Acts 28:1-5

Theology is not about snakes. It does not matter if the snake was a viper, or if it was misidentified. It does not matter if the snake was poisonous or not. It does not make a bit of difference when people point out that Malta today does not have any poisonous snakes. When we read the Bible, we are not looking for natural science. We are not looking to discover natural history; we are seeking theological truth.

When we look at the relationships involved in this story we see some characteristics common among unrighteous people. The islanders were very friendly and welcoming to the shipwreck survivors. However, when they saw the snake bite Paul, they jumped to a conclusion. Paul must be a murderer, and the gods, being unable to kill him at sea, are now going to kill him with a snake.

It would be nice if this type of thinking was a thing of the ancient past, but it is not. What makes it even worse is that it is not limited to the unrighteous, but we can find it within the church. There are some, who are so unrighteous in their thinking, that when they see a fellow Christian be snake bit, they blame the Christian. In particular, they will accuse the Christian of being weak in faith. Paul got snake bit because we live in a world full of snakes. Christians get sick, lose their jobs, and have their cars breakdown and other snakebite like things happen to them because we live in a broken world.

We can expect the world in their unrighteousness to blame the victims. It should not surprise us, but it should not influence us. We are not supposed to let the pressures and opinions of the world shape our beliefs and our relationships.

The righteous reaction to snakebites is not judgment; it is mercy. A snakebit world needs Christians to attend to the injured and to kill the snakes. The world needs Christians to do what is right.