Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Acts Chapter 14 mean?

Acts 14 records the last half of Paul’s first missionary journey. He and Barnabas left their home base in Syrian Antioch with Barnabas’ cousin John Mark and sailed to the island of Cyprus, where Barnabas was from. After rescuing the proconsul from a Jewish false prophet, they sailed north to the southern coast of modern-day Asia Minor. John Mark left them there and returned to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas traveled north to Pisidian Antioch and shared how Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the prophecies of the Jewish Messiah. Surprisingly, a great number of Gentiles believed them while the Jewish leadership and the Gentile city leaders drove them out of town (Acts 13).

Paul and Barnabas head about 90 miles southeast to the trade city of Iconium. They have a similar experience to that in Pisidian Antioch—many Jews and Greeks believe their news about Jesus, but those who don’t convince many Paul and Barnabas are false teachers despite the miracles the apostles perform. Paul and Barnabas stay and continue to teach until their antagonists threaten to stone the two, and they flee south to Lystra (Acts 14:1–7).

The small town of Lystra is no less troublesome, but for a different reason. After Paul heals a man born lame, the pagan-influenced populace declare that Barnabas is Zeus and Paul, who has done most of the speaking, is Hermes. This seems to be influenced by a local story where those two deities drowned most of the town due to inhospitality. The two evangelists barely keep the priest of Zeus from leading a sacrifice to them in worship. Just when things are calming down, Jewish leaders from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium arrive. They incite the crowd in Lystra to stone Paul, drag him outside the city, and leave him for dead. Jesus isn’t finished with Paul, so the bedraggled apostle survives and the next day he and Barnabas travel east to Derbe (Acts 14:8–20).

In Derbe, Paul and Barnabas’ farthest point, they make more disciples. Then, instead of crossing the mountains to Tarsus and then making the relatively short trip back to Syrian Antioch, the two return the way they’d come, encouraging the new churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. They travel south to Perga where they share Jesus’ offer of salvation, then go to the port town of Attalia on the southern coast. From there, they sail home to Syrian Antioch and tell the church how God worked in the hearts of Jews and Gentiles and established new churches (Acts 14:21–28).

The missionary journey of Acts 13—14 is important because people came to a saving relationship with Christ and positioned the church to reach into Europe. But it also sets the stage for the controversy of Acts 15. The church started with Jesus’ Jewish followers in Jerusalem, and until now the church has mostly been comprised of Jews. Paul and Barnabas get a glimpse of how Jesus’ story will spread to Gentiles. The Jews still see Christianity as a fulfillment of their own religion; what does it mean when Gentiles, who are not under the Mosaic law, follow the Jewish Messiah? Paul and Barnabas will travel back to Jerusalem and give their testimony so Peter, James, and the other church leaders can figure out just what the Holy Spirit has in store.

Chapter Context
Paul’s first missionary journey, recorded in Acts 13—14, gives a glimpse of issues that the church will face throughout its entire existence. When presented with Jesus’s story, some will accept Him while others will not. Opposition is sometimes violent. Some integrate into church life easily, but for centuries the church has struggled with how to integrate those from vastly different cultures. This raises the crucial question of which aspects of faith and worship are biblical, making them universal, and which are cultural, and therefore optional? In Acts 15, the church leadership will start a discussion on that subject which continues even today.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Paul and Barnabas are in the middle of Paul’s first missionary journey. They started in Syrian Antioch and sailed west to the island of Cyprus, where they exposed a Jewish false prophet and brought a Roman proconsul to faith in Christ (Acts 13:4–12). Then they traveled north to Pisidian Antioch, near the center of modern-day Asia Minor, and established a church there. When the Jewish synagogue leaders and the civil Gentile leaders grew antagonistic, Paul and Barnabas left their new converts and traveled about 90 miles southeast to Iconium (Acts 13:13–52).

Their experience in Iconium is very similar to that of Pisidian Antioch. They start in the Jewish synagogue, since Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah. Acts 13:26–47 gives us the only transcription of any of Paul’s many messages in a synagogue so we can assume the others are similar. As did Stephen (Acts 7), Paul shows how Jesus of Nazareth fits the prophecies of the Messiah given in the Jewish Scriptures. Paul understands that the news about Jesus belongs to the Jews first and then the Gentiles (Romans 1:16), but some Gentiles are looking for a truer God than the Romans can offer. So, they attend the Jewish synagogue and follow the Jewish God. Many of these Gentiles, along with the Jews, accept Paul’s words.

This is as Jesus planned (Acts 1:8). In Isaiah 49:6, God says of the Messiah, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” This will cause some growing pains for the mostly-Jewish church (Acts 15:1–2), but it is as God planned all along.

Context Summary
Acts 14:1–7 records how Paul and Barnabas fled persecution in Pisidian Antioch and arrived in Iconium. As becomes their habit, they share Jesus’ story in the local synagogue and watch many Jews and Gentiles agree to follow Jesus. Like in Pisidian Antioch, other Jews and Gentiles reject their message. The pair stay as long as they can, teaching and starting the church, until their antagonists threaten to stone them. Paul and Barnabas leave the new believers and travel south and east to establish new churches but will return on their way back through (Acts 14:21).

Verse 2. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

The second stop made by Paul and Barnabas in the province of Galatia feels like a rerun of the first. In Pisidian Antioch, they went to the local Jewish synagogue and showed how Jesus of Nazareth fit the prophecies of the Jewish Messiah as given in our Old Testament. Many of the Jews and the God-worshiping Gentiles believed them and followed Jesus. The synagogue leaders, however, rejected their message and incited the city’s influential Gentiles to drive them out of town (Acts 13:13–52).

The same thing seems to be happening in Iconium. The passage doesn’t describe what Paul teaches in the synagogue, but it’s probably similar to his message in Pisidian Antioch. Many of the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles believe (Acts 14:1), but those who don’t engage in a false information campaign. Undeterred, Paul and Barnabas respond by staying and teaching more, and God affirms their decision by allowing them to perform miracles to validate their words. Eventually, a group of people will threaten to stone them, and the two leave and travel to Lystra (Acts 14:3–7).

This reaction is the exact opposite of what God intended. The Abrahamic covenant was that the descendants of Abraham would bless the world (Genesis 12:3). They do this by providing the Messiah who died and rose again to offer the world forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. When Paul travels, he goes to the synagogue first because Jesus is for the Jews first (Romans 1:16) who are then supposed to share Him with the Gentiles (Acts 1:8). But like the Sanhedrin who pushed Pilate to crucify Jesus (Mark 15:6–15), the leaders of local synagogues fall to jealousy (see Acts 13:44–45; 17:5). God’s purpose for the Jews was to share the Messiah. Instead, they held tight to the power and influence they had in their insular communities. Fortunately, early Jewish Christians like Paul did spread Jesus’ message to Gentiles.

