Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

When a person becomes a Christian, what is he or she signing up for?

When my youngest son, Malachi, becomes able to understand the gospel, how will I make clear what it means for him to repent and to believe?

When a friend says she believes in Jesus, but she doesn’t really feel that she has to obey much of what the Bible says… how do you respond?

When you talk with your co-workers or neighbors or family members who don’t belong to a church and don’t seem to have any meaningful interest in knowing or following the Jesus of the Bible, do you think of them more like “good people on the wrong track” or more like “idolators in real danger of God’s wrath”?

In our passage today, we are going to read about what happened when Paul and Barnabas first preached the gospel to total pagans (i.e., those with a completely unbiblical worldview).

We’re also going to learn about what happened when the unbelieving Jews from the previous towns finally caught up with Paul and Barnabas.

And I think we’re going to be challenged a bit in our understanding of what it means to share the gospel and what it means to follow Christ in the world as it is.

Let’s stand and read together… Acts 14:8-20.

Scripture Reading

Acts 14:8–20 (ESV)

8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet.

He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

9 He listened to Paul speaking.

And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.”

And he sprang up and began walking.

11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things?

We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, 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 past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

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.”

18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

Main Idea:

Though Christians and Christianity may often appear to be weak in this world, the gospel is the announcement that Jesus is King

Sermon

1. Signs of the Kingdom of Christ (v8-10)

Before two Thursdays ago, I had every intention of preaching through the first 20 verses of Acts 14 as one section.

It seemed to me that the events unfolding in Lystra were simply the conclusion of what had been planned in Iconium.

You might recall that many of the leading citizens of Iconium had schemed to “stone” Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:5), but they “learned of it and fled to Lystra” (Acts 14:6).

And it is, in fact, in Lystra where unbelievers from “Antioch and Iconium… stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city” (v19).

But there’s more going on in Lystra than the mere conclusion of unbelieving hostility… and there was more for us to consider last week in Iconium than the mere set up of Paul’s almost murder.[1]

Of course, our passage today does climax with the arrival and the violence of those unbelievers who traveled a good distance to catch up with Paul and Barnabas, but there’s a lot for us to understand and think about before we get there.

Let’s begin by looking at these first three verses – v8-10 – and the healing of an unnamed “crippled” (ESV, KJV) or “lame” (NASB, NIV) man.

If your Bible has a cross-reference indicator, then you probably have a number or a letter beside the word “crippled” or “lame” in v8.

And that’s because the exact same Greek word being translated there was used in a similar episode earlier in Acts.

It was chapter 3, Peter was the Apostle in focus, and Luke had just finished writing about how the brand-new church in Jerusalem was growing in number and in favor (Acts 2:42-47).

Sometime after Pentecost, “Peter and John were going up to the temple” to pray, and “a man lame [or “crippled” – same word as Acts 14:8] from birth was being carried” near them (Acts 3:1-2).

In fact, as the episode in Acts 3 continues, it reveals striking parallels with our passage today.

- Both cripples were unnamed men (Acts 3:1-10; cf.

Acts 14:8-10).

- Both were “crippled” or “lame” [ἐκ κοιλιας μητρος αὐτου] “from the womb of his mother” or “from birth” (Acts 3:2; cf.

14:8).

- Both Peter and Paul [ἀτενισας] “looked intently at” their respective crippled men (Acts 3:4; cf.

14:9).

- Both lame men immediately “leaped” or “sprang” up and “began to walk” when an Apostle commanded them to do so (Acts 3:8; cf.

14:10).

- Both healings drew a crowd and required an explanation (Acts 3:10-12; cf.

Acts 14:11, 14-15).

But that’s exactly where the two passages diverge from one another.

In Acts 3, Peter addressed a Jewish crowd, calling for repentance and faith in the long-awaited Messiah from those who were descendants of Abraham who knew the promises of God (Acts 3:11-26).

But, in Acts 14, Paul is addressing an entirely Gentile crowd, who knows nothing of the God of Abraham.

You see, now, why Acts 14:8-20 isn’t just the conclusion of v1-7?!

In our passage this morning, Luke has organized his record in such a way so as to highlight the expansion of the gospel among the Gentiles in the same way that he highlighted the expansion of the gospel among the Jews in Jerusalem (it’s like Luke wasn’t just interested in recording history, but that he’s consciously telling a bigger historical story than just the events of his own time).

Now, as I’ve been arguing all along in our study through Acts, the miracles we read about during the Apostolic period were not intended to make us ask, “Why don’t we see these things happening today?”

No, these recorded miracles are intended to show that the kingdom of Christ is breaking into the kingdom of this world!

