Paul had a prayer to go to Rome and preach the gospel. But, going as a prisoner of Rome was not exactly the way that he had planned. While traveling by ship across the Mediterranean, a violent storm caused the ship to go off course. After 14 days lost at sea, the battered ship ran aground and eventually broke apart just off the island of Malta. While on Malta, he immediately got the attention of the local people. He was first bitten by a venomous snake without getting sick, and then he miraculously healed a man from a severe illness. This journey, which started out disastrous, actually opened an unexpected door for sharing the gospel. Paul spent 3 months preaching across the island and establishing the roots of Christianity on Malta, which is still credited to Paul today.
The beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral is located in an old city called Mdina. This amazing ancient walled city was established in the 8th century BC with some even saying it began as far back as 4,000 BC. It later became the city of the Knights of St. John in the 1500’s after they were forced to leave the island of Rhodes. They expanded the city and ruled until their eviction by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798. Mdina is full of rich history and is absolutely amazing.
On the small island are found many things dedicated to Paul: A giant statue of Paul, St. Paul’s Bay, a cave, a grotto, catacombs and the list goes on. One very strange relic is said to be found at Malta…supposedly the right wrist bone of Paul is in the Collegiate Parish Church in Valletta, the capital of Malta.
We toured around this beautiful small island of Malta surrounded by the gorgeous blue Mediterranean waters. Wherever we went we were reminded of the impact that Paul had during his short stay. Statues of Paul, statues of apostles, 359 cathedrals, several crosses and multiple symbols were everywhere. We went underground into the catacombs, sailed the same crystal blue waters that Paul sailed, overlooked into the entrance of the Blue Grotto, seen the amazing Cathedral of St. Paul and walked the cobble maze of narrow streets in the city of Mdina. I absolutely loved Mdina and could have wandered around for endless hours. Much more time was needed than we had. Ancient forts, castles and walled cities are just my absolute, absolute, can I say… absolute favorite!
I so loved visiting Malta, imagining all the history that took place there. Between imaging the sounds of the marching of the army of the Knights, to the crashing of the boat into the rocky jagged edges around the island, to the reaction of hearing the gospel for the first time of a very unsuspecting people.
This small Mediterranean island is a great example of just how God’s plan is so much greater than man’s plan. Don’t you agree? An unexpected, inconvenient and abrupt interruption. Have you ever had one of those? You just never know what God has waiting for you in your “shipwreck”. I just bet that after spending the winter there, Paul was very thankful for his “shipwreck”. The very prisoner who was bond in chains, brought freedom to the Maltese people who were set free from chains of sin when they heard and received the gospel. Just the very thing that Paul lived for! Yep, God’s plan is always better!