First Missionary Journey
Acts 14 covers the entire second part
of Paul’s first missionary journey! Oh,
imagine the details that could have been written down if Guttenberg had been
alive and had developed the printing press by then! Of course, we probably wouldn’t have cared as
much because then reading would have become “old hat” much like reading the
Bible has become today. But seriously,
the majority of Paul’s first whole missionary journey is contained here in this
single little chapter.
I can’t help but ask a single question as
I read through Paul’s very first missionary journey: what is this chapter
about? A common theme of ministry amidst
persecution runs through this chapter. This
theme runs the whole way through Paul’s missionary career, actually!
Persecution
It goes something like this. Yesterday we heard how things went in Psidian
Antioch and how in the end they got driven out.
Here in Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas speak well in Iconium. The Jews get jealous and rile up some
Gentiles. They drive him out. Paul and Barnabas then go to Lystra, where
Paul is actually stoned and left for dead.
What can we learn about truth in each
town Paul visits? Paul continues to
proclaim the Gospel. You can’t keep a
good man down. You can’t keep a man of
God from proclaiming the truth. The only
way to silence a true man (or woman) of God is to kill them. Paul – like anyone truly filled with the Holy
Spirit – will not stay silent about his faith.
In fact, we notice in this chapter that
the persecution doesn’t just come from within the cities that Paul and Barnabas
are ministering. There seems to be Jews
who hear where he went, who are still so resentful of what Paul taught in their
own city, and they come to where Paul is and stir up trouble for him! Have you ever had those people in your life that
seemed to want to cause trouble for you just because they have a vendetta
against you? It’s tough fighting that
kind of aggressive personal persecution.
But what is it that Paul and Barnabas do? They keep preaching. They keep talking about God to whoever will
listen.
Subtle Persecution in Lystra
For the record, this is also true when
the persecution takes other forms. One
of the most dangerous forms of worldly persecution is flattery. So many pastors have been spoiled because
they have fallen in love with people saying “Good sermon, pastor.” Not that it is bad to complement the people
in your life who help you along the spiritual way; but it is bad when those
people start believing that they are the source of the goodness rather than
giving the credit to God. So many good
Sunday School teachers have been spoiled along the same lines. In fact, so many good Christians have been
spoiled when the worldly persecution comes in the form of flattery. It goes to the person’s head and Satan then has
a foothold in their life.
What can we learn in Acts 14 about what
Paul and Barnabas do? The folks at
Lystra want to call them gods! If they
would have just accepted the praise I bet they would have been set for life! There is no doubt the people of Lystra would
have rallied around them and given them gifts that they could have turned into
worldly resources. Thanks be to God that
they didn’t accept the praise, then!
Paul and Barnabas are actually quick to
denounce the praise and turn the focus on God, where it belongs. Paul and Barnabas are quick to assert their
humanity and their status as sinful flesh and blood like everyone else. They aren’t in it for the credit and the
worldly reward; they are in it for God! This
is a huge point. They don’t need the
credit. They actually want the credit to
go to God.
How are Paul and Barnabas able to
accomplish this mammoth feat of turning aside the credit? They have the Holy Spirit, of course! They rest not on their own strength and their
own understanding but rather they rest upon the strength and understanding of
God.
Derbe and Home to Antioch
Where does all of this lead Paul? Look at Acts 14:22. Paul and Barnabas leave Lystra and head off
to Derbe. When their work in Derbe is done
they come back through Lystra and encourage the disciples that were made
there! The one who needs the
encouragement the most actually becomes the encourager! The one who is facing the persecution the
most is the one who encourages those who aren’t facing it as much.
This is so often the truth. Those who are actually out doing God’s work
are most often the ones who end up encouraging those who should be doing
more. {I’m not trying to insult the folks at Lystra, I’m speaking generally
here.} The people who face persecution
find themselves growing stronger in the Lord.
The people who face challenges develop and grow. The people who sit back and take the easy
faith don’t grow and often what they do have goes through the process of atrophy. We should learn this lesson from Paul. Work for the Lord and He will not only make
you strong enough to resist the persecution but also to become the
encouragement that the faithful people around you need!
This leads us to the end of the
chapter. Paul and Barnabas return … to
Antioch. It is Antioch that is the home
of their ministry, not Jerusalem. It is
Antioch that celebrates what God is doing among the Gentiles, not
Jerusalem. It is Antioch that has its
eyes open to the Holy Spirit.
Sure, Jerusalem is still
important. Jerusalem is where the stodgy
theologians sit in council believing that they can legislate how the Holy
Spirit is at work. But it is Antioch
that is the place where the Holy Spirit is actually at work. The people in Antioch are less worried about
doing it right and more worried about just getting the work of the Lord done!
Please don’t take this the wrong
way. I’m not saying the people in
Jerusalem had no place. I’m certainly
not trying to bring their salvation into question. But when we focus more on process and right
behavior instead of looking for the Holy Spirit we become stodgy. Jerusalem focused on legislating the
Gentiles’ inclusion. Antioch focused on
welcoming them into their midst. Where
do you think the Holy Spirit is most likely to dwell?
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