Acts 28:1

Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island on which they ran aground was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome because of the rain that was falling and because it was cold. 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 to his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live." (Acts 28:1-4)

Seven marks of godly leadership drawn from a shipwreck, a snake bite, and an island of strangers.

The Wrong Application of This Text

Maybe you saw the article. On February 16, 2014, in Middlesboro, Kentucky, a snake-handling Pentecostal pastor named Jamie Coots died from a rattlesnake bite received during a weekend service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus' Name. When the ambulance arrived, Coots had gone home and verbally refused treatment; his wife signed a form declining care, and he died about an hour later.

I bring that up because the story of Pastor Jamie Coots is the wrong application of the passage we're looking at today. Even though we see a powerful miracle here—Paul bitten by a clearly venomous snake on the island of Malta—it does not present a pattern by which we should worship God through handling venomous snakes. If you come to our worship night, there will be no venomous snakes; I can promise you that.

Yes, there's a contested passage at the end of Mark's Gospel about handling snakes and not dying, and there are reportedly more than 120 churches in our nation that practice handling venomous snakes in their services. This is not one of them. The miracle here opens a door for the gospel, as powerful miracles often do—but snake-handling is not the lesson.

The Greater Miracle: All Escaped Safely

This is not the only miracle in the text, and I think there's an even greater one. Look back at Acts 27:41. The ship carrying Paul and 275 others struck a sandbar where two seas met; the bow stuck fast while the stern was broken up by the violence of the waves. The Roman soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none could escape, but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from it and ordered those who could swim to jump first, and the rest to follow on boards and pieces of the ship.

"And so it was that they all escaped safely to land." That is a phenomenal miracle—276 men, after fourteen days in a typhoon-like storm, all come out alive and end up on shore.

Remember the setup. Days into the journey, the storm was already making everyone sick and bringing them to the end of hope. They had come to a harbor called Fair Havens on Crete, and Paul—who had already endured three shipwrecks—stood up and warned them not to sail; it would not end well. They overruled him. Now, in the midst of the storm, he stands again: "Men, you should have listened to me." But he goes on with words of faith that proved to be prophetic: there will be no loss of life among you, only the ship. An angel of the God to whom he belonged had told him he must be brought before Caesar, and that God had granted him all who sailed with him.

Then notice Acts 27:26: "However, we must run aground on a certain island." Look at the map of the Mediterranean. Between Crete and the west there are no islands except this little piece of land called Malta—only 17 miles long and 8 miles wide, just a bit bigger than Catalina. They couldn't see the stars or sun, couldn't navigate at all, and yet God brought this massive grain ship right onto Malta, exactly as Paul had foretold. That is a miracle, in perfect alignment with the word Paul had spoken.

The Unusual Kindness of Strangers

When they had escaped, they found they were on Malta, and the natives showed them "unusual kindness," kindling a fire and welcoming them because of the rain and the cold. This isn't one of my outline points, but it's important. Luke says they showed unusual kindness—not ordinary kindness. It stood out. The King James says they showed "no little kindness." These weary, tempest-tossed guests are dashed on the shore, and the Maltese kindle a fire to warm them out of the storm.

We should seek to be unusually kind to strangers too, especially as Christians. Jesus said in John 13 that the world will know we are His followers by the love we have for one another. Love can feel subjective and intangible; it becomes real when it's demonstrated. In the Old Testament God says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love," and we wonder what that love looks like. In the New Testament Jesus demonstrates it: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Romans 5:8 says God demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were still sinners—His enemies—Christ died for us.

Some will say John 13 speaks only of love between believers. But we don't get off that easily; the New Testament repeatedly calls us to love those outside the church in tangible ways. Yet if you asked the average American who doesn't go to church for the first word they associate with "Christian," it's usually not "love." If anything, the church of Jesus Christ should be known by our unusual loving kindness. These Maltese were pagans who had never heard the gospel, and yet they were unusually kind. Would to God it could be said of us at Cross Connection that we are unusually kind, especially to strangers.

