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8 In Lystra there sat a man who had been born crippled; he had never walked. 9 As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he believed God could heal him. 10 So he cried out, "Stand up on your feet!" The man jumped up and began walking around. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like humans and have come down to us!" 12 Then the people began to call Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes," because he was the main speaker. 13 The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was near the city, brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. 14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes. They ran in among the people, shouting, 15 "Friends, why are you doing these things? We are only human beings like you. We are bringing you the Good News and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In the past, God let all the nations do what they wanted. 17 Yet he proved he is real by showing kindness, by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right times, by giving you food and filling your hearts with joy." 18 Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them. ~ Acts 14:8-18
Today, we return to our study of Acts 14 where Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra which was a city in the province of Lycaonia. They were about half of the way through their first missionary journey. Lystra was a small country town, a frontier outpost of the Roman Empire. The Lystrans were generally uneducated and half-barbarous. When they arrived at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas didn't really had a clad ironed plan, they were being led by the Holy Spirit who led them to where the people were. This is what life is largely about, getting the Word of God to the people so that they may be saved from their sin and that they may become children of God.
In v.8-10 of today's passage we read, "8 In Lystra there sat a man who had been born crippled; he had never walked. 9 As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he believed God could heal him. 10 So he cried out, "Stand up on your feet!" The man jumped up and began walking around."
When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Lystra they walked right into the market place and as they proclaimed the gospel they noticed a man sitting there who had been lame from his birth. He had never walked. He was evidently well-known throughout Lystra, having been there all his life. He heard what Paul said, and believed what he declared about the power of the Lord Jesus. Paul looked at him and saw in his eyes the faith to believe. Suddenly, led of the Spirit, Paul instructed the crippled man to stand to his feet. It was then that he, though he had never walked in his life, obeyed. He had faith enough to try, and the moment he began to obey, the power to obey was granted. He then jumped up and down and began to walk around.
In v.11-13 of today's passage we read, "11 When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, 'The gods have become like humans and have come down to us!' 12 Then the people began to call Barnabas 'Zeus' and Paul 'Hermes,' because he was the main speaker. 13 The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was near the city, brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas."
Even though a miracle took place in full view that day in Lystra, the enemy was at work there, too. Quickly after the miracle the enemy managed to pervert the situation so that the people of Lystra did not believe in the God of the Bible. Instead, they shouted out, "The gods have become like humans and have come down to us!" The Lycaonians had a legend that was known amongst their people that Jupiter (Zeus) and Mercury (Hermes) had once came down to the people disguised as mortals seeking lodging. They went to a thousand homes and no one would take them in. Finally, at a humble cottage of straw and reeds, a poor elderly couple, Philemon and Baucis freely welcomed them and feasted them with what meager means they had. In appreciation, the gods transformed the cottage into a temple, making the couple priest and priestess. And when they died, they were immortalized as great oak trees. The inhospitable homes were destroyed! The people of Lystra did not want that to happen again! So, this time they made sure to welcomed their gods. Since Barnabas had a long beard they called him "Zeus." And, since Paul was short and talked a lot they called him "Hermes" who was known as the spokesman for the gods.
It was then that the priest of Zeus who consulted the gods daily, brought bulls and flowers to the city gates. He did this in order to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. This wasn’t just the priest wanting to make a sacrifice to Zeus while the crowds watched, this was a proclamation that Paul and Barnabas were gods. They were worshipping Zeus by worshipping those they thought he had sent to them. We were created to worship and that which we worship the most defines us most. C.S. Lewis once said, "It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men." In order to operate as we were created we must be in the habit of worshipping God. Our real problem is that we like being worshipped and that is the worst thing that can happen to us. It is only God's definition of anything that is acceptable and good. When we define things we mess it up. How many genders do they say there are? We reveal our worship of God when we live in accordance with His specifications for us.
In v.14-17 of today's passage we read, "14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes. They ran in among the people, shouting, 15 'Friends, why are you doing these things? We are only human beings like you. We are bringing you the Good News and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In the past, God let all the nations do what they wanted. 17 Yet he proved he is real by showing kindness, by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right times, by giving you food and filling your hearts with joy.'"
Notice that Barnabas is placed first in this portion of our passage. Paul was speaking and Barnabas was probably more closely paying attention to the events around them. When Barnabas realized what was happening, he probably shouted something out to Paul and started their actions in motion. It was then that they "tore their clothes" which was an open display of their anguish. After tearing their clothes, Barnabas and Paul ran in among the people urging them to worship the God of the Bible.
Since the people of Lystra had assumed that the gods had come down to them in the form of men, Barnabas and Paul shouted to them that they were mere men who had come to them to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and that the Living God had sent them to them. Barnabas and Paul appealed to the people of Lystra by pointing them to the God of creation who shows His kindness by giving to all rain, crops, food and joy. These folks had become so deluded in their own thinking that they were willing to ignore the words of the supposed "gods." Though that thinking is illogical, it is common among many today. These people acted on the bases of a faulty understanding about God. Sadly, they denied the reasonable and continued in their state of delusion.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them."
This verse serves as a powerful reminder of mankind's tendency toward idolatry. The people of Lystra, like many others throughout history, were easily swayed by the extraordinary and were willing to attribute divine status to fallible human beings. They failed to see that the God of the Bible had healed the once crippled man and sadly they served as a contrast to what the gospel can do for everyone who believes. Oh, the power of the gospel to produce such an amazing difference in the believing heart. What we have here is a clear contrast between the people in the city of Lystra and Paul and Barnabas. It was Paul and Barnabas who rejected the worship of the people and insisted they worship the Lord Jesus. This rejection of idolatry points to the central message of Christianity: the worship of the one living God, who has revealed Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ. Our theology and our worship go hand in hand. The closer we get to the truth, the clearer becomes God's value to us. This must ultimately lead us to worship Him.
