Acts 14 - 6/4/17
PRAY - Turn with me this morning to Acts 14. We have spent a couple months working our way through this transitional book that picks up where the gospels leave off - Jesus is crucified, risen, and ascended, and the Holy Spirit comes upon believers, empowering them to go out and share the message of good news - we call that the gospel, a word which means good news - the good news is that because of what Jesus did for us, paying the penalty of our sins, we don’t have to pay the penalty ourselves. He bore the wrath of God for our sin, so we could receive His righteousness. When we place our faith in Jesus, we become a new creation - and that truly IS good news!
And lest we ever forget, the message the early church had is the same message we have today. And the Holy Spirit who empowered Peter and Philip and Paul and Barnabas is the same Holy Spirit who lives in us today, giving us everything we need for life and godliness.
The believers were called to take this good news to Jerusalem - they started where they were, they started at home - to Judea, their neighbors, and Samaria, those a little different but with similar understanding of the scriptures, and finally to the uttermost part of the earth - to those with NO biblical knowledge. We see the record of the spread of the gospel here in the book of Acts. And today we pick up the story in Acts 14.
We saw in Acts 13 a strong Gentile - which means Non-Jewish - church established north of Israel in the country of Syria in a city called Antioch. It was a multi-ethnic church that embraced people of all backgrounds. It was a church that truly built disciples, not just getting people saved, but following that up with strong teaching and training. And it was a sending church. The Holy Spirit placed a call upon Paul and Barnabas to leave Antioch and go to other cities to share the good news. And they followed faithfully.
Now let me refresh your memory about something we have almost forgotten about - back before the days of cell phones and blu-ray players, we had this cutting edge invention called the “slide projector.” Do you remember them? And along with them we had the 8 MM movie projector. My dad loved to take pictures - but he often cut of heads, or would focus on a plane or car in the background, but cut out the family member standing in the foreground.
But can you remember the day of travelogues? Everyone would gather to hear a speaker show slides of their trips. I remember going to sportsmen clubs and seeing slides of hunting trips to the great northwest. And in churches, the whole church would gather to see missionaries show slides that let the home churches know what they had been up to and the highs and lows of their ministry. If you look down at verse 26 of Acts 14, you see that Paul and Barnabas shared just that type of report of their ministry with the sending church at Antioch. It says here in verse 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. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
So Paul and Barnabas have been sent on a year long mission trip, and they come back home and share all the stories with the believers, to encourage the church and let them see how God has been at work. And what we find in chapters 13 & 14 of Acts is the content of their travelogue.
We saw last time that they started at home, going to the island of Cyprus which was the home of Barnabas. They went through the island, and God gave them many opportunities to share the good news, but Satan threw strong opposition against them. They saw the governor of the whole island converted, and God did an amazing work there. From the island of Cyprus they went into Turkey, where their companion John Mark left them to return home. Then on to another Antioch, this one not in Syria, but in Turkey. It’s normally differentiated by calling it Pisidian Antioch. Just like in the US, several states have towns with the same name - there is a Riverside in 46 of our 50 states.
At Pisidian Antioch Paul delivers his first recorded sermon, where he lays out a beautiful overview of the OT and how it points to the good news of Christ’s salvation. Many believe, and the word of God spreads through the whole region. But Satan raises up opposition, and they end up moving on.
This brings us to chapter 14. It is sort of like the beginning of Dicken’s work, A Tale of Two Cities, where the first sentence reads, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Today, we look at a tale of Three Cities - Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, and see the highs and lows of ministry. These are all cities in Turkey, or Asia Minor as it was called back then. We ended chapter 13 with them traveling about 90 miles south east from Antioch to Iconium. This is where we pick up in chapter 14.
As we go through the chapter, I am going to offer a running commentary - just like someone might offer comments as they go through their slide presentation, showing the highlights and lowlights of ministry. So let’s begin at chapter 14.
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.
