Acts of the Apostles (32)
Introduction
A business leader once commented that nothing worthwhile “was ever accomplished by a reasonable man.” In this passage, we see once again how dedicated and how tough the apostle Paul was. And, some would say, how unreasonable. But then look at what he accomplished.
The Text
“And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker . . .” (Acts 14:8–28).
Summary of the Text
There was a cripple at Lystra, one who never had walked (v. 8). He was staring at Paul, who saw that he had faith to be healed (v. 9). So Paul said, loudly, “stand up.” And so up he leapt and then walked (v. 10). When the people saw this, they started to shout (in their own language) that the gods had come down in human likeness (v. 11). The fact that they were speaking in their own language explains why it took a little bit for Paul and Barnabas to catch on to what was happening. They said that Barnabas was Jupiter, and Paul Mercury—because he was the speaker (v. 12)—Mercury was the god of messages. So the priest of Jupiter brought garlanded bulls out in order to sacrifice to them (v. 13). When Paul and Barnabas figured out what was going on, they tore their clothes and ran in among the crowd (v. 14). They said, “What are you doing? We are just men like you,” preaching that you turn from these vain things to serve the Creator of everything, the true and living God (v. 15). In the past, God permitted this wandering (v. 16), but even then He did not leave Himself without the gracious witness of a bountiful world (v. 17). Even so, even with such words, they barely restrained them (v. 18).
And then some Jews from Galatia showed up (v. 19). They stoked the crowd, stoned Paul, dragged him out of the city to leave him for dead (v. 19). The disciples were standing around Paul afterward, probably also thinking he was dead, but then he got up, and went into town. The next day he left for Derbe, together with Barnabas (v. 20). They preached there, instructed many, and then doubled back through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch (v. 21). They confirmed the souls of the believers, encouraging them in perseverance through affliction (v. 22). They ordained elders in each church, fasted, and commended them to the Lord (v. 23). They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia (v. 24). They preached in Perga, then on to Attalia (v. 25). From there they sailed to Syrian Antioch, where they had first been commissioned (v. 26). Having arrived home, they gathered the whole church, telling them all about what had happened (v. 27). And they remained a long time there (v. 28).
God’s Forbearance
When Paul and Barnabas stopped these pagans from offering up a pagan sacrifice, we can clearly see their tough-minded rejection of idolatry as “these vanities” (v. 15). They were appalled by the very thought of worshiping a creature, as can be seen by how they tore their clothes. And yet, at the same time, we can see their testimony of God’s common grace to the pagans. While He let them walk in their blinkered superstitions, He nevertheless showered them with actual kindness—rain from heaven, fruitful seasons, and He filled their hearts with food and gladness (v. 17).
We are going to see the same thing later on in chapter 17.
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.”Acts 17:26–27 (KJV)
Also see Matthew 5:45. God gives rain and sunshine to all kinds of people.
Paul’s Toughness and Tenacity
Paul was attacked here with true malice. Jews from Iconium and Antioch, 20 miles and 100 miles away respectively, came all that way in order to attack Paul. They were not interested in half measures. They stirred up a mob, stoned Paul, dragged what they supposed to be his corpse out of the city, and left him there for dead. The disciples gathered around, probably to mourn his loss, and then Paul just got up. “What’s for dinner?” He was ready to travel the next day. Derbe was about 35 miles away. He was ready to travel the next day.
Much Affliction
When they worked their way back through the towns they had ministered in, they spent their time establishing the believers there in their new faith. What they did was strength their souls, exhorted them in the duty of perseverance, and encouraged them by telling them how tough it was going to be. Don’t be surprised when the affliction comes. The apostle Peter tells his people the same thing (1 Pet. 4:12). Don’t be surprised at this. In order to enter the kingdom of God, we need to go through many tribulations (v. 22). Warning people about challenges, done right, is not discouraging.
The Ordinations by Johnny Appleseed
Considering distances, travel time, estimated times for ministry, this stretch of the first missionary journey probably took somewhere between two-and-a-half to five months. But what that means is that when they came back through, they were appointing local church elders who had been Christians for just a matter of weeks (v. 23). The word for ordain here is cheirotoneo, which means to “elect by a show of hands.” However . . . keep in mind that their number could have included Jews who were already steeped in the Old Testament Scriptures (Matt. 13:52). But still . . . this really is a Johnny Appleseed approach to church planting.
Telling the Story
When they got back to Syrian Antioch, they told the Christians there all about how they had told the pagans about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (v. 27). Notice the accountability to the sending church and notice also the interest that the sending church had in the mission. Paul and Barnabas wanted to talk about what had happened, sharing their adventures, and the people back in Antioch wanted to hear all about it.
How much of the Christian faith consists of telling stories! There is a place for the theological engineers, but that is not what we are to lead with. We lead with the story of Christ, the story of His apostles, and then after that the stories of our church planters and missionaries. We talk about Christ and the body of Christ, everywhere that body goes, everywhere that body appears.