Bible Study Lesson for Acts 14: Paul's First Missionary Journey Ends

(Note: When I taught my Bible study on the Book of Acts I used a flannel map as a visual aid. In my lecture notes you will find reference to this flannel map. The primary commentary I used was Compton's Interactive Bible, a software CD; I sometimes refer to this as my Interactive Bible CD.)

This chapter can be divided into three sections.

Verses 1-7 describe what happens when Paul and Barnabas visit Iconium.
Verses 8-20 describe what happens in Lystra, in particular after Paul heals a crippled man
Verses 21-28 describe Paul and Barnabas' travels as the finish their first missionary journey, revisiting the cities they had visited, then returning to Antioch.

Read Acts 14:1-2. What happens in Iconium is very similar to what happened in Pisidian Antioch: Paul reaches in the synagogue and many Jews and Gentiles believe. However, there is always a group of Jews who are angered by Paul's message and stir up the Gentile leaders in the area against them. Read Acts 13:49-50.

Unlike in Pisidian Antioch, however, Paul and Barnabas stay for quite some time in Iconium before having to flee. Read Acts 14:3-7. The main purpose of these signs and wonders was to demonstrate that Paul's words were true. Here in verse 4 we see that both Paul and Barnabas are called "apostles", even though they are not part of the original 11. This term is now being used to reflect those being sent out as missionaries to preach the good news. Just as with Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas are eventually forced to flee, because of persecution. { Point out the cities of Lystra and Derbe on the flannel map }

Just a couple notes about Lystra, this was a Roman colony, about 20 miles from Iconium, and is the probably home of Timothy. As a Roman colony, there was probably a large contingent of retired military men living there. Lystra and Derbe were part of the Roman province of Galatia. There is good evidence that Paul's letter to the Galatians was written to these churches after his return to Antioch, at the end of his first missionary journey.

Read Acts 14:8-10. This is an interesting story, if seemingly too short. I don't know how Paul knew the man had faith to be healed - perhaps the man was listening very intently, with obvious interest. Notice Paul does not touch him in anyway, he simply calls out to him to "Stand up on your feet!" We don't know where in the city this happens, but we will see in the next verse that Paul must be speaking before a crowd of Gentiles because of how they respond. (I can't imagine Jews in a synagogue responding as this crowd will.)

I would hope that this man later spoke with Paul to learn more about the God that healed him, but Luke is silent about what happens to this man afterwards. All we know is that he is healed. One can't even imagine how dramatically this man's life changed - he had never walked before and most likely had been a beggar his whole life.

Read Acts 14:11-13. Because the crowd is originally speaking in the Lycaonian language, which neither Paul nor Barnabas spoke, the apostles don't immediately understand what is going on. The local cult of the area worshipped Zeus and Hermes together - as have been demonstrated through archaeological evidence. While Zeus was the more powerful of the two gods, because Paul had done the main speaking, the crowd decided he had to be Hermes. It was a common belief in the ancient world that when two gods came down to earth, the lesser of the gods did the talking.

There was an ancient legend in the area that the two gods had actually visited Lystra in the past, but that only an old couple Philemon and Baucis, had recognized them. This story is told in Ovid's Metamorphoses (Roman poet, 1st century). In Ovid's story, Zeus is called by his Latin/Roman name Jupiter, and Hermes is call Mercury. Paul and Barnabas, however, are completely ignorant of this story and are caught unprepared when their healing of the crippled man causes this riot. After all, the people of Lystra don't want to be caught unprepared again! (I've include a link to the summary of this story at the end of this article.)

Read Acts 14:14. Someone, obviously, must have translated for Paul and Barnabas into Greek what the people were saying in their native dialect. Tearing one's clothes was a Jewish way of expressing great anguish.

Read Acts 14:15-17. Paul and Barnabas are understandably upset - they have been preaching the good news of One True God and the people have not understood what they have been saying; they are ignorant and deceived. Because they haven't understood, when this miracle occurs, they try to fit it into the framework of their world view: Zeus and Hermes have come to earth. Paul tells them to turn away from these "worthless things", that is, from idols. You see this phrase used in the Old Testament. Read 1 Samuel 12:21. There is a living God, Paul is saying; you can know Him through His creation and the seasons.