In Iconium, even though this was a Gentile city, there was a strong colony of Jews who had a synagogue. Paul and Barnabas went right to it because the Jews were already familiar with the Scriptures and they valued the truth about God. So Paul and Barnabas began with the most natural contact that they had. That is the first rule of witnessing: Start right where you are with your most natural contact. We saw that is how they started, going to their home island of Cyprus, and that is how they start here in Iconium, going to the Jewish synagogues. A synagogue was the Jewish equivalent of what we would call a church. Even though the temple was down in Jerusalem, in every city where 10 Jewish men gathered, they could form a local synagogue to worship and read the scriptures together. As a visiting rabbi, Paul would be invited to read the scriptures and share his thoughts with them. They had an open door for ministry.
How would Paul have witnessed here in Iconium? By using the OT scriptures which they already believed and were familiar with. He would have shown them that Jesus IS the promised OT Messiah. If you don’t know the OT, by all means take time to read through it and look for the message of Jesus there. Far too often we say I just like reading Philippians and hearing about joy - and we miss the powerful message of the OT. As a result of Paul’s preaching, many become Christians - that’s what it means when it says a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. Not just that they listen attentively, but that they accept the message and their lives are changed.
But then on to verse 2 - where God is at work, Satan will give opposition. It says, But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. We see this pattern throughout the book of Acts - the gospel is shared with the Jews, but when they refuse to hear, they leave the synagogue and find another place to teach the truth to Gentiles who will hear.
This wording “refused to believe” is literally the word “unpersuadable.” They not only disbelieved the gospel, they would not give it a chance, or even consider it. These people stirred up the Gentiles who were present and poisoned their minds against the brethren. That literally means they “caused their minds to think evil.” So these Jews would not listen, and got everyone else to think that Paul and Barnabas were evil.
How could they do that? Easily - because people love to think evil of others. It is amazing how quickly people fall for all sorts of conspiracy theories. The term of President Obama was filled with them. Do I think Obama was a good president - no I don’t - did I pray for him? - yes I did - but I believe that over half the things said about him were NOT true - even though many people passed on these rumors.
Verse 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 do miraculous signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.
What were the miraculous signs and wonders? We aren’t given a record here of exactly what they were, but throughout the scripture, when God empowers these wonders, they are not mere magic tricks, but things of such an extraordinary nature that those who see them are in AWE of the power of God.
Yet what is important to realize is that even when God shows His power in amazing ways, there are still those who stubbornly refuse to believe. We might think, If only I could do great wonders like Paul did - then everyone would believe! But really, NO, they wouldn’t. Those who are unpersuadable will not believe even when God clearly demonstrates His power in unexplainable ways. Remember the story of Lazarus in Luke 16, where the rich man wants someone to go warn his family, and the answer is given, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’
So the city of Iconium is divided, some believe, some don’t. Don’t focus on the sensational, just be faithful in being a witness, and God will work on the hearts of those who are open to the truth. Remember the conversing in our part - the converting is God’s part to play.
But there is another lesson for us to learn here: Don’t run from a challenge. Paul and Barnabas did not run when the work got hard, but stayed there in spite of obstacles. Henry Ford said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” And how very true that is - we can either choose to focus on the obstacles that hinder us, or we can focus on the God who empowers us. When we focus on the obstacles in our path, we will be discouraged and defeated. When we focus on God’s strength, we will be energized and encouraged. On to verse 5.
There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to ill-treat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news.
So were Paul and Barnabas leaving because of opposition? No, they were using wise common sense and being guided by the Spirit of God. There were times they faced physical attack - we’ll see it here at Lystra - but they don’t foolishly place themselves in harm’s way. There are far too many Christians who “invite” trouble because they are arrogant and proud about being a “martyr” for Christ. Paul said I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. Paul looked for every opportunity to share with others, and so just like Jesus had instructed the disciples, If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.
