First Missionary Journey, Part 2. Acts 14

Transcription

1 1 First Missionary Journey, Part 2 Acts 14

2 2 First Missionary Journey, Concluded Text: Acts 14:1-28, 1. At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7. where they continued to preach the good news. 8. In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10. and called out, Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, The gods have come down to us in human form! 12. Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13. The 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.

3 3 14. But 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. 16. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17. Yet 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. 18. Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19. Then 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. 20. But 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. 21. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22. strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, they said. 23. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25. and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

4 4 27. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. Commentary: Acts 14:1, At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. I. Paul and Barnabas, soon after their arrival in Iconium, went to the Jewish synagogue and preached Jesus. A. Many, both Jews and Gentiles (proselytes), believed the gospel. Those who believed surely obeyed God s commands as they learned them from the missionaries. B. Paul and Barnabas spoke most persuasively to the saving of souls. May we be able to so speak! II. Iconium s history dated to prehistoric times but was, during the first century of the Christian era, a part of Roman Galatia. III. Paul s first missionary journey was confined to Cyprus and Galatia (Phrygia and Lacaonia) and occurred in A.D. or thereabout. IV. From Antioch of Pisidia Paul and Barnabas traveled some 90 miles over mountainous terrain to Iconium. V. Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue, preached, and converted many, both Jews and Greeks. Acts 14:2, But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

5 5 I. Disobedient Jews; that is, those who did not believe, stirred up the Gentiles and turned them against the apostles Paul and Barnabas. A. Believe is often used as a synonym for faith and obedience. B. John 3:36, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God s wrath remains on him. II. Right and wrong, God and the devil are always at war. A. On which side are we serving? B. Enemy infiltrators are a major danger to the Lord s army. Acts 14:3, So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. I. Paul and Barnabas remained in Iconium a long time preaching boldly the Lordship of Jesus Christ. A. The Lord bore witness that Paul and Barnabas were working for him and preaching the truth by miracles and wonders which they performed. B. These miracles were surely enough to lessen the opposition stirred up by the Jews. Acts 14:4, The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. I. The people of Iconium were divided, some were for the apostles and others were against the apostles.

6 6 A. Luke 12:51-53, Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. B. Even today the preaching of the cross drives and draws. C. Human hearts polarize for and against Christ. II. Paul and Barnabas are here called apostles as were: A. James the Lord s brother. Galatians 1:19, I saw none of the other apostles only James, the Lord s brother. B. Epaphroditus. Philippians 2:25, But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. C. Silvanus and Timothy. Acts 18:5, When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:6, We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, D. Here, in Acts 14:4, Paul is called an apostle for the first time in Scripture. III. Was it the Gospel s content only or some of Paul s approaches in preaching that caused the opposition? Could he have been more conciliatory?

7 7 Acts 14:5-7, There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news. I. When both Jews with their religious rulers and Gentiles solidified their opposition to the preaching of Paul and Barnabas and determined to shamefully treat them and stone them, the apostles learned of their plot and fled to the cities of the province of Lycaonia, Lystia and Derbe, and the surrounding region. II. Paul and Barnabas, as we would have expected, preached the gospel in this pagan land also. III. Lystra was located only miles east of Iconium but it was in a different political division of Galatia and its people spoke a different language. Acts 14:8-10, In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. I. At Lystra Paul and Barnabas found an impotent (weak) crippled man who had never walked. A. This man was born crippled. B. The crippled man heard Paul preach and was observed by Paul to have faith to such a degree that he could be healed. C. Faith on the part of the crippled man was here an element in his being healed.

8 8 D. Paul in a loud voice commanded the crippled man, Stand upright on your feet! E. The crippled man immediately obeyed, was healed, leaped up and walked. Acts 14:11, 12, When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, The gods have come down to us in human form! Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. I. When the multitudes saw this wondrous miracle they shouted in their own language, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. A. The multitudes called Barnabas Jupiter (Zeus) and Paul Mercury (Hermes) because he was the chief speaker. B. Zeus was the patron deity of the Lycaonian country. Acts 14:13, The 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. I. The priests of Jupiter whose temple was outside the wall would have worshiped, done sacrifices to the apostles with oxen and garlands. A. This gives a glimpse into the worship of these pagans. B. These pagans were smart; they tried to join ranks with Paul and Barnabas. C. They would have offered sacrifice to the apostles had they not been stopped.

9 9 Acts 14:14, But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: I. Seeing this impending pagan sacrifice caused Paul and Barnabas great sorrow even to the rending, tearing of their clothes, a major Jewish sign of strong opposition, reaction to an objectionable event such as blasphemy against God. II. Paul and Barnabas, when they became aware of what was taking place, took immediate steps to stop the sacrifice planned in their honor. III. These apostles really had their work cut out for them! Note: In this verse Barnabas is again mentioned first in conjunction with Paul. Acts 14:15-17, 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. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet 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. I. Why do you do these things; that is, make ready to worship us? A. Paul and Barnabas, when they healed the crippled man, certainly did not expect this reaction. B. We are men just like you, nothing to be worshiped, Paul told the multitude.

10 10 II. God: C. We have come to tell you good news that you should turn from these useless pagan practices and turn to the true God who made heaven and earth, Paul further said. D. In past generations God allowed all nations to go their own ways religiously, but still during those years blessed them with rains and fruitful seasons attesting to His active interest in the welfare of all people. God is revealed in nature. A. lives Thessalonians 1:9, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 2. Romans 3:25, God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished B. created everyone and everything. C. blesses all his creatures out of his boundless grace. Acts 14:18, Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. I. It took Paul s and Barnabas best efforts to keep the multitude from worshiping them. II. Lois, Eunice and Timothy may have been converted at this time at Lystra.