Godly Leaders Serve

Verse 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 to his hand." Even though Paul is one of 276 weary, storm-beaten men, and even though at this point he is more than 60 years old, as soon as he reaches the island he gets up and walks about in the rain and cold gathering sticks to warm the others. There he is, this old disciple of Jesus, serving.

That's our first point: godly leaders serve. It's not an incredible insight, but it's an important one. This is a value of the kingdom of heaven, not of this world, because the world does not value servants. In Mark 10—recorded also in Matthew and Luke—Jesus says you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord their authority over their subjects. Many of you work in corporate offices or on campuses where you see that it is not normal for those in authority to make themselves servants.

But the kingdom of heaven is different, because its King is different. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). King Jesus is the Servant King. And He said, "Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant." Subjects of the Servant King are to be servants too.

Godly Leaders Get Bit by Snakes

Second: godly leaders get bit by snakes. I'm not mainly talking about literal snakes, though that may happen, and the snake that bit Paul was a real venomous viper. Those who serve and lead in Christ's kingdom will suffer snake bites—times of difficulty. This is proven by Scripture, by history, and by personal experience.

By Scripture: think of Joseph, the youngest of ten older brothers, who received God-inspired dreams of leadership. His brothers hated it, plotted to kill him, threw him in a pit, then sold him into slavery in Egypt. He served well in Potiphar's house, rose up, and was then falsely accused and thrown in prison for years. Godly leaders get bit by snakes. Think of Job, of whom God said there was none like him in all the earth, yet the adversary stripped him of children, wealth, and health. Think of Jeremiah, called from birth as a prophet, beaten and thrown into a pit because people didn't like what he said. And of course Jesus. I'm only hitting the J names—there are many more.

By history: read Foxe's Book of Martyrs, which charts believers killed for their profession of faith across many centuries. And by personal experience: if you set out to serve and follow Jesus, the enemy—often described as the serpent—will bite, will oppose, will come against you. So we go forward knowing the bites will come, as they did for Paul.

When the Snake Bites, Motives Get Questioned

Verse 4: when the natives saw the creature hanging from Paul's hand, they said, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live." That word "justice" may even be the name of the Greek goddess Dike, the goddess of justice.

The Maltese, like almost everyone today, held a quid pro quo theology—a tit-for-tat idea of how the world works. Theologians call it the doctrine of retribution: if you're a good person you receive blessing; if you're a bad person you receive cursing; therefore if you're suffering, you must be a bad person. It's one of the most universal and oldest worldviews of humanity.

The book of Job, considered by some the oldest book of the Bible, reveals it more than any other. Job loses his children, wealth, and health, and three friends come and sit silently with him for seven days. When Job finally laments that it would have been better never to have been born, his friends conclude, "This would not have happened to you if you weren't a bad guy." For some thirty chapters they insist there must be hidden sin in his life—though we know God's verdict: there was none like him in all the earth. The doctrine of retribution so fills our hearts that we carry it into our Christian life. You stub your toe, get a flat tire, have a bad day, and instantly think, "I must have done something bad—I didn't read my Bible this morning." But the Bible doesn't reveal a God like that. God is gracious even to those who don't deserve it. Every one of us has experienced grace we didn't deserve.

So our third point: godly leaders' motives—and character—are often questioned. The Maltese knew nothing of Paul except that he escaped a storm and was then bitten by a deadly snake, and they concluded he was a murderer caught by "wandering justice"—you thought you escaped, but it came and got you.

Now, the Bible does reveal a coming day of justice, "the day of the vengeance of our God," and it is inescapable. Amos 5:19 describes it: it will be as though a man fled from a lion and a bear met him, or as though he leaned his hand against the wall of his house and a serpent bit him. Just when you escape the lion, the bear gets you; you make it home and the serpent strikes. Every one of us deserves that justice, but in Christ we've been given grace and mercy. Those who are not in Christ will receive His inescapable justice one day.

Godly Leaders Press On in the Face of Opposition

Look at Paul's response: "But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm." Fourth point: godly leaders press on in the face of opposition.

