Healing - Acts 27:7-16

Paul being bitten by a snake has sent the natives around him on a pendulum of perception. At first they thought that Paul was a murderer because the sea tried to kill him and then because snake tried to kill him. Then after the snake bit him, they fully expected him to bloat and die suddenly, but when that didn’t happen and Paul remained alive and healthy, they “said that he was a god.”

Luke tells us more about the locals, in that there was a “chief man of the island” named Publius who’s father “lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux,” which is cross referenced to mean dysentery. Publius invited the little group to stay in his home “and lodged us three days courteously.” I doubt that Publius invited Paul to stay with him because he believed that he had power from God, but regardless of his intentions, Paul still “entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.”
I’ve read about Jesus healing the sick, and of the apostles that were with him doing it. And I know about modern day priesthood holders healing the sick, but I guess it just hadn’t occurred to me yet that Paul could do it also. I wonder what the reactions were to these healings, not just of the natives, but also of the 275 other men who were now spending the winter on the island with Paul. If the natives were superstitious enough to judge Paul’s guiltiness of murder based on a snake bite, then surely this would have rocked their world completely.
After Publius’ father is healed, “others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed.” Just like during Jesus’ ministry, people came from all around to be healed and have their loved ones healed by the power of God. The mass healing of so many sick people led to “honours” and I would imagine that their stay was much more pleasant, and I’m sure that Paul taught the gospel while there.
The island that they were shipwrecked on, Malta, was apparently a common place for other ships to spend their winters there, and after being there for three months, a ship from Alexandria called Castor and Pollux took the group and headed towards Rome. They made several stops, and “found brethren,” which I think means fellow Christians.
They eventually made it to Rome, and the prisoners were delivered “to the captain of the guard,” which I think means that they were put into the terrible dungeon. But Paul was allowed “to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.” This might have been because of the favor that the centurion showed him, or how trustworthy he had been during the whole transport debacle. But whatever the reason Paul was shown favor and allowed to be basically under house arrest instead of imprisoned.