A Moment In History: Apostle Paul Shipwrecked at Malta

Hello and welcome back to A Moment in History. I'm Seth Udinski. In today's segment, we cross the Atlantic and travel back nearly 2,000 years to the 1st century during the apostolic age of the early Christian Church. In the year 60 AD, the Apostle Paul, the second most influential figure in the history of the Church after Jesus Christ, was shipwrecked in the Mediterranean Sea on the remote island of Malta. Paul had once been a Jewish Pharisee and a murderer of Christians before his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus several years after Christ's death and resurrection. After many years of evangelism and subsequent imprisonments, Paul was once again arrested for his steadfast preaching of the gospel in the Roman Empire. According to the Book of Acts, chapter 27, Paul was imprisoned aboard a ship bound for Rome. His prison guard, a Roman centurion named Julius, journeyed with him, as did his companion and fellow prisoner Luke, a writer of the Book of Acts. After making stops in several port cities along the eastern Mediterranean coastline, the ship was caught in a storm and ran aground just off the coast of Malta, about 60 miles south of Sicily. Miraculously, the crew survived. Almost immediately after arrival to shore, Paul survived another danger as he was bitten by a Many would have breathed a sigh of relief and taken a rest after such an ordeal, but not Paul. The Book of Acts tells us that he immediately visited one of the locals who was very ill, laid his hands on him, and by the power of Jesus Christ, he healed him. The apostle Paul eventually made it to Rome, where he faithfully shared the gospel for two years before his release in 62 AD. During his imprisonment in Rome, he would write four New Testament epistles, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Thanks for joining me once again for a moment in history.