New Testament · Gospels and Acts

Acts chapter 28

Once we were safely ashore, we found out the island was called .The showed us . They lit a fire and welcomed all of us around it, since it was raining and cold.Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was putting them on the fire when a , driven out by the heat, latched onto his hand.When the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer. He survived the sea, but won’t let him live.”But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and wasn’t hurt at all.They kept watching, expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing happen to him, they completely changed their minds and started saying he was .Near that area, the of the island — a man named — had an estate. He welcomed us and hosted us generously for three days.It happened that Publius’s father was sick in bed with a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, prayed, , and healed him.After this happened, the rest of the sick people on the island came to Paul and too.They , and when we were ready to sail, they supplied everything we needed for the voyage.After three months, we set sail on an that had wintered at the island. It had the as its figurehead.We landed at and stayed there three days.From there we sailed along the coast and arrived at . The next day a south wind came up, and on the second day we reached .There we found some who invited us to stay with them for seven days. And that’s how we finally made it to .The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming and traveled as far as the and the to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and felt encouraged.When we arrived in Rome, Paul was allowed to .Three days later, Paul called together the local Jewish leaders. When they gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, even though I did nothing against our people or the , I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.The Romans me and wanted to release me because there was no reason to execute me.But when the Jewish leaders objected, I was forced to — not because I had any charge to bring against my own nation.That’s why I asked to see you and talk with you — because it’s for that I’m wearing .”They replied, “We haven’t received any about you, and none of our people who’ve come from there have reported or said anything bad about you.But we would like to hear what you think, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against .”They set a day to meet with him, and even more people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, Paul explained things to them, giving them evidence about from , and trying to convince them about Jesus.Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe.They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul made one final statement: “ spoke the truth to your ancestors through the prophet when he said:‘Go to this people and say: You will keep on hearing but never understand; you will keep on seeing but never perceive.Because the of this people have grown thick with calluses. Their ears barely hear anymore, and they’ve shut their eyes tight — so they won’t see with their eyes, or hear with their ears, or understand in their hearts and , and I would heal them.’“So I want you to know that has been sent to the , and they will listen.”After he said this, the Jewish leaders left, arguing intensely among themselves.Paul stayed there for in , welcoming everyone who came to see him.He proclaimed and taught about the Lord Jesus, , with and .