The Book of Acts Chapter 14

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The Book of Acts Chapter 14

Text from https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ACT.14.NIV

The First Mission Journey Accomplished

In Iconium(1)

1 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. (Paul and Barnabas learned from the previous experience, shared the Gospel effectively.)

2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. (But the Jews' resistance persisted, too. They even persuaded the Gentiles on their side.)

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. (Paul and Barnabas kept sharing the Gospel and also performed miraculous signs and wonders.)

4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. (There would be always who accept and reject the Gospel.)

5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. (Those who reject the message, always oppose the messenger.)

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(2) and Derbe(3)

8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. (There was a lame man who never be able to stand by himself.)

9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. (He was attentive to the Gospel.) 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. (Moved by the Spirit, Paul raised him so he jumped up and walked.)

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!” (The local people were amazed and thought some gods heeled him.)

12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. (They even called Barnabas Zeus- the chief of Greek gods, and Paul Hermes- the messenger of Greek gods. Barnabas might look good and Paul spoke good.)

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. (Even the priest of Zeus tried to offer sacrifices to them.^^)

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this (nonsense), 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. (Paul and Barnabas had a chance to be dignified or even deified, which they couldn't accept in any price, denied their offerings and began to share the true God and the Lord Jesus.)

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.” (God is the universal benefactor for all natural blessings.)

18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. (But the people were foolish enough not being able to accept the true teaching.)

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. (A group of hostile people from the previous regions came and persuaded the crowd to stone Paul to the point of death. Did Paul succeed or fail in his ministry in this case? Satanic never do anything of God. We must stand firm on the Word of God more than any other phenomena.)

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. (But the servants of the Lord never measure their ministry with success-failure frame. Only the obedience matters.)

The Return to Antioch in Syria

21 They preached the gospel in that city (Derbe) 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. (On their way back home, they encouraged the people whom they met last time to endure the hardship.)

23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (Also they organized the churches by appointing local leaders so that they will be self standing and governing.)

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. (They have finished their journey by the grace of God.)

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. (They shared their journey with the host church. The mission accomplished by God through them. Glory to God.)

28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. (They came back to the regular ministries and rest, recovering from the fatigue of the ministry. The End of the First Mission Journey.)

(1)Iconium (Google AI)

Iconium was an ancient city in Asia Minor, located where the modern Turkish city of Konya now stands, significant for its role in the Roman province of Galatia and crucial to early Christianity as a frequent stop on St. Paul's missionary journeys, where he preached but faced persecution before fleeing to Lystra and Derbe. It was a prosperous crossroads on major trade routes, known for its Greek heritage, later becoming a Roman colony and a significant Seljuk capital, making it a historic center of culture, trade, and religious life.

(2)Lystra (Google AI)

Lystra was an ancient Roman colony in Lycaonia (modern-day Turkey) famous in the New Testament for being a key location in Apostle Paul's missionary journeys, where he healed a crippled man, was mistaken for gods (Hermes/Zeus), and was later stoned. It was also the hometown of Timothy, a disciple who joined Paul, and was known for its mix of Roman, Greek, Jewish, and native Lycaonian cultures.

(3)Derbe  (Google AI)

Derbe was an ancient city in Lycaonia, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), famous for its mention in the Acts of the Apostles as a place visited by Paul and Barnabas during their missionary journeys, where they found receptive followers, and it was the hometown of Paul's companion, Gaius. In German slang, "derbe" means rough, cool, or awesome, while it also refers to a natural cosmetics brand from Florence, Italy.