In parallel with the islanders' initial welcome is the official welcome by Publius, the chief official on the island. Luke's report of the survivors' three days of hospitality at Publius's estate would certainly enhance Paul's status in the eyes of Luke's readers, especially if us referred only to Paul and his Christian companions.

Paul's host has an older relative who needs physical healing (compare Jesus' and Peter's ministry: Lk 4:38; Acts 9:33-34). Publius's father was sick in bed, suffering from bouts of fever and dysentery (pyretois, plural). It is probably the "Malta fever" (Micrococcus melitensis), which in the nineteenth century was traced to the milk of Malta goats and for which a vaccine was developed in 1887. Untreated, it lasted an average of four months, but in some cases up to two to three years (Longenecker 1981:565).

Paul parallels Jesus' and Peter's practice in some ways: he goes to the bedside and lays hands on the man (Lk 4:39-40; Acts 9:34; compare Paul's experience in 9:17). But he makes a significant addition: he prefaces the laying on of hands with prayer, thus showing as explicitly as possible the true source of the healing power (compare Jn 11:41-42).

The islanders' misunderstanding of Paul's survival after the snakebite—"He is a god!"—explains his methods here. Publius's father and the Maltese must learn for the first time—and we must never forget—that any restoration of physical health comes from God, whether it be directly or through the practice of medicine. We, like Paul, show that we are convinced of this truth if we ask for healing in prayer.

The sick on the island respond to the news of the healing by "approaching" Paul, one after another, and "being healed" by him (imperfect continuous action; compare Lk 4:40-41; Acts 5:15-16). Though Christians may differ on what aspects of Paul's miraculous ministry were unique to him as an apostle and which are possible today, all should agree that the proclamation of the "whole gospel" will involve prayer-saturated witness to and concern for the "whole person" (compare Jas 5:13-18).

Paul experiences what he had instructed the Corinthians about—the dynamic of sowing spiritual things and reaping physical things (1 Cor 9:11; also see Rom 15:27). The islanders honored Paul's party in many ways and furnished them with the supplies . . . needed. A mercy ministry embraced in truth will not simply amaze or bring physical restoration—it will make one merciful.