Verse 3. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas are teaching that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah promised in Jewish Scriptures, come to offer reconciliation with God. Many Jews and Gentiles believe but others push back, contradicting their message (Acts 14:1–2). In response, the two apostles decide to stay and teach more. God validates their message by allowing them to perform miracles: the true purpose of signs gifts such as healing and tongues.

Paul has been threatened by civil and religious leaders (Acts 9:23–25; 29–30), but he has yet to suffer real persecution. At this point, preaching boldly doesn’t come with immediate risks. The original apostles already understand the need for God’s provision of courage to speak their message (Acts 4:29). Soon, Paul will experience the same pressure (Ephesians 6:19). “The word of his grace”—the spread of the gospel—deserves no less.

For Paul and Barnabas, staying to teach and even debate would be a natural response. Judaism included several different sects, like Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots. Even Paul’s Pharisees aligned themselves under different teachers. Each sect and each school had slightly different interpretations of Jewish theology, and rabbis spent much time debating and recording their views.

This tradition turns out to be essential for the development of Christian theology. Without conflicting assumptions about God’s will, we wouldn’t have the answers recorded in the book of Galatians (Galatians 1:6–7) or 2 Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:4). We’d be without 1 John, the apostle John’s response to Gnosticism. Debates about theology continued into the first few centuries of the church. It was the introduction of heresies that pushed church leaders to codify their understandings of the Trinity, the hypostatic union of Christ, and the role of the Holy Spirit. This drove the creation of terminology used to summarize Christian ideas much more efficiently. We often don’t know what we believe until we’re forced to compare it to something else. And sometimes teachers don’t know what to teach until they’re confronted with the lies their students or congregations are exposed to.

Verse 4. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

Déjà vu is the feeling one is reliving a particular moment from the past. Paul and Barnabas might have experienced that during the events of this passage. They are in the synagogue of Iconium, sharing that Jesus of Nazareth was sent by God to provide salvation—just as they had in Pisidian Antioch. And just like in that previous town, some of the Jews and Gentiles believe while others try to undermine their message. The two apostles respond by staying longer, teaching further, and sharing more about Christ. The town becomes even more divided.

This division had followed Jesus throughout His entire ministry. The issue has to do with the Mosaic law and the Jews’ misunderstanding of the Law’s purpose. God chose the Jews to be His people and to display to the world that they are His people by following His laws. If the Jews agreed to value their relationship with God and do what He told them to, He would bless them beyond measure with peace from enemies, verdant fields, and fertile animals. If they refused to obey Him and looked to other gods to provide for them, He had a list of things He would allow to happen to get their attention (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28). Eventually, half the nation was destroyed by Assyria, and the other half was taken into exile in Babylon.

When the exiles from Babylon returned, they changed their ways. They eventually became relatively obedient to the Law; unfortunately, instead of a relationship with their God, their approach to “doing” the Law became the focus of their religion. The Pharisees, especially, enforced the law with little regard for how God loved His people.

Iconium is in the district of Galatia, the audience of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Much of Paul’s letter addresses the Galatian church’s obsession with a legalistic approach to Old Testament law. He tells them that the gospel of grace is the only gospel (Galatians 1:6–9); that they should seek to please God, not men (Galatians 1:10); that Jesus-followers are justified by faith in Jesus, not by the Law (Galatians 2:16); and that even sanctification—becoming more Christlike—is through faith, not by rigid obedience—even obedience itself is a gift of God (Galatians 3:2–6).

For those humble enough to recognize they can never please God, the gospel of grace is a welcome gift. For those who have been taught that the only way to God’s heart is strict obedience, the gospel is hard to take.

Verse 5. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,

Iconium (Acts 14:1) is in modern-day Asia Minor. There, Paul and Barnabas have been teaching those who have put their faith in Christ and angering those who haven’t. Eventually, the Jewish and Gentile unbelievers have had enough. But, unlike the antagonists in Pisidian Antioch who just run the apostles out of town (Acts 13:50), the Iconians try to stone them.

Stoning was a common method of capital punishment and was authorized in the Mosaic law (Leviticus 20:2; 24:14–16). When performed legally, the condemned was given a chance to repent, then marched to a ten-foot ledge. He was thrown off the ledge and the primary accuser dropped a large stone or small boulder on the condemned person’s chest. If this did not kill him, the witnesses followed with more stones. If the stoning was not the result of a formal inquiry, however, and performed by mob justice (Acts 7:54–60), the crowd would simply throw rocks until the person was dead.

When the early church first spread the story of Jesus, it was Paul who enthusiastically and violently persecuted the Jesus-followers (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). When Jesus claimed Paul, He told Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:16). This is a foreshadowing of Paul’s suffering. In their next stop, Lystra, Paul will be stoned (Acts 14:19). In Philippi, he and Silas will be beaten and imprisoned (Acts 16:16–24). To the church in Corinth, Paul will later describe being flogged, lashed, beaten with rods, and shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:23–28). But he will tell the Romans, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

Verse 6. they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country,

Not long before, Paul and Barnabas had fled Pisidian Antioch when synagogue leaders convinced the civil Gentile leaders the two Jesus-followers were dangerous (Acts 13:50). Now, the apostles are driven out of Iconium, having learned those Jews and Gentiles who refused their message about Jesus are planning on stoning them (Acts 14:5). Lystra is a small town compared to the major trading centers of Pisidian Antioch and Iconium.

Lycaonia is a district in the large territory of Galatia which takes up the center of modern-day Asia Minor. Paul and Barnabas travel between Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. All of these are in south Galatia. When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, it was likely passed around through the churches in these cities.

Lystra is a small town 20 miles south of Iconium and doesn’t appear to have enough Jews to support a synagogue of its own. On Paul’s second missionary journey, however, it is where he will meet his son in the faith, Timothy (Acts 16:1). Derbe is a larger city about 63 miles east and a bit south of Lystra. Right across the mountain range to the east is Paul’s hometown of Tarsus. Later, Timothy and Gaius of Derbe will accompany Paul west to Macedonia and Greece (Acts 20:4). Paul revisits Lystra and Derbe on his second (Acts 16:6) and third (Acts 18:23) missionary journeys.

Verse 7. and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Acts 14:6–7 are transition verses following Paul and Barnabas as they leave Iconium, continuing south and east to Lystra and Derbe. In Iconium, the Jews and Gentile leaders who rejected their message about Jesus threatened to stone them (Acts 14:5). In Lystra, Jewish leaders from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium come and convince the people of Lystra to stone Paul. They drag him out of the town, but he survives and continues to Derbe (Acts 14:19–20).

In English, three words are used to describe what Paul and Barnabas continued: “to preach the gospel.” This is rendered from a single Greek term, euaggelizo, from which we obtain the English word “evangelize.” Originally, it meant to proclaim good news or glad tidings. In a Christian context, it means to share the good news of the salvation offered by Jesus.

Underlying the simple statement of this verse is a thread running through the Bible: that serving God requires courage. God told the Israelites to not be afraid as they entered Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:18). He told Joshua not to be frightened as he led the armies (Joshua 1:9). The early church leaders prayed for boldness as they faced persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 4:29). Paul will ask the Ephesians to pray for him, that he will preach boldly, even in prison (Ephesians 6:18–20).

Spreading the gospel of Jesus can be dangerous. This is why He told the disciples, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Verse 8. Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

Paul and Barnabas are in the middle of their missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3). They traveled from Syrian Antioch to the island of Cyprus, sailed north to the southern shore of modern-day Asia Minor, continued north to Pisidian Antioch, then turned east to Iconium and south to Lystra.

Lystra is in the Lycaonian region of the province of Galatia. It became a Roman colony in 25 BC, a military outpost against pirates and marauders from the Tarsus mountains to the south. It is a small town, apparently with not even enough Jews to host a synagogue. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he will meet Timothy, either in Derbe or Lystra (Acts 16:1–2).

The encounter with the crippled man parallels that of John and Peter in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1–10). In the prior case, Peter told the witnesses that the power he used to heal the man was from Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Messiah (Acts 3:11–26). Soon after, Peter and John are questioned by the Sanhedrin and told not to speak of Jesus again (Acts 4).

In this latter case, it’s possible Paul has been preaching in tongues but doesn’t know the Lycaonian language (1 Corinthians 14:18). He and Barnabas don’t understand what the crowd intends until they try to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, thinking they are the incarnations of Hermes and Zeus (Acts 14:11–18). The crowd completely reverses their view, however, when unbelieving Jews and Gentiles from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium arrive and convince the people to stone Paul and leave him for dead (Acts 14:19).

Spreading the good news of Jesus is not for the faint of heart.

Context Summary
Acts 14:8–20 finds Paul and Barnabas in Lystra in the province of Galatia in modern-day Asia Minor. This city’s reaction is the extreme opposite of what happened in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, where they were threatened with stoning (Acts 13:50; 14:5). In Lystra, they are initially worshiped as gods. The two Christian missionaries are horrified by this reaction and do their best to stop it. Before long, however, antagonistic Jews from their previous stops arrive and convince the locals to stone Paul. God’s warning that Paul would suffer greatly for Him begins to come true (Acts 9:16), but Paul considers being left for dead a small price to pay for his salvation through Jesus (Romans 8:18).

Verse 9. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,

In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas are spreading the good news: that Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and reconciliation with God. In the listening crowd is a man who has been crippled from birth. Paul sees that the man has faith in Jesus, sufficient to be healed by God. In a sense, the man is not healed when Paul commands him to stand (Acts 14:10), rather Paul’s command merely tells the man to demonstrate what God had just done in that moment.

The New Testament relationship between personal faith and miraculous power can be confusing. Jesus healed two blind men after affirming they had faith that He was the Son of David (Matthew 9:27–30), but in Nazareth, He chose to do few miracles because of their lack of faith (Mark 6:5–6). When faced with a father willing to let Jesus help with his lack of faith, Jesus healed the man’s son (Mark 9:22–27).

Earlier, in Iconium, while Paul and Barnabas preached, God “bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands” (Acts 14:3). It appears that the ability to perform miracles is not just a sign that the speaker’s words are true, but a sign that the new believers have placed their faith correctly (Luke 5:20). Today, with the Word of God affirmed over the last 2000 years, it is no small thing to realize the miracle of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Who comes when we place our faith in Jesus.

Verse 10. said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

While Paul preaches in Lystra, he notices a man crippled from birth who has placed his faith in Jesus. Paul realizes his faith is not just to salvation but to healing (Acts 14:8–9). Instead of telling the man he is healed, or declaring the healing has happened, he commands the man to live out that healing by standing.

Peter did something similar on the steps of the temple, telling a lame man to “rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Jesus told a paralytic, “rise, pick up your bed, and go home” (Mark 2:11) and an invalid, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk” (John 5:8). The men responded by acting immediately.

In the Bible, God often gives His prophets and servants the ability to heal to authenticate their message. But sometimes, He allows the listener to experience healing as an affirmation they have placed their faith in Him. In response, they are called to immediately live as a healed person—often by getting up and walking. When the Holy Spirit heals us of an emotional or spiritual wound or even of a physical ailment, we need to remember that He does so for the purpose that we live healed lives. We forgive and live in freedom, or we work for His kingdom, even leading others to healing.

If we have faith in Jesus for salvation, we will receive some kind of healing, particularly spiritual. The proper response is to live like that is the case.

Verse 11. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra, sharing the story of Jesus, when Paul notices a crippled man. He sees the man has faith to be made well and tells him to stand (Acts 14:8–10). The crowd is amazed. They come up with the idea that these two men are Greek gods: that Barnabas is Zeus and Paul, who does most of the speaking, must be Hermes (Acts 14:12).

Scholars debate the details of what happens here, noting that Paul and Barnabas have a delayed understanding of what’s happening (Acts 14:14). The fact that Luke explicitly mentions the crowd’s language—Lycaonian—likely means Paul is preaching in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18). That means the locals understand his message, but he cannot understand what the locals are saying in that same dialect. This may be why he doesn’t seem to know what is going on until the priests arrive with sacrifices to the two “gods.” However, Paul is from Tarsus, on the other side of the mountain range from Lystra; he may well speak Lycaonian.

As a classically trained Roman citizen, however, Paul will quickly interpret their motivation of a sacrifice. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, written in AD 8, Zeus and Hermes visit Phrygia, a district northwest of Lystra. They search for hospitality in a thousand different homes before an elderly couple invite them to their shack. In return, Zeus floods the neighborhood and turns their shack into a temple in the middle of the lake. The last thing the Lystrans want is to refuse hospitality for two Greek gods.

