The Snake in the Fire

“And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.”  Acts 28:4

The Apostle Paul had been arrested for preaching the gospel in Jerusalem and was brought before Felix, the Roman governor who was ruling over Jerusalem at that time.  Because Paul was a citizen of Rome, he appealed his case to Caesar which necessitated a journey to Rome.  As he traveled aboard a ship, he warned the centurion in charge of him that the ship was doomed to shipwreck, but the centurion dismissed his warning.  The ship did run aground, but no one was injured.

There was a nearby island called Melita to which they swam or floated on pieces of the ship.  On this island were people who were unacquainted with God, Christ, or the gospel.  Even though they were described as a barbarous people, meaning that they weren’t Roman, Greek, Jewish, or Christian, but perhaps rather primitive, they welcomed Paul and the sailors.  The islanders built a fire for their visitors.  As Paul was adding kindling to the fire, a poisonous snake leaped from the fire and bit Paul on the hand.  The islanders, familiar with the immediate deadly symptoms of a poisonous snake bite, looked on in horror as Paul held up his hand with the snake dangling down.  They expected him to drop dead any second.

They assumed Paul was a criminal, and this snake bite was his punishment.  I would expect that these island people were idol worshippers and, like most folks, whether they are believers in God or not, have a sense of “divine justice”.  Even though many people do not recognize their own sin, they desire for sin to be punished in other people.  However, to their amazement, Paul gave a quick and sharp fling of his hand, and the viper dislodged its fangs and fell into the fire.  They kept watching him to see if he became exceedingly ill or died right before them, but he was none the worse for wear, and thus they thought he was some sort of a god.

There are three points that are clear from this passage:  1.) If God has a plan for someone, nothing can thwart His plan (Acts 23:11).  2.) Even those who know nothing of God or His word have a instinctive knowledge of right and wrong and know that wrong must be punished.  3.) Sometimes God uses unconventional means to get people’s attention.  Whether these Melita residents became believers is not known, but they did have opportunity as Paul shared the gospel with them over the three months he stayed with them on the island.