Malta

Overview

• Testament: New
• Region: Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily
• Key Books: Acts
• Summary: The island where Paul’s shipwrecked company wintered for three months; site of the viper episode, the healing of Publius’s father, and a final burst of apostolic healing ministry before Paul sailed on to Rome.

Profile

Malta (called Melita in the Greek New Testament — Acts 28:1) is a small island approximately sixty miles south of Sicily in the central Mediterranean. In Paul’s day it was part of the Roman province of Sicily, governed by a chief official called “the first man of the island” (protos) — a title confirmed by inscriptions found on Malta itself, one of several details in Acts 28 that have been archaeologically validated. The island had been Phoenician in earlier centuries and then came under Roman control in 218 BC during the Second Punic War. Its population in the first century was largely Punic-speaking with Roman administrative overlay.

The arrival at Malta was the relief and surprise at the end of Paul’s Voyage and Shipwreck. After fourteen days adrift in the Adriatic (the ancient name for the central Mediterranean), the ship ran aground in a bay and broke apart in the surf. All two hundred and seventy-six persons aboard reached shore safely — exactly as the angel had promised Paul (Acts 27:24). The bay traditionally associated with this landing — now called St. Paul’s Bay — on Malta’s northeastern coast corresponds well with Luke’s description of the approach and grounding.

The islanders showed “no little kindness” (Acts 28:2) and kindled a fire for the cold and wet survivors. When Paul gathered sticks and a viper fastened onto his hand from the heat, the islanders concluded that justice had caught up with an escaped murderer. His shaking the snake off unharmed and showing no ill effects reversed their judgment entirely: “they said that he was a god” (Acts 28:6). The pattern echoes Lystra — an instantaneous theological overcorrection in response to a miracle — but this time Paul’s response is not recorded, perhaps because the error corrected itself without intervention.

Publius, the island’s chief official, received the entire company for three days in hospitality. His father lay ill with fever and dysentery; Paul prayed and laid hands on him and he was healed. This prompted the rest of the island’s sick to come and be healed — a concentrated healing ministry that is the final burst of apostolic miracle-working in Acts (Acts 28:8-9). The three-month winter on Malta concluded with the islanders honoring Paul’s company with gifts and provisions before they sailed on in the spring aboard an Alexandrian grain ship marked with the Castor and Pollux figurehead.

Key Events

• Paul’s Voyage and Shipwreck — the storm-driven shipwreck that brought 276 survivors to Malta’s shore (Acts 27:39-44)
• Paul in Rome — Malta is the winter stop before the final voyage; the viper, Publius’s healing, and the departure in spring are all narrated in Acts 28:1-11

Key Verses

“And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.” — Acts 28:3

“And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.” — Acts 28:8

“Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.” — Acts 28:10

Cross-References

• Paul (Apostle) — unharmed by the viper; healer; honoured guest; his presence transforms a shipwreck into a mission
• Paul’s Voyage and Shipwreck — the event that brought Paul to Malta
• Paul in Rome — Malta is the bridge between the shipwreck and Rome
• Crete — the last stop before the Euroclydon storm; Paul’s warning ignored at Fair Havens
• Rome — Malta leads directly to Rome and the fulfillment of Acts 23:11