Acts 14:1-28: The End of the First Missionary Journey

In Iconium (14:1-7)

As we have seen before, Paul and Barnabas begin by speaking at the local synagogue, and again, they are received with mixed results. In Iconium, some who become believers are persuaded by Jewish opponents to abandon their commitment, so the two stay longer than they planned. Luke calls Paul and Barnabas apostles for the first time. One of the key qualifications to be an apostle was that you had to have seen Jesus in the flesh. Paul’s encounter of the risen Christ on the Damascus road, as well as his major leadership role, made him an apostle. We’re not told how Barnabas might have had that level of Christian experience. Perhaps it is more a designation that he is a primary leader in the effort to reach the Gentiles. With there being threats on their lives, they flee to Lystra and Derbe, where they preach the gospel.

Zeus and Hermes (14:8-20)

After the healing of the lame man, the people believe Paul and Barnabas are gods and want to sacrifice to them. It is to their credit that the two apostles do not choose to read their own press. There are those who would rather follow a personality cult (miracle junkies and spiritual experience junkies) than follow Jesus. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in miracles and I believe that experiences of God’s presence should be celebrated and encouraged. It was Christian experience that made the difference in the lives and ministries of John and Charles Wesley.

In 1973, when I travelled to the US and Europe with the Continental Singers, the response to our concerts (particularly in Europe) were overwhelming. We would be careful to point to heaven as they applauded. It is not us, but Christ in us, that is the hope of glory, and the power of our ministry. Every time we allow what we do in Christ to become primarily about us and our popularity, the gospel gets cheapened and every kind of vice and corruption can enter in.

Why Zeus and Hermes? Hermes was the messenger god, so evidently Paul was considered Hermes due to his preaching. Why Zeus for Barnabas? Maybe it was because he was older or had done some of the major miracles among the people. No one knows.

This time, in Derbe, Paul is stoned and left for dead. He survives, but they decide now to double back to where they have been and return to Antioch.

The Return Home (14:21-28)

On their way back they do two things: 1) encourage the churches and 2) set up leaders to carry on the ministry. Paul and Barnabas are now expanding the base of leaders, just as Peter and John did in Acts 6 and Moses did in Exodus 18. One of the primary lessons I have learned in ministry is that the choosing , training and deploying of spirit-filled leaders is one of the key components in ministry faithfulness and success. This is something the United Methodist Church did not do well in the last generation. We tended to raise up professionals more than we raised up called and spirit-filled leaders. Some conferences call their Boards of Ministry the “Board of Professional Ministries”. We have raised up ministers and staff that sometimes are more concerned about their professional development than they are about growing their relationship with Christ and doing ministry in the power of the Spirit. I consider this trend in the past generation to be one of the major contributors to our decline in number and influence. What do you think? And how can we reverse this trend?

Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch with an exciting report of how the Gentiles are responding to the gospel. That leads to a major controversy, which we will look at on Monday.