Acts Bible Study: Day 23
Today’s passage: Acts 14
Focus verse:Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. (Acts 14:9–10)
After Paul and Barnabas preach to the Gentiles about Jesus in Pisidian Antioch, producing impressive results, they do the same thing in Iconium. There, both Jews and Gentiles believe in Jesus.
After spending much time there to build the growing church, a plot emerges to silence them. They leave town and head for Lystra.
In Lystra, Paul heals a man who had been lame from birth. The locals think Paul and Barnabas are gods. It’s all the pair can do to keep the people from offering sacrifices to them.
Some of the Jews who harassed them in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium arrive to stir up more trouble. A mob forms, and they stone Paul, dragging him outside the city, presumed dead.
But with the disciples gathered around his body, Paul gets up and walks back to the city. The next day he and Barnabas head for Derbe, where many more people decide to follow Jesus.
Then they backtrack to revisit the disciples they left in Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch.
At each city church, they appoint elders. There are no nominations or voting, but prayer and fasting is part of the selection process. Then they dedicate the elders’ work for God.
After a time in Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas head out again. They go to Pisidia, Pamphylia, Perga, and Attalia, as they return to their home base in Antioch (Syria).
Not only did we see Saul’s name change to Paul in the last passage, we also saw the beginning of a change in leadership in this missionary duo.
Until then Barnabas had taken the lead role with Paul in a supporting function. Now we see the leadership shift to Paul.
Barnabas’s mentorship of Paul has been a success, with Paul now being the primary missionary on their team. Barnabas accepts this change. We see no hint of jealousy, hurt, or conflict on the part of Barnabas, a perspective worthy of emulation.
The two work together for the rest of the trip. They form a powerful missionary team that tells people about Jesus, with remarkable success.
From a spiritual perspective, it doesn’t matter who’s in charge or who does what. It’s the kingdom results that matter. It’s people turning to Jesus and believing in him that’s important. The role each person plays is inconsequential.
Questions:
- Are we willing to put our pride aside for the cause of Jesus?
- Whether we’re a leader or a follower, what might we need to change in our role?
[Discover more by considering John the Baptist’s attitude of his ministry role in respect to Jesus in John 3:30.]
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Read more about the book of Acts in Acts Bible Study: Discover How the Early Church Can Inform What We Do Today, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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