Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 28

Acts 28 includes two stories. The first story is about Paul staying on the island of Malta for three months and then leaving there after the winter to go to Rome. On this island, he supernaturally prevailed against the attack of the viper. He also healed the father of the chief official of the island and other sick people. We don’t understand why Paul lived on this island for three months but didn’t record much of his ministry there. For example, if we are talking about healing people on the island, Paul would be able to lay hands on them and heal them in just a few days. Since Paul was a prisoner, he probably did not have the tools to weave tents as he always did in his profession. While in Malta, did Paul preach the gospel and teach the natives about the Bible? Since details aren’t given, we don’t’ know exactly what he did for those three months.
Three months is a long time. If Paul’s daily life was recorded daily in a diary, it could have been as thick as the Bible. The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. One written word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. It is the Christian’s instruction manual for life. Though details may be left out, we can be sure that those details were not significant for the future of the church. Verse 11 tells us that they had wintered on the island for three months before setting sail on the Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. The details mentioned in this passage are significant, which is why they were included in the Bible. For example, Castor and Pollux are Greek gods, indicating that ships from Alexandria, Egypt (under the jurisdiction of Ancient Greece) were going to and from Malta. The Greek crew members wintered in Malta for three months, yet the Bible doesn’t say anything about Paul preaching the gospel to them. What did Paul do for those three months?
In the second story, after Paul arrived in Rome, he preached Jesus as a gospel to the Jews, but a dispute arose among them. Then Paul quoted Isaiah saying: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:” 'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" (Acts 28:25-28, NIV)
Why did Paul say this? You might remember that in Romans 9-11, Paul recorded his burden for the Jews to be saved, wishing that he would be cursed for the sake that the Jews would be saved (Romans 9:3). And we have witnessed in the previous records of Acts that every time he went to the Jews to preach the gospel, although they did not accept it and chased Paul to persecute him, Paul did not give up. But why is it that he gave up this time?
Remember that the Lord Jesus once said to Paul, "Quick! Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me" (Acts 22:18, NIV). In Acts 22:21 (NIV), Paul also recorded what Jesus said, "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" So we can see from these two verses that Jesus had told him long ago that the Jews in Jerusalem would not accept his testimony, and that He would be sending Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. But Paul's mind couldn’t keep up. He was hindered from fully understanding Jesus' will for him Because of his love for the Jews, his own cultural and religious limitations, perspectives, and personality.
Previously, we've talked about whether Paul's trip to Jerusalem was God's plan or his own. This is a controversial topic. We reasoned that it could be from God because when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to him and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome" (Acts 23:11, NIV). In addition, some believe that Agabus' prophecy wasn't completely accurate. He prophesied that Paul would be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem, but in reality Paul was bound by the Romans in Jerusalem. This could be why some Charismatics who have the gift of prophecy say that Agabus' prophecy was not accurate. The Bible does say that when Abagus prophesied, he said: “this is what the Holy Spirit says." Others tried to persuade Paul not to go, but he didn't listen.
Read more:
https://jbwm.org/bible-study-with-jairus-acts-28/