Acts 14
BolesActs 14:1-7
PAUL AND AT ICONIUM
1 And it came to pass in Iconium—Paul and Barnabas were successful in preaching the gospel in Iconium; when they arrived there Paul and Barnabas both “together” went into the synagogue of the Jews. They took advantage of the assembling of the Jews to preach the gospel to them. As has been indicated Paul first went to the Jews with the gospel and then to the Gentiles. (Romans 1:16.) Paul had an advantage in that he knew the scriptures and was speaking by the Holy Spirit. By going into the synagogue he would not only reach the Jews, but would also reach the pious “proselytes,” and through them could contact other Gentiles. It is very likely that they went into the synagogue often, and “so spake” the word of God that “a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.” They “so spake” the truth in Christ; that is, spoke with such humility and conviction, with such earnestness and interest, that “a great multitude” of Jews and “Greeks” were converted. “Greeks” here may include both proselyte Greeks and heathen Greeks; it may include all others except Jews.
2 But the Jews that were disobedient—The Jews who disbelieved were the “disobedient” Jews who “stirred up the souls of the Gentiles” against Paul and Barnabas. To disbelieve is to disobey, and to believe usually means to obey. “Disobedient” comes from the Greek “apeithesantes,” and means “to be unwilling to be persuaded,” or to withhold belief, and then also to withhold obedience; they refused to allow themselves to be persuaded by the truth preached by Paul and Barnabas. They used their influence on the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas; through these disbelieving and disobedient Jews the Gentiles were disposed not to hear the gospel, but to help persecute the preachers of the gospel.
3 Long time therefore they tarried there—The “long time” here may include several months; Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly “in the Lord,” or without fear they preached the gospel; though they had been threatened and knew that their preaching would provoke persecution, yet they did not yield to the opposition. God bore witness to the truth of the gospel by enabling them to perform miracles. The miracles which Paul and Barnabas were able to perform were God’s testimony to the truth that they had preached. Though the Jews stirred up the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas, yet many were converted, even “a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.” (Verse 1.)
4 But the multitude of the city was divided;—When the gospel was preached some accepted and some rejected it; some were kindly disposed toward Paul and Barnabas, while others were bitterly opposed to them; the “multitude of the city was divided.” The very things which produced strong conviction in some stirred bitterness in others; the earnest man always stimulates others to earnestness, either of agreement or enmity. Here Barnabas is included “with the apostles,” though he was not an apostle in the sense that Peter, John, and Paul were. This is the first instance in the Acts that Paul is called an apostle. “Apostle” comes from the Greek “apostolos,” and means “one who is sent out.” Luke applies the word elsewhere in the Acts only to the twelve. Paul claimed to be an apostle, and equal with the other apostles. (Galatians 1:1 Galatians 1:16-18.) The common use of “apostolos” is found in John 13:16 and 2 Corinthians 8:23. Paul used the word and applied it to James the Lord’s brother Galatians 1:19); to Epaph- roditus (Philippians 2:25) as the messenger of the church in Philippi; to Silvanus and Timothy (1 Thessalonians 2:6; Acts 18:5); and to Andronicus and Junias (Romans 16:6-7.) He even calls the Judaizing teachers “false apostles.” (2 Corinthians 11:13.) The two parties here were Christians and non-Christians; it is likely that the Christians were in the minority.
5-7 And when there was made an onset—Both Jews and Gentiles made an attack on Paul and Barnabas. “Onset” is from the Greek “horme,” and means “a rush or impulse”; the word is used only twice in the New Testament, here and in James 3:4. It is probable that no assault was actually made, but one was planned, and they were eager to carry it out. The rulers of the Jews and the magistrates of the city could not have participated in mob violence, and the plot to stone Paul and Barnabas seems to point to Jewish instigation for enforcing the punishment of blasphemy. Paul and Barnabas learned of the plot to stone them and went to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia; they preached the gospel in these cities and in other regions. Lystra was about eighteen miles south from Icon- ium, and Derbe was about twenty miles east of Lystra. This was a wild and desolate country; it was a region that was barren of trees; Lystra was the chief city. In these rural towns it seems that there were no synagogues, and Paul and Barnabas preached to the scattered Jews and to the heathen population.
Acts 14:8-20
PAUL AND AT LYSTRA AND DERBE
8 And at Lystra there sat a certain man,—While Paul was speaking to some group, he observed “a certain man” who was crippled in his feet; he never had walked. It seemed that he was seated on the ground, but he was no beggar; he was one whose history from his infancy was known to the greater number who heard Paul speak. This case is very much like the lame man that Peter and John healed. (Acts 3:1-11.) Luke, the physician, gives a good description of the condition of this man. It would take a miracle to heal this man.
