**The Shipwreck and the Serpent’s Bite: Paul’s Miraculous Journey to Rome**
The Mediterranean Sea roared like a restless beast, its waves crashing against the battered hull of the Alexandrian ship. For fourteen harrowing days, the vessel had been tossed by the tempest, its crew and passengers clinging to hope as the storm raged without mercy. Among them stood the apostle Paul, his weathered face streaked with salt spray, his voice steady as he reassured the terrified men around him.
*”Take heart, for not one of you will be lost—only the ship will be destroyed.”*
His words, spoken with the authority of a divine messenger, cut through the howling wind. The soldiers, sailors, and prisoners listened, their fear momentarily stilled by the strange confidence of this man who had faced death so many times before.
At last, as dawn painted the sky in pale hues, the cry went up: *”Land ahead!”* The ship groaned as it struck a sandbar, its timbers splintering under the force of the waves. Panic erupted as the soldiers drew their swords, preparing to kill the prisoners to prevent escape—but the centurion Julius, moved by respect for Paul, stopped them.
*”Let those who can swim jump overboard first!”* he commanded.
And so, some swam, others clung to planks and broken pieces of the ship, and by the mercy of God, all 276 souls reached the shore alive, gasping and exhausted on the unfamiliar beach.
### **The Island of Malta: Fire, Faith, and a Viper’s Sting**
The islanders, a people of uncommon kindness, rushed to the shore, building a great fire to warm the shivering survivors. Paul, ever the servant, gathered driftwood with the others, his chains long forgotten in the urgency of survival. But as he placed a bundle of sticks onto the flames, a viper, driven from its nest by the heat, struck—its fangs sinking deep into his hand.
The islanders gasped, murmuring among themselves.
*”This man must be a murderer,”* they said. *”Though he escaped the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”*
But Paul, unshaken, merely shook the serpent into the fire and continued his work. The islanders watched, waiting for his body to swell or for him to collapse in agony. Yet as minutes passed and no harm came to him, their whispers turned to awe.
*”He is a god!”* they declared.
Paul, ever quick to correct such notions, used the moment to proclaim the true God.
### **The Healing of Publius’ Father**
Nearby, in the grandest house on the island, lay the father of Publius, the chief official of Malta. The man was feverish, his body wracked with dysentery, hovering near death. Word of the strange prisoner who had survived a viper’s bite reached Publius, and he sent for Paul.
The apostle entered the sickroom, laid hands on the suffering man, and prayed. Before the eyes of all present, the fever broke, the pain fled, and strength returned to the old man’s limbs. News of the miracle spread like wildfire, and soon the sick of the entire island came to Paul, and he healed them all.
For three months, the islanders honored their unexpected guests, supplying all they needed for the journey ahead. When at last another ship—this one bearing the twin gods as its figurehead—arrived, the centurion Julius arranged passage for his prisoners to Rome.
### **The Final Journey to Rome**
As the ship cut through the waves, Paul’s heart burned with anticipation. Rome—the heart of the empire, the city where Caesar ruled, and where God had ordained that the gospel must be preached.
Upon landing at Puteoli, they found brothers in the faith who begged Paul to stay with them for seven days. Then, with a guard of soldiers, they began the final march to Rome. Along the Appian Way, believers from the city came out to meet him—some as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. At the sight of them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
### **Under House Arrest: Preaching the Kingdom**
In Rome, Paul was permitted to live in his own rented house, though always chained to a soldier. Yet his spirit was freer than ever. He called together the local Jewish leaders and explained his case—how he had done nothing against their customs, yet had been delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem.
*”It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain,”* he told them.
Some believed, but others did not. Seeing their division, Paul declared the words that would echo through history:
*”Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles—they will listen!”*
For two full years, Paul welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without hindrance.
And so, even in chains, the word of God could not be bound.