Verse 12. Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

While teaching a crowd in Lystra about Jesus’ offer of salvation, Paul heals a man born crippled (Acts 14:8–10). Stunned, the people decide that he, as the main speaker, must be Hermes and Barnabas must be Zeus. Not only is Zeus the leader of the Greek gods, “Zeus” and “Hermes” are colloquial names for the regional father and son gods of Anatolia. Two separate Greek legends describe Zeus and Hermes visiting Lystra. It is Ovid’s Metamorphoses, written about forty years before, however, that might have most influenced the crowd’s reaction.

In the story, Zeus and Hermes come down to earth disguised as humans and ask for lodging at a thousand homes in Phrygia. After a thousand refusals, an old couple, Baucis and her husband Philemon, invite them to stay in their home, little better than a shack. The elderly couple wash their visitors’ feet, boil some salted bacon, and offer their beds to eat on. The visitors feast on olives, salad, curds and cream, eggs, liquor, the bacon, wine, dried fruit, nuts, and honeycomb. The gods cause the food to not run out and grow in quality. The couple tries to catch a goose, as well, but she recognizes Zeus and runs to him for protection, and he lets her escape.

Finally, Zeus reveals their real identities. He promises to destroy the neighborhood except these two whom he leads to a mountain. When they look back, their neighborhood is flooded, and their house sits on an island in the middle of a lake. As the couple mourns their neighbors, the shack grows into a temple. Zeus gives them a wish, and they ask to serve at his shrine and die within an hour of each other. When they die, they turn into an oak and a linden tree.

Whether the people of Lystra think Paul and Barnabas are the Greek gods or their more local versions is unknown, but they might have been eager to ready sacrifices just in case.

Verse 13. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

When Jesus called Paul to follow Him and be His apostle to the Gentiles, He promised intense suffering (Acts 9:16). So far, Paul has seen comparatively minor persecution, including being run out of Damascus (Acts 9:23–25), Jerusalem (Acts 9:28–30), Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:50), and Iconium (Acts 14:5–6). At this point, it’s unlikely Paul imagined people would try to dedicate sacrifices to him as the Greek god Hermes or adorn him with garlands of wool. If Paul does not speak the local language natively (Acts 14:11), it might explain why he takes a moment to understand their intent.

Paul is trying to share Christ’s offer of salvation to a crowd in Lystra. When he notices a crippled man has placed his faith in Christ, Paul tells the man to stand, and God heals him. Since Paul does most of the speaking, the crowd surmises he must be Hermes and Barnabas, Paul’s ministry partner, must be Zeus (Acts 14:8–12). Although these are names of two prominent Greek gods, they’re also the names given to regional father and son gods. Either way, the people determine that the only appropriate response is to offer sacrifices to the visiting deities.

About three years before, another crowd declared a man was a god, which did not end well. Herod Agrippa I stood before the audience of games he had organized in Caesarea Maritima, his capital. He wore clothing made of silver which shone brightly in the morning sun. In response, the crowd shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” (Acts 12:22).

Josephus, an ancient historian, explained that Agrippa had been a friend to the Jews. He kept Caligula from placing a statue of himself in the temple and regularly read the Mosaic law. As an act of friendship with the Jewish leaders, he beheaded James the apostle and arrested Peter (Acts 12:1–5). In this moment of adoration, however, he hesitated—exulting in the crowd’s praises rather than giving the glory to God. In response, he spent the next five days in terrible pain as worms ate his bowels before he died (Acts 12:23).

Paul and Barnabas have no interest in sharing such a fate. As soon as they realize what is happening, they tear their clothes and reason with the people (Acts 14:14).

Verse 14. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,

Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra, in the middle of their missionary journey. They have been run out of Pisidian Antioch and Iconium (Acts 13:50; 14:5–6) but find an attentive audience in this smaller town. At least one man has responded with faith to their message about Jesus, and God has healed him as a result (Acts 14:8–10).

The miracle has a strong effect on the local witnesses, but that reaction is misguided. They determine Barnabas must be the Greek god Zeus and Paul must be Hermes. It’s unclear if the two evangelists realize what is happing. Paul is preaching to the Lycaonians, but he may be speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18) and does not actually know the language. As soon as he and Barnabas realize the priest of Zeus is leading the people to offer sacrifices to them, they respond with actions associated with mourning and horror (Acts 14:11–14).

The church today is filled with confusion about what an “apostle” is. The term “apostle” is from the Greek root word apostolos and simply refers to someone “sent out,” such as a delegate or messenger. Neither Paul nor Barnabas have the apostolic authority of the twelve disciples of Jesus—which includes Judas’ replacement Matthias (Acts 1:23–26). However, they are chosen by the Holy Spirit to spread the message of Jesus in this trip (Acts 13:2). Nowhere does Scripture suggest that Paul was supposed to be the replacement for Judas.

Paul and Barnabas have strong reactions to the crowd’s sacrifices for at least two reasons. The first is that as devout Jews and Jesus-followers, they know only God is worthy of such honor. The idea of people offering worship sacrifices to them is horrifying. The second reason, possibly, is they know the last person to accept such accolades suffered a gruesome death, eaten from the inside by worms (Acts 12:20–23). They have no desire to share Herod Agrippa I’s fate.

Verse 15. “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

The story of foreigners performing great deeds in front of villagers and being hailed as gods has become somewhat of a science fiction trope. When those foreigners are Paul and Barnabas, trying to introduce the saving grace of Jesus to the villagers, the adulation is particularly upsetting. Paul has healed one man born lame, and now the priest of the temple of Zeus wants to offer sacrifices to them (Acts 14:8–13).

The villagers are eager to show proper honor to Paul and Barnabas, thinking they are Zeus and Hermes. They have tales of the two gods seeking hospitality and flooding an entire town when they didn’t receive it. Three years before, in Caesarea Maritima, a similar situation occurred. Herod Agrippa I appeared in a crowded coliseum wearing a silver-threaded garment that reflected the morning sun. As the people chanted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” he said nothing to correct them. Five days later, he was dead, worms having eaten his guts (Acts 12:20–23).

Paul and Barnabas have no desire to receive the honor due only to God. They immediately tear their clothes (Acts 14:14) and deny any claim to deity. In fact, they tell the townspeople their worship of Zeus is a “vain thing,” which is a bold criticism. They know that the worship of idols is punishment God places on those who reject Him (Deuteronomy 4:25–28). These idols cannot speak, hear, feel, or move (Psalm 115:4–7; Isaiah 46:7), but the people are enslaved to their worship (Galatians 4:8). When Baal did not respond to his priests’ frenzied call, Elijah joked he must be asleep, on a journey, or in the bathroom (1 Kings 18:27).

