Chapter Fourteen –
First Journey of Paul Continued
ACTS 14:1-13:
In our previous lessons, we began the first journey of Paul. It began in
Antioch
of Syria and from there; Barnabas, Saul, and John Mark went down to
Seleucia.
From Seleucia, they caught a ship to
Cyprus
and landed at
Salamis.
They would share the Gospel of Jesus as Christ in the synagogues of the
Jews.
As Barnabas
and Saul came to
Paphos,
they crossed paths with the proconsul and a sorcerer who had been acting as
his advisor. As the proconsul wanted to hear from Barnabas and Saul, the
sorcerer withstood them.
Saul, who
will now be called from this point forward, Paul; openly denounced the
sorcerer and struck him blind by the power of the Lord. This would give
cause for the proconsul to believe the words concerning the teaching of the
Lord.
Paul and
Barnabas left Cyprus and came to
Perga
in
Pamphylia
where John Mark would leave them and return to Jerusalem for unknown
reasons. From Perga they would travel north inland to
Antioch
in
Pisidia,
where they would go into the synagogue of the Jews on the Sabbath. As the
invitation is given to speak, Paul is going to preach the Gospel and this
becomes Paul’s first recorded sermon. At the conclusion of his sermon, the
Gentiles requested to hear these words as well. When the city had come out
to hear, the Jews became filled with envy. Many of the Jews rejected the
Gospel of Jesus as Christ and became antagonistic; however, many Gentiles
would become followers of Christ. The Jews stirred up the leaders of the
city and forced Paul and Barnabas to flee to
Iconium.
Please use the map provided:
http://www.plvcc.org/articles_live_by_faith/acts_13_map.html
Text #1:
Acts 14:1-3
“Now it happened in
Iconium
that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a
great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.
2
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds
against the brethren.
3
Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who
was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to
be done by their hands.”
Iconium:
This city is about 60 to 70 miles slightly southeast of Antioch of Pisidia.
It was one of the chief cities in this area of Asia Minor situated on the
edge of a vast level plain, with mountains to the west, and major trade
routes passing through the city.
As was
Paul’s custom, the first place they would begin to share the Gospel of Jesus
as the Christ would be the synagogue of the Jews. Here they would find
similar success as Antioch as well as similar rejection as Antioch.
A necessary
recognition of two distinctly different but tied together terms takes place
here. The first is found in
Verse 1, whereby both Jews and Gentiles
“Believed”. The second takes
place in
Verse 2, whereby these who believed are now designated as
“Brethren”.
There can
be little doubt based on the natural progression that we have noted since
the Gospel of Jesus as the Christ began to be preached, that all those who
believed were added to the Called Out (church), as were being saved (Acts
2:47;
5:14).
This universally describes the process of conversion as anything but
passive, which in turn then defines belief as anything but mental ascent.
“Believes and is baptized”
–
Mark
16:16.
“Repentance and remission of sins”
Luke
24:47;
Acts
2:38.
Because of
the undermining of the Jews here, Paul and Barnabas stayed a long time
(undetermined, but significant enough to accomplish their purpose), and
continued to speak the word of His grace (A reference to the Gospel of
Christ shared both for conversion as well as doctrine –
Acts
20:24,
32).
This was accompanied by the working of miracles, which attested to their
words being from God (witness by the Lord). This once again demonstrating
that miracles were never random, but always were performed with purpose and
order (Mark
16:20).
Text #2:
Acts 14:4-7
“But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided
with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
5
And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with
their rulers, to abuse and stone them,
6
they became aware of it and fled to
Lystra
and
Derbe,
cities of
Lycaonia,
and to the surrounding region.
7
And they were preaching the gospel there.”
This second
stage in the events of Iconium is a carbon copy of the events post Paul’s
preaching in Antioch. The Jews, who were unable to withstand the preaching
of the Gospel of Christ and the miracles that accompanied them resorted to
customary attempts to destroy any obstacles. It would not succeed to the
extent they had hoped, but it did drive Paul and Barnabas to Lystra.
Summary of
Iconium:
Paul and
Barnabas preached in the synagogue of the Jews and there were those who
believed from the ranks of Jew and Gentile (proselytes, as they were in the
synagogue). The unbelieving Jews tried to poison the minds of Gentiles
against the brethren, which would cause Paul and Barnabas to stay longer.
Finally the Jews stirred up the people to the point that they would attempt
to abuse and stone them; this would cause them to leave.
Text #3:
Acts 14:8-9
“And in
Lystra
a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his
mother’s womb, who had never walked.
9
This
man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had
faith to be healed,”
Lystra:
Lystra was a city that had its origins as a Roman colony, and was located a
short distance southwest from Iconium. Even though it was established as a
Roman colony, there were abundant Greeks. Because of the number of Greeks,
there would also be a large number of those who worshipped the Greek gods;
and this will factor into the events in this city.
This city
is culturally different than Iconium and even Antioch. We will notice right
away that there is no mention of a synagogue or a strong presence of Jews.
As it would take a specified number of male Jews to constitute a synagogue,
we can appreciate that the reason for neither to be mentioned is that there
are very few Jews here.
We will
learn that Timothy will be from here and will be among some of these first
converts in this city. His mother was a Jew, but his father was a Gentile (Acts
16:1-2).
Unlike the
cities with synagogues, the Jews in these cities without could usually be
found together during the times they would have come to a synagogue in a
central place in the area (see
Acts
16:13).
Since there
was not a synagogue, Paul will resort to a different method in order to draw
the attention of the people in order to preach to them.
Cripple:
This case is similar to that in
Chapter 3, where Peter and John came across the lame man at the
gate of the temple. One significant difference is that based on his hearing
Paul speak, had faith that Paul could heal him. The man Peter healed had to
be lifted up; this man is trusting in Paul’s ability to heal.
Text #4:
Acts 14:10-13
“said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your
feet!” And he leaped and walked.
11
Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying
in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the
likeness of men!”
12
And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief
speaker.
13
Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought
oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.”
Leaped and
Walked:
As we
mentioned earlier, this man had faith that Paul could heal him, which is
demonstrated here as he leaped and walked as commanded by Paul. We should
also again notice that there would have to be more to the miracle than
returning strength to this man’s feet, as he would also receive motor skills
unknown to him until now.
People Saw:
One of the unique properties of the miracles performed by the Lord or His
Apostles was that they were never performed on any conjectured unknown
person; but on those whom everyone knew.
Since these
people all knew this individual who has been healed by Paul and being
idolaters, they assumed Paul and Barnabas to be the gods they paid homage
too (Zeus and Hermes, Latinized into Jupiter and Mercury in the Vulgate
translation).
There were
thought to be statues to these gods at the city gates, and thus the attempt
to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas at this location. It is important to
notice that even in the pagan worship of idols; there is an overwhelming
desire to pursue favor from established deities. It will be the same in
effort with those who would believe in the one true God and Jesus the Christ
after they have had their conscience educated to the truth (Acts
16:5).
In our next
lesson, we will look at the response of Paul and Barnabas to this effort to
pay homage to them and the properties of Paul’s preaching for the first time
to those who have no knowledge of the one true God.
Next: “We Are Men With The Same Nature!”