Daily Bread 2010 - Acts 14
Daily Bread 2010 – Acts 14
In Lystra and Derbe
8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The 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.
14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet 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." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19Then 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. 20But 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.
As Paul and Barnabbas continued there mission, Paul met a man lame from birth and healed him because of his faith. When the crowd saw what had happened, they started to worship Paul and Barnabbas like gods, even offering sacrifices to them. Instantly Paul and Barnabbas tore their clothes to show the people how inappropriate this was.
As they began to convince the people they were only mortal men, other Jews came and won the crowd over and the fervor went from trying to make them gods to stoning Paul until they thought he was dead. How is that for a quick change in the opinion polls? But miraculously, as the disciples gathered around him, he got up and by the next day he was off to a new city . You talk about a quick turnaround!
This passage reminds us that if we are relying on the crowds for validation of our worth, we will set ourselves up for big disappointment. Although we should not be inattentive to whether our message is being received and bearing fruit, we can’t rely on the applause of people. People’s opinions and emotions can be quickly swayed and are not always an accurate gauge of whether we are being faithful to God’s Word.
In fact, if people are always only happy with the message we deliver, one might wonder if we are ever challenging people with God’s Word. Jesus assured his disciples that the world would not always be happy with their words, and in fact the message of dying to oneself to follow Jesus is often counter cultural to a world that seeks personal satisfaction above all else.
Jesus, please give us the boldness of Paul and Barnabbas and help us not to be overly reliant on the applause of men, but may we seek your approval above all else. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Lystra and Derbe
8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The 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.
14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet 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." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19Then 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. 20But 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.
As Paul and Barnabbas continued there mission, Paul met a man lame from birth and healed him because of his faith. When the crowd saw what had happened, they started to worship Paul and Barnabbas like gods, even offering sacrifices to them. Instantly Paul and Barnabbas tore their clothes to show the people how inappropriate this was.
As they began to convince the people they were only mortal men, other Jews came and won the crowd over and the fervor went from trying to make them gods to stoning Paul until they thought he was dead. How is that for a quick change in the opinion polls? But miraculously, as the disciples gathered around him, he got up and by the next day he was off to a new city . You talk about a quick turnaround!
This passage reminds us that if we are relying on the crowds for validation of our worth, we will set ourselves up for big disappointment. Although we should not be inattentive to whether our message is being received and bearing fruit, we can’t rely on the applause of people. People’s opinions and emotions can be quickly swayed and are not always an accurate gauge of whether we are being faithful to God’s Word.
In fact, if people are always only happy with the message we deliver, one might wonder if we are ever challenging people with God’s Word. Jesus assured his disciples that the world would not always be happy with their words, and in fact the message of dying to oneself to follow Jesus is often counter cultural to a world that seeks personal satisfaction above all else.
Jesus, please give us the boldness of Paul and Barnabbas and help us not to be overly reliant on the applause of men, but may we seek your approval above all else. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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