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1 In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual to the synagogue. They spoke so well that a great many Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But some people who did not believe excited the others and turned them against the believers. 3 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time and spoke bravely for the Lord. He showed that their message about his grace was true by giving them the power to work miracles and signs. 4 But the city was divided. Some of the people agreed with the Jews, and others believed the apostles. 5 Some who were not Jews, some Jews, and some of their rulers wanted to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death. 6 When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they ran away to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the areas around those cities. 7 They announced the Good News there, too. ~ Acts 14:1-7
Today, we continue our study of the book of Acts which has an overall outline of: 1. Spreading the gospel in Jerusalem (Acts 1:1–8:3). 2. Spreading the gospel in Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:4–12:25), and, 3. Spreading the gospel to the Ends of the Earth (Acts 13:1–28:31). In today's passage we learn that after they experienced persecution in Antioch of Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas traveled to Iconium. Then, after they experienced more persecution there, they went to Lystra and Derbe. Throughout Christian history, persecution has been a painful but necessary part of the process of getting the message to the people. God allows and uses persecution to move us from place to place. This truth is seen in Genesis 50:20, where we read, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive." The same principle applies to the believer who is committed to reaching the unsaved with the gospel.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual to the synagogue. They spoke so well that a great many Jews and Greeks believed."
It is about 100 miles from Antioch of Pisidia to Iconium. After arriving there, Paul and Barnabas first went to the synagogue to share the gospel with those gathered there. Paul always preached the gospel to the Jews before sharing it with the Gentiles. Going to the synagogue was a logical place to begin because those gathered there were already familiar with the God of the Bible. With Iconium being a good sized city, it had a large synagogue. Paul's message always required of his hearers faith and faith alone in the saving sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As in Antioch of Pisidia, there is no record that those who were born-again in Iconium spoke in tongues or were baptized. This reveals speaking in tongues or being baptized is not a necessary part of our salvation. It has always been that we are made right with God by believing in the faithfulness of the God of the Bible. It is only through the promise that His Son would take our sin upon Himself and that God would accept His sacrifice for us that we are saved. If speaking in tongues and being baptized were necessary proofs of salvation, it would have been an error for Luke not to record that the believers in Antioch and Iconium had done both. But, of course, they didn't because these two things are not requirements for the forgiveness of our sin.
In v.2-4 of today's passage we read, "2 But some people who did not believe excited the others and turned them against the believers. 3 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time and spoke bravely for the Lord. He showed that their message about his grace was true by giving them the power to work miracles and signs. 4 But the city was divided. Some of the people agreed with the Jews, and others believed the apostles."
The words translated as "not believe" means "to refuse to be persuaded." This is actually one word in the Greek and it is often translated as "disobedient" which makes sense since what we believe impacts our choices. To believe and to choose not to be defined by that truth is incongruent and illogical. This explains why the unbelieving Jews attempted to discount Paul and Barnabas and their teaching in the minds of the Gentiles.
Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium for a long time. Unlike in Antioch of Pisidia, it appears the Jews in Iconium were not as quick to see them on their way. Of course, in the end they were expelled, but a church there had been formed. And, the Lord made their message authoritative by "giving them the ability to work miracles and signs." There are times when the apostles healed or raised the dead. God doesn't always provide miracles and signs because there are times when miracles and signs are not needed. In fact, when we believe without seeing, well, the Lord Jesus said it is better.
Today, miracles and signs are not needed because the Word of the Lord has been given. There is no need for the validation of the veracity of any sermon since we have the complete Word of God. Every believer in Christ Jesus has everything he needs to live the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. This does not mean the Lord does not work miracles and signs today in response to prayer, but the results will always be left for the faithful to accept, by faith, that it was the Lord who accomplished what occurred.
In Iconium "the city was divided" meaning the people of the city did not all believe in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. We get our word "schism" from the word translated "divided" here. This shows that the miracles and signs were not enough to convince those who simply refused to believe that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah. So, it makes sense that the miracles and signs were given to encourage the people to believe. The bottom line is that it is the Word of God that creates faith in those who believe the Lord Jesus to be the promised Messiah.
In v.5-7 of today's passage we read, "5 Some who were not Jews, some Jews, and some of their rulers wanted to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death. 6 When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they ran away to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the areas around those cities. 7 They announced the Good News there, too."
Here, Luke used a new and rare word translated "mistreat." This word is only used one other time in the Bible in James 3:4 where the pilot of a ship desires to turn it by use of a rudder. It signifies a violent impulse. One sign that someone is losing an argument and they are not espousing the truth is that they employ heated words and they resort to lies and name-calling. Those who feed the flesh reveal how wrong they truly are. These people could not accept what Paul and Barnabas had been teaching because they could not accept that they were so fallen that they needed God Himself to be their Savior.
With trouble brewing in Iconium and a violent attempt made by both the Gentiles and the Jews to stone Paul and Barnabas, they fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia. This is the only time that the area of Lycaonia is mentioned in the Scriptures. It was there in Lystra and Derbe that Paul and Barnabas continued to preach the gospel. Even though I believe in meeting peoples immediate needs, our main thrust must be the preaching of the gospel. Otherwise successful ministry will not be realized. Urging people to believe in the Lord Jesus must be the believers primary mission each day. Then we should meet their felt needs. As Carl Henry once said, "The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time."