So Paul and Barnabas leave Iconium and come to Lystra. Lystra is 18 miles southwest of Iconium. Lystra’s population consisted of Roman military veterans, a “retirement center” for that vast army. Here there was no Jewish synagogue. What will they do now, when there is no obvious place to begin? These are pagan idol-worshiping Gentiles with no background of the OT scriptures. So Paul, guided by God’s spirit, looks for an open door for interaction. He comes into town, and here he finds someone to start the discussion. Vs 8 -
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
The fact of his being “crippled from birth” showed that the healing was real. The people of the area would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person had a lifelong physical ailment that could not be cured. Sometimes when people conduct healing services they heal people from a “headache” or some nebulous condition that can’t be verified. But there was no doubting the change brought to this man.
What allowed the healing to take place? Faith! We see that when we look in the gospels. In fact the one place that Jesus didn’t do miracles is Nazareth - it says, And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. So here is a man who has faith, he responds to what God is doing, and God provides a great healing. And the whole town takes notice. But notice how they respond - vs 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!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 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.
Why this response? We need to understand a historical tidbit here. The people of Lystra held to a legend that years ago the gods Zeus and Hermes had disguised themselves and paid a visit to their town. No one in the land offered them hospitality except two old peasants named Philemon and Baucis. As a result the whole population was wiped out except the two peasants. So, perhaps with that experience in mind, here come Paul and Barnabas doing miraculous good deeds, and what do the people conclude? Zeus and Hermes are here again! The people of Lystra were not going to make the same mistake again - they don’t want to get wiped out! - so they begin to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
Since Paul was the chief speaker, he was seen as Hermes (the messenger of the gods). In Roman Mythology this was the god Mercury. They saw Barnabas as “Zeus,” the father of the gods, perhaps due to Barnabas’s older appearance. Zeus would be Jupiter in Roman mythology. Zeus was the patron deity of the city, so this was a great opportunity for the priest of Jupiter to become very important and lead the people in honoring their god.
In vs 14 we read, But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: Why didn’t Paul and Barnabas pick up right away what was going on? Because in vs 11 we see that they are shouting in their local dialect. Neither Paul nor Barnabas spoke that language, so after they get them talking in Greek so they can understand what is going on - and they see that the people want to worship them as gods - Paul and Barnabas do what they can to take their focus off themselves and onto Christ.
Is this really such a big deal? You bet it is! Back in Acts 12, if you will remember, there was an incident where Herod was being praised as a god. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. So Paul & Barnabas aren’t about to let themselves be worshiped.
Vs 15 - “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 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.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
Paul tells them to turn from these worthless things to the one true God. He is saying their idol worship is worthless. For the Jews, Paul started with the scriptures. For these idol worshipers, Paul starts with their idols and the one true God. He says your idols are worthless, but there is one true God who made heaven and earth. And then Paul goes on to tell them about the one true God. Paul points out things that ought to have been very plain to them if they had taken the time to consider.
First he shows that behind creation there is one living God, not a multitude of relatively powerless, divided pagan deities or demigods. Rather there is one true God, the creator of all.
The second point he makes is that the One Living God permits men free choice, and therefore allows evil. When Paul says God allowed all the nations to walk in their own way, he is saying God gave them free will. In order to permit free will, he must allow evil. So God allowed men to go their own way.
But third, he says, God will not allow it to go too far. Even when man goes his own way, God shows His love to mankind. God has shown his love by giving rain and fruit and harvest and gladness in the family circle and joy and happiness throughout the various moments of life. That is the God whom Paul preached. A loving, powerful, caring God who was watching over the Lycaonians and who wanted to make Himself known to them.
But even as Paul declares this God, the people still want to sacrifice to them. Next slide in Paul’s travelog - enter Satan and his opposition. Vs 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. But after the disciples had gathered round him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. Think about this - these Jews who come from Pisidian Antioch have traveled 130 miles - probably on foot - probably 6 or 7 days on foot! Just so they could oppose Paul.
You will be just at the point of talking to a friend about God’s love and salvation, when suddenly someone pulls up at their house to visit them. You are talking to a coworker and telling them about God when all of a sudden a supply truck comes in and they need to unload it. Satan LOVES to throw opposition to the gospel, and it shouldn’t surprise us.
