for people who experience a fire, flood, or other natural disaster. Three of these prominent organizations are the Red Cross, World Relief, and Samaritan’s Purse. Those organizations, and others, collect money, recruit volunteers, and then send volunteers and supplies to disaster areas. They not only provide help immediately after the event, they also provide long-term support in the process of rebuilding after a large loss.

We rightly congratulate ourselves on having these organizations and being a generous society who takes care of people in need. There is nothing wrong with these organizations. However, today’s passage illustrates that the use of large structured processes to help needy people is missing something. It is a little bit impersonal compared to the relief experience by some ship passengers in the 1st century AD.

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Paul was on a ship which had been caught in a storm for fourteen days, but the crew suspected they were nearing land. After eating some food, they cast the wheat into the sea to lighten the ship

Acts 27:39 ¶ Now when day came, they could not recognize the land; but they were noticing a bay with a beach, and they were resolving to drive the ship onto it if they could.

Acts 27:40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders. And hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.

Acts 27:41 But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves.

Acts 27:42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape;

Note the word “kill”. This verse highlights the stark difference between modern treatment of crime and 1st century Roman treatment of crime. We don’t know the seriousness of the offenses of most of the prisoners, but if something like this happened today in the West, I don’t think the guards would be inclined to kill the prisoners rather than let them escape.

Acts 27:43 but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and ordered that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land,

We learned in Acts 27:1 that Paul was not the only prisoner being transported by this centurion. Paul had gained so much respect from the centurion, that the centurion spared all the prisoners in order to protect Paul.

Acts 27:44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

Don’t miss the words “all” and “safely” in the last sentence. According to Acts 27:22, an angel told Paul none of the passengers would lose their life.

Acts 28:1 ¶ And when they had been brought safely through to shore, then we learned that the island was called Malta.

Malta is an island south of Sicily. They had left port in Fair Havens, hoping to make it to Phoenix, but they were caught in a storm which eventually deposited them in Malta. Fortunately for them, the storm had taken them towards their destination, which was Rome.

Acts 28:2 And the natives showed us extraordinary affection; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.

The words “natives”, “extraordinary affection”, and “received” indicate the love and generosity expressed by the residents of Malta. When a ship crashed on their island and the passengers needed help, they did not have the attitude that it wasn’t their problem. Instead, they went above and beyond to help.

If something like this were to happen today, the coast guard or military would probably be sent in to rescue the passengers, and then the survivors of the shipwreck would be taken to an institution to be housed and fed. In that case, the rescuers would be helping because it is their job, not because they volunteered to help someone in need.

There is nothing wrong with having a coast guard and employing people to provide emergency relief. However, humanity loses something when people are not provided the opportunity to provide emergency relief because they want to, not because it is their job.

Acts 28:3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

Acts 28:4 And when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

Acts 28:5 However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

Acts 28:6 But they were waiting for him to soon swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, changing their minds, they began to say that he was a god.

Acts 28:7 ¶ Now in the areas around that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days.

Think about the scale of what this verse tells us. Publius entertained the passengers for three days. According to Acts 27:37 there were 276 persons on the ship. That was a lot of people to feed for three days. Publius spent a lot of wealth to provide for those people.

Today, we rely on organizations like the Red Cross to house and feed large groups of people who have been displaced. Displaced people are not given shelter in someone’s home. Instead, they are housed in hotels or makeshift shelters. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is somewhat impersonal, at least compared to what Publius did.

Acts 28:8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying afflicted with fever and dysentery; and Paul, going to see him and having prayed, laid his hands on him and healed him.

Acts 28:9 And after this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed.

It is curious to me that Luke makes no mention of any evangelistic efforts by Paul. The purpose of healing was to prove that the healer was sent by God. Paul gave evidence that he was an apostle, but there is no mention that any of the islanders became believers.

Acts 28:10 They also bestowed on us many honors of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.

Look at the last phrase and focus on the fact that the islanders supplied everything that was needed. They were generous, but they also had direct contact with the recipients of their largesse.

In modern times there are organizations which collect donations and then use those donations to provide for those who have lost their possessions in a natural disaster. The end result is the same as what happened on the island of Malta, but today’s version is less personal. Today’s donors have no connection with those who benefit from the gifts.

This passage illustrates similarities and differences between how disaster relief was handled in the 1st century and how it is accomplished today. On Malta, the residents were very generous, and they spent time and energy helping those who had been shipwrecked. Today, there are people who donate time and money to provide assistance in the aftermath of floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

However, on Malta, the victims of the shipwreck were brought into the homes of the islanders. The care and provision was very personal. Today, those who lose everything are not brought into the homes of those who work for the large organizations that provide relief. Instead, they are housed in hotels, large buildings, or temporary, makeshift structures.

What are the pros and cons of modern society having large organizations to provide relief when there are natural disasters?

What does society lose when there is no personal connection between donors and those who receive help as a result of their donations?

Should Christians be more willing to invite complete strangers into their homes in times of disaster?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”