Acts 28:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Here is yet another lover of strangers, Publius, a wealthy and very gracious man. He had seen nothing, but solely from compassion for their misfortune, he received them and served them. This is well said, because to entertain two hundred seventy souls is a sign of great love. See what benefit comes from hospitality. Not from any necessity, and not unwillingly, but esteeming hospitality as a precious good, he entertained them for “three days.” Therefore he justly receives a reward.

Publius was a hospitable man, for he received them knowing nothing about them, but only out of compassion for their condition. He gave rest to two hundred eighty people, seeing in this a benefit for himself.

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.

The Apostle's stay on the island of Malta was afterward marked by other miraculous events: the healing of the father of Publius, the chief man of the island, from fever combined with abdominal pain, and likewise the healing of many sick people. All this inspired respect and affection for Paul and his companions among the islanders. When Paul departed, they supplied him with everything necessary.

For three months, until the beginning of February, when navigation opened, the shipwrecked men lived on Melita. During this period, again thanks to the influence of the Apostle Paul, the inhabitants treated both him and his companions with the greatest kindness. Not far from the place of the shipwreck lay the city now called Alta Vecchia. It was the residence of Publius, the governor of the island, who was probably a legate of the praetor of Sicily. Since the centurion Julius was a distinguished person, this Roman official, the so-called protos, showed him gracious hospitality. The Apostle Paul and his friends were permitted to share in it.

The chief man of the island: literally, the first man on the island. Publius is called first, without doubt, not by birth or wealth. In that sense his father, who was still alive, would have been first. Therefore one must suppose that he is called first according to the office he held on the island. He was probably the legate of the Sicilian praetor, to whose province Malta belonged, and governed the island. “He received us”: not all who had been saved from the shipwreck, but “us” in the strict sense, that is, Paul and his companions, Luke the writer of Acts and Aristarchus; Acts 27:1-2. Verse 10 clearly indicates this, since there was no reason to show special and many honors to all 276 people.

The most important man on the island rivaled the others in showing hospitality to the apostles. He offered it during the three days they spent near the place of the shipwreck, where Publius had an estate. He had probably heard of the miracles performed by Paul and hoped that he would heal his sick father also. And the Apostle Paul, after praying, healed the old man by laying his hands on him.