Acts 14:8-21
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[ILLUS] At a dinner given in his honor, the medical missionary, Wilfred Grenfell, was asked, “Is it true that you are a missionary?”
Grenfell replied, “Isn’t it true that you are?”
The mission is to make disciples of Jesus among all peoples. Too often we think of missions as something that people do “over there,” but mission work is what we do right here where we live, using whatever means God has given us to win people to Jesus and disciple them in the way of Jesus.
Dr. Grenfell’s question is a good one for us this morning as we continue to study the first missionary journey of Paul.
If we were at a dinner party with Paul and asked him, “Is it true that you are a missionary?” I think he might very well ask everyone of us in response, “Isn’t it true that you are too?”
[READING] Acts 14:8-12
8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] In the first part of Acts, Luke recorded Peter healing a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb (Acts 3).
Peter fixed his gaze on the man and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk,” (Acts 3:6). Luke wrote in Acts 3:8…
8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
We see a very similar miracle here in Acts 14, only this time performed by the Apostle Paul rather than the Apostle Peter and performed among the Gentiles in Lystra rather than among the Jews in Jerusalem.
But in both cases its the power of Jesus that heals; in both cases an Apostle does the healing; in both cases a lame man is given the ability to walk, and in both cases the physical healing is meant to point to spiritual redemption only available in Jesus.
[CIT] Paul and Barnabas went to Lystra preached Jesus, almost got worshipped as gods, and them almost got killed.
[PROP] We need to see that this mission work is dangerous work not only requiring faithfulness but clarity and toughness as well.
[TS] Let’s think about this passage in four STAGES…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
STAGE #1: The Miracle (vv. 8-10)
STAGE #1: The Miracle (vv. 8-10)
8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.
[EXP] Lystra was a small, country town in Paul’s day. It was a Roman military post with a military road that connected it with Pisidian Antioch about 100 miles to the northwest. It was only about 20 miles from Iconium where Paul and Barnabas last preached the Gospel and chose to flee because of persecution.
Paul and Barnabas arrive in this small, country town and begin to preach the Gospel. There’s a paralyzed man in the crowd.
Notice this man’s condition in v. 8.
Luke describes it to us in three different ways.
He had no strength in his feet.
He had been lame from his mother’s womb; lame ever since he had been born.
He had never walked.
This triple description leads us to conclude that it’s impossible for this man to walk, but we know of course that all things are possible with God.
Notice this man’s attentiveness in v. 9.
This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, and there’s no doubt that Paul was speaking the Gospel.
When Peter preached before the Gentiles in Cornelius’s home, he spoke of Jesus’ powerful ministry of healing, of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, and of Jesus’ amazing resurrection from the dead.
I imagine Paul spoke of those same things on this occasion as he too preached to a Gentile crowd, and all that he said spoke to the heart of this paralyzed man.
I imagine this man listened close and thought to himself, “Oh, how great it would be to be healed by Jesus! Oh, how great it would be to be forgiven by Jesus! And oh how great it would be to be raised in a new body like Jesus!”
But as he closely attended to Paul’s words, Paul closely attended to him.
Notice this man’s faith in v. 9b.
Paul was given the miraculous ability to see this man’s faith, and this man had faith to be made well.
Faith is the gift of God, and this man had received the gift—a gift not just for his body but for his soul as well.
Paul saw it and commanded him, “Stand upright on your feet,” (v. 10a).
Notice this man’s agility in v. 10.
“And he leaped up and began to walk.”
No physical therapy. No strength training to condition the legs. No learning to walk. From “never walked” straight to leaping.
This man was healed in the name of Jesus by the power of Jesus as an authentication of the Gospel of Jesus, and it was stunning.
[ILLUS] But why did this stunning miracle take place? Was Jesus just being kind to a paralyzed man? Was the paralyzed man the only one with believed enough to be healed?
In Mark 2 Jesus was speaking the word while at home in Capernaum. The crowd grew so large that the place was packed. No one else could get in to hear Jesus, let alone be healed by him.
But four men brought their paralyzed friend in hopes that he would be healed by Jesus. See the crowd, they decided to break through the roof and lower their friend down to Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to that paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven,” (Mark 2:5).
Some, however, didn’t like Jesus saying that because only God could forgive sins.
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and then turned and said to them…
10 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”
Now, what was the point of this stunning miracle? Was Jesus just being kind to a paralyzed man? Was the paralyzed man the only one with believed enough to be healed?
No, the point of the miracle in Mark 2 and the miracle in Acts 14 and every true miracle ever performed in the name of Jesus is so that people would know that forgiveness of sins is found in him.
[APP] Because we have done the opposite of what God commands, we have sinned, and that sin has spiritually paralyzed us.
