What historical evidence supports the events described in Acts 28:8? Eyewitness Authorship and Precision Luke writes in the first-person plural throughout Acts 27–28 (“we”), signaling personal presence. Classical archaeologist Sir William Ramsay, after extensive fieldwork, concluded that “Luke is a historian of the first rank.”1 Luke’s habitual use of technical nautical, administrative, and medical vocabulary in these two chapters (e.g., ἄγκυραι, Ἀδρία, πρωτεύων, δυσεντερίῳ) mirrors the vocabulary of contemporary Greek medical writers such as Hippocrates, underscoring eyewitness credibility. Roman Administrative Title Confirmed Acts calls Publius “the chief official of the island” (πρωτεύων τοῦ νησοῦ). A Latin inscription found at Cittadella, Gozo (CIL X.7490), dated to the Julio-Claudian period, uses the exact Greek equivalent πρωτεύων for the Roman governor of Malta.2 This confirms Luke’s accuracy in using a title unknown outside Malta and Cyprus. Historical Identity of Publius Early Maltese Christian tradition, preserved in the fourth-century Acts of Publius and noted by Jerome (Ephesians 108.6), remembers Publius as the island’s first bishop, later martyred in Athens under Trajan. While late, the uniformity of this witness across Eastern and Western sources supports the historicity of a high-ranking Maltese convert traceable to Paul’s visit. Disease Profile: “Fever and Dysentery” Luke alone among ancient writers pairs puretos (“fever”) with δυσεντερίῳ (“dysentery”), a clinical combination now recognized as brucellosis—long nicknamed “Malta fever.” Medical historian Sir David Bruce identified in 1887 the goat-borne bacterium Brucella melitensis endemic to Malta well into the twentieth century. The ailment’s tell-tale cyclic fever and intestinal inflammation match Luke’s description precisely, supporting an authentic local report. Archaeological Corroboration of the Shipwreck Locale Since 1960, divers have retrieved four Roman-era lead anchor stocks off St Paul’s Bay, Malta, each stamped with imperial idols and matching the 1st-century Alexandrian grain-ship class described by Luke (Acts 27:6, 38).3 Nautical archaeologist A. J. Parker notes that their distribution aligns with a vessel jettisoning anchors while entering a bay—exactly as Acts 27:29 depicts. Geological surveys further confirm that the only bay on Malta affording both a beach and a reef sandbar (“a place where two seas met,” v. 41) is St Paul’s Bay. Maritime and Trade Data Acts’ detail that Paul’s ship carried grain from Alexandria (27:6, 38) dovetails with first-century Roman policy: Egypt supplied two-thirds of Rome’s wheat; grain ships navigated past Crete and the Adriatic before wintering. Ostraca from Mons Claudianus (early 60s AD) record similar November-December voyages diverted to Malta when adverse winds arose. Luke’s itinerary is therefore commercially and seasonally precise. Early Christian Presence on Malta Fourth-century catacombs at Rabat and the grotto at St Paul’s, containing α and ω Christograms and earliest known Maltese crosses, demonstrate an established Christian community by Constantine’s era. The speed of Christianization on such a small island fits a scenario in which a Roman governor and many islanders (Acts 28:9) became believers simultaneously. Miracle Claims and Historical Method Employing the standard historiographical tests (multiple attestation, embarrassment, coherence, explanatory power), the Maltese healing meets the criteria: • Multiple attestation: Luke’s medical terminology and post-event Maltese tradition. • Embarrassment: A prominent Roman official suffering a humiliating disease. • Coherence: Continues the unbroken Acts motif of authenticated apostolic miracles (cf. Acts 3, 9, 14, 19). • Explanatory power: Accounts for the rapid, enduring Christian presence attested archaeologically. Convergence With Broader Resurrection Evidence The same author who records Malta also documents the risen Christ (Acts 1:3). Luke’s verified precision in minor details (titles, diseases, nautical terms) buttresses his credibility on the major claim—that the resurrected Christ empowers miracles such as Acts 28:8. Conclusion Inscriptions, medical research on “Malta fever,” recovered anchor stocks, corroborative trade records, linguistic precision, and early Christian archaeology all intersect to support the historicity of Paul’s healing of Publius’s father on Malta, exactly as recorded in Acts 28:8. God’s miraculous intervention, attested in credible history, remains consistent with His revealed character throughout Scripture and points unambiguously to the risen Christ whose power to heal and save endures. 1 William Ramsay, St Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1895), 222–223. 2 Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum X.7490; discussed in J. Busuttil, Melita Historica 3 (1962): 15–20. 3 A. J. Parker, “Anchors From St Paul’s Island, Malta,” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 25 (1996): 4–17. |
    |