A Glimpse of Home
October 2, 2022
Commentary
It is interesting to note that people who deify human leaders often turn on them when those leaders do not submit and fit into the mold they have in mind for them. This is what happened as the crowd, which had just tried to make Paul and Barnabas gods, turned against them (vv. 19-20). They dragged Paul out of the city, stoned him, and left him for dead. The outstanding feature of this story is the sheer courage of Paul. When he came to his senses, his first act was to go right back into the city where he had been stoned. There could be no braver thing than Paul’s going straight back among those who had tried to murder him. A deed like that would have more effect than a hundred sermons. Being a disciple of Christ calls for total commitment.
Was Paul dead? We are not told. At least he was unconscious and apparently gave every evidence of being dead. Some Bible scholars suggest that this was the experience Paul described in II Corinthians 12:1-4, that he actually went to heaven during this period of time. We read that because of the prayers of his friends, his recovery was rapid, and the next day Paul was back at work. They went onto Derbe, preaching the gospel there (vv. 20-21), and then retraced their steps back through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, visiting the new churches they had established (v. 21). They encouraged the people to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships before entering the Kingdom of God (v. 22). They not only edified the believers, but organized them, as they appointed elders for each church (v. 23). They traveled through Pisidia and Pamphylia, stopping to preach in Perga, before setting off from Attalia to sail back to their sending church in Antioch (vv. 24-26).
Thus ended the first missionary journey of the apostle Paul. Paul and Barnabas had traveled more than 700 miles by land, and over 500 miles by sea, preaching the gospel to everyone who would listen. They reported all that God had done with their church (vv. 27-28). They had been gone over a year. It must have been exciting for their church when they finally arrived back home.
Application
How can I encourage the missionaries supported by my church? I want to be a blessing for the missionaries I meet and hold them up in prayer when they are away on the mission field.
Acts 14:19– 28 (NET)
19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning the crowds over, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. 20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back into the city. On the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch. 22 They strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in the various churches, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the protection of the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported all the things God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. 28 So they spent considerable time with the disciples.