ACTS 14:1 1 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.
Where is "Iconium" (Acts 14:1) and who are the "they" (Acts
14:1)?
They are Paul and Barnabas, and they came to Iconium in Asia Minor (present day Turkey)
after having preached the Gospel in Antioch, about 80 miles to the west.
Why did they go to the "synagogue of the Jews" (Acts 14:1)?
Since the Jews knew the Old Testament prophecies about and had been awaiting
the promised Messiah, they in theory should have received the news of His
arrival most easily and readily.
Didn't Paul declare to the Jews in Antioch that he and
Barnabas will turn to the Gentiles?
Yes:
"It was necessary that the word of God should be
spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy
of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." (Acts 13:46)
Then why did Paul and Barnabas again go to the synagogue of
the Jews?
There are at least 3 reasons. Firstly, the immediate subject of Paul's
declaration is the people of Antioch. since the Jews of Antioch had
"rejected" the Gospel, they were turning to the Gentiles of Antioch, which
is what they did. Secondly, the Gentiles who knew the Old Testament and was
also awaiting the promised Messiah were in the synagogue of the Jews, both
as 'proselytes' (who had been circumcised) and 'God-fearers' (who believed
in the God of the Old Testament but hadn't (yet) been circumcised). Thirdly,
while the thrust of Paul's ministry was to the Gentiles as appointed by God
(
"On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted
with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had
been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an
apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the
Gentiles." (Galatians 2:7-8)), Paul of course wasn't prohibited from
preaching the Gospel to the Jews. After all, Jesus had commanded
evangelizing all nations:
"Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations,..." (Matthew 28:19)
What was one of the results of Paul and Barnabas' preaching
in the Jewish synagogue of Iconium?
"A great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks
believed." (Acts 14:1)
Why does the Bible say "Greeks" instead of "Gentiles"?
The language and the culture of the Roman Empire was Greek. As used above,
"Greek" is synonymous with "Gentiles".
ACTS 14:2-3 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.
What was the other result of Paul and Barnabas preaching in
the Jewish synagogue of Iconium?
"... the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and
poisoned their minds against the brethren." (Acts 14:2)
Why did Paul and Barnabas stay there "a long time" (Acts
14:3)?
A spiritual war of words broke out between the apostles and the unbelieving
Jews, plus the Gentiles they stirred up, with the Lord confirming the
apostles' words with miracles:
"the Lord, who was
bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be
done by their hands." (Acts 14:3)
ACTS 14:4-7
4 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.
What happened to the people of Antioch in the end?
The Gospel polarized them -
"The multitude of the city
was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles."
(Acts 14:4) - as it tends to do today between those being saved and those
not (yet).
Why did they make a "violent attempt ... to abuse and
stone" (Acts 14:5) Paul and Barnabas?
Unable to win the spiritual war of words, they resorted to violence.
And why would God allow this "violent attempt"?
To have Paul and Barnabas preach
"the gospel"
(Acts 14:7) also in
"Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia,
and to the surrounding region." (Acts 14:6)
Where are Lystra and Derbe?
They are cities just to the south (Lystra) and southeast (Derbe) of Iconium.
ACTS 14:8-10 8 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,
10 said
with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and
walked.
How did God open Paul's ministry in Lystra?
With a miracle pretty much from the start.
Who had the faith to be healed?
The crippled man
"had faith to be healed." (Acts
14:9)
How did he get that faith?
By hearing the Gospel:
"This man heard Paul speaking."
(Acts 14:9)
Does a person need to have faith in Jesus to be healed by
Him?
Not necessarily. Sometimes the faith to heal rests with the one being used
by Christ to affect the healing. Consider the case of another man with bum
legs:
"Now Peter and John went up together to the temple
at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his
mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple
which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;
who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And
fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them
his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said,
“Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right
hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with
them - walking, leaping, and praising God." (Acts 3:1-8)
So a healing miracle requires either the one healed or the
one being used to heal to have faith?
Again, not necessarily. Nobody had "faith" that Jesus would heal another
lame man when He healed him:
"Now there is in Jerusalem
by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five
porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame,
paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a
certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in
first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he
had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that
condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The
sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the
water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the
man was made well, took up his bed, and walked." (John 5:2-9)
What then can we say about the Lord's miraculous healings?
He can give the faith to be healed to the one being healed, or to the
healer, or to neither. The bottom line is that God heals whomever He wants
to heal. This doesn't mean that we should stop praying for those who are
sick or have infirmities, for God could very well intend for you to pray for
that person so that His healing can be in answer to your prayers. But such
prayers should trust both His power and sovereign choice to heal. And the
cases of God not healing terminally-ill Christians shouldn't be seen as His
failure to heal or ignorance of our prayers, but recognized as early
promotions to heaven.