Paul and Barnabas want the people of Lystra to know the living God. Because these people do not study in the synagogue and obviously worship Zeus, Paul can’t turn their thinking by showing how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures. So, he goes to the beginning, as he does in Athens (Acts 17:22–31). He talks about their Creator. In Greek mythology, the creating gods were cruel and violent and several generations removed from the cruel and violent pantheon worshiped by the Lystrans. Paul offers the people a relationship with the real God, the Creator of the universe who loves them and wants a relationship with them.

Paul and Barnabas are not very successful in Lystra. Without a significant Jewish influence to provide context for Jesus the Messiah, the crowd is easily influenced by Paul and Barnabas’ antagonists from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium. The locals wind up stoning Paul and leaving him for dead (Acts 14:19). But on Paul’s second trip, he meets Timothy, who is from either Lystra or Derbe (Acts 16:1). It may be that Timothy’s mother and grandmother are two of the few who respond positively to Paul’s message.

Verse 16. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

Paul is trying to introduce the true God, the Creator of the universe, to a mob who insists on offering sacrifices to Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes (Acts 14:11–15). This short statement has a great deal of depth behind it.

From very early on, when the story of God’s provision for Adam and Eve was only a few generations removed, the worship of God should have permeated the culture. Instead, people rejected God and embraced evil (Genesis 6:5). Even after God chose the Israelites to be His own people and His representatives on earth, mere decades after God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and miraculously provided for them, the Israelites followed in that evil tradition (Judges 2:11; 17:6).

The Israelites had no defense. God gave the Mosaic law to show them how to properly interact with Him. The Gentile nations had less information but also less obligation. God revealed Himself in nature such that Gentiles should have at least understood He existed (Romans 1:19–20) and pursued Him from that starting point. Beyond that, Gentile nations were only responsible for the information they had.

Nations related to the Israelites, such as those who descended from Lot and Esau, were expected to have a brother-like loyalty to Israel. Edom was the nation which came from Esau, the literal brother of the patriarch of Israel. They refused to let the fleeing Israelites pass through their territory on the way to the Promised Land. When Babylon attacked Jerusalem, Edomites handed their fleeing kinsmen to the Babylonian army (Obadiah 1:10–14). On other occasions, Edomites coordinated with Tyre to enslave the Jews (Amos 1:9–10). In return, God promised to destroy them (Ezekiel 35:7–9). Despite the Herods being from the line of the Edomites, they were destroyed the same time the Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70.

Nations that were not related to Israel but had long-standing relationships with them, like Egypt, Philistine, Tyre, and Sidon, were expected to respect Israel’s God and therefore respect Israel. Even the Pharaoh Neco understood that the God of the Jews called him to fight the Babylonians but not Judah (2 Chronicles 35:20–21). God often used these nations to discipline Israel, but when they went beyond what God intended or disrespected what they knew of Israel’s God, God punished them. When Pharaoh elevated himself above God, God promised to decimate Egypt (Ezekiel 29:3, 10). When Tyre assumed the deity of God (Ezekiel 28:2) and enslaved the Jews (Amos 1:9–10), God prophesied the city’s destruction by Alexander the Great (Ezekiel 26:3–6).

All nations, whether those related to Israel, long-time competitors with Israel, or those with little to no interaction with Israel were bound by two expectations: they must treat their own people justly and they must not be cruel in war. God humiliated Nebuchadnezzar in part because he did not show mercy to the oppressed (Daniel 4:27). In Isaiah 14:5–6, God condemned leaders who ruled “the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.” In war, God judged Syria for “threshing” Gilead—possibly meaning ripping open pregnant women—and vowed to kill their royal family and exile their people (Amos 1:3–5).

With the spread of the gospel and the near-universal access to the Bible, nations are without excuse. God does not expect any nation to be a theocracy. He does expect rulers to be just in their governing and reasonable in war. Those who understand His expectations and respect Israel will be even more blessed (Genesis 12:3).

Verse 17. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Paul and Barnabas are in a tough situation. They are in Lystra, trying to share the message that Jesus of Nazareth has come to offer forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. When a man born crippled hears their message and believes, God, through Paul, heals him. The crowd immediately forgets the message, focuses on the miracle, and decides Paul is the Greek god Hermes and Barnabas is Zeus. The only logical response, in their minds, is to offer sacrifices to the pair (Acts 14:8–13).

Now, Paul and Barnabas must convince the crowd they’re not Greek gods, Greek gods are “vain things” (Acts 14:15), and there is a Creator God who has blessed them their entire lives.

Paul’s message here reflects themes later scholars will refer to as “the book of nature,” displayed in God’s creation, and His “common grace,” a concept Paul will also use with pagan philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:24–31). The “book of nature” is a theological term for what Paul will later write in Romans 1:19–21. The majesty, beauty, and benevolence of nature should be evidence enough that there is an all-powerful and benevolent Creator God.

God’s common grace provides rain on the just and unjust, ensuring proper conditions for crop growth (Matthew 5:45; Genesis 8:22). And yet mankind is very adept at ignoring the evidence and developing theories that justify their desire to deny the existence and authority of Creator God. In the times of the Bible, people worshiped gods that were not gods, thinking a proper sacrifice would bring rain or fertility. Today, we take God’s gift of science—designed to explain some of the wonders of His creation and based in an assumption that there is a God of order who created it all—and twist it to try to prove our existence doesn’t require Him.

The false Greek gods, generations removed from their cruel ancestors who created the cosmos, bring uncertainty, fear, and violence. Presupposing God does not exist leaves people with no purpose in life except the survival of their genetic material. The Creator of the Universe, however, is a personal, loving Father who not only offers common grace to maintain life on earth but saving grace that offers eternal life, forgiveness, and relationship. Paul doesn’t get the chance to share this God much longer. Soon, antagonists will arrive, and Paul will be stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19). Denying God’s existence makes wise people fools (Romans 1:22–23).

Verse 18. Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

About mid-way through their missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3), Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra. In most of the cities they visit, they start preaching in the synagogue. There, they will encounter devout Jews and God-fearing Gentiles with a good understanding of the prophecies of the Messiah found in Jewish Scriptures. That presents a comparatively simple task: to show how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills those prophecies as the promised Son of David (Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1).

Lystra is different. It’s a small town and there don’t seem to be enough Jews to have a synagogue. Still, the people listen as well as they can, and at least one man, who has been crippled since birth, has come to accept Jesus as his savior. As a sign this man has placed his faith in the true God, Paul heals him (Acts 14:8–10).

