ACTS 14-THE 1ST MISSIONARY JOURNEY, PART 2

14:1-7
Iconium

Paul and Barnabas left Pisidian Antioch and went to Iconium. Iconic was about 90 miles southeast of Pisidian Antioch. It had been a Roman city since about 25 B.C.

Paul and Barnabas continued the pattern of their ministry at Iconium, in southern Galatia. They first went to the synagogue and preached. A large number of people believed, both Jew and Gentile. But, the unbelieving Jews stirred up opposition again.

The missionaries stayed a long time and spoke boldly despite the opposition. God gave them signs and wonders to perform to verify the truth of their message. Paul referred to this in his letter to the Galatians as miracles worked among them. (Galatians 3:5) But, as the opposition intensified, they became aware of a plot to stone them, so they left the city. They went to Lystra and Derbe and the countryside around those cities, preaching the gospel.


14:8-23
Lystra

At Lystra, Paul interrupted his preaching to heal a lame man. The crowd got excited, but not to believe the gospel. Instead, they claimed Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes, Greek gods who had come down to them. A priest of Zeus even tried to offer animal sacrifices to them. (13) It took Paul and Barnabas a while to figure out what was going on because the people did not speak in Greek or Latin, but in the Lycaonian language. (11)

When they did understand, Paul and Barnabas were horrified. They showed this by tearing their garments. They told the crowd they were only men preaching the gospel to them, asking them to believe in the living God who created the earth. Notice that they could not preach to these people from the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah, for these people were pagans with no knowledge of Jewish scripture. The missionaries managed to prevent the sacrifices, but barely. (18)

Also at Lystra, their Jewish enemies caught up with them. They stoned Paul and left him for dead. (Paul referred to this in 2 Corinthians 11:25.) But Paul got up and went back into the city. God must have miraculously healed him. The next day, he and Barnabas went on to Derbe and preached the gospel. Many believed and were saved.

The missionaries then retraced their steps to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, teaching the disciples they had made, and warning them of persecution to come. This was a courageous action, given how they had been driven from those cities. They appointed elders to lead the congregations.

14:24-28
Return to Antioch

Continuing to retrace their steps, the missionaries left Pisidian Antioch and went to the province of Pamphylia, preaching in the city of Perga, where they had landed on the way from Cyprus. From there, they went down to Attalia, the main seaport of Pamphylia. From this port, the missionaries sailed back to Antioch and the church that commissioned them as missionaries.

The missionaries met with their church and reported all that God had done, especially in opening the door to evangelizing the Gentiles. They stayed there for a considerable time.

This trip was revolutionary. It was the first church supported mission. It brought the gospel to Asia for the first time. It also changed the ethnic balance of the church. There were now many more Gentile Christians than Jewish Christians. The news of this reached all the way to Jerusalem, setting up future conflicts and the famous council.