When these Jews bring opposition, they stone Paul and think they have killed him. But what revives him? Vs 20 - the support of other brothers and sisters in Christ. When we are feeling defeated, discouraged, ready to give up, God raises up a brother or sister to come alongside us and encourage us to keep on going. Back when David was running from King Saul, Saul was trying to kill him, David needs encouragement, what does God do? He sends Jonathan. It says, And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him to find strength in God. We need the support and encouragement and prayers of our brothers and sisters. And especially our missionaries! When you pray, don’t just say, Bless all the missionaries - be specific in your prayers for them!
And so Paul is strengthened and he actually goes back into the city - to show that Satan has NOT won the battle. But then Paul travels 60 miles to Derbe. He has faced opposition in Iconium and Lystra - but what happens in Derbe? Vs 21 - They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. So what would have happened if Paul said after Iconium or Lystra - it’s just too hard! and had gone home? He would have never seen the harvest of Derbe!
We give up far too easily! Back in the wilderness wanderings in Exodus 15, the Jews are grumbling because there is no good water at Marah - but what is right on the other side? An oasis with 12 springs and 70 palm trees. The oasis of Elim. Just 9 miles down the road.
God brings us to the Marahs of life - times of testing - times of disappointment - times when things don’t work out good - to test our hearts. God was setting up a test, to test the faithfulness of the people. But when we come through the Marahs of life, God has a Palm Springs right on the other side. The pathway of blessing is through the obstacle of trials. And in those trials God wants to learn if we can trust him. But we often give up far too easily!
Not Paul - he continues to Derbe and sees a “large number” trust Christ as Savior. A great triumph of ministry. As Paul gives his travelog back in Syrian Antioch at his home church you can almost hear the people shout “Amen” as he tells them about Derbe and the great victory there. Inscriptions found by archaelogists in the area suggest many bishops who came from Derbe, and one of them was present at the Council of Constantinople in 381. So apparently Paul’s efforts in this little town were not in vain.
Following a successful evangelistic campaign in Derbe, the missionaries backtracked through all the cities visited on their missionary journey. The goal was to strengthen the believers and to appoint elders in the churches. Vs 21 - Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 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. 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.
So on the return trip home, Paul and Barnabas go back through each of the towns they have been in before, because they don’t want to just report the “salvation decisions” when they get back home, they truly care that those who have trusted in Christ continue to grow in the faith and follow faithfully. So they teach them, they encourage them, they warn them that hardships are part of the Christian life, and they set up leaders to help them grow.
After they make the return visits, they make their way back home. Vs 24 - After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
So Paul and Barnabas return home, share the exciting stories of victory and opposition, and take a time to be refreshed. They don’t know what God has for them next, but they will be ready when God shows them. Ministry can be exciting and empowering - but it can also be exhausting. And that is why our missionaries take furloughs - times to rest and reflect.
One of our missionary families, Bruce & Janine Coker are back in the states for a few months. They are making a transition in ministry. They felt they had finished the work God had for them in Uganda, and now they are preparing to go to the Dominican Republic for a new work there. There are missionary letters from them telling about this in the south hallway. Bruce & Janine will actually be with us in August to share in person their travelog - to share how God finished their ministry and to share what awaits them in this next phase of ministry. I’m sure you will want to be here to hear from them firsthand when they are with us in August.
And then one more quick sidenote - it is during this time of refreshing at Antioch that many feel that Paul writes his letter of Galatians. And where is Galatia? The very region he has just been in. So Paul writes a letter to the new baby Christians in Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe and the surrounding region, to help encourage them.
God does amazing things through us when we make ourselves available to him. And today we have seen the travelog of Paul. But in the same way that Paul shared with the church back home, we can bless and encourage one another as we share daily and weekly with one another how God is at work in our lives. May God continue to use us for His glory. Let’s pray!
