28:5 felt no harm. Christ had promised that His followers, in carrying out His great commission, might “take up serpents” without harm (Mark 16:18). This experience of Paul’s is the only actual example of such a phenomenon recorded in the New Testament, though there may have been others. This promise was for protection, not for show, and was not intended to apply indefinitely, especially after the completion and circulation of the New Testament. One danger involved in the indiscriminate use—or attempted display—of signs and wonders is that those who observe them may be tempted to ascribe divinity to those who perform them (note Acts 28:6; also recall Acts 14:11).