14
Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel and performed miracles in Iconium.
Acts 14:1-3
1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish meeting place and spoke very convincingly about the Lord Jesus. As a result, many Jews and also non-Jews believed in Jesus.
2 But some of the Jews refused to believe that message, and told the non-Jews not to believe it. They told the non-Jewish people that the message about Jesus was not true. As a result, some of the non-Jews became angry towards the believers there.
3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there speaking boldly for the Lord, and the Lord Jesus enabled them to do many miracles. In this way he showed people that the message about how the Lord saves us in a way that we do not deserve is true.
Before people could attack the apostles, they escaped to Lystra and Derbe.
Acts 14:4-7
4 The people who lived in Iconium city strongly disagreed with each other concerning the message about Jesus. Some of them agreed with the Jews [SYN] who did not believe that message. Others agreed with Paul and Barnabas.
5 Then the non-Jewish people and the Jewish leaders [SYN] who opposed those two talked among themselves about how they could mistreat them. Some of the important men in that city agreed to help them. Together, they decided that they would kill Paul and Barnabas by throwing stones at them.
6 But Paul and Barnabas heard about that, so they quickly went away to Lycaonia district. They went to Lystra and Derbe cities in that district and to the area surrounding those cities.
7 While they were in that area, they continually told people the message about the Lord Jesus.
God enabled Paul to heal a lame man.
Acts 14:8-10
8 Once while Paul was preaching to people in Lystra, a man was sitting there who was crippled in his legs. When his mother bore him he had crippled legs, so he was never able to walk.
9 He listened as Paul was speaking about the Lord Jesus. Paul looked directly at him and could see in the man’s face that he believed that the Lord Jesus could make him well.
10 So Paul called out to him, “Stand up!” When the man heard that, he immediately jumped up and began to walk normally.
The apostles stopped the people from worshipping them.
Acts 14:11-18
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they thought that Paul and Barnabas ◄were/must be► the gods that they worshipped. So they shouted excitedly in their own Lycaonia language, “Look! These people are the gods that we(inc) worship! They have made themselves look like people and have come down from the sky/heaven to help us!”
12 They began to say that Barnabas was probably the chief god, whose name was Zeus. And they began to say that Paul was Hermes, the messenger/spokesman for the other gods. They mistakenly thought that because Paul was the one who had been speaking.
13 Just outside the gates of the city there was a temple where the people worshipped Zeus. The priest who was there heard what Paul and Barnabas had done, so he came to the city gate, where many people had already gathered. He brought two bulls with wreaths of flowers around their necks. The priest and the other people wanted to kill the bulls as part of a ceremony to worship Paul and Barnabas.
14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about that, and understood that the people thought that they were gods and wanted to sacrifice the bulls to worship them, they were very distressed, so they tore their own clothes. They rushed among the people, shouting,
15 “Men, ◄you must not kill those bulls to worship us(dl)!/why are you doing this?► [RHQ] We are not gods! We are just human beings like you! We have come to tell you some good news! We have come to tell you about the God who is all-powerful. He wants you to stop worshipping other gods, because they cannot help you. This true God made the heaven/sky and the earth and the oceans and everything in it.
16 In the past, all of you non-Jewish people worshipped whatever gods that you wanted to. God let you worship them, because you did not know him.
17 But he has shown us [LIT] that he acts kindly toward us(inc). He is the one who causes it to rain and causes crops to grow. He is the one who gives you plenty of food, and makes you very happy.”
18 The people heard what Paul said, but they still thought that they should sacrifice those bulls to worship Paul and Barnabas. But finally, the people decided not to do it.
Some Jews incited people to stone Paul at Lystra.
Acts 14:19-20a
19 However, after that, some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded many of the people of Lystra that the message Paul had been telling them was not true. The people who believed what those Jews said became angry with Paul. They let the Jews throw stones at him until he fell down, unconscious. They all thought that he was dead, so they dragged him outside the city and left him lying there. But some of the believers in Lystra had followed them outside the city.
20 They came and stood around Paul, where he was lying on the ground. And Paul became conscious! He stood up and went back into the city with the believers.
The apostles revisited believers and appointed leaders.
Acts 14:20b-23
The next day, Paul and Barnabas left Lystra and traveled to Derbe.
21 They stayed there several days and they kept telling the people the good message about Jesus. Many people became believers. After that, Paul and Barnabas started on their way back. They went again to Lystra. Then they went from there to Iconium, and then they went to Antioch in Pisidia province.
22 In each city, they helped the believers [SYN] to become strong spiritually, and they urged them to keep on trusting in the Lord Jesus. They told the believers, “It is necessary that we endure people often persecuting us (inc) before we enter the place where God will rule over us forever.”
23 Paul and Barnabas appointed leaders for each congregation. And before Paul and Barnabas left each town, they gathered the believers together and spent some time praying and ◄fasting/not eating any food►. Then Paul and Barnabas entrusted the leaders and other believers to the Lord Jesus, in whom they had believed, in order that he would care for them.
Paul and Barnabas reported to the believers at Syrian Antioch.
Acts 14:24-28
24 After Paul and Barnabas had traveled through Pisidia district, they went south to Pamphylia district.
25 In that district, they arrived at Perga and preached God’s message about the Lord Jesus to the people there. Then they went down to the seacoast at Attalia.
26 There they got on a ship and went back to Antioch in Syria province. That was the place where Paul and Barnabas had been appointed {where believers had sent Paul and Barnabas} to go to other places and preach. Antioch was the place where the believers had asked God to kindly help Paul and Barnabas in the work that they had now completed.
27 When they arrived in Antioch, they called the believers together. Then Paul and Barnabas told them all that God had helped them to do. Specifically, they told them how God had enabled [IDM] many non-Jewish people to believe in Jesus.
28 Then Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch with the other believers for several months.