Acts 14:8-28
Paul Preaches in Lystra
In Lystra there sat a man who couldn’t walk. He hadn’t been able to use his feet since the day he was born. He listened as Paul spoke. Paul looked right at him. He saw that the man had faith to be healed. So he called out, “Stand up on your feet!” Then the man jumped up and began to walk.
The crowd saw what Paul had done. They shouted in the Lycaonian language. “The gods have come down to us in human form!” they exclaimed. They called Barnabas Zeus. Paul was the main speaker. So they called him Hermes. Just outside the city was the temple of the god Zeus. The priest of Zeus brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates. He and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
But the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about this. So they tore their clothes. They rushed out into the crowd. They shouted, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are only human, just like you. We are bringing you good news. Turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the living God. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth and the sea. He made everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. But he has given proof of what he is like. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven. He gives you crops in their seasons. He provides you with plenty of food. He fills your hearts with joy.” Paul and Barnabas told them all these things. But they had trouble keeping the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. They won the crowd over to their side. They threw stones at Paul. They thought he was dead, so they dragged him out of the city. The believers gathered around Paul. Then he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch
Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in the city of Derbe. They won large numbers of followers. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. There they helped the believers gain strength. They told them to remain faithful to what they had been taught. “We must go through many hard times to enter God’s kingdom,” they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church. The elders had trusted in the Lord. Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted. They placed the elders in the Lord’s care. After going through Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas came into Pamphylia. They preached the good news in Perga. Then they went down to Attalia.
From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch. In Antioch they had been put in God’s care to preach the good news. They had now completed the work God had given them to do. When they arrived at Antioch, they gathered the church together. They reported all that God had done through them. They told how he had opened a way for the Gentiles to believe. And they stayed there a long time with the believers.
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