Acts 28:4
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When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
No doubt this man is a murderer--His chains, which they would see, might strengthen the impression. whom . . . vengeance suffereth not to live--They believed in a Supreme, Resistless, Avenging Eye and Hand, however vague their notions of where it resided.
Open source ↗We are the more concerned to take notice of and to improve what is here recorded concerning blessed Paul because, after the story of this chapter, we hear no more of him in the sacred history, though we have a great deal of him yet before us in his epistles. We have attended him through several chapters from one judgment-seat to another, and could at last have taken leave of him with the more pleasure if we had left him at liberty; but in this chapter we are to condole with him, and yet congratulate him. I. We condole with him as a poor shipwrecked passenger, stripped of all; and yet congratulate him, 1. As singularly owned by his God in his distress, preserved himself from receiving hurt by a viper that fastened on his hand (Act 28:1-6), and being made an instrument of much good in the island on which they were cast, in healing many that were sick, and particularly the father of Publius, the chief man of the island (Act 28:7-9). 2. As much respected by the people there (Act 28:10). II. We condole with him as a poor confined prisoner, carried to Rome under the notion of a criminal removed by "habeas corpus" (Act 28:11-16), and yet we congratulate him, 1. Upon the respect shown him by the Christians at Rome, who came a great way to meet him (Act 28:15). 2. Upon the favour he found with the captain of the guard, into whose custody he was delivered, who suffered him to dwell by himself, and did not put him in the common prison (Act 28:16). 3. Upon the free conference he had with the Jews at Rome, both about his own affair (Act 28:17-22) and upon the subject of the Christian religion in general (Act 28:23), the issue of which was that God was glorified, many were edified, the rest left inexcusable, and the apostles justified in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles (Act 28:2…
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To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate?
Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?
The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.
But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
The beasts of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”