If Paul knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was that he was going to Rome. More than two years earlier in Jerusalem, a plot to kill him had been revealed—men who bound themselves in a fast saying they would not eat until he was dead. Public opinion was low, and no doubt Paul was discouraged. But God appeared to him by night: "As you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." And in the storm in Acts 27, God reminded him again through an angel: you will testify before Caesar in Rome.

So when the snake bites his hand on Malta, Paul looks at it and shakes it off like it's nothing. Why? Because he had God's vision; he knew Malta was not the final destination. He didn't know how, but he knew God would bring him through. That encourages me, because we have what Peter calls the more sure word of prophecy—God's testimony that He will bring us through whatever trial we face. Romans 8 says we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, and nothing shall separate us from the love of God. So whether the storm comes, or someone seeks your life, or the snake bites, we can be certain God will bring us through—and that gives us faith to press on.

Godly Leaders Experience God's Empowering and Go Through Open Doors

Verse 6: the islanders expected him to swell up and fall dead, because they'd seen it before—man gets bitten, swells up, dies. They watched closely, almost with a sick glee, the way we get a twisted sensation watching someone get hurt. But after a long time, seeing no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. He didn't die, so they concluded he was divine. Interestingly, this is the second time Paul was mistaken for a god—it also happened in Acts 14 with Barnabas. How quickly things change: first a murderer, then divine.

Fifth point: godly leaders experience God's empowering. Not only did Paul not die, but verses 7-9 tell us that in that region was the estate of Publius, the leading citizen, who received them courteously for three days. Publius's father lay sick with fever and dysentery; Paul went in, prayed, laid hands on him, and healed him. Then the rest on the island who had diseases came and were healed also.

Sixth: godly leaders go through open doors. Here was an open door of opportunity. Paul arrives, serves by gathering sticks, gets bitten, is healed by God's empowering, and then the leading man of the island—what we might call a man of peace, a bridge to the people—opens his home. Paul walks through that door and finds another open door: the man's dying father. Paul prays, God heals him, and the multitudes bring their sick, and God heals them too.

This is an encouragement to every Christian. If you've put your faith in Jesus, you are called by God to go through the open doors He gives. The problem is that when those doors open we say, "I don't think I could do that." But God not only calls His people, He gifts them (1 Corinthians 12-14) and empowers them to do what they could not do otherwise. Before His ascension Jesus said, "Wait in Jerusalem; you will be filled with power from on high, and you shall be witnesses of Me." There is no one God calls who doesn't sense their own inability. But it's not your ability—it's His.

Godly Leaders Are Ultimately Vindicated by God

Verse 10: the people of Malta honored them in many ways, and when they departed, provided such things as were necessary. Last point: godly leaders are ultimately vindicated by God.

The temptation every one of us feels—including me—is that when opposition comes, when the snake bites, when our character and motives in ministry are questioned, we want to defend ourselves, stand up for ourselves, deal with it ourselves. We want to get in there, make it right, let people know who's boss. But the godly leader is the one who says, "God, You defend my case; I answer ultimately only to You." And if you will by faith say that, you can be certain you will see Him do it.

Look at the change on Malta. Their first reaction to this prisoner surrounded by Roman guards, picking up sticks and getting bitten by a snake, was, "He's a murderer." But in the end, they honored him greatly and provided for all his needs as he left the island. Godly leaders are ultimately vindicated by Him.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I thank You for these ten verses—written nearly 2,000 years ago, yet with application for us in the 21st century. If someone had told Luke that people he would never know, in a place he would never see, would one day read these words and be challenged and encouraged, he would have thought they were crazy. And yet by Your providence, here we are being instructed by You.

Help us this week to walk in a way that pleases You. Help us to put these things into practice by faith—to trust that even when snakes come, even when people question our character and motives, even when opposition and hardship rise before us, we would serve, press on, and look for Your empowering, go through the open doors You give, and know that ultimately we are vindicated by You. Lord, let our trust be in nothing else but You. Though we're tempted to do it on our own, help us not to lean on our own understanding, but to acknowledge You in all our ways and see You directing our path. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.