11 11 A. 2 Timothy 1:5, I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. Acts 14:19, Then 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. I. How fickle can people be! II. After this immense popularity Jewish enemies came to Lystra from Antioch and Iconiom, a distance of 100 miles, and persuaded the multitude to oppose Paul and Barnabas violently. III. They stoned Paul, dragged him out of town, and dumped him there thinking he was dead. A. Stephen was stoned outside a Jewish city. B. Paul was stoned inside a Gentile city. IV. These were religious Jews! Just being religious won t save anybody! Acts 14:20, But 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. I. As the disciples stood around Paul he revived, rose up and entered into the city of Lystra. II. The next day Paul and Barnabas left Lystra for Derbe.

12 12 III. Why was Paul stoned and not Barnabas? The Jews may have recognized Paul to be the greater threat to their beliefs than was Barnabas. IV. It is amazing that Paul could have been stoned one day and then began a journey to Derbe the next day. A. Derbe was some 60 miles from Lystra. Acts 14:21, They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, I. When Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in Derbe, many were converted. A. Of the Derbe converts only one has come down to us by name, that being Gaius, a later fellow-traveler with Paul. B. Acts 20:4, He ws accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. II. After having preached the gospel in Derbe, Paul and Barnabas had the courage to return to the places that had only relatively recently been places of extreme danger. A. They returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia. B. The apostles returned to these cities to strengthen the new converts made on their first visits to these cities.

13 13 Acts 14:22, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, they said. I. Paul confirmed the young disciples; that is, strengthened those Christians in their Christian faith and encouraged them to be true to the Lord in good times and bad. A. This confirming the souls of the disciples had nothing to do with what is now known as the Sacrament of Confirmation. B. The apostles impressed the disciples with the fact that through many tribulations we must get to heaven. C. This admonition was certainly needed for people living in such a wild, violent, pagan society. D. Matthew 18:7, Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. I. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in every church to guide the disciples in the Christian way. A. How much time passed between the establishment of these churches and the appointment of elders. II. Paul and Barnabas prayed with each eldership they had appointed and fasted.

14 14 III. Paul and Barnabas commended all the disciples to the Lord on whom they had believed. Acts 14:24, 25, After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. I. Paul and Barnabas passed through the province of Pisidia and came to the region of Pamphylia. II. After preaching in Perga where they had traveled earlier on this journey they came to Attalia. A. Both of these cities were located on rivers which emptied into the sea. B. Many cities were located in similar situations to protect them from pirate raids. C. No results are given of the preaching in Attalia. D. Paul and Barnabas may have traveled to Attalia to better find a ship going to Antioch of Syria. Acts 14:26-28, From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. I. Paul and Barnabas sailed for Antioch of Syria from where they had been sent on the journey now reaching its conclusion.

15 15 A. How would you have liked to have been present for Paul s and Barnabas work report? B. The grace, favor of God had surely been with them. C. The mission had been a success! God had indeed opened a door of faith to the Gentiles who had entered the church in considerable numbers. D. Several Gentile churches had been established. II. Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch no little time, a long time. Conclusion: I. This journey covered some 1,300 miles, 500 by water and 800 by land. II. Paul and Barnabas preached faithfully, suffered much and converted many. III. What are opportunities we may have to preach the Gospel worldwide?

16 16 Questions Acts At and went as usual into the. A great number of and. 2. Paul s first missionary journey was confined to and ( and ) and took place in to A.D. or thereabout. 3. From of and traveled some miles over to. 4. The who refused to stirred up the and poisoned their against the. 5. and stayed in a long time and did and. 6. The people of were divided. Some sided with the while others sided with the. Even today the preaching of the cross and. polarize for or against. 7. How many apostles are mentioned in the New Testament? Name them.

17 17 Were some of these apostles higher in rank than others? 8. Had Paul been more conciliatory in his speaking, would the opposition have been less? 9. A plot was planned by both and to and. They fled to the cities of and and to the. They continued to preach the. 10. was located about or miles of, but it was located in a different of and its spoke a different. 11. A man in had been, from and had never. He listened to as he was. Paul told him, up on your! At that, because he had to be, the man up and began to. 12. Those who observed this miracle were greatly impressed. They shouted, The have come down to us in! They called and

18 18. Why did they give Paul this name? 13. The priests of ( ), the patron deity of the country, brought and to the because the priest and the people wanted to offer to and. 14. Compare the behavior of Barnabas and Paul on this occasion with the behavior of certain prominent religious leaders today? 15. God, and and blesses all His out of his. 16. Give examples of human fickleness, one from verse 19, and others from your experience. 17. Religious Jews stoned Paul. Is being religious enough to save souls? Give examples of present day evil being committed by religious people.

19 The apostles Jewish enemies came to from and some miles away stirring up trouble. Describe the biggest trouble makers you have ever known. 19. The day after he was Paul left and headed for some miles away and the in that city and won a of. 20. and preached in. One of the converts there was who later accompanied Paul on some of his mission journeys. 21. After having preached in Derbe Paul and Barnabas returned to, and of. What kind of courage did this take? 22. Why did Paul and Barnabas revisit these cities?

20 It has been said, Really faithful Christians can expect to live a trouble free, prosperous lives. Is this statement true? Give reasons for your answer. 24. Paul appointed in. In the appointment process Paul, and them to the Lord in whom they had put their. When elders are appointed now does the church fast? Why or why not? 25. Paul and Barnabas, from sailed back to of. Upon their arrival they gathered the and all that had done through them and how he had the door of to the.