9-10 The same heard Paul speaking:—As there was no synagogue in Lystra, possibly Paul and Barnabas were speaking in an open-air meeting; this crippled man was in the audience and heard Paul speaking. Paul observed him and saw that he had sufficient faith to be cured. Here again we note that Paul, “fastening his eyes upon him” (see Acts 13:9), said “with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet.” Paul raised his voice so that everyone in the audience who was listening to him heard what was said; he attracted the attention of his hearers to this crippled man. It was a strange command to these heathen people to command one who had never walked to stand upon his feet. The man obeyed immediately and “leaped up and walked”; the Greek is “helato kai per iepatei,” which means “he leaped up with a single bound and began to walk.” The sudden leaping up and walking shows that Paul had power to cure the man; his healing was not gradual or continuous, but was immediate or instantaneous. He walked as a demonstration of the miracle of his healing.
11 And when the multitude saw what Paul had done,—The multitude was astonished when they saw this lame man leap up and walk, and “they lifted up their voice” and began to shout the praises of Paul and Barnabas in the “speech of Lycaonia.” It seems that Paul had been speaking in the Greek language, and now they spoke in their own language. It seems that neither Paul nor Barnabas understood this language, for it was not until the oxen and garlands were brought that they saw what the people meant; yet they understood Paul and Barnabas. “The speech of Lycaonia” was a dialect peculiar to Lycaonia. This shows that the gift of tongues did not give the apostles power to speak or to understand all dialects. The Lycaonians saw the healing; they rec0gnized it as supernatural; so they exclaimed: “The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.” This shows that the natives were simple and idolatrous.
12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter;—They called Barnabas, Jupiter, and Paul, Mercury; Luke assigns the reason for this that Paul was the “chief speaker.” Here Barnabas is mentioned before Paul. “Mercury” was the god of eloquence; the heathen mythologies abound with appearances of their deities in human shape; they said that Jupiter and Mercury wandered through the neighboring country of Phrygia. “Hermes” is the Greek name for Mercury, and “Zeus” is the Greek name for Jupiter. “Zeus,” the king of the gods, was of stately and commanding presence; there may be some hints as to Paul’s appearance in this incident.
13 And the priest of Jupiter—The statue, or the temple containing the statue, was outside the city gates; the statue of Zeus, or Jupiter, stood beside the approach to the city without the wall; the double gates leading into the city adjoined this temple. It seems that the procession came to the porch or outer door with the “oxen and garlands” in order to make sacrifice unto Paul and Barnabas. The “garlands” were placed on the oxen before they were slain; it was common with these heathen people to sacrifice bullocks to Jupiter and Mercury. The way the sacrifice was made was to cut the throats of the oxen and receive the blood in a vessel, and take the blood and pour it on the altar, and make a feast and eat the flesh.
14-16 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul,—Here Barnabas is mentioned first, and is called an apostle. It seems that on this occasion Barnabas received from the people the chief honor; hence, Luke places his name first; he is also called an apostle; though he was not an apostle in the sense that the twelve were, or even as was Paul, yet he was an apostle in the sense that he was sent out by the church at Antioch. When Paul and Barnabas heard and learned what the natives were about to do, they “rent their garments, and sprang forth among the multitude” and stopped their wild and heathenish custom. Paul and Barnabas were astonished that these natives should attempt to pay such hornage and worship to them. However, it gave them a splendid occasion to direct the worship to the true and “living God.” As they were worshiping, or about to worship, it becomes a fitting occasion to instruct them in the true worship. This Paul and Barnabas attempted to do.
They declared unto them that they were just men, not gods, with “like passions” as other men. “Passion” comes from the Greek “pascho,” and means “to experience.” It is used here and in James 5:17; it means “of like nature” more exactly and affected by like sensations. After clearing their minds on this point, Paul and Barnabas began preaching Christ to them; they brought “good tidings,” or the gospel, to them. “Good tidings” comes from the Greek “euaggelizomenoi,” and means the same as “gospelizing” or “evangelizing.” We now have Paul’s preaching to the Gentiles free from any Jewish environment, and he makes the same line of argument seen in Acts 17:21-32 and Romans 1:18-23. “Living God” is put in contrast to idols or gods made of wood or stone; these idols are dumb and inactive, but the living God is active, for he “made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is.” What a contrast between the God who created the heavens and the earth and the god that these heathens worshiped!
