Do Your Best, and You May Still Be Stoned

Bold Faith in Unbelieving Places

Bible Passage: Acts 14:8–23

1. Boldness Brings Healing

Acts 14:8-10

Comparing Elymas and the man from Lystra

in Chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas were opposed by Elymas the Sorcerer. Verse 9 says that Paul being filled with the Holy Ghost, “set his eyes on him.”

the Christian Standard Bible says he “stared straight at him”

the point being, he had Paul’s full attention, and Paul seemed to be staring directly into his heart

Paul then pronounced temporary blindness on Elymas as judgement for his interference against the Holy Ghost

here in Chapter 14, in the town of Lystra, Paul again sets his eyes on someone, but this time, it is out of compassion and wisdom

verse 9 says Paul was “stedfastly beholding him”

otherwise “looking intently at him”

this man, like Elymas, had Paul’s full attention

once again, Paul perceived what was in this man’s heart, and this time, he saw a heart of faith

so Paul pronounced healing on this man

Paul had the boldness to declare healing on this man, in what Scripture records as the first healing miracle Paul has performed

this boldness comes from two things:

a close relationship with the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

recognizing the voice of the Holy Ghost

faith in the power of the Holy Ghost

Paul put aside distractions and stared directly into this man’s soul

he recognized a heart of faith in God

not a faith in man, or an experience

But healing does not always come

Paul, who had the power from God to heal others miraculously, could not heal himself

in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 he describes a physical affliction that he was powerless to remove, and that the Lord refused to take away “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Some have postulated that his affliction was poor eyesight (lingering from when the Lord blinded him at Damascus). Others have suggested he had a speech impediment, like Moses (although the following verses lend some doubt to that). Paul himself chose to not reveal his affliction, probably to not draw attention to it, because it was of little importance

Liam’s affliction and Lissa’s ailments - I have prayed countless times for their healing, but the Lord has a plan that does not involve the removal of these afflictions. At least not yet.

2. Boldly Redirect Glory

Acts 14:11-13

The reaction of the crowd in Lystra is much different than the crowds in Judea were when they witnessed miracles. Rather than rejoicing and praising God, or being incited to jealousy, they declared “We have been visited by the gods in human form!”

they immediately called Barnabas “Jupiter” and Paul “Mercurius”

the qualifier is that Paul was the chief speaker

this is why I do not think he had a speech problem...no pagan would have thought a man with a speed impediment was a god

Why the Lystrans were so quick to call them gods

the KJV uses the Latin names for these two pagan deities, but the Greek names are Zeus and Hermes, respectively.

in Greek mythology, Zeus was the king of the gods, reigning from Mt. Olympus.

Hermes was the messenger of the gods, but also the god of sports, athletes, and travelers

interestingly enough, Paul and Barnabas were travelers, and Paul often uses metaphors in sports and war during his writings

There is a flood myth involving Philemon and Baucis comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Greek and Roman mythology. Zeus (Jupiter) and Hermes (Mercury), disguised as mortals, visit a town in Phrygia to test its hospitality. The townspeople are rude and inhospitable, but Philemon and Baucis, an elderly, impoverished couple, welcome the gods into their humble home, offering them food, wine, and shelter despite their own poverty.

In that myth, Zeus and Hermes destroy the town with a flood, sparing only the hospitable couple, and blesses them by turning their home into a temple

It is doubtless this myth that comes to the mind of the people of Lystra, and the think they must shower these two “gods” with hospitality and sacrifices, lest they be destroyed

The priest of Jupiter/Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands, intending to do sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas

The human spirit commands us to believe in God. It is because we are made in His image, and we, unlike any other created being, received the breath of Life - a spirit.

Pagans believe in gods (rather than the One True God),

Muslims believe in one god, Allah, but not the One True God.

Jews believe in one god, but not the One True God as revealed in Scripture, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Three in One, what we know as the Triune God, or the Trinity.

Only the fool believes in no god at all (Psalm 14:1), and only then because he refuses to believe what is obvious and evident in all things

Regarding polytheism and superstition

The polytheistic religion of the Greco-Romans included a different god that controlled each of the elements and nature, gods that presided over wars, kings, travelers, sports, and just about anything else you can think of

Greco-Roman Gods

Zeus/Jupiter - king of the gods, authority over lightning, weather, enforcer of moral and social order

Hera/Juno - queen of the gods, goddess of marriage and childbirth, protector of women and the family

Poseidon/Neptune - god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses

Demeter/Ceres - goddess of agriculture, harvest, fertility, seasons

Athena/Minerva - goddess of wisdom, warfare, and crafts

Apollo/Phoebus - god of prophecy, music, poetry, healing, the sun

Catholic Saints

St. Peter - the rock of the church, holding the keys to heaven, patron of fishermen and storms

St. Anne - patron saint of mothers and childbirth

St. Nicholas - patron saint of sailors

St. Isidore - patron saint of farmers and agriculture

St. Catherine - patron saint of philosophers and students

St. Sebastian - patron saint of soldiers

St. Christopher - patron saint of travelers

St. Jude - patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes

I only mention these all to say, our human propensity to superstition has been conquered by Jesus Christ, in whom we have sufficiency in all of these things. The Scriptures tell us with no uncertainty that He is the God of all things and it is He who oversees the affairs of men. He may assign angels to be messengers, and He may use the supernatural to aid or hinder us, but that is all power that He alone wields and holds.

3. Boldly Proclaim Truth

Acts 14:14-18

When Paul and Barnabas understood what was happening, they quickly jumped into action.

In ancient near-east customs, the tearing clothes was an act to show extreme sorrow, and we see biblical examples of this signifying grief, desperation, perceived blasphemy.

Paul and Barnabas were witnessing blatant blasphemy, as not only were the Greeks attributing the miracle of God to be works of Zeus and Hermes, but they were preparing a sacrifice to them. This was, of course, a violation of the 1st Commandment, but also was a direct act of idolatry and blasphemy against Almighty God.

So Paul pleads with them. “Why do you do these things?”

“We are men like you”

we bleed

we have the same origin as you

we are flesh and bones

“We came to tell you to turn from idolatry”

idolatry is vanity and foolishness

it amounts to nothing

“We are here to tell you about the Living God”

the One, True, and Living God made all things

He alone is the God who created and rules heaven, earth, all that is contained in them

He has been patient with the pagan nations in times past

He left His signs all around you

He (not Zeus) does good

He (not Poseidon) made the seas

He (not Demeter) provides the rains and the harvest

He (not Apollo) created and controls the sun and the heavens

With all of Paul’s pleadings, he was barely able to hold them off from their sacrifices. They listened, but only barely as it says they “scarce restrained” the people

4. Bold Perseverance and Encouragement

Acts 14:19-23

This first missionary journey shows an incredible amount of bold perseverance by Paul and Barnabas. They continued to travel from city to city, preaching the gospel of Jesus and encouraging those who believed.

But there was another group of people who were persistent in their travels and bringing their message to the same group of people: the Jews.

The opposition to the apostles in Lystra came not from the Jews that were already there (if there were any), but from the Jews who traveled there from Antioch and Iconium. Consider this: they ran both of them out of their cities, but that was not enough. They followed them around like a persistent nagging mosquito. Sometimes, I’ve seen a hawk being nagged by a group of crows (ironically called a “murder”). No matter how much the hawk just tries to fly away, the crows seem intent on causing it trouble. They won’t let it stay, and they won’t let it leave.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, there's the character of the White Witch, who relentlessly pursues the Pevensie children. No matter where they hide, she keeps coming after them! This reflects the determination seen in those who followed Paul and Barnabas, causing them trouble at every turn. While it may seem tiresome, even this kind of persistence has a purpose, reminding us that our faith will often encounter challenges, requiring our own relentless spirit.

But these Jews had a sinister purpose. Verse 19 says they “persuaded the people.” Another way of putting this is, “they incited the mob.” Suddenly, these people who had previously tried to sacrifice oxen to Paul and Barnabas because they believed them to be gods, have now been convinced to murder them. How quickly the people can be turned by the eloquence of the master deceiver! Look at the mob in Jerusalem, who in the span of a few days went from shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David!” to “Crucify him!”

So these people at Lystra stoned Paul, and drug him out of the city, and left his body outside the walls. There is no indication of what happened to Barnabas, but he seems to have escaped this treatment.

But as the believers there stood around the body of Paul, mourning him, he stood up and walked back into the city! What an incredible two-fold miracle this is: not only did he live through the ordeal, he walked back into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. His healing was complete and his body was restored to full health, with no broken bones or profuse bleeding or brain trauma. He was able to walk into the city (with boldness no doubt!) where he had just been stoned, and then the next day walk to Derbe

Application

The passage teaches that, like Paul and Barnabas, Christians are called to boldly proclaim the Gospel, trusting in God's power rather than human approval.