ACTS 14:11-13 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.
To whom were they "intending to sacrifice" (Acts 14:12)?
To Paul and Barnabas, whom they mistook for their idols.
Why did they call Paul, Hermes and Barnabas, Zeus, and not
vice versa?
In their idolatry, Hermes was the messenger for Zeus, the top idol. Since
Paul was the
"chief speaker" (Acts 14:11), they
gave the messenger's title to Paul, and the other title to Barnabas.
ACTS 14:14-18 14 But when the apostles
Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the
multitude, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things?
We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you
should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the
heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,
16 who in
bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.
17
Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good,
gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food
and gladness.” 18 And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the
multitudes from sacrificing to them.
What is the first thing that Paul and Barnabas did in
response?
They
"tore their clothes". (Acts 14:14).
Why?
It was the way to express extreme outrage and anguish back then. Paul and
Barnabas were outraged and anguished that they were being called gods and
that a miracle of God was being credited to them.
How many pastors today are outraged and anguished when a
work of the Lord is credited to them?
...
What is Paul's message to them?
We're
"men" (Acts 14:15). Your gods are
"useless" (Acts 14:15) idols. The real God is
"living" (Acts 14:15), the Creator of
"the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are
in them" (Acts 14:15) and the one who has been providing for you with
"rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our
hearts with food and gladness." (Acts 14:17) Since the
Lycaonians were unfamiliar with the Old Testament, Paul declared the Lord to
them using realities which they were familiar.
Did the Lycaonians listen to Paul?
Enough not to sacrifice to them, but only barely:
"they
could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them."
(Acts 14:18)
ACTS 14:19-22 19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium
came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and
dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the
disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the
next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 And when they had preached
the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting
them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many
tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
Who chased after Paul and Barnabas?
The Jews from both
"Antioch and Iconium". (Acts
14:19)
Was Paul killed and then resurrected?
He was beaten badly enough and so immobile that they
"[supposed] him to be dead". (Acts 14:19)
What did God then do to Paul?
He healed Paul so quickly that he was able to travel the very
"next day". (Acts 14:20)
Why did God let Paul be beaten so badly?
To grant another edifying miracle to Paul and the disciples who
"gathered
around" (Acts 14:20) his beaten body and witnessed it being restored, but
also to grant Paul and Barnabas some time free from the pestering Jews, now
departed, as the two planted the church in
"Derbe" (Acts 14:20),
and then revisited the churches just planted in
"Lystra, Iconium and Antioch". (Acts
14:21)
Through what did the Apostles say we "must... enter the
kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22)?
"Many tribulations." (Acts 14:22)
Why?
Christians fight for Christ against the devil:
"Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12).
And as a Christian is used
by and bear fruit for the Lord, s/he draws enemy
fire, the lack of which should be cause for serious concern and
self-examination.
ACTS 14:23 23 So when they had appointed elders
in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in
whom they had believed.
What are "elders" (Acts 14:23)?
Elders, also called
"Overseers" (Acts 20:28) or
"Bishops" (Philippians 1:1) are Christian men who
teach and lead churches under the authority of Jesus, who gave specific
instructions on who may and may not serve in this leadership role:
"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his
children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to
rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a
novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation
as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are
outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." (1
timothy 3:2-7)
Why do many elders in churches today fail to meet the
qualifications detailed above?
Since they fail to meet the above qualifications, they are not elders in the
eyes of the Lord.
ACTS 14:24-28 24 And after they had passed through Pisidia, they
came to Pamphylia. 25 Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they
went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had
been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.
27
Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all
that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the
Gentiles. 28 So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Where are "Pisidia" and "Pamphylia" (Acts 14:24), and "Perga"
(Acts 14:25)?
Pisidia was the Roman province in which Antioch is located. Pamphylia was
the province on the southern shore of modern day Turkey that was immediately
south of Pisidia and where the two coastal city of Perga was located.
Hadn't they already preached the word in Perga on their way
inland to Antioch?
No, thy had gone straight to Antioch:
"Now when Paul and his party set sail from
Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them,
returned to Jerusalem. But when they
departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia ..." (Acts
13:13-14)
Where is "Attalia" (Acts 14:25)?
It's the port city located immediately west of Perga and where Paul and
Barnabas
"sailed to Antioch" (Acts 14:26) of
Syria to complete what for Paul would be the first of his four missionary
journeys.