God had been merciful to the people before Christ came, but now he wants all to know Christ; he permitted the people “to walk in their own ways,” but now they must follow the Christ who is the Savior of the world. For wise reasons God permitted men to see what they could and would do, and in this way become better prepared to receive newer light. Paul makes the same argument in Acts 17:30 in his speech at Athens. He also makes the same argument in Romans 1, 2, , 11. The ignorance and the sins of the Gentile world had been allowed to run their course, as the law of Moses had been allowed to do its partial and imperfect work among the Jews. Now they are to hear the gospel and be saved by it.
17 And yet he left not himself without witness,—Here again we have the outline of what is presented in Romans 1:19-20. God gave rains and fruitful seasons and blessed them through the natural laws; Paul recognizes God in the operation of natural laws. We should be able to see the hand of God in nature; “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” (Psalms 19:1.) The “living God” was not like Jupiter, but during all this time attracted men by his graciousness toward them; the goodness of God was still attracting them to see his larger and richer goodness in the gospel of Christ.
18 And with these sayings scarce restrained they—We have only a brief outline of the speech that Paul made; he had a difficult task in keeping these natives from making their sacrifices; it had been a hard thing to do, but finally Paul and Barnabas won and the natives left off their worship which they had planned to give Paul and Barnabas. No mention is made here of the success that Paul and Barnabas had at Lystra. Among the more conspicuous converts were the devout Jewesses, Lois and her daughter Eunice, and the young Timothy. (2 Timothy 1:5.)
19 But there came Jews thither from Antioch and Iconium:—These enemies of Paul and Barnabas came a distance from eighty to a hundred miles; this shows how determined they were to persecute Paul and Barnabas and to keep people from accepting the truth. The opposition aroused against a man or a cause is sometimes proof of his power or the power of the truth. The intense opposition here bears evidence of the force of the truth as preached by Paul and Barnabas. Men do not stone dead trees for their fruit, or arm themselves against weak cowards, or grow excited over a weak opponent. These Jews came and “persuaded the multitudes” to stone Paul. What a contrast!
At one time they are about to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods, but at another time they are ready to stone them to death. Popular feelings cannot be relied upon. The sudden change of feeling here is as startling as that which transformed the “Hosannas” of the multitude at Jerusalem into the cry of “Crucify him.” (Matthew 21:9 Matthew 27:22.) They fell upon Paul and stoned him and “dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.” The manner of punishment, stoning, shows that the punishment was planned by the Jews; they were eager to satisfy themselves that they were inflicting punishment on a blasphemer; stoning him to death, and casting him out to be buried with the burial of lower animals, or his flesh to be consumed by dogs and vultures. It was an instance in Paul’s life that he mentioned later. (2 Corinthians 11:25.) The sufferings endured at Lystra stand out at the close of his life, in the vista of past years, with a marvelous distinctness. (2 Timothy 3:11.)
20 But as the disciples stood round about him,—The disciples followed the mob as it dragged the body of Paul out of the city. Perhaps they were going to give his body a decent burial. It may be that Lois, Eunice, and Timothy were all present weeping over the supposed dead body of Paul, but as they stood around Paul rose up “and entered into the city.” We do not know how Barnabas escaped being stoned; he may not have been present when they attacked Paul. But the next day Paul and Barnabas left Lystra and went to Derbe. This was a distance of about twenty miles southeast from Lystra. This journey must have occupied several hours, and was a difficult journey for Paul in his present condition.
Acts 14:21-28
THEIR RETURN TO ANTIOCH IN SYRIA
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city,—Derbe was not so large a city as Lystra, and after Paul and Barnabas had evangelized in that city, they were ready to return or go elsewhere. It seems that they were not disturbed by the Jews at Derbe; neither do we know how long they remained in Derbe. They are now at the end of their first missionary tour and are ready to return. Derbe was the frontier city of the Roman Empire ; the shortest route from Derbe to Antioch in Syria would have been to have gone by land through Cilicia and visited Tarsus, Paul’s native city, and on through the kingdom of Antiochus to Antioch, but they chose to return and visit the churches that they had established. So they “returned to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch” in Pisidia.
22 confirming the souls of the disciples,—“Confirming” is from the Greek “episterizontes”; it is used here and in Acts 15:32 Acts 15:41. Each time the word is used in Acts it has reference to the churches. It means to make more firm, to give additional strength. The churches were encouraged “to continue in the faith,” which means that they were to remain steadfast. “The faith,” as used here, comes from the Greek “tei pistei,” and means more than trust or belief; it may have the meaning of the entire gospel. These new converts were from heathenism, and were persecuted ; some family ties had been broken, social ties severed, and they were in need of encouragement. So Paul exhorted them that “we” must endure great tribulations in order to enter “into the kingdom of God.” The new converts were thus warned of the persecution and tribulation that would befall them. Paul here recognizes that “the kingdom of God” had been established and that these Christians were in it.
