Acts 14 (Bible Study) - Paul’s Approach
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At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the gospel.In Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
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Acts of Jesus through the Apostles
Introduction
Paul and Barnabus travel to Iconium, about 100 miles SE of Antioch. Here we begin to notice a pattern of Paul’s ministry. Choosing the most strategic cities in a new region and beginning the mission from there. Iconium was a prosperous commercial city on a major east-west trade route (Konya in Turkey today).
1 Acts 14:1-7. Note the three stages of the ministry at Iconium? What lessons can we learn for our own ministry?
v.1 – Firstly, as usual, Paul and Barnabus go to the Jewish synagogue to preach the gospel. Many believed, both Jew and Gentile. Probably a similar message to Acts 13 - the Bible as an authority and assuming an acquaintance with Biblical themes and morality.
v.2-5 – In the second stage of the work, they preached outside of the synagogue, in the face of strong opposition. Their ministry was characterized by: (a) preaching a “message of his grace” (gospel), which was (b) very bold, (c) accompanied by miracles, (d) over a significant period. However, a group of Jews from the synagogue stirred up opposition, until there was a plot to kill the missionaries.
v.6-7 – Having already planted a church in Iconium, Paul and Barnabus moved to the nearby cities of Lystra and Derbe. These were smaller places lacking the sophistication of the big metropolis.
“The local Lycaonians were largely uneducated, even illiterate.” (Stott, p.230).
Lessons: a) In general, the more effective the ministry the greater the opposition. In Acts14:1 Paul and Barnabus were effective in their ministry in Iconium. The reaction is swift and severe.
b) Words must be backed up with deeds. Because of the opposition, God gave them a ministry of healing (v3). Likewise, we must be able to show the power of Christ to heal and help people.
Changed lives and ministries to local needs “back up” the preaching of the gospel.
c) NB miracles are not tricks, but authenticate the preaching of the word.
d) The gospel is a “message of grace” (Acts 14:3).
e) When opposition seems to stop ministry, God uses it to spread the gospel to new places (v6,7)
2. Acts 14:8-15a. What does the crowd’s reaction to the healing of the crippled man tell us about them?
Professional people have a tendency to be sceptical of miracles, the supernatural, and religion, others have belief and even obsession with such things. The crowd’s reaction is fanatical. NB they cry out in Lyconian (v11), the professionals would have spoken Greek. These are lay people who assume that Paul and Barnabus are gods. The miracle is sensational.
“Local legend told of earlier occasions when the gods had come down to them in the likeness of men. Ovid tells a story of… Philemon & Baucis who entertained Zeus and Hermes unaware and were rewarded…” (F.F.Bruce, p291).
From such legends, they wanted the rewards that would result in honouring gods in their midst.
All this shows that they were not educated secularised pagans, but semi-literate, superstitious pagans. So Paul’s gospel presentation is different to his presentation to religious and educated people in the synagogue (Acts 13:16ff.)
3. Acts 14:15-17. Compare this summary of Paul’s talk, to the talk in Acts 13:16ff. How is it different from that talk and why? Who could be reached by such a message today?
First, in Acts 13 he appealed to two authorities recognised by the audience: Scripture and John Baptist. In Acts 14, these pagans do not know or trust the Hebrew Bible. So Paul appeals to what they can see about the natural world around them. First he points to the greatness of creation to show them that this indicates a Creator God (v16). Then he points to “providence”, how within nature, they are given food and “joy” - what is necessary for life. Paul does not reason from the Scripture but from what people can see about the nature of the world and life.
Second, different emphasis on points of gospel. Acts 13 speech talks little about the nature of God and much about the person and work of Christ. Acts 14 stresses the nature of God. Paul shows that there are not many gods - but only one God who made everything (v.15), and who has absolute power over everything (v.17). Paul did allude to Christ, when he said, “in the past, he let all nations go their own way” (v.16). This means that now something momentous has occurred.
Third, the final appeal was different. In Acts 13, the people are told to stop relying on the law for their justification with God, and look to the work of Christ (13:39) - “the gospel for moral people”. Sin makes you imperfect, unjustified; receive Jesus for forgiveness. In Acts 14, they are told to stop worshipping “worthless things” (v.15), or idols (worthless means “vain, ineffective”). i.e. stop serving false gods that cannot satisfy - “the gospel for immoral people”. Paul is saying, “sin makes you a slave, in bondage and unfulfilled — receive Christ for reality and freedom.” God is “living” (v.15) as opposed to the deadness of their false gods; God is the source of “joy” (v17) as opposed to the vanity of false gods
Today? It would be appropriate for very irreligious people today, especially the more immoral and less educated. Why? a) They cannot be talked to from the Scripture, b) they are aware of being in bondage to various false gods (eg addictions/habits they cannot break, etc.), c) and God is more powerful than their bondages (v.15) and as the source of the joy they seek (v.17). We have to begin with “where people are” — and see the world and life that they “see.” For example, secular people “see” human beings have value, but they cannot account for it, unless they acknowledge God as the source of it. In other words, we have to reason as Paul did. We may start with the human longing for love and community, for personal significance and meaning, for freedom. In any case, we will then point to Christ who is both the explanation and the solution for everything we see.
Paul doesn’t “change” the gospel, but “adapts it”. And this is the very key to effective ministry.
4. Acts 14:21-28. Make a list of the principles of “follow-up” and ministry that Paul and Barnabus did after the many were converted. Were you properly “followed up”?
When Paul and Barnabus saw a large crowd of new converts (v.21) they followed a very careful pattern to establish these people in the faith and get them on a path to growth.
a) First, they retraced their steps to the cities of that region laying down a layer of “encouragement” (v22). Barnabus did this to the new converts at Antioch in Acts 12. His encouraging is given some detail here. “It is through many hardships that we enter the kingdom of God” (v.23). Remember encouraging is more like counselling than teaching. Here we see Paul talking about his own severe sufferings of which all the new converts were aware. He had been stoned and left for dead (v.19); he was in constant danger. But the sufferings only brought the power of Christ more into his life (v22; 2 Cor 1:3ff). This personal sharing prepared the converts for endurance.
b) Second, they did not only do this “counselling”, but they were “strengthening the disciples… to remain true to the faith.” (v.22)
c) Third, Paul and Barnabus “appointed elders for each church…” (v.23). This means two things:
(1) They identified persons and gave the new churches leadership teams. (2) They entrusted the churches to God. This shows their trust in the new Christians and especially in God (v.23)
d) Fourth, Paul and Barnabus returned to their sponsoring church in Antioch, where they reported and encouraged them greatly with the news (v.26-28).