The crowd immediately misunderstands what has happened. Their territory has legends of visitations by local gods they have renamed Zeus and Hermes. In one story, Zeus and Hermes visit a town and find no one to show them hospitality except one old couple. In response, they flood the entire town, killing everyone except their kind guests. Not wishing to meet the same fate, the Lystrans decide Paul, who does most of the speaking, must be Hermes and Barnabas is Zeus. The priest of the temple of Zeus leads the people in offering sacrifices to the visitors (Acts 14:11–13).

Paul and Barnabas are horrified. They tear their clothes, and Paul tries to convince the crowd they are mere men, there to share the true God who made the world and provides for His creation. The crowd is determined, but they finally listen (Acts 14:14–17).

Yet, the crowd proves to be fickle. There are few more despised things than idols that fall from their pedestal, even if they never asked for honor. Jews who fought with Paul and Barnabas in their last two stops, Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, arrive and convince the Lystrans the two apostles are dangerous heretics. The crowd stones Paul and leaves him for dead. But the Creator God who provides rain and food and joy for His creation isn’t done with Paul, yet. The apostle lives, and he and Barnabas continue to their next town (Acts 14:19–20).

Verse 19. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

In the time of the New Testament, before the full establishment of the written Bible, God more often allowed His messengers to perform miracles. Sometimes, those miracles gave evidence that the speaker’s message was true and authorized by God. Sometimes the miracles validated the faith of the listener who responded to the message. In Lystra, a man born crippled listened to Paul’s words about Christ, believed in Him, and received healing for his faith. The townspeople misunderstood and, thinking Paul and Barnabas were Greek gods, attempted to offer sacrifices to them. The two barely convinced the crowd they were mere men and continued trying to share the true Creator God of the universe (Acts 14:8–18).

This worshipful response was unusual in Paul and Barnabas’ travels. In Pisidian Antioch, the two were run out of town by Jewish synagogue leaders who were jealous so many Gentiles responded to their message of salvation (Acts 13:44–50). In Iconium, the Jews and Gentiles who rejected the message tried to stone Paul and Barnabas, who managed to hear of their plans and escaped in time (Acts 14:1–7).

Now, Jews from both cities have come to the small, confused village of Lystra. Where a moment ago the people were willing to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods, they are now incited to kill them. God warned Paul he would suffer greatly in his work; this is just the beginning (Acts 9:16; 2 Corinthians 11:24–28).

In practice, there were two different ways to stone a person. When driven by mob violence, it was as simple as people throwing rocks at the condemned until they died (Acts 7:54–60). If the stoning is a legal act of capital punishment, the victim is pushed off a ten-foot height and a large stone is rolled off the edge onto his chest. If he still lives, the people throw stones at him until he is dead. Either way, the fact that the people stone Paul shows the punishment is spearheaded by the Jews. In the Jews’ minds, Paul is a self-proclaimed prophet leading people to worship a false god; he has violated the Mosaic law, and the punishment is chosen accordingly (Deuteronomy 13:1–5). After a stoning, the victim would be left outside the city for the dogs and other animals. Some think 2 Corinthians 11:25 and/or Galatians 6:17 refer to this event.

This is not the last time trouble will follow Paul. While preaching to the thoughtful Bereans, Jews from Thessalonica will barge in, forcing Paul to flee to Athens (Acts 17:13). In Jerusalem, Jews from a province just west of Paul’s current location in Galatia will accuse him of bringing a Gentile into the temple. This event leads to Paul’s arrest and first imprisonment in Rome (Acts 21:27–28).

Verse 20. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

God designed many characteristics into Paul which would serve him well in his mission to share the offer of salvation through Jesus to the world. He is well-educated in both Jewish Scriptures and Greek philosophy. He speaks several languages. He is a good public speaker and apologist. And he has Roman citizenship.

Plus, he’s incredibly stubborn, at least so far as the world would define stubbornness.

Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra. They seek to convince the somewhat unsophisticated villagers to replace the cruel, violent gods of their culture with the true, benevolent Creator of the universe. Jews from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, who have heard the apostles’ message, arrive. Some may be convinced Paul is trying to lead Jews to worship a false god—this “Jesus of Nazareth”—instead of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The last time Jews worshiped other gods, they were exiled in Babylon for seventy years and never fully recovered as an autonomous nation. In short order, the Jewish visitors convince the locals to stone Paul and drag him outside the city so the wild animals can finish him off (Acts 14:15–19).

God promised Paul he would suffer in his ministry (Acts 9:16). In the future, Paul will be beaten, whipped, shipwrecked, and imprisoned (2 Corinthians 11:24–28). Eventually, he will be martyred. This day, however, God has more work for Paul to do. There’s no explicit statement that Paul literally dies and comes to life. More likely, God protects him from dying. Once Paul recovers, he doesn’t go into hiding; he goes back into the town. It’s hard to say what the Jews think of this, but they don’t have the opportunity to respond. The next morning, Paul and Barnabas continue to Derbe, sixty miles east.

In Derbe, Paul and Barnabas will receive a different welcome. Instead of being worshiped as gods and then subjected to attempted murder, they will find enough people who accept their message to establish a church. From Derbe, they could easily cross the Tarsus mountains and return to Syrian Antioch through Paul’s hometown of Tarsus. Instead, they backtrack, building up the churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch before heading back to the coast and teaching about Jesus in Perga (Acts 14:21–25).

Paul will return to Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium on his second (Acts 16:1–6) and third (Acts 18:23) missionary journeys. Although Luke doesn’t record everything about Paul’s ministry, there’s no indication he is troubled there again. He does, however, meet Timothy, a young man who becomes like a son to him (Acts 16:1).

Verse 21. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

“That city” is Derbe, a town south of center of modern-day Asia Minor (Acts 14:20). This is the farthest Paul and Barnabas go on their missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3). It’s also very close to Paul’s hometown of Tarsus. They could just cross the mountain pass and take a short boat ride back to Syrian Antioch.

No one will blame them if they take the shortcut. In Pisidian Antioch—different from Syrian Antioch, where they have their base—the local leaders drove them off (Acts 13:50). In Iconium, the pair fled when they heard a mob was planning on stoning them (Acts 14:5–6). And in Lystra, the local people first tried to offer them sacrifices, thinking Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes, and then stoned Paul and left him for dead (Acts 14:8–19).

