Acts 28:4

Tuesday, 4 June 2024

So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” Acts 28:4

A literal translation is, “And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘This man is altogether a murderer, whom, having been saved from the sea, the justice has not permitted to live’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Paul went out gathering sticks to add to the bonfire. When he laid them on the fire, a viper came out and fastened on his hand. With that recorded, Luke next adds, “And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging from his hand.”

As is normally the case, it is a shocking sight to see a venomous snake. How much more when its fangs are embedded in the hand of someone? It is a sure sign that a great deal of misery and maybe even death lies ahead.

This is especially so because a snake may quickly bite, giving a small dose of poison, but one that latches onto another will have time to pump all of its venom into its foe. This is the case with Paul. Therefore, “they said to one another, ‘This man is altogether a murderer.’”

As is common to most people of the world, when something bad happens, it is ascribed to karma or some other type of cosmic justice that keeps things in check. The Book of Job is a great study on this. In this case, the people saw the viper hanging from his hand, knew it was a poisonous snake that would kill him, and jumped to the conclusion that he must have deserved what had happened to him.

In this case, they made the illogical jump to the conclusion that he was a murderer. As such, they then said, “whom, having been saved from the sea, this justice has not permitted to live.’”

Accepting that this was divine justice, though the sea failed to kill him, which was obviously (what else would one expect!) what should have been the case, the serpent was sent to complete the task. Of course, this was so! The tense of the verb, being aorist, states it as an accomplished fact. Literally “the justice to live not has permitted him,” or more directly, “he is dead.”

In their words, Justice, diké (deekay), is personified. Justice to these pagans was represented as a goddess, the daughter of Jupiter. It was her office to take vengeance or to inflict punishment for crimes. As such, they believed that the goddess, Justice, had rendered judgment and executed the criminal.

Life application: Though it may seem a bit superstitious to accept that the snake was a retributive punishment for some supposed crime of Paul, Jesus let those of Israel know that this thought is not entirely unfounded. In Matthew 5, while speaking to the people of Israel, we read His words, saying –

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:21, 22

And again –

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27, 28

One of the points of Jesus’ words is that God’s standard of measurement includes the thoughts and intents of the heart. If we are honest with ourselves, there isn’t one of us who has been perfect in such matters. Therefore, the standard of justice that God demands because of His own personal perfection has been violated. Because of this, we all are under a death sentence.

This doesn’t mean that we can expect a viper to come out and bite us, but it does mean that we can expect to be eternally separated from God for the corruption that exists within us. And more, we should accept that because of our corrupt state, we will have the resulting corruption of the world that surrounds us to afflict us at any given time.

Paul speaks of this in Romans. The perfect creation that God made was marred when man sinned. Now, the very forces of nature and the creatures in the world work against us at times. Time, along with the decay within us, also works against us, wearing us down. Our golden years are really not so golden, and death is only a heartbeat away.

Though we do not have to look at every catastrophe or accident as the hand of God actively working against us, looking to bring justice upon us, we can still know that this world is constructed in the way it is because of sin. And, therefore, we can expect bad things to happen at any given time.

Let us remember, however, that for those who are redeemed through Jesus, we have the expectation of a life that will be far more glorious than we can ever imagine. When we are removed once and forever from the presence of sin, things will be restored to a state that we cannot even conceive at this time. This is our great hope, and it has all been provided because of the goodness of God that is found in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lord God, may we hold fast to the hope set before us. Even in this terrible world of chaos and disaster, we see enough of the beauty and harmony of Your loving hand to assure us that something far better lies ahead for Your people. We know this is so and we long for that glorious day. Until then, may we never fail to praise You for Your goodness! Amen.