Acts 14 - Paul and Barnabas Continue Their Missionary Journey Empowered by the Holy Spirit. Persecution Begins as Many Come to Faith!

Click Here to Listen to or Read Acts 14

In Iconium

Paul and Barnabas continued their strategy of going first to the Jewish synagogue in Iconium. When they preached the word BOTH Jews and Gentiles came to faith. It says they spoke "effectively". This meant that their words were used by God to bring people to faith. 

Paul and Barnabas presented the gospel in a way that invited belief. The way they preached encouraged people to believe in the message of who Jesus is and what He had done for them. - Guzik

They were "winsome" to "win some". 

Paul and Barnabas spent a long time there. Not only did they preach and teach but also performed miraculous signs, which again confirmed their message. The main purpose of miracles and signs is to point to the truth of Jesus is both Savior and Lord. Meanwhile BOTH Jews and Gentiles didn't like what was happening and plotted to stone them. But, the disciples learned about it and got them out of town right away. 

In Lystra and Derbe

This led them to go on to a new place. Notice they did stop their mission just because they got "pushback". As Paul was preaching, a man lame from birth was watching him intently. It is interesting that Paul says that he could see the faith in his eyes. He was listening to and completely taking in God's Word. Paul discerned he had the faith to be healed. 

This is so important in healing ministry. A person needs to believe that Jesus could heal them. And sure enough when Paul told him to get up he jumped up and started to walk. 

Similar to what happened to Peter earlier in Acts, the people started to think they were gods in human form. They even got a man from the temple of Zeus (the chief of all gods in Greek mythology) to offer sacrifices to them. 

When Paul heard this he was distraught and tore his clothes as a sign that he was not worthy to be called a god. He said, "Guys we are just like you. A couple of years ago I was hunting down Christians to kill them, and now I am here!" Paul used it for the opportunity to tell them to turn from false idols to the "LIVING God!". He pointed to the rains and their crops as a sign that God cared for them personally. 

But a crowd came from Iconium seeking to the settle the score with Paul and Barnabas. Paul was literally stoned by them, and they thought that they had left him for dead. But the disciples scooped him up and the next day he went on to the town of Derbe. We see again the fearless nature of Paul and Barnabas, as they got up the next day to preach some more for Jesus! And they indeed won a great deal more disciples. 

The Return to Antioch in Syria

Finally, the returned to where they had started in Antioch, the church that had prayed over them and sent them off. On their way home they strengthened the new converts in each of the cities they had been to on their first missionary journey. 

Their very presence in their midst encouraged the believers in Syrian Antioch to be courageous, as no doubt they were already being persecuted in the same way Paul and Barnabas had been. Importantly, the appointed elders in every church to care for and feed the flock. This is like local church pastors today, who shepherd their local churches. Today we think of elders being on church boards or councils, but back then they oversaw the church and also preached and taught. 

They commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed: But in the end, they can only trust in God’s ability to keep these churches healthy, having commended them to the Lord. It was in the Lord they had believed, not in Paul or Barnabas or the elders. The church belongs to Jesus. - Guzik

When they got back to the church in Antioch, they gathered all the disciples and reported all that God had done among them, and especially that God had opened up a door to the Gentiles. 

What excitement the early church must have felt to see the power of God extending from their church to the whole world through the power of the Holy Spirit and through Paul and Barnabas as they preached the Word about Jesus Christ!

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. A day we remember when the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to the church. I hope you are part of a church that is filled with and seeking to even more be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is just as willing today as 2,000 years ago to reach the world with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ! And the best news is we can all be a part of it!

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