We have no spiritual strength to move toward God because we are dead in sin.
We are born in sin, so we have been spiritually lame from the moment we came into the world.
And apart from God’s grace, we will never get up and walk with God.
But just as the gift of faith was given to this man paralyzed in the body so he could be healed physically, God still gives the gift of faith to people paralyzed in the soul so they can be healed spiritually.
The reason we have lesser miracles of physical healing recorded in the Bible is so that we recognize that the greater miracle of spiritual healing only comes in Jesus Christ.
This man was healed in Lystra so that he and others would be saved from their sins through faith in Jesus.
The account of his healing was written down for us so that we too would be saved from our sins through faith in Jesus.
Do you have faith in Jesus?
[TS] {Stage #1: The Miracle}
STAGE #2: The Misunderstanding (vv. 11-13)
STAGE #2: The Misunderstanding (vv. 11-13)
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
[EXP] A local legend in Lystra held that the region had once been visited by the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes (a.k.a. to the Romans as Jupiter and Mercury). They were disguised as mere mortals looking for hospitality but were turned away a thousand times. At last, however, a poor, elderly couple showed them the kindness they sought, and they rewarded the elderly couple by making them priests and transforming their house into a temple. These gods then destroyed the homes of all those who did not show them the kindness of hospitality.
Apparently, this local legend was so ingrained in the minds of the folks in Lystra that, once they witnessed the healing of the paralyzed man, they assumed Barnabas and Paul were Zeus and Hermes returned.
And this time the folks in Lystra would be certain to show them proper respect.
Notice the exclamation - “They gods have become like men and have come down to us,” (v. 11b).
This statement was made in the local Lycaonian language, so Paul and Barnabas had no idea what the people were saying.
Notice the identification - “And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker,” (v. 12).
They decided Paul must be Hermes because Paul did most of the talking and Hermes was supposed to be the Greek god of oratory and the creator of speech.
That meant, according to the local legend, Barnabas must be Zeus , the leader of the Greek gods.
Notice the aspiration - They aspired to make sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul as Zeus and Hermes, “The priest of Zeus, who temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds,” (v. 13).
These folks so misunderstood the message of Paul and the miracle performed by him that they were about to start worshipping Paul and Barnabas as gods.
[ILLUS] I was standing in line waiting to buy a movie ticket in Columbus, Mississippi, when a young man approached me from behind, bear hugged me, and said, “Rocky! Do you remember me? I went to such-and-such, and you spoke at our Winter Retreat! Do you remember? You saved me!”
I knew what he meant, but I couldn’t help but say, “Well, Jesus saved you. I was just there when he did it!”
[APP] The power of Jesus is often misunderstood and, therefore, misattributed. Jesus miraculously saves someone’s soul, and people say, “I’m glad he came to Christ. I’m so proud of him.”
Jesus changes someone’s life, and people say, “I’m glad that he finally got it together. He sure has made some strides in life lately.”
I know we mean well, but we make our sacrifice of praise on the wrong altar.
The folks in Lystra tried to make their’s at the altar of an idol named Zeus, but we try to make our’s at the altar of an idol called self.
We don’t save ourselves.
We don’t change ourselves.
It’s Jesus.
He saves us.
He changes us.
It’s his power.
We must not misunderstand that.
We must make that clear.
[TS] {Stage #1: The Miracle/ #2: The Misunderstanding}
STAGE #3: The Message (vv. 14-18)
STAGE #3: The Message (vv. 14-18)
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17 and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
[EXP] Paul and Barnabas responded to the attempted idolatry with lamentation, clarification, and proclamation.
We see their lamentation in the tearing of their robes.
In the Bible, tearing your robes is a sign of mourning, distress, and lament concerning blasphemy.
Here Paul and Barnabas tore their robes to stop a blasphemous exercise—giving to false gods (or even giving to mere men) the glory that belonged to God alone.
[ILLUS] You might remember that earlier in Acts, another mere man was given the praise that belonged to God alone. After persecuting the church, Herod Agrippa presented himself like a god and was said to speak with the voice of a god. He welcomed the blasphemous praise and was struck down and eaten by worms as a result.
Maybe Paul and Barnabas rushed out into the crowd to stop this blasphemy because they didn’t want to become worm food like Herod.
We see their clarification in their confession, “We are also men of the same nature as you…” (v. 15).
Paul and Barnabas didn’t present themselves as gods or saviors but as men in need of a Savior just like all the other people in Lystra.
We see their proclamation in Paul’s message, “(we) preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things…” (v. 15b).
Paul didn’t have start at creation when he preached to a Jewish audience, but with this pagan audience in Lystra Paul saw the need to go back to the beginning.
He proclaimed YHWH, that’s the personal name of the God of the Jews, as the LIVING God (v. 15c).
Idols like Zeus and Hermes were dead gods because they couldn’t hear, speak, or act. They don’t exist!
YHWH, the God of the Jewish people, however, is a god who listens, speaks, and acts. He is the only God and there is no other!
Paul proclaimed YHWH as the CREATOR God, “(He) made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them,” (v. 15d).
Idols like Zeus and Hermes never created anything because they didn’t exist themselves, but YHWH created everything including the folks in Lystra.
Paul proclaimed YHWH as the PERMITTING God, “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways…” (v. 16).
Rather than destroying idol-worshippers on the spot, which YHWH had ever right to do, he permitted them to go their own sinful way knowing that one day they would be called to repent.
That’s what Paul was doing in Lystra in that moment—he was calling the people to repent of their idolatry, but if they would not repent, they would perish.
And, finally, Paul proclaimed YHWH as the WITNESSING God, “He did not leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with good and gladness,” (v. 17).
In Romans 1:20 Paul wrote…
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
And now YHWH has provided more than rains and fruitful seasons as witness, more than food and gladness; he has provided his Son, Jesus, to turn idolaters away from vain idols.
That’s the message that Paul preached.
There’s one living God.
He created you.
You must repent of your rebellion against him.
You know he’s real; you know this is true.
You have no excuse if you refuse to repent and trust in his Son.
[ILLUS] Jesus and his disciples were walking along, and Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that I am?”
His disciples said, “Well, some say you’re John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.”
Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”
In a moment of spiritual insight that could only be attributed to the grace of God, Peter said...
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (Matt. 16:16).
[APP] YHWH, the Living God, is calling us to turn away from vain idols by turning to him through faith in his Son, Jesus. And if we have already turned to him, he is calling us to turn to him more and more.
Vain things promise help, hope, purpose, and salvation but fail to deliver.
An idol is vain because it promises to save but can’t deliver.
It has no power.
It only has an evil ability to distract us from the living God who can help us, who can give us real hope, who can give us purpose, and who can save us through faith in Jesus, his Son, the Son of the living God.
They’re probably not named Zeus and Hermes, but what idols do you need to turn away from?
[TS] {STAGE #1: The Miracle / #2: The Misunderstanding / #3: The Message}
STAGE #4: The Mettle (vv. 19-20a)
STAGE #4: The Mettle (vv. 19-20a)
19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.
[EXP] Mettle (M-E-T-T-L-E) is “a person’s ability to cope with difficulties; (it’s his or her) spirit and resilience.” In these two verses, we see Paul’s mettle; we see his spirit and resilience.
Notice, first, that the apostles were opposed (v. 19a).
After leaving the island of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas had preached in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium. Some believed, but some of the Jews wanted to see Paul and Barnabas dead, so they traveled from their cities to the small, country town of Lystra to make it happen.
Notice second that the crowds were persuaded, “(they) won over the crowds” (v. 19b).
The Jews from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium turned the crowds in Lystra against Paul and Barnabas, but why did this crowd turn against them so easily when moments earlier they were about to worship them?
Perhaps they were disappointed to learn that Barnabas and Paul were really not Zeus and Hermes.
Perhaps they were disappointed to learn that no material blessing would be coming to them from Zeus and Hermes.
Perhaps the unbelieving Jews convinced the folks in Lystra that Paul and Barnabas had tricked them with the miracle and were trying to mislead them with their message.
Whatever the reason, this crowd turned against them quick.
Notice that they stoned Paul, drug him out of the city, and left him for dead (v. 19c).
Why didn’t they do the same to Barnabas?
We don’t know. Maybe Barnabas wasn’t there. Maybe they were just playing it safe in case it turn out Barnabas really was Zeus.
In any even, they left Paul for dead, but here we see Paul mettle.
Paul sparred was sparred, “But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city,” (v. 20a).
They supposed him to be dead, but he was not; Paul’s life had been miraculously sparred.
Paul later wrote to Timothy (who was from Lystra) about his persecutions and sufferings, “such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me,” (2 Tim. 3:11).
[ILLUS] One writer said, “I once saw the track of a bleeding hare across the snow. That was Paul’s track across Europe.”
Battered and bruised, Paul courageously went back into Lystra and the next day continued on his missionary journey.
[APP] The crowds can be mighty fickle. One moment they love us and would worship us as gods if we let them and the next they stone us and leave us for dead.
If Jesus will not be a god of their own making, they would rather him be cast out and his messengers put down.
What will we do?
Will we get up and go back in?
Do we have that kind of mettle?
[TS]…
Conclusion
Conclusion
This mission work is dangerous work not only requiring faithfulness but clarity and toughness too.
[PRAYER]