Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba’s First Missionary Journey ~ Part 4

We pick up the ongoing story of Sha’ul in Acts 14:1.

Sha’ul’s Sermon in Pisidian Antioch ~ Part 4

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Mixed Response in Iconium

¹ In Iconium, the same thing happened – they went into the synagogue and spoke in such a way that a large number of both Jews and Greeks came to trust. ² But the Jews who would not be persuaded stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. ³ Therefore, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba remained for a long time, speaking boldly about the Lord, who bore witness to the message about his love and kindness by enabling them to perform signs and miracles. ⁴ However, the people of the city were divided – some sided with the unbelieving Jews, others with the emissaries. ⁵ Eventually, the unbelievers, both Jews, and Gentiles, together with their leaders, made a move to mistreat the emissaries, even to stone them; ⁶ but they learned of it and escaped to Lystra and Derbe, towns in Lycaonia and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued proclaiming the Good News. ^[1]

The same thing happened in Iconium as in Pisidian Antioch (see Acts 13:46); it became a pattern. Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba preach in the synagogue, winning Jews and Gentiles to Yeshua. This brings about opposition from unbelieving Jews, who stir up the unbelieving Gentiles. So long as the challenge is nonviolent, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba stay on to meet it, and the Ruach confirms the Word with signs and miracles following (v. 3, Mark 16:20). They show themselves brave (v. 3), prudent (vv. 5–6) and single-minded in spreading the Good News (v. 7); while the division among the people of the city proves good for the Gospel (v. 4).

Crippled Man Healed

⁸ There was a man living in Lystra who could not use his feet – crippled from birth, he had never walked. ⁹ This man listened to Sha’ul speaking. Sha’ul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” He jumped up and began to walk. ^[2]

We have here in Lystra another specific example of “power evangelism,” to use a modern term coined by John Wimber. Power evangelism is an evangelistic strategy based primarily on a visible manifestation of the power of God through signs, wonders, miracles, and power encounters. Power evangelism was not mentioned specifically in Antioch because Luke’s emphasis there was on Sha’ul’s spoken message. Nor does Luke mention signs and wonders in connection with the next stop on this missionary trip, Derbe. However, in Iconium, Luke specifies that God granted “signs and wonders” (v. 3), but he emphasizes them even more here in Lystra. ^[3]

Sha’ul & Bar-Nabba Worshipped

⁸ There was a man living in Lystra who could not use his feet—crippled from birth, he had never walked. ⁹ This man listened to Sha’ul speaking. Sha’ul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” He jumped up and began to walk. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Sha’ul had done, they began to shout in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the form of men!” ¹² They began calling Bar-Nabba “Zeus” and Sha’ul “Hermes,” since he did most of the talking; ¹³ and the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, intending to offer a sacrifice to them with the people. ¹⁴ When the emissaries Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul heard of it, they tore their clothes and ran into the crowd, shouting, ¹⁵ “Men! Why are you doing this? We’re just men, humans like you! We are announcing Good News to you – turn from these worthless things to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them! (quoting from Psalm 146:6)¹⁶ In times past, he allowed all peoples to walk in their own ways; ¹⁷ yet he did not leave himself without evidence of his nature; because he does good things, giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons, filling you with food and your hearts with happiness!” ¹⁸ Even saying this barely kept the crowds from sacrificing to them.  ^[4]

The Emissaries are now confronted with a new situation: how to preach to pagans, Gentiles who are in no sense “God-fearers” (10:2)? They acknowledge the miracle of vv. 8–10 but attribute it neither to God, of whom they know nothing, nor to the Adversary, Satan, as did some P’rushim with Yeshua (Mattityahu 12:24), but to false gods. Sha’ul’s solution is (1) to identify God as the source of blessings they have experienced, (2) to point out that for this reason, He is to be worshipped, and (3) to note the passing of the age in which the Gentiles were free to walk in their own ways (see Micah 4:5), implying that now they too must turn to God. ^[5]

In our next post, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba continue their First Missionary Journey.

^[1]  Acts 14:1–7.
^[2] Acts 14:8–10.
^[3]  C. Peter Wagner, The Book of Acts: A Commentary.
^[4]  Acts 14:11–18.
^[5]  David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary.