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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

What a great variety of places and circumstances do we find Paul in! He was a planet, and not a fixed star. Here we have him in an island to which, in all probability, he had never come if he had not been thrown upon it by a storm; and yet it seems God has work for him to do here. Even stormy winds fulfil God's counsel, and an ill wind indeed it is that blows nobody any good; this ill wind blew good to the island of Melita; for it gave them Paul's company for three months, who was a blessing... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 28:7-10

28:7-10 In the neighbourhood of that place there were estates which belonged to the Chief of the island, who was called Publius. He welcomed us and hospitably entertained us for three days. It so happened that Publius' father was lying ill, in the grip of intermittent attacks of fever and of dysentery. Paul went to visit him. He prayed and laid his hands on him and cured him. When this happened,. the rest of the people in the island who had ailments kept coming and being cured. So they heaped... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:8

And it came to pass that the father of Publius ,.... So that Publius was not an old man, though of so much dignity and wealth: the Arabic version, contrary to all copies, and other versions, reads, "the son of Publius": lay sick of a fever ; or fevers, of different sorts, a complication of them, which sometimes is the case; unless this was an intermitting fever, and the several fits of it are intended; or rather the plural number is put for the singular, to denote the vehemence of it,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:8

The father of Publius lay sick - Πυρετοις και δυσεντεριᾳ ; Of a fever and dysentery; perhaps a cholera morbus . Paul - prayed - That God would exert his power; and laid his hands on him, as the means which God ordinarily used to convey the energy of the Holy Spirit, and healed him; God having conveyed the healing power by this means. In such a disorder as that mentioned here by St. Luke, where the bowels were in a state of inflammation, and a general fever aiding the dysentery in... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:8

Verse 8− 8.And had laid his hands upon him Paul declareth by prayer that he himself is not the author of the miracle, but only the minister, lest God be defrauded of his glory. He confirmeth this self-same thing by the external sign. For, as we saw before, in other places, the laying on of hands was nothing else but a solemn rite of offering and presenting. Wherefore, in that Paul doth offer the man to God with his own hands, he professed that he did humbly crave his life of him. By which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

Kindness. Genuine kindness is a pleasant thing to see by whomsoever and under whatsoever circumstances it is exercised. God has planted it in the human breast, and it is one of the distinctive attributes of man. Too often, indeed, the indulgence of bad passions is suffered to choke it, and rival interests to interfere with its action. Still, there it is, a faint reflection, it is true, of the love of God, but nevertheless a remnant of God's image in man; pleasant to behold, sweetening the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

A picture of the human. In these few verses we have a graphic picture of some of the experiences of our life and of the instincts or intuitions of our nature. I. A PICTURE OF THE HUMAN . 1. Human suffering. 2. Unspoiled human nature. Such is the dire effect of long-continued, sin upon the soul, that it often happens that nearly every vestige of the goodness with which our Creator first endowed us disappears. As God made us, it was natural that we should compassionate... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

Occurrences at Malta. I. THE HOSPITALITY OF THE HEATHEN . The instinct of kindness is God-implanted in the human heart. Hospitality was not so much a virtue in heathendom as the refusal of it a crime. So much the more must any "shutting up of the bowels of compassion" against the needy brother or the stranger be an offence against the Son of man. The great charge which he, in his depiction of the scene of judgment, brings against the unfaithful is the neglect of the common... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:7-10

"The healing of the nations." The mission of Christianity to heal both body and soul. The powerful appeal which can be made through gratitude. The necessity of a prayerful spirit in the exercise of the gifts bestowed. I. LESSONS ON THE WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER . 1. Personal character a great power in the ministration of truth. "They said he was a god." We must make a way for ourselves to men's hearts. 2. Benevolent works an introduction for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:7-10

A type of the beneficent action of Christianity. Christian truth embodied in Christian men had not long been in an island to which it was quite strange before it found its footing, made its mark, and left behind it memories equally lasting and fragrant. Amid the wide group of suggestions offered by these verses, we may especially note the following as particularly worthy of a place in connection with this history:— I. THE WATCHFULNESS OF THE MASTER OVER HIS SERVANTS TO... read more

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