“Acts 14: First Journey Ends”

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Chapters 13 and 14 relate the details of Paul’s first preaching journey.

In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas speak in the Jewish synagogue and convert “a great multitude” of both Jews and Gentiles. They stay “a long time” until some local unbelievers want to stone them, so they flee to Lystra and Derbe, preaching the gospel in both places. In a later chapter, we will be introduced to a young disciple named Timothy, who lived in this area and was probably converted to Christ on this part of Paul’s journey. Paul will refer to him as his “son in the faith.”

Paul performs a miracle of healing on a lame man who had never walked. This causes the people of Lystra to believe that Paul and Barnabas are gods, Zeus (Barnabas) and Hermes (Paul). When the Lystrans try to offer sacrifice to them, they are barely able to convince them to stop (verse 18).

One verse later (verse 19), Jews from Antioch and Iconium come and persuade the Lystrans to stone Paul to the point of death. He mentions this stoning in 2 Corinthians 11:25. Paul immediately arises and goes with Barnabas back to Derbe, where they make many disciples.

As the next phase in their ongoing mission, Paul and Barnabas revisit many of the cities where they have been before and strengthen the Christians to encourage them to remain faithful to the Lord even through difficult times. And they take the amazing step of appointing elders in every church that they have planted.

Visiting a few more cities, Paul and Barnabas sail back to Antioch of Syria, where this first preaching journey began.

“Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.”

--Roger Hillis

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