Paul and Barnabas cannot leave without revisiting their new friends. They know that preaching the gospel and making converts is not enough to establish strong local churches. The new believers need leadership, more training, and answers to their questions (Acts 14:22–23). Paul will visit these churches again on his second journey, meeting Timothy in Derbe of Lystra (Acts 16:1–6), and his third (Acts 18:23). He’ll also write the book of Galatians to make sure the Gentiles understand they are saved without following the Jewish law. Paul’s job is to establish the churches well; it’s the Holy Spirit’s work to keep them.

Context Summary
Acts 14:21–28 tracks Paul and Barnabas’ journey home from Derbe, the farthest point they reach in Paul’s first missionary journey. Instead of taking the quick route south, they return west, building up the churches in cities they had fled due to persecution. They then travel south to the Mediterranean and preach about Jesus in Perga before catching a ship to take them east, back home to Syrian Antioch. Their experiences will prove vital for the leadership of the church in Jerusalem who must decide how to properly integrate Gentiles in Jesus’ church (Acts 15:1–35).

Verse 22. strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Paul and Barnabas are making their way back home to Syrian Antioch. From Derbe, they could have crossed the Tarsus mountain range and taken a short boat ride. Instead, they backtrack through the cities where they have established churches to give more instruction and select leaders (Acts 14:23).

The locals in Pisidian Antioch had run the pair out of town (Acts 13:50). In Iconium, a mob almost stoned them (Acts 14:5–6). In Lystra, they did stone Paul, leaving him for dead (Acts 14:19). Jesus had warned Paul that he would suffer for Christ’s name (Acts 9:16). Later, Paul will say, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24). Jesus’ suffering on the cross is all the work we need for salvation; Paul’s suffering is necessary to spread the message of salvation to those who need it.

So, when Paul and Barnabas warn the new Jesus-followers that they will suffer, they can speak from experience. Today, Jesus-followers don’t always suffer for their faith; some nations and circumstances are tolerant or even supportive of Christianity. Still, Paul knows that those who suffer for Christ will be glorified with him (Romans 8:17), and the believers of the early church did suffer greatly, both in degree and variety (James 1:2) for their faith.

The “kingdom of God” (sometimes “kingdom of Heaven”) is any place or situation where God’s majesty and sovereignty is present. When the members of the early church suffered, the Holy Spirit gave them strength, resolve, and hope of eternity with God. Stephen literally experienced Paul’s promise when he saw a vision of Jesus standing at God’s right hand while the mob stoned him (Acts 7:54–60). Prior to his own conversion, Paul witnessed Stephen’s murder, and approved (Acts 8:1–3). It’s possible that experience influences his teaching to these new believers, many of whom, like Paul himself, will also be martyred for Christ.

Verse 23. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul’s missionary model is to arrive at a new town and find the local synagogue, first. There he will explain how Jesus fulfills Jewish prophecy, gaining converts from both the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles. Generally, synagogue leaders will respond by evicting Paul and any new Jesus-followers. Paul will continue to teach and reach more converts until the leaders of the city threaten him, assault him, or otherwise convince him to leave.

Paul doesn’t abandon these new churches, however. He and Barnabas revisit these cities to establish church elders: good men, chosen by the Holy Spirit, who can take on a leadership role in their own cities. They know they can’t directly pastor every church they plant. They must trust that God will equip local people to take on leadership roles so the church can grow. The qualifications for elders are given in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9, but other notes can be found in James 5:14, 1 Peter 5:1–4, and Hebrews 13:17.

In the future, Paul will return to these churches on both his second and third missionary journeys (Acts 16:1, 4–5; 18:23). Later, as he does with many of the churches he interacts with, he will write them, helping them with specific struggles and questions. The letter to the churches of this first trip is our book of Galatians.

The issue of fasting in the Bible is a complicated one. In the Mosaic law, God told the Israelites to “afflict” themselves on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29). No one now is sure what it means to “afflict yourself.” By the latter part of the Old Testament, Jews thought it meant fasting, but some scholars think it means to refrain from normal grooming or having sex, while others say it means to sacrifice for the sake of social justice or even to sing.

Verse 24. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

This is the home-going end of Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3). They started with John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, in Syrian Antioch, on the northeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea. From the harbor in Seleucia, they sailed to Salamis on the eastern end of the island of Cyprus. In Paphos, on the western end, they introduced the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, to Christ and rescued him from the influence of a Jewish false prophet (Acts 13:4–12).

From Paphos, the three sailed north to Perga, where John Mark left them. Paul and Barnabas traveled north to Pisidian Antioch, possibly by request of Sergius Paulus who had family there. As they continued east, spreading Jesus’ message, they met increasing levels of persecution, climaxing in Lystra where the local people stoned Paul and left him for dead. After going as far east as Derbe, Paul and Barnabas returned to the churches they’d established, encouraging them and appointing elders who could take over leadership (Acts 13:13—14:23).

Now, Paul and Barnabas have returned to the coast. Pisidia is a region in western Galatia, home to Pisidian Antioch; Pamphylia is a province south of Galatia, on the south-central coast of Asia Minor where there are good harbors, including Attalia (Acts 14:25). Paul will revisit the churches in Galatia on his second and third missionary voyages (Acts 16:1–6; 18:23), but there’s no record he will return to Pamphylia. Although he may see it when sailing past the coast on his voyage to prison in Rome (Acts 27:5).

Verse 25. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia,

Paul, Barnabas, and Barnabas’ cousin had started their missionary voyage (Acts 13:1–3) by sailing from Seleucia on the Syrian coast to Cyprus. From Cyprus, they caught a ship to Perga in the district of Pamphylia on the south-central coast of modern-day Asia Minor. John Mark left them in Perga. It seems Paul and Barnabas headed north without spending any more time in Pamphylia (Acts 13:4–13).

Paul and Barnabas spent the bulk of their time in Antioch, in the district of Pisidia, and Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in the territory of Galatia in central Asia Minor. After traveling as far east as Derbe, the two revisited each church, encouraging them to stand strong in the face of coming persecution, and establishing elders who could help the new Jesus-followers grow (Acts 13:14—14:23). Paul will visit them again on both his second and third missionary journeys (Acts 16:1–6; 18:23) and he’ll send them a letter we call “Galatians.”

This time, Paul and Barnabas stop in Perga. Likely, they find a synagogue and explain how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures. But no mention is made of establishing a church, and the book of Acts does not mention Paul ever returning to Pamphylia. On his second and third trips, Paul reaches the inner cities of Galatia by the over-pass route from Tarsus and comes straight back by ship from Ephesus. When he sails for Rome and house arrest, he passes by Pamphylia, but doesn’t stop (Acts 27:5). Neither Perga nor Attalia are mentioned again in the New Testament.

