AP

At Iconium and Lystra (Acts 14:1-18)

Iconium, vv. 1-7 History repeated itself in Iconium. A large church was founded, but the apostles were expelled once again through the agitation of unbelieving Jews.

In Antioch, Paul and Barnabas had broken with the Jews (Acts 13:51), but in so doing, they had not broken with all their kinfolk. In Iconium, they began their preaching once again in the Jewish synagogue. How and what Paul proclaimed we have already seen in Acts 13:16–41. His listeners knew the Scriptures; from them he demonstrated that Jesus was the Messiah and warned them against unbelief. Many were convicted by their ministry, so that the church in Iconium expanded into “a great number”! This number included both Jews and Greek-speaking Gentiles. Some of them had perhaps attended synagogues as “God-fearers.” Paul did not get agreement from all the Jews. Although from their youth they had known Moses and the Prophets, they refused to accept the crucified Jesus as Messiah. Luke credits their unbelief pointedly to their disobedience, that is, to their unwilling, hardened heart. God’s Word requires faith, but they simply did not want to be convinced. They were people who through their unbelief were “disobedient to the Son” (John 3:36; cf. Hebrews 3:18; 1 Peter 2:7–8).

So here as well, the gospel drove a wedge between the listeners (Matthew 10:34–35; Luke 2:34–35). Jealous, because so many had believed Paul, the Jews began a smear campaign. They incited the Gentiles against the believers, resulting in a hostile attitude toward the brothers. In this way a monstrous alliance arose between the synagogue and the world, against Jesus’ faithful followers. This was how the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem had, with the help of Herod and Pilate, crucified the Lord and persecuted his apostles. Later, the Jews in Iconium once again in concert with the Gentiles, would attempt to stone Paul and Barnabas (v. 5). No wonder that these men taught the believers here “that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (v. 22).

Nevertheless, Paul and Barnabas still received the opportunity and courage to work for a significant amount of time in Iconium. During the entire first apostolic journey, which lasted about a year and a half (AD 46–48), they stayed there the longest. Filled with confidence in the Lord, they freely proclaimed the gospel of God’s grace (v.3). The Lord desired to establish a flourishing church in Iconium, and for that reason stood powerfully alongside his preachers by means of signs and (healing) miracles, by which their proclamation of the peaceable kingdom was strengthened in extraordinary measure. No Jewish agitator could refute that. In his letter to the Galatians—among whom were the Christians in Iconium—Paul reminded them later of this heavenly show of power (Galatians 3:5).

Meanwhile the hostility toward Paul and Barnabas heated up. The populace was divided into two camps: with the Jews and against Christ, or with the apostles and believing in Christ.

At a certain moment, both Gentiles and Jews appeared ready to get rid of the apostles and stone them. Since this was a typically Jewish method of punishment for blasphemy, the Jews probably initiated this murderous attack. How did Paul and Barnabas react to this situation of mortal danger facing them? Did they refuse “in faith” to back down? No, they did not have that kind of fanatical spirit. They perceived that further work in Iconium was impossible. So they fled about thirty kilometres south to Lystra, and later to Derbe, two cities in the region of Lycaonia, where Laodicea was situated. People should not accuse them on this account of cowardice. If there was one man who suffered for Christ, it was Paul. But that did not mean that he sought suffering recklessly. If he hit a wall of unbelief, as here in Iconium, then he went around it, following the example of the Master, who in situations of unbelief also did not keep on harping at people, but backed off and went into hiding (cf. Matthew 13:58; Luke 4:30; John 8:59; 12:36). In fact, the Lord had spoken not only about taking up one’s cross and losing one’s life for him (cf. Matthew 10:38), but in the same context he also said: “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next” (Matthew 10:23; cf. Luke 9:5).

By now, this was the fourth time that Paul had to flee: Damascus, Jerusalem, Antioch (Acts 9:25, 30; 13:50), and now Iconium. Shortly before his death, he talked about this tense period in Iconium (2 Timothy 3:11).

Verses 8-10 Lystra was a completely pagan city. It was made a Roman colony by Augustus in AD 6. No synagogue is mentioned, so there were not many Jews living there. There was a temple for Zeus, the Greek supreme deity. This is the first time that Luke reports about a sermon that Paul and Barnabas gave to complete pagans.

When they were busy preaching the Good News there,a man was sitting who was lame from birth and had never walked. God’s almighty power was soon to be displayed when this poor fellow would stand upright in a moment! It happened when he had listened to Paul and had heard him speak about Jesus’ miraculous healings (cf. Acts 10:38). When Paul looked at him intently, he received an inspiration: Jesus Christ could heal him! Led by the Spirit of Jesus, Paul spoke to the lame man with a powerful voice, so that everyone could hear him: “Stand up!” This was an impossible command to obey! But he obeyed it in faith and immediately he could do it. He leaped up and for the first time in his life he walked around, just like the lame man at the Beautiful Gate and the lame Aeneas in Lydda, both of whom had been healed through Peter. In this way, the Lord validated the gospel of our complete redemption (cf. Isaiah 35:6), and he legitimated Paul and Barnabas as sent by God.

Verses 11-18 The crowd reacted to the miracle in terms of their beliefs. Paul’s preaching had evidently not affected them, but his miraculous sign did so. For when they saw what he had done, they were beside themselves and shouted in Lycaonian: “The gods have come down to us in human form!” According to their pagan deity stories, this happened periodically.

They viewed Barnabas—perhaps because he was the older one—as an incarnation of the god Zeus. And Paul, the one who had addressed the people, they viewed as the god Hermes, the speaker and messenger of the gods. Among the Romans these gods were called Jupiter and Mercury.

There was a temple of Zeus just outside the city gates. The officiating priest hastily had bulls and wreaths brought, for the purpose of celebrating the appearance of both “gods” with a great sacrificial feast. Because Paul and Barnabas did not understand Lycaonian, they eventually perceived what a blasphemous thing was about to happen. As a sign of dismay and disapproval, they tore their garments. They jumped in among the people to restrain them from this idolatry.

Amid these agitated pagans who were at the point of sacrificing bulls on their behalf, only the most necessary things could be said, i.e. that the living God created everything for their benefit; in the past he let “all nations go their own way” that is, after useless idols. But God has shown his majesty and power, as well as his kindness in providing for their needs, including the fruitful seasons. Paul could not assume any knowledge of the OT among the pagans, in contrast to the Jews and the God-fearers. So he had to start with the basics. He took a similar approach in Athens (Acts 17).

Questions:

As at Iconium, where there was a synagogue, Paul could count on there being people with some knowledge of the OT. In our time there is widespread ignorance of the Bible – so what does that mean for preaching the Gospel in the 21^st century?

Compare and contrast the reactions of Herod (Acts 12:21-23) and Paul and Barnabas when confronted with claims of divinity.

– Alida Sewell