Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 28:8

"And it was so, that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him." — Acts 28:8 (ASV)

Though Paul spent three months (cf. v.11) on Malta, Luke gives us only one more incident from his stay there—the healing of Publius’s father. This account is much like that of Peter and the crippled beggar (cf. 3:1ff.) in purpose, though not in length. Luke likely included it to illustrate the continuing power of Paul’s ministry despite his being in Malta as a prisoner. No matter what the circumstances are, the true servant of Christ is, like Paul, never off duty for his Lord. As the Roman governor of Malta and as an act of official courtesy, Publius brought the survivors of the wreck to his estate and entertained them for three days while their respective situations were sorted out and arrangements made for their lodgings over the winter. Luke’s reference to the governor only by his praenomen may reflect a friendly relationship that developed between Publius, Paul, and Luke during those three months. The malady that the father of Publius was suffering from may have been Malta fever, which in 1887 was traced to the milk of Maltese goats. Cases of Malta fever are long-lasting—an average of four months, but in some cases lasting two or three years. Luke uses the plural “fevers” here, probably implying the way it affects its victims with intermittent attacks. After Paul had healed Publius’s father through prayer and laying on of hands, “the rest of the sick on the island” came to him and were healed. Paul’s ministry to those he met consisted in both proclaiming the Good News of Christ Jesus and healing them physically. Luke’s inclusion of this vignette prepares for the climax of his book—Paul’s entrance into Rome and the triumphant note of the Good News being preached “without hindrance” (see comment on v.31).