Verse 26. and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

Their first missionary journey complete (Acts 13:1–3), Paul and Barnabas have returned to Syrian Antioch with many stories to tell. They rescued the proconsul of Paphos from a Jewish magician, were abandoned by their assistant in Perga, were chased out of Pisidian Antioch, and nearly stoned in Iconium—and Paul was stoned in Lystra after the locals tried to offer sacrifices to them. In several cities, they explained how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah and established churches and leadership so the new Jesus-followers could continue to grow in the faith and withstand persecution (Acts 13:4—14:25).

Syrian Antioch was one of five cities with that name and the third largest city in the Roman Empire. Paul has a unique relationship with the church there. After the murder of Stephen, when he was still going by the name Saul, he received permission to persecute the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). Some of these followers from Cyrene and Cyprus traveled to Syrian Antioch and shared Jesus’ offer of salvation not only to the Jews there, but also the Gentiles (Acts 11:20). In the meantime, Saul accepted Jesus as his savior and after a tense encounter in Jerusalem, the leadership of the church in Jerusalem sent him home to Tarsus (Acts 9).

When the apostles heard Gentiles were coming to faith, they sent Barnabas to investigate. Barnabas realized their faith was true and sent for Saul to help train the growing church (Acts 11:19–26). Through his violent persecution, Paul indirectly had a hand in establishing the church in Syrian Antioch. Through God’s grace and Barnabas’ wisdom, he helped build the church.

After the church was well-established, the leadership fasted and prayed for guidance as to what they should do next. The Holy Spirit led them to set aside Paul and Barnabas to travel to Cyprus and Galatia (Acts 13:1–3). The elders dedicated the pair to the grace of God, and now they have returned having reached many Gentiles and founded at least four churches.

Verse 27. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Paul and Barnabas have arrived home in Syrian Antioch after spreading Jesus’ offer of salvation and establishing churches in the territory of Galatia in central modern-day Asia Minor (Acts 13:1–3). As in their home church, many of the new believers are Gentiles. Their trip was important for the future of the church for several reasons.

It continued the work of the commission Jesus gave to the apostles in Acts 1:8 when He told them, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The apostles reached Jerusalem (Acts 2—7). The deacon Philip, with the verification of Peter and John, reached Samaria (Acts 8:4–25). And Jewish believers who heard the message in Jerusalem spread Jesus’ story north into Damascus and Syria (Acts 9:1–2; 11:19–26). Now, the church has infiltrated farther into the Roman Empire.

It continued God’s plan of providing salvation for the Gentiles. The first report of Gentile Jesus-followers who had not previously worshiped the Jewish God first was in Syrian Antioch. God promised Abraham that He would bless the world through him (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah prophesied God telling the Messiah, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). God’s plan was always to save Gentiles as well as Jews.

It provides much-needed perspective for integrating Gentiles into the church. Peter has already discovered the Holy Spirit will fall on whomever He will, regardless of nationality or background, without baptism or the laying on of hands (Acts 10:44). The church in Syrian Antioch has proven the Holy Spirit does not demand Gentiles follow Judaism to be complete Christians. Now, Paul and Barnabas report just how ubiquitous the conversion of pagan Gentiles will be.

And yet, the faithful Jewish Christians will have a difficult time accepting this. Devout Jewish Jesus-followers from Judea will come to Syrian Antioch and try to tell the Gentile church members they must be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas will have to go to the leaders in Jerusalem to get their ruling. Peter and James, Jesus’ half-brother and pastor of the church in Jerusalem, will agree that circumcision is not necessary. They resolve Gentiles should refrain from eating food which has been sacrificed to idols or has blood in it, and sexual immorality (Acts 15:1–35). Much of Paul’s second missionary journey entails sharing this decision, especially reassuring the churches he planted in Galatia they will not need to be circumcised (Acts 15:22–35; 16:4).

The Jerusalem council wouldn’t have had necessary information if Paul and Barnabas hadn’t taken their trip. As it stands, two solid apostles provide witness that more Gentiles are coming to faith in Christ than Jews. The addition of Gentiles isn’t a fluke. They are coming and staying in significant numbers, and the Jewish leadership needs to figure out what this means for the church.

Verse 28. And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Syrian Antioch is home to the first church with a significant number of Gentile believers who did not come to faith through Judaism (Acts 11:19–26). Paul and Barnabas have the privilege of serving there. After the elders of that church prayed and fasted, they determined the Holy Spirit wanted to spread Jesus’ offer of salvation. The two left their home base and traveled to Cyprus and then the territory of Galatia in the center of modern-day Asia Minor (Acts 13:1–3).

In and near Galatia, they established churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. In Pisidian Antioch, synagogue and city leaders ran them out of town. In Iconium, they fled after learning the townspeople had decided to stone them. In Lystra, the locals first wanted to honor Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes, but quickly turned against them when Jewish leaders from Antioch and Iconium convinced them to stone Paul (Acts 13—14).

For now, Paul and Barnabas can rest, catching up with their friends. Before too long, however, they will find their journey provides essential information for the church leadership in Jerusalem. When legalistic Jewish Jesus-followers from Judea arrive and try to convince the Gentiles of Syrian Antioch they must be circumcised, Paul and Barnabas return to Jerusalem. They give their eye-witness report to the apostles and James, Jesus’ half-brother who is the pastor of the Jerusalem church. In their extensive travels, Paul and Barnabas never had to circumcise the Gentiles before the Holy Spirit came upon them. Peter affirms their testimony with a reminder of his experience with the centurion Cornelius (see Acts 10).

The Jerusalem leaders determine that Gentiles must not be forced to obey the Mosaic law per se. However, to maintain unity with their Jewish brothers and sisters (Romans 14:21), they should refrain from blood and food sacrificed to idols, as well as sexual immorality. James writes a letter to this effect (Acts 15:1–35).

When Paul and Barnabas prepare to revisit the churches in Galatia, they disagree over whether to take Barnabas’ cousin, John Mark, who had abandoned them early on in their first journey. They will split, Paul taking James’ message back to the Galatian churches while Barnabas takes Mark back to Cyprus (Acts 15:36–41). This trip from Jerusalem back to Syrian Antioch is likely the last time Paul and Barnabas travel together. Although Paul mentions Barnabas in his letters (1 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 2:1, 9, 13; Colossians 4:10), the “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36) does not appear in the book of Acts again.

End of Chapter 14.

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