23 And when they had appointed for them elders in every church,—Here it seems that Paul and Barnabas had established churches at the different places where they had preached. “Church,” as used here, means the local congregation. The congregations needed some form of organization; hence, elders were appointed. The rulers in these little groups of disciples were “elders” or “bishops.” “Elders” here is from the Greek “presbuter ous.” It means here men of age and dignity; these leaders were selected from the elderly men who presided over the assemblies, and managed the affairs of the church. “Elders” is the term used in speaking of Jewish communities, while “bishops” is the term applied in speaking of Gentile communities. The solemn duties and responsibilities were impressed upon them by prayer and fasting; in this way they were commended “to the Lord, on whom they had believed.” It seems that this was done in the public assembly where the prayers were offered. To be “commended” to the Lord was to be entrusted with the responsibilities of carrying on the work of the church, which was the work of the Lord. They had trusted the Lord in becoming disciples, and now they are entrusted with the Lord’s work.
It should be noted that the “elders” were appointed in “every church.” There was a plurality of elders in each church; this is the New Testament order. Nothing is said about the mode of “appointing” the elders. The word “appointed” is from the Greek “cheirotoneo,” and originally means to “extend the hand”; “cheir” means hand, and “teino” means “to stretch”; hence, the original meaning was to stretch forth the hand, to vote by show of the hands; finally it came to mean to appoint with the approval of an assembly, and then to appoint without regard to choice. Various interpretations have been given to this; writers and commentators who favored the Episcopal form of church government have said that it meant the imposition of hands to set the persons apart for the office of elders; those who favored the Presbyterian form of government have said that it meant to select and set apart men that may have been previously elected or chosen by the members; those who favored the Congregational form of church government have held that it implied a selection of officers by the members. Since the New Testament does not tell us how the elders were appointed, it seems that any method which promotes unity and does not violate a principle may be used.
24-26 And they passed through Pisidia,—It seems that they returned by the same route that they had traveled in reaching these points. Antioch was in Pisidia. After leaving Antioch on their return, they passed through Pisidia and into Pamphylia. They preached in Perga; they retraced their steps until they came to Perga; here they halted. It was the place where John Mark had left them, and on their first visit we are not told that they preached in Perga. We are not told what success they had in Perga at this time.
On their return journey, instead of taking ship at Perga, they crossed by land to Attalia; this was a seaport of Pamphylia, and from here they sailed to Antioch in Syria, “from whence they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.” Luke, the historian, does not record any of the events that took place from the time that they set sail from Attalia until they arrived at Antioch in Syria. They had accomplished the work to which they had been consecrated; they are now back at their starting point and ready to give a report of their work.
27-28 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together,—When they returned to Antioch the church was gathered together; that is, the church assembled to hear the report that Paul and Barnabas had to make. They had many experiences to rehearse; Paul could tell them about the persecution and suffering that he had had to endure. In the report they gave God praise for all that had been done; “they rehearsed all things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles.” After reporting what God had done with them in converting the Gentiles, “they tarried no little time with the disciples” at Antioch. We do not know how long they remained at Antioch. It seems that they left Antioch about A.D. 44 or 45, and it is estimated that they were gone on the first tour two or three years. We know that they were back in Jerusalem in A.D. 50; hence, they must have remained in Antioch “no little time,” or about two years.
SUMMARY OF PAUL’S FIRST JOURNEY
Distance from Antioch in Syria to Seleucia, sixteen miles by land; Seleucia to Salamis, ninety miles by water; Salamis to Paphos, one hundred fifty miles by land; Paphos to Perga, one hundred fifty miles by water; Perga to Antioch in Pisidia, one hundred miles by land; Antioch in Pisidia to Iconium, sixty miles by land; Iconium to Lystra, eighteen miles by land; Lystra to Derbe, twenty miles by land; total distance, six hundred four miles.
Of the six hundred four miles from Antioch in Syria to Derbe two hundred forty miles were made by water. The return journey was about the same distance, which would make twelve hundred eight miles; this was a long journey at that time with the ancient modes of travel. Paul and Barnabas had traveled the twelve hundred eight miles and had established more than half a dozen churches within the two or three years that they were gone on this journey.