#BibleStudy. Jumping to Conclusions - Acts 28

 

THIS IS THE LAST POST FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS

2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Acts 28:2-6

·       Paul helps make a fire after their ship wrecks on the rocky coast of Malta.

·       A snake bites him as he's tossing brushwood on the fire.

§  All animals try to escape fires, but the locals immediately conclude Paul is a murderer.

§  They assume that the goddess Fate/Justice assumed the form of a snake. Then, as a snake, the goddess attacked the creature, Paul, trying to toss it into a fire.

·       When Paul doesn't die, the crowd jumps to a different conclusion.

Paul is a god.

·       The last time Paul was called a god, he denied it. (Acts 14:9-18)

This time, 

·       Luke does not record Paul's immediate reaction.

§  His focus is on the action, not the actor, so he reports Paul's healing ministry after the fire incident.

·       Take a look at your track record.

§  How often do you jump to a conclusion about a person or situation without knowing the facts?

§  How often have you hopscotched directly to another conclusion when your first conclusion proved erroneous? 

·       Don't be like the inhabitants of Malta. 

§  Take time today to ask God to help you

§  curb your obsession with conclusions and 

§  change your focus to what's important in a situation.