And just like the arrival of the Messiah means healing and life for the believing Jews, so too does King Jesus extend His healing for believers of all nations or peoples(Rev.

22:2).

And, once again, the healing Jesus brings is not merely temporary (though Jesus certainly can and does heal); the healing work of Christ will be fully completed when He gives all those who love and trust Him new resurrection bodies that will never grow old and never malfunction again.

Friends, this is the promise of the gospel… that Jesus is the “sun of righteousness” who has risen “with healing in [His] wings” (Malachi 4:2), and Jesus will bring about full healing and restoration in the final resurrection for those who believe or trust in Him.

Jesus Himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (Jn.

11:25).

We may certainly pray for healing in this life, but our eager expectation is not a few more days orbetter days now, it’s eternal joy in a world made new.

That’s what v8-10 of Acts 14 are illustrating for us!

The same Christ/King/Savior who was at work behind and through these apostolic messengers will one day complete the work He’s begun!

These missionaries who brought the good news of healing and forgiveness in Jesus’s name are heralds of the eternal King who will make good on His promises!

But just like we are prone to do today, those Gentiles who heard about a healing became attracted to the miracle… though not so much to the message.

2. A False Positive Response (v11-13)

There seems to be a bit of a delay between the events of v11-13 and what Paul and Barnabas did in v14.

It is quite possible that Paul and Barnabas did not know the Lycaonian language, and this would explain how the citizens of Lystra would have been able to go so far in their misunderstanding before Paul tried to correct them.

At any rate, we’re told in v11 that “the crowds saw what Paul had done,” and this provoked a very positive response.

They “lifted up their voices” in praise for Paul and Barnabas (v11).

Verse 12 says they even assumed that Paul and Barnabas were manifestations of Greek gods!

Now, depending on your translation, Barnabas and Paul were either called “Zeus” and “Hermes” (ESV, NIV, NASB) or “Jupiter” and “Mercurius” (KJV).

The reason for this variance is quite simple (it seems to me).

The highest god of the pantheon was called “Zeus” for the Greeks and “Jupiter” for the Romans, and the messenger or son of the high god was called “Hermes” for the Greeks and “Mercurius” (or Mercury) for the Romans.

It’s not clear to me if this variation in our translations is due to the fact that the people in Lystra were speaking “Lycaonian” or due to some confusion on the part of early English translators working with the Greek and Latin manuscripts.

But either way, the meaning is exactly the same: The citizens of Lystra were total pagans, and they assumed that the high gods (by whatever names) of their pantheon had come to visit their town.

Verse 13 even tells us that “the priest” of the temple of “Zeus” or “Jupiter,” which was located “at the entrance” or “just outside” of their city, organized a worship service and sacrifices to honor Paul and Barnabas.

Now, John Calvin thought this display of complete theological error was indicative not of humility but of “ambition” on the part of the folks in Lystra.

He said that their desire to offer sacrifices was motivated by their aim to elevate the status of Lystra… to make their city “more famous and noble” because it had been visited by the gods.

[2]

To add even more possible background, there was a “legend of a visit by the supreme god… and his son… [both] disguised as mortals seeking lodging.

According to the legend, an elderly couple welcomed the gods, with the result that their house was transformed into a temple and they were made priests.

The gods then destroyed the houses of those who did not receive them.”[3]

If that story was part of the local lore of Lystra, then the announcement of another visit would have been compelling, indeed.

Whatever the background, the fact is that Paul and Barnabas got the total opposite response in Lystra than the sort of responses they’d been getting in the last two towns.

They’d been kicked out of Antioch, and then they’d barely escaped a secret plan to kill them in Iconium… and now, they are literally being welcomed as gods in Lystra.

Just imagine that missionary report coming back to a church today!

“You wouldn’t believe it!

We arrived in Lystra to preach the gospel, and the people love us!

The crowds we’re seeing are too big to count.

They brought us more food than we can eat, and we have raised tons of money.

Oh, and we’re building a beautiful church building that matches the religious décor of the city.

It’s only a matter of time before the whole town gathers for worship in our building… to the glory of God, of course.”

Ah, but why are the crowds gathering?

Who exactly are they worshiping?

And why aren’t the missionaries on the ground or the churches back home asking these questions?

Well, Paul and Barnabas were asking these questions.

And when they heard the answers, they were not happy.

In fact, they were horrified, and they were urgent in their call for repentance.

3. A Call for Repentance (v14-18)

Verse 14 says, “when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments…” This is a Jewish sign of disgust and outrage at the notion of blasphemy (Num.