Iconium

Introduction:

Jesus can be a uniting figure, and for believers, He is.

He can also be a divisive figure, and that makes those of who who identify with him sources of division to those who reject him.

Trust or rejection are the only two possibilities with Jesus.

He calls for complete loyalty.

This begins with trusting His person and all that He did for us.

It includes public association with Him through baptism and being part of a congregation.

Rejection is the alternative to trust and loyalty.

Jesus is the line of demarcation that separates people in the world.

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

Before the conclusion of the narrative in Pisidian Antioch, the writer of Acts told of Paul and Barnabas’ travel to Iconium.

So, he connects the accounts with at least three things.

Acts 13:51

The phrase “kata to auto.”

Boldness

He will also link them through the eventual presence of opposition from Antioch.

Paul and Barnabas repeated what they did in Antioch.

Note the terminology.

Note the actions: they entered into the synagogue of the Jews.

Note the words: They spoke in the same manner.

This implies that they recounted the events and used scriptures in similar manner to Antioch.

Luke does not want the reader to dwell upon this information again other than to use it for a general idea of what happened.

Like Antioch, Iconium also had the status of a Roman colony.

It was located approximately 50-90 miles along the Via Sebaste.

The end result was that a large number of Jews and Greeks believed.

Acts 4. Acceptance and Rejection at Iconium (14:1–7)

In short, at Iconium Paul and Barnabas encountered a cultural amalgam—native Phrygians whose ancestors had occupied the area from ancient times, Greeks and Jews who dated back to the Seleucid period (312–65 B.C.), and Roman colonists whose presence dated from more recent times

Opposition

Also like Antioch, there were those who rejected their message.

Arguably, we see two groups of people specified: those who believed and those who rejected.

The focus is upon the Jews.

Those Jews who rejected arose and “made the minds of the nations evil against the brothers.”

The expression means they “turned the minds of the Gentiles” against the brothers.

Normally, we would expect “the brothers” to refer to more than Paul and Barnabas, but here that is who the term mostly likely designates.

By extension that may include the recent believers.

Remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

We are in a spiritual war that is intellectual in nature.

We should, thus, expect, intellectual opposition.

Despite this, we should also not lose heart.

Introduction (Part 2):

So far, we have seen a good deal of repetition.

Luke has tied events between Iconium and Antioch in Pisidia in two ways:

Acts 13:51

“kata to auto” (Acts 14:1)

Tonight we will see a third way.

Notice how Paul describes God in 2 Corinthians 1:1-6

We can appreciate, in small ways for now, why Paul says the things he does about God.

For the first time, we will also see what happens when Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel in a completely alien environment.

Encouragement from the Lord

Like in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas received courage from the Lord.

The signs and wonders served to embolden them.

While their audiences might have found them to provide additional evidence, the writer of Acts focuses upon the effect they had on Paul and Barnabas.

The signs and wonders, though, were witnesses “to the word of his grace.”

Division

Let’s remember the words of Jesus:

Mt. 10:34-35: He divides people even of closest relations.

Paul and Barnabas’ prolonged stay, and their message, divided the city of Iconium.

Notice the two divisions given in Acts 14:4:

“Some were with the Jews.”

“Others were with the apostles.”

Those in opposition planned to do harm to them and to stone them.

So, they left to travel farther inland along the Via Sebaste.

The Apostles in a Pagan Environment

Now, we see something new: representatives of Jesus in a fully pagan environment.

Lystra was a Roman colony, too.

There probably were Jews living in Lystra, Timothy came from there, but the writer says nothing about Paul and Barnabas entering a synagogue.

Instead, Acts 14:7 says they proclaimed the message of Jesus in Lycaonia.

Specifically, Lystra and Derbe.

This was approximately 150 miles from Antioch.

They have been in the region also sometimes referred to as Lower Galatia.

The triggering event was a lame man in Lystra.

He was lame from birth and had never walked.

He heard Paul speak.

Paul watched him intently and say that he is “having faith so as to be made whole.” (Deal with this for everyone).

Paul spoke to him in a loud voice.

The man leapt and was walking around.

The Wrong Conclusion

The masses of people saw what Paul did, and they raised their voices in their local dialect.

They claimed “the gods descended to us resembling humans.”

They called Barnabas Zeus.

They called Paul Hermes because he was the one “guiding the word.”

The priest of Zeus having brought bulls and garlands to the gates wanted to sacrifice.

They people shared this desire.

Paul and Barnabas React

They ripped their clothing.

They ran at the crowd shouting.

They offered the following plea:

Why are you doing these things?

We are humans suffering like you.

As ones proclaiming that you all should turned to the living God from these vanities.

They quote Exodus 20:11 like Peter had done in Acts 4:24.

The implication is that the local view of the gods contradicts reality.

They are preaching the living God to them.

Notice the explanation similar to Romans 3 and Acts 17.

God made all things.

In times past, he allowed all the nations to proceed in their ways.

He did this, although, he did not leave himself without witness.

God continued to do good despite humanity rejecting the evidence of his existence.

God gives:

rain from heaven

seasonal fruits

fill of food

gladness of heart

With great difficulty they stopped the crowd from sacrificing to them.