THE MISSIONARY’S COURAGE

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 8, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: February 8, 2023 from Acts 14:8-20

Theme: Paul’s experience in Lystra teaches us that the gospel is worth preaching to lost people—even in times of danger for the preacher.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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When it came to being a missionary, Paul was an honest model to follow. He never covered up how hard and dangerous the work was. In fact, there are lengthy passages in the New Testament in which he describes the many things that he suffered in fulfilling the call that God placed on him. He never told these things in order to bring glory to himself; but rather in order to stress the truth that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Often, he would tell about trials that he had to endure repeatedly. Some of them are rather startling. But there’s a particular trial that he declared that he only suffered once. And the fact that he was able to even declare it afterward is astonishing; because ordinarily, it would have resulted in immediate death. In 2 Corinthians 11:25, he simply wrote, “once I was stoned”.

The intention of stoning a man was to execute him. There was no such thing as a ‘warning stoning’. And that one event—if a victim were miraculously to survive it—would be enough ordinarily to make a lesser man retire from preaching. But the story that we’re told about this event shows us the courage that the preaching of the gospel of Jesus deserves. Having courage, of course, doesn’t mean that we’re not afraid. It simply means that we rise up and obey God in spite of the danger—and in spite of our fear. The Savior who the gospel proclaims agonized in the garden before going to the cross; but He nevertheless laid down His life for the lost people of this world. And the people for whom He died must hear about it.

And so; as Paul’s example shows us, the gospel is worth preaching to lost people—even in times of danger for the preacher.

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Now; this passage is part of a larger story—the story of Paul’s and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. In Acts 13, we’re told of how they went to Antioch in Pisidia. That was where they first ran into vicious hostility from the Jewish people who opposed the gospel—making it necessary for them to flee to another city. From there, they went to Iconium. But even in that city, they met up with hostility from the Jewish leaders. In Acts 14:5, we’re told that the Jewish leaders in Iconium had so persuaded the Gentile people against the missionaries that they were planning to “abuse and stone them”.

Yet, in spite of the danger, the missionaries kept right on preaching. When driven from one town, they simply went to the next. And that leads us to how they then made their way to Lystra.

Verse 7 tells us that they were preaching the gospel there. And that’s when we read about …

1. THE CRIPPLED MAN’S HEALING (vv. 8-10).

Usually, Paul and Barnabas would make their way to the synagogue first. But there didn’t appear to be a synagogue in the city of Lystra. That may explain why Paul’s approach was different from what we read concerning the other cities. We’re told,

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking (vv. 8-9a).

Luke—who was a physician—took time to explain what the man’s condition was. This reminds us of the story in Acts 3 of how Peter and John met up with a man in the temple “lame from his mother’s womb” (3:2). The story in Lystra is similar; except that it was in a pagan city—not the temple of God; and it was Paul and Barnabas—not Peter and John. And unlike that man in the temple, this lame man seemed motivated—not by the hope of receiving alms—but by the message of the gospel itself.

Whether it was by Paul’s experience as an evangelist, or by the Holy Spirit letting him know, or a combination of the two, Paul was aware that the man was open to the gospel. We’re told;

Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked (vv. 9-10).

No doubt, the man’s condition was known to many in the city. And yet, it appears that the man was instantly healed. The fact that he “leaped” and “walked” would imply that he was joyful over his healing. And the fact that, in the original language, it says that Paul saw that he had faith to be “saved” may suggest that he believed the gospel as well.

And so, this was seen immediately as a great miracle. This would have been a great opportunity for the gospel—much like the one in the temple. But that’s when we discover …

2. THE PEOPLE’S MISUNDERSTANDING (vv. 11-13).

The reaction was not at all what Paul and Barnabas expected. Luke tells us;

Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker (vv. 11-12).

