And he indeed, shaking off the beast into the fire, suffered no harm.
ο μεν ουν αποτιναξας το θηριον εις το πυρ επαθεν ουδεν κακον
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
After putting its sting into the Apostle's hand and finding in it no wound of sin, the viper immediately leapt away and threw itself into the fire, as though seeking punishment for itself. We, however, fear beasts because we do not possess the full armor of virtue.
The minister of truth neutralizes poison and does not fear it. So too Paul was bitten by a viper on the island of Melita, now Malta; see Acts 28:3-6 concerning this episode. When the inhabitants of that place saw the serpent hanging from his hand, they thought he would die. But when they saw him unharmed, they acknowledged him as a god, because the poison could not injure him. And so that you may know this is true, the Lord Himself said, “Behold, I give you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Lk 10:19).
By the same fire with which he warmed his own people, he burned the serpent. Through the same virtues, the saints make progress, while the impious, together with their inspirer, lose their power. As the prophet says, "Zeal will seize an ignorant people, and now fire will devour the enemies" (Isa 26:11).
The circumstances of the disastrous voyage were meant to draw Paul's companions' attention to him. The event on the island of Malta was meant to dispose the local inhabitants favorably toward him. The harmless bite of the serpent and the healing of many sick people, including the father of the chief man of the island, Publius, during the three-month stay on Malta, were a preparatory means of Providence for the conversion of the island's inhabitants.
When those who were saved had landed, they learned that they were on the island of Melita, or Malta. The inhabitants of this island treated the saved men humanely. They kindled a fire and warmed them, for the weather was rainy and cold. At this time a miraculous event occurred, which made a strong impression on the islanders, who were pagans. When the Apostle Paul had gathered much brushwood and was laying it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. The pagans thought that this most venomous serpent would cause the apostle certain death. But he shook it off into the fire and suffered no harm. This so astonished the pagans that they came to think Paul was God.
The inhabitants received the shipwrecked men kindly and helped them gather wood to warm their limbs, stiffened by cold and damp. The Apostle Paul also gathered wood. But when he brought a large bundle of dry brushwood and threw it on the fire, a viper, warmed back to life, sprang out of it and “fastened on the apostle’s hand.” Seeing the venomous serpent hanging from his hand. And noticing that he was a prisoner, the simple islanders began saying to one another that he must be some murderer. Though saved from the sea, righteous vengeance was pursuing him even on land. The apostle, not troubled in the least, calmly shook the viper into the fire and suffered no harm. The natives expected that he would fall down dead at once. For a long time they watched him anxiously. When they saw that no harm followed, they changed their opinion, like the rough inhabitants of Lystra, and said that he was God.
"He suffered no harm." This was undoubtedly a miracle accomplished with the great Apostle in fulfillment of the Lord's promise (Mk 16:18): believers in Christ will take up serpents without harm.
The Apostle Paul, gathering brushwood and placing it on the fire, performed a work of service to the suffering. Therefore it is no wonder that the deadly viper, taken up by him while numb with cold, did not bite him after it warmed and fastened on his hand. In their judgment concerning God’s judgment upon Paul, the villagers show how firm and definite their concept of God’s judgment was. But, of course, they did not guess who stood before them. Therefore, when they saw that Paul was unharmed, they rushed into the opposite extreme in their judgment of him. This is generally characteristic of direct and simple people; compare the attitude toward Paul in Lycaonia, where he and Barnabas were first taken for gods and then subjected to torment; see Acts 14.
Saint John Chrysostom remarks on this: “Paul labors and works miracles everywhere, not simply as such, but out of necessity. During the storm he prophesied when the occasion appeared. Here again he performs a miracle. He gathers brushwood and throws it into the fire. Do you see that he does everything neither from vainglory nor in vain, but so that they might be saved after being warmed somewhat? At this, the viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. And God did not allow the barbarians to see and say this in vain. It was so that they would not reject the miracle when it occurred. They see this now in order to marvel more afterward. And observe what natural judgment the strangers express. See how respectfully they speak among themselves and do not condemn without any basis. They had a concept of providence and proved much wiser than the philosophers. The latter do not admit providence. These think that God is present everywhere and that no one will escape punishment.” “Having driven its sting into the apostle’s hand and found no sinful wound there, the viper at once sprang away and threw itself into the fire, as though seeking punishment for itself. But we fear beasts because we do not have the full armor of the virtues.”
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 12 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS