Worshiping Paul

Acts 14

Iconium, urban center, educated, wealthy.

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The Gospel arrives in Asia Minor, and peace and love and harmony break out everywhere...is not the narrative we are given in the Book of Acts.

Remember the book of Acts is variously understood as the Acts of the Apostles or the Acts of the Spirit or the continuing Acts of Jesus, all of which are correct, but the ACTS themselves are the same. The Act in the book of ACTS, is the Act of spreading the Gospel through the world, beginning with Israel and spreading to the nations. That is the ACT in the book of Acts.

And here in Paul’s first missionary journey we see the Gospel going far afield from Israel, and we see the various reactions to it. And we see that, largely, people are going to reject the Gospel. Many will accept it, truly, but most will reject it and many will reject it violently. They will scorn it.

Things are absolutely no different today. Many accept the Gospel, most reject it. And those who reject it come to hate the Gospel. Not that in North America any of us are in danger of being killed or imprisoned for our faith, thank God. Not yet, anyway, but the day may come. But people still scorn the Gospel, and the Gospel still divides us as a people. If it doesn’t divide us as a people then it is not the Gospel. Jesus said that the arrival of salvation for the world comes as a sword that divides nations and families.

When I say the Gospel divides us as a people I am not talking about conservative principles vs. liberal ones or Republican vs. Democrat or North vs. South or any aspect of the culture wars. This is a division far more profound, far more universal, and cannot be contained by any sociological analysis. It is the division that runs through the whole world, those who will, in the end, belong to Christ, and those who, in the end, will reject Him. This is the division and it is, in the end, the only division that really matters in this life. And this should beget humility in us, for none of us are qualified to say, definitively, where that dividing line is. The Lord is our judge, we are not capable to judge. This is the meaning of the parable of the wheat and the weeds-Matthew 13, when Jesus says don’t try and uproot the weeds yourself because you will destroy some wheat with it. In other words, we are unable to judge people’s souls. That is the Lord’s work.

But in the interim the Gospel divides. Which can be jarring for us. Is He not our prince of Peace? He is indeed, amongst the Body of Christ and in the soul of every Individual Christian, Christ brings Peace and joy. But in the world, which is given over to the prince of this Earth, Satan, the coming of Christ brings division.

Matthew 10:34–39 ““Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

John 15:18–20 ““If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

There is a very simple reason why Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, is so divisive. It is because that what He commands is nothing more or less than our complete devotion, our complete obedience, our complete love, our entire worship, our whole beings, to the point where we die to ourselves. To follow Jesus we must die to our desires, our plans, our hopes, our self interest, and replace it with devotion to Jesus Christ, the Lord.

And the reason He asks this of us, is because He loves us. He asks of us our entire lives, because the only life there is in this universe, in the end, is life that is in right and good relationship with our Creator, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our God from the beginning, predating the beginning, and who will be our God through all eternity, of which there is no end, only glory upon glory. This IS love.

How astounding it is that our Lord chooses such frail and imperfect vessels, such as Paul and Barnabas, such as us, to carry such glorious news to the nations.

And we can see the pattern here in Iconium that will repeat many times in the Book of Acts. Paul and Barnabas preach, many believe, most do not...and then there is a backlash, usually a violent one, often, although not always, with the Jewish leaders in the forefront, driving the persecution.

Why do most of the Jewish people reject Jesus? It seems from Scripture that one of the primary reasons was jealousy and resentment at the Gentiles...the former pagans and idolaters who were being baptized into the Kingdom of God.

Acts 13:44–45 “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.”

Romans 11:25–32 “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers and sisters: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.”

The Lord uses our sin. And He uses the resistance, the jealousy of the Jewish leaders to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles...and Barnabas and Paul go to the Gentiles when they are kicked out of the synagogues with the Gospel, and, shockingly, they often find that amongst the nations, the non-Jewish people, the Gospel is more readily accepted. The shocking part of that, of course, is not that this is wrong or strange, but that the Abrahamic Covenant is finally being fulfilled. The nation of Israel, through Jesus Christ, IS ACTUALLY going to be a light to the nations. This tiny and powerless nation REALLY IS going to bless the whole world. God’s promises do come to fruition, even if they may take thousands of years. They are fulfilled.

The leaders of Iconium devise a plan, the details of which Luke does not tell us, but the plan is to capture Paul and Barnabas and kill them by stoning. They find out about this scheme and they flee to Lystra and Derbe, which are smaller towns in rural areas, less educated, and with no significant Jewish presence, no synagogues to preach in and so forth.

Paul heals a crippled man in Lystra. Now in Jerusalem when Peter heals a crippled man the Jewish leaders are so afraid of this and what it might mean that they try to have him killed so that he will no longer preach or heal in the name of Jesus.

There are 2 main threats to the Gospel that continue to this day. One is exemplified by the Jewish leaders of Paul’s time. And that is direct opposition and persecution.

This was a headline article 2 days ago in the BBC:

China arrested 30 Christian pastors. Some fear it's the start of a bigger crackdown SLIDE

This is the kind of persecution and resistance that Paul and Barnabas were facing in Iconium, and also the kind that Peter and Stephen and Philip faced in Israel. It is blunt force opposition.

In Lystra and Derbe, however, that is not the nature of the resistance they face. In fact, they don’t face resistance at all in the traditional sense of the word, at least not initially. The villagers are thrilled at this healing. They have never seen anything like this. And so they immediately embrace what Paul and Barnabas are doing, and make it their own. Which is precisely the kind of resistance to the Gospel that, generally, we see in our own culture in North America. In other words, not the resistance of the Sword, but the resistance of we will take what we want from the Gospel, and leave behind what we don’t want, or think we don’t need, and so people create their own Gospel, their own version that they think is better than the one the Lord is offering.

They proclaim in their own dialect (Lycaonian) “the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.” Which, appropriately, is a garbled and convoluted version of what it is Paul and Barnabas came to preach, that GOD has indeed taken on flesh and become man, and is among us now by His Holy Spirit.

The Bible - clear to all, but more clarity is achieved through study and context.\o

Ovid’s Metamorphoses- composed in 8. In it Ovid relates various stories and myths that were prevalent in the Roman world at that time.

One of them is a myth from this area, this part of Asia Minor.

The Gods' Test

Jupiter (Zeus) and his son Mercury (Hermes) decide to test the piety and hospitality of the people in the region of Phrygia, arriving on Earth disguised as poor, weary travelers.

They go from house to house, asking for food and shelter, but are cruelly and rudely rejected by everyone in the wealthy town.

The Couple's Hospitality

They finally arrive at a tiny, humble cottage, roofed with reeds, which belongs to an elderly, very poor couple, Philemon and Baucis.

The couple has lived there in devoted harmony for decades. Despite their poverty, they welcome the two strangers with warm enthusiasm and the utmost generosity.

They work together to prepare a simple meal, scraping together their meager stores: lighting the fire, serving stored olives, eggs, dried fruit, and a little wine.

The Revelation and Reward

As the meal progresses, Baucis and Philemon notice a miracle: the small pitcher of wine keeps refilling itself, no matter how many times they pour.

Realizing their guests must be gods, the couple is terrified that their simple fare was inadequate. They decide to slaughter their sole remaining animal—a beloved pet goose that guards their cottage—to offer a truly worthy sacrifice.

The goose runs to the gods for sanctuary, and Jupiter stops the old couple, revealing their true divine identities.

Jupiter declares that the region and its inhospitable inhabitants will be punished, but Baucis and Philemon will be spared.

The Transformation

The gods lead the couple to the summit of a nearby mountain. When they look back, they see their entire town has been destroyed by a massive flood, which has turned the valley into a vast swampy lake.

Their own humble cottage, however, has been transformed into a magnificent marble temple with a golden roof.

Jupiter grants them a wish. Philemon consults Baucis and requests two things:

That they may serve as priests in the new temple for the rest of their days.

That since they have lived their lives in harmony, they may die at the exact same moment, so neither has to mourn the other.

Their wishes are granted. After many years as the temple's devoted guardians, the couple is standing on the steps one day when they suddenly begin to sprout leaves and bark. They have just enough time to whisper "Farewell, dear companion!" before they are simultaneously transformed into two trees: Philemon into an Oak, and Baucis into a Linden (or Lime) tree, growing side-by-side with their branches eternally intertwined.

In many ways it is a beautiful story, isn’t it? With aspects of it that are Christ-like. The importance of caring for the stranger who is poor and vulnerable. The desire to be priests showing that at heart they are pious and put their faith before all things. The deep abiding love that Philemon and Baucis hold for each other. There are a lot of things to respect here in this myth.

Except that Jupiter/Zeus and Mercury/Hermes aren’t gods at all, and certainly even in their mythical forms are not worthy of worship. Contrary to Philemon and Baucis, Mercury and Jupiter are both known to be violent, temperamental gods- unfaithful husbands who not only regularly cheat on their spouses but also rape women and torture those who try to stop them from doing terrible things. Yes, they can also be kind and generous in the myths, but in the next breath they will be cruel and vindictive. Because pagan gods are nothing more than a reflection of our own selves, the best and worst of human behavior put in story form and then worshiped. It is idolatry of ourselves, which is why polytheistic paganism is chaotic, sometimes leading people to do good things, and sometimes terrible things. It has no moral center.

Be that as it may, in light of this myth you can understand better why the local pagan priests were so very keen on worshiping Paul and Barnabas and making sacrifices to them. It is not so much love as fear at work here. If 2 weary travelers appear on your doorstep and you do not treat them well, you may all die in a flood.

And this helps to make a little more sense of Paul’s speech to them as well when they are trying to sacrifice to them- he wants them to see how much God, the one God who created them also wants good things for them. He tells them that they are bringing Gospel- good news- and that

Acts 14:17 “Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”” .

The message Paul is trying to convey is that the Lord is not coming with a promise of death, He is coming with a promise of life to those who have ears to hear. When dealing with pagans that do not know about sin and do not know about the Abrahamic covenant, Paul starts with the very basics. What are the basics? God is good, and He loves you, and He wants to be in right relationship with you. He is not like Zeus and Hermes. And we know from verse 21 that, indeed, some do hear and do give their lives to Christ.

And of course we must take note as a church, as a significant portion of people in our country today have no knowledge of God as well, except maybe some kind of caricatures of Jesus that they have seen in cartoons or satirical clips online. And so we too at times must start with the basics when talking about God. God is good. He is a compassionate and gracious and just God and He loves you and He is calling you through His Son Jesus Christ into a new life marked by love, power, self control, humility, and so forth.

However, the resistance switches from coopting the Gospel to persecution once again. The Jewish leaders have followed Paul and Barnabas, and they quickly convince the people of Lystra that not only are Paul and Barnabas NOT gods, but they are dangerous. Likely the refusal of Paul and Barnabas to accept their worship made the local priests look like fools and as they realize that they are NOT Zeus and Hermes, they likely got angry too and were ripe for the switch to persecution when the Jewish leaders arrived from Antioch and Iconium.

So Jew and Gentile unite in anger against the Gospel, and they stone Paul. Now it’s not 100% clear in the text, but I believe it likely that they stoned him to death, and that the Lord healed him and restored him to life miraculously. I will give my brief argument for that. First, they thought he WAS dead. They drag him out of the city as a dead body. Second, he had to have been seriously wounded, if not dead. Because he was stoned to the point that they thought he WAS dead. Which would mean, typically, that he had broken bones, deep cuts, and other serious life threatening wounds. But when the disciples “gather about him”, he “rose up” and that is the word from which we get resurrection, but the implication is that he stood up on his own power, walks back into the city on his own power, and the very next day starts a trip to Derbe, which is a 60 mile walk. No one stands up after such injuries and begins a major trip the very next day. So there is no question that he was divinely healed. And if he was so healed and ‘resurrected’ and if everyone thought he was dead, well, he may very well have been dead. Paul had a time appointed to him when his ministry would be over and he would be killed. But this was not that time.

In the end, they succeeded, Paul and Barnabas. They plant a Church in Asia Minor, that has been there ever since. Not by being the strongest. Not by being the most eloquent nor by being the smartest. They succeeded simply because it was the Lord’s will for them to succeed and they refused to be discouraged because this was their calling. It was not John Mark’s calling, and that is why he left them in the middle of the journey, but it was THEIR calling, and they endured. They endured humiliation and physical pain and they preached the Gospel, unambiguously, unapologetically, and they succeeded.

Acts 14:21–23 “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

They go back...evangelism AND discipleship.