In Iconium
Acts 14:1-7
When they arrived in Iconium, Paul and Barnabas and their team went into the Jewish synagogue. After they spoke, a number of Jews and Gentiles believed. Those Jews who refused to believe caused trouble with the Gentiles trying to get them to turn against Paul and Barnabas. The people of Iconium were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and some sided with the apostles. There was a plot to stone them, but when they found out about it, Paul and his team fled to Lystra and Derbe where they continued to preach about Jesus Christ.
In Lystra and Derbe
Acts 14:8-20
In Lystra, a crippled man who had been lame since birth listened to Paul speak. When Paul told him to stand up on his feet, the man jumped up and began to walk. Remember this happened with the crippled man at the gate Beautiful in Chapter 3 when Peter and John told him to get up and walk.
When the people in Lystra saw the miracle, they called Paul and Barnabas gods in human form. They were associating Paul and Barnabus with what they knew. Barnabas was called Zeus, and Paul was called Hermes. Because they were thought to be gods, the Greeks brought bulls and wreaths to the city gate to offer sacrifices to them.
When Paul and Barnabas found out what they were doing, they ran into the crowd and had a difficult time preventing the sacrifice. They tried to convince them that they were human just like them.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city. They thought he was dead, but he got up and went back into the city. The next day, they left for Derbe.
Questions
1. What happened in Iconium?
2. What happened in Lystra?
The Return to Antioch in Syria
Acts 14:21-28
After preaching the gospel in Derbe and winning a large number of disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. Why? The apostles wanted to strengthen and encourage the new disciples who had believed because of their teachings. This way, they would remain true to the faith.
Elders were appointed in each church. Paul and Barnabus stayed in Antioch a long time after they had reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Questions
1. Why did Paul and Barnabas return to cities they had been to before?
2. What specific thing did they do in each church?
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