In Iconium
1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the gospel.
In Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Commentary/Significant points of discussion:
- [See v.1] 'At Iconium'- as they had done previously at the church at Pisidian Antioch and throughout their missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel in a Jewish synagogue where there are a significant number of Jews present
- [See v.2] 'a great number of Jews and Greeks believed'- once again their preaching is powerful and effective as they are able to convert a large number of Jews and Gentiles
- [See v.3] 'spent considerable time there'- despite the opposition 'stirred up' [v.2] against them, Paul and Barnabas remain where they are continuing to speak 'boldly for the Lord' and the 'message of his grace' which applied to both Jews and Gentiles alike
- Q: Why did Paul and Barnabas remain when they were persecuted?
- A: The 'Jews who refused to believe' [v.2] were trying to poison and stir up other Gentiles who did not believe to oppose the new believers; hence, the opposition was directed towards the newly converted and not as much towards Paul and Barnabas
- [See v.4] 'people of the city were divided'- as successful as the ministry of Paul and Barnabas was, the opposition mounted with every level of success they achieved; much of the same can be said for our spiritual lives where the enemy's opposition grows bigger with every step of faith we take in God and this is the enemy's way of trying to discourage us from continuing God's work
- There is clearly a battle between two sides: God's kingdom and the kingdom of darkness (Satan); as believers we need to be aware of those who oppose us and want to quench our spiritual fires
- [See v.5] 'plot...to mistreat them and stone them'- the hostility and bitterness has boiled over and reached it peak as the opposition is ready to carry out acts of physical violence against the apostles
- [See v.6] 'fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe'- Paul and Barnabas flee as their lives are threatened but not for the purpose of escaping and giving up what they have been doing as they refused to be silenced and 'continued to preach the gospel' wherever they went
- [See v.9] 'Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed'- as the apostles are in Lystra continuing their ministry, this time on the streets, they spot a man who has been paralyzed since birth and Paul, using the gift of discernment through the Holy Spirit, sees that the man has faith when he looks at his face
- Just as Peter had done before, Paul receives the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit to believe that the man would be healed and tells the man to 'stand up' [v.10]
- [See v.10] 'the man jumped up and began to walk'- the lame man's faith is evident by his willingness and readiness to obey Paul's command; our faith can be measured by our response to our beliefs- whether we sit idle and wait around for something to happen or we jump up to our feet in great anticipation and joy for the things God has promised to us
- [See v.12] 'Barnabas they called Zeus...Paul they called Hermes'- upon witnessing the miracle the crowd responds by worshipping Paul and Barnabas as incarnations of the mythical "gods"; the people of Lystra clearly had a different idea of who God was because to them God could be both human and a deity
- [See v.13] 'wanted to offer sacrifices to them'- it seems like the people are afraid of angering the "gods" and want to offer sacrifices to appease their wrath; their fear of God is not based on doing what is good and right and hating evil as it should be but is based on prevention and doing whatever is most rational, safe or sufficient according to their own understanding
- [See v.14] 'they tore their clothes'- Paul and Barnabas show that they are human just like everyone else in the crowd and merely representatives of God, not "gods" themselves
- [See v.15] 'turn from these worthless things'- the apostles make it clear that to follow God the people must completely reverse their ways and turn around from their pagan worship of idols; we don't just add God to our lives like He is just some icing on top of the cake and whatever we feel comfortable with we keep
- [See v.17] " 'shown kindness by giving you rain...crops...food...joy' "- the apostles preach to the people that all the everyday blessings of life come from God and not the imaginary "gods" they have been worshipping; God 'has not left himself without testimony' because nature itself is a witness to the living God containing all the blessings to man and joys that are provided to the hearts of many
- [See v.19] 'Jews came from Antioch and Iconium'- the same Jews who had kicked Paul and Barnabas out of their cities have now come all the way to Lystra to stir up the crowd to stone them
- 'stoned Paul...dragged him outside the city'- the crowd went from wanting to honor the apostles with sacrifices to trying to execute them; once they realized the threat that the gospel presented to their own pagan worship, they responded with the fierceness of an animal to oppose it
- 'thinking he was dead'- Paul was left for dead after being stoned when in fact he was still alive; whether this was a miracle or not the author does not state, but the greater miracle is that Paul 'got up and went back into the city' [v.20]
- Is Paul's courageous act of going back despite the risk of losing his life relentlessness or craziness? How willing are we to pursue God's call to completion by persevering in God's will?
- [See v.20] 'he and Barnabas left for Derbe'- the apostles leave but continue their missionary journey, preaching the gospel and making disciples
- [See v.21] 'returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch'- Paul and Barnabas return to the cities they had previously attempted to evangelize with the chief mission to strengthen the resolve of these disciples and to encourage them to continue in the faith despite the persecution
- It's important to not only evangelize and convert people but to support them so that they remain strong and committed to the journey of faith which has 'many hardships' [v.22] one must go through
- [See v.23] 'appointed elders for them in each church'- the apostles assign the duties of administration to these new converts in order that their churches be well established and able to grow, yet the health and well-being of the church rested in 'the Lord, in whom they had put their trust'
- [See v.26] 'sailed back to Antioch'- Paul and Barnabas return to their home church from which they had begun their mission and report to the church 'all that God had done through them' [v.27] and now it became clear that the work to which God had called the apostles to before they had left the church in Antioch was to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles for which God 'had opened a door' [v.27]