There was a mythological story in that time of how Zeus and Hermes came to a town in the form of strangers. The people of the town rejected them; but an elderly couple was kind to them and hosted them. Later, the city was destroyed by a flood; but the home of the elderly couple was protected and became a great palace. And it may be that the people of Lystra were remembering this mythological legend … and didn’t want to fail to welcome what they thought were Zeus and Hermes. It may have been that Barnabas was a tall and noble-looking man; and so they assumed him to be Zeus (or Jupiter); and Paul—because he was most likely a smaller man and did most of the talking—was assumed to be Hermes (or Mercury) the messenger of the gods. The people were so astonished at the healing that they considered that gods came down in human appearance and dwelt among men.

It seems that Paul and Barnabas wouldn’t have known this if it hadn’t been for the next thing that we read:

Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes (v. 13).

It’s hard to blame the people for this. They had no other way of understanding things than on the basis of their pagan mythologies. But once Paul and Barnabas detected what was happening, they were horrified and deeply distressed.

That’s when we read of …

3. THE PREACHERS’ APPEAL (vv. 14-18).

Verses 14-17 tell us;

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (vv. 14-17).

Lesser men may have sought to take advantage of such circumstances; but the two missionaries would never allow attention to be drawn away from Christ. When they realized the mistake the people were making, they tore their clothes as a clear sign of their humble rejection of this act. They ran in among the multitudes to urge them to stop; telling the people that (1) they themselves were just men, (2) that they were sent to call the people away from such false gods, and instead worship the one true God who made all things, (3) that though God had allowed people in the past to “walk in their own ways”, He now calls them to turn to Him, and (4) that He left them the testimony of Himself by the good He has done to them. Paul said similar things to the Athenians in Acts 17:24-31;

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:24-31).

But the misunderstanding of the people was deep. Verse 18 says;

And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them (v. 18).

But this underscores the remarkable fickleness of the people of Lystra. And it also underscores …

4. THE MISSIONARY’S COURAGE (vv. 19-20).

The Jewish opposition that the two missionaries had met up with in the previous cities apparently followed them to Lystra. Those Jewish persecutors couldn’t have opposed the things that Paul had been saying to the Lycaonian people about God the Creator. But if Paul’s sermon in Lystra was similar to his sermon in Athens, then it must be that they deeply opposed the things that he told the people about Jesus. In verse 19, we’re told;

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead (v. 19).

It must have been a horrible scene! Barnabas and the other co-workers in the gospel—and many who had believed on Jesus because of his preaching and the miracle of the healing of the lame man—must have been unspeakably grieved at what appeared to be Paul’s brutal death. But Paul stood up alive. And then, an amazing display of missionary courage occurred. Verse 20 tells us;

However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe (v. 20).

He may have been severely wounded. It may be that he could have only barely walked—and no doubt even had to be helped. But he would not be deterred from his calling. The gospel must be preached—no matter what it cost him. And so—not only to show his commitment to the gospel, but also his deep love for his brothers and sisters in Lystra and his longing for the lost—he went back into the very same city of people that had just dragged him out of the city and who had sought to murder him. After spending a day there, it appears that it was time to leave. But it wasn’t a departure of defeat or fear. It wouldn’t be long before Paul would return (v. 21). The ministry of the gospel is a matter of great spiritual warfare; and the courage that our own Lord demonstrated is a necessary quality in all those who would proclaim it.

This is what gospel courage looks like.

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This courage made a great impression on one young man. Acts 16:1-2 tells us of a later visit by Paul. It says;

Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium (Acts 16:1-2).

Timothy would have seen Paul’s courage. He would have most likely watched Paul walk back into the city. And so, Paul could later write to Timothy and stir up his courage. At a time when Timothy was facing great challenges in the gospel ministry—and when he watched as Paul suffered in prison for the gospel—Paul wrote to him and told him;

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

Paul had demonstrated what he said with his own example. It was an example that taught that the gospel is worth preaching to lost people—even in times of danger for the preacher. May God give us such courage in our own mission fields!

AE