Saturday 23 August 2008

Background

Paul was en route to his trial in Rome when he was shipwrecked.(He was on his way to make his defence before the emperor.) But,because of the strength of Paul's leadership, the whole ship'scompany - many of whom were fellow prisoners - arrived safely onthe shore of Malta.

The snake in the passage is described as a viper. But there are nopoisonous snakes in Malta today. Also, vipers strike their victimand then withdraw rather than attaching themselves to the person.However there was widespread ancient belief that all snakes werevenomous, and moreover, they were agents of divine vengeance. Thisis how the islanders saw it and drew false conclusions about whyPaul was a prisoner.

They expect Paul to either drop dead or at least develop a severeinflammation. "Swell up" (v.6) translates as the modern-day medicalterm and this is one of a number of instances where Luke showsevidences of his medical training (Colossians 4:14 refers to "Luke,the beloved physician").

After a long and fruitless wait for Paul's demise the people reachthe opposite conclusion from their initial estimate, decidinginstead that Paul is not a murderer, but a god! The story may beseen as illustrating the promise of Jesus in Luke 10:19 - "I havegiven you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over allthe power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you".

To Ponder

What do you think happened to Paul? Did thepoisonous bite heal before it took effect or did God prevent thesnake - if it was indeed poisonous - from harming him? What elsemay have happened?

Have you ever judged somebody on the basis ofyour first encounter with them, only to completely change yourjudgement after a short time? What made you change your mind?

Which would you consider the more seriousmistake? To consider someone a murderer or a god? Why?