Read Acts 14:18. But most of the crowd still doesn't understand. Whether this is a language problem in part or mostly a spiritual problem, we don't know. Remember, this area was a hotbed of cult activity in regards to worship of these two gods: most people aren't going to just toss that aside because of a single sermon. Once you become entrenched into a false belief like that, it is difficult to get out again.

Read Acts 14:19. Isn't it amazing, and sad, how fickle people can be! Just a few verses back they were calling Paul a god, and now some other people come along, stir them out to believe otherwise, and they stone him! Luke doesn't say how much time passes between the riot and when these Jews from Iconium and Pisidian Antioch show up, but I would guess that there was a few days in between. Perhaps when the people of Lystra saw that Paul and Barnabas didn't just up and vanish (as one would expect gods to do) and continued to walk about, like ordinary men, they became bitter with disappointment and were therefore open to the hatred being passed around by these Jews. I find it very depressing that these Jewish troublemakers didn't have anything better to do than to follow after Paul (after chasing him out of city after city) and keep after him until they get what they want, a stoning. They must have really hated him. { Put "stoning" symbol on flannel map by Lystra }

Read Acts 14:20. I'm sure this caused quite a stir among the people of Lystra! Here was Paul, supposedly dead, and he gets up and goes back into the city! It doesn't say anything about how badly hurt he was or that he was carried, only that he "went back." Though it doesn't say so here, it is possible that when the disciples (the other believers) gathered around him they prayed for him and he was immediately healed. Their presence (as well as the miracle of Paul's recovery) may have been what stayed the hand of the persecutors. They leave Paul alone so that he can leave Lystra for Derbe the next day.

We have reason to believe that young Timothy may have been present with the other believers that came to rescue Paul at Lystra. Read 2 Timothy 3:10-11.

Read Acts 14:21-23. { Point out Derbe on flannel map } Derbe is the last city on their route. They now turn around and revisit the cities which had new believers. What they do next is very important: in each town their appoint elders to lead the church. Their purpose was to lay the groundwork for these new churches; others must now step up and lead. { Point out Paul's route on the flannel map } I think it took a lot of courage for Paul and Barnabas to go back to these cities where they were so greatly rejected and persecuted. We can see here that there is no mention of the apostles being persecuted during their return journey. I wonder if this is because the Jews either gave up or because the believers had become a strong force now in their communities.

Read Acts 14:24. Pisidia and Pamphylia are two Roman districts. { Show districts from "The Macmillan Bible Atlas" map 245 } If I understand my commentary correctly, around AD 74 these two districts will be combined into a single Roman province, Pamphylia. Pisidia, in particular, was known for bandits. It is possible that Paul is referring to this region when he talks about his past tribulations in 2 Corinthians. Read 2 Corinthians 11:26.

Read Acts 14:25. Perga, if you can remember back to chapter 13, is the capital of the province of Pamphylia. This was where John Mark left them during the first half of their journey. { Point out Perga on flannel map } 5 miles south and 12 miles west was the important seaport of Attalia. { Can't see on flannel map, but point out generally where it is }

Read Acts 14:26-27. And so the apostles take a ship back home, to Antioch, where their journey began and give a report of all that had happened. The important phrase here is, I think, "opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." This first missionary journey was definitely a success, even with all the persecutions they had suffered.

Read Acts 14:28. Luke doesn't say specifically how long Paul and Barnabas stay in Antioch after this; my commentary says this is probably longer than a year.

Now what happens to these churches that Paul planted in the mean time? This is where the letter to the Galatians can give us some clues. (Remember Galatia is the Roman province where the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Psidian Antioch are located.) Some people believe this was when this letter was written, after Paul returns to Antioch, but before he goes to the Jerusalem council meeting described in Acts 15.

We don't have time to read all of Galatians, but I would like to read the introduction & some notes from my study Bible, so we get a sense of what Paul wrote. { Read Galatians introduction from Study Bible }

Blessings!

Sources
Editors. Compton's Interactive Bible (software)
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version
Ovid. Metamorphoses (Roman poet)
Aharoni & Avi-Yohan. The Macmillan Bible Atlas.