§36 In Lystra and Derbe (Acts 14:8–20)

It would appear that there was no synagogue in Lystra. The fact, then, that Paul and Barnabas preached in this city, even if they had not gone there expressly for this purpose, marks yet another important departure for the church. Moreover, since there was no audience prepared for their message (see note on 13:14), a new approach in its presentation was called for. Something of what this was is evident in these verses, which include a brief impromptu speech addressed to a pagan audience. The speech is incomplete as a statement of the gospel, for it lacks any mention of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. It is more a preamble to the gospel, laying a foundation in a precise statement of natural theology.

In contrast with the previous section, these verses present a narrative rich in detail, and it is tempting to think that this was due to Timothy’s eyewitness account, for he was probably a native of Lystra (see disc. on 16:1). That part of the story that concerns the healing of a lame man has some features in common with the miracle in 3:1–10. This need not concern us. In describing similar miracles, the same author is likely to use some of the same expressions. There is sufficient difference of detail to leave us in no doubt that the stories are different, though the inclusion of the one may have been determined by the other, Luke wanting to demonstrate that Paul was no less effective an apostle than Peter (cf. also 8:9ff. and 13:6ff.). As for its sequel, the story of the apostles’ identification with the gods, this is far too striking for Luke to have invented, whereas the reference to Paul’s being stoned appears to be corroborated by Paul himself.

14:8–10 / Lystra lay in a fertile valley some twenty miles southwest of Iconium. Not long before this it had formed part of a small principality ruled from Derbe by a chieftain named Antipater, who was on good terms with Cicero (Ad Familiares 13.73), though others spoke of him as “the robber.” Antipater was ousted from his territory by Amyntas, after whose death Lystra and Derbe were incorporated in the Roman province of Galatia. Lystra was singled out by Augustus as the site for a Roman colony to be, like Antioch, a bulwark against the robber clans of the Pisidian mountains. The town therefore received some Roman settlers. There were also the usual Greeks. But for the most part its population was Lycaonian (as was Derbe’s also), and despite its colonial status, it seems to have remained a somewhat rustic outpost.

A handful of Jews may also have been found in the town (see disc. on 16:1), but no mention is made of a synagogue; nor have the remains of one ever been found. Determined, nevertheless, to preach the gospel, the missionaries had to try something new. What they needed was a place of public concourse, and the forum was the obvious place. And for the same reason—that it was the meeting and market place of the town—a beggar would also have chosen the forum as his regular pitch. So it was that the lame man of this story was “sitting in his customary place” (the force of the Greek) when Paul noticed him. He may have already heard the missionaries on several occasions, but now he caught the apostle’s eye. Paul saw evidence of faith—‘the man’s heart shone in his face’—and he spoke the healing word (cf. 3:4, 6). Immediately the man jumped up (aorist tense) and began to walk (imperfect tense; v. 10; see disc. on 3:8). Luke comments that the man was lame from birth and had never walked (v. 8; cf. 3:2).

14:11–14 / It was not something done in a corner. In fact, Paul seems to have shouted his command to the lame man at the top of his voice (v. 10). A large number of the townsfolk were therefore witnesses to the miracle. Their reaction was immediate and dramatic (cf. 3:9f.). They were at least a bilingual people, understanding and speaking Greek (the language in which Paul and Barnabas must have preached) in addition to their native tongue, with perhaps some knowledge of Latin. But in their excitement they now shouted in the Lycaonian language, acclaiming Paul and Barnabas as gods. Verses 11 and 12 have a change of tense similar to that noted in verse 10, only not so clearly shown in the English. Literally, “they lifted up their voice” with a sudden outburst (aorist) and then went on to devise names for the two, which they used of them repeatedly (imperfect). Barnabas they identified with Zeus, the head of the Greek pantheon, Paul with Hermes, his messenger, because he was the chief speaker (v. 12; cf. Gal. 4:14; see Hanson, p. 148, for other instances of this kind of thing). The Lycaonians had probably long since syncretized their own gods with those of Greece. It has been objected that Hermes was the messenger of Zeus, not his spokesman. But this is mere quibbling. If the two gods were thought of together, Hermes would naturally be thought of as spokesman. He was, after all, the patron of orators. That the people reacted as they did is entirely consonant with what we know of their beliefs, bearing in mind that Lystra was no sophisticated metropolis. Ovid tells how Jupiter and Mercury (the Latin counterparts of Zeus and Hermes) once visited an aged couple, Philemon and Baucis, in the neighboring district of Phrygia (Metamorphoses 8.611ff.). On the basis of this legend, the people of Phrygia and Lycaonia were wont to make pilgrimages to the place of this supposed visit, and archaeological evidence shows that the cults of the two gods flourished side by side throughout this region until as late as the third century A.D. The apostles, of course, would have understood nothing of what the Lycaonians were saying and would have learned only later of the names they had given them.

We can only guess at some of the locations in this story and must assume certain lapses of time. Perhaps, then, Paul and Barnabas had returned to their lodging when news reached them that the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city as the protecting deity (v. 13), was about to offer bulls to them in sacrifice (cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.755; Persius, Satires 2.44). The wreaths were those used to garland the victims and perhaps also to adorn the priest, the altar, and the attendants (cf. Virgil, Aeneid 5.366; Euripides, Heracles 529). It is not clear in the Greek to which gate the sacrificial procession was heading. Some see here a reference to the gate of the town, others to the atrium of the house in which the apostles were staying (cf. 10:17; 12:13). The latter is argued on the grounds that when Barnabas and Paul (the order of their names is dictated by the reference to Zeus and Hermes; see disc. on 13:9) realized what was happening they rushed out [of the house] into the crowd. But the expression could mean equally as well that they ran out of the city, and we prefer this sense, understanding the gate to have been that of the temple. So then, it was to the temple they ran, tearing their clothes in token of their distress (cf. Gen. 37:29, 34; Josh. 7:6; Judith 14:16f.; Matt. 26:65) and shouting to the people as they forced their way through the crowd.

14:15–18 / Both Paul and Barnabas spoke (cf. v. 18), but what we have here is probably the gist of what Paul said. His theme was that to worship the creature (We too are only men, human like you, v. 15) was inexcusable, for the creature was only evidence of the creator, who alone deserved to be honored. They had come, he said, bringing you good news concerning the living God who manifests his life in creation (v. 15; cf. 4:24; 17:24 citing Exod. 20:11)—a manifestation to which Paul would naturally appeal before such an audience. With Jews (or God-fearers) the message began with the Scriptures (revealed theology) and was the announcement that the Scriptures had been fulfilled. But with these Gentiles, it began with natural theology and was concerned with the basic proposition that there is but one God. This God is also the God of history, who, until now, had let all nations go their own way (v. 16), that is, without summoning them as he did now to turn from these worthless things to himself (v. 15). The reference may have been to idols in general (cf. Jer. 2:5), or Paul may have been pointing as he spoke to the preparations being made even then for the sacrifice. The implication seems to be that their ignorance of God in the past was not culpable (see disc. on 3:17; 13:26; cf. 17:30f.), though this would no longer be so now that the Good News had been announced. Paul takes a much harder line in Romans 1:18ff., but his purpose there was a different one (in any case, cf. Rom. 3:25f.).

To turn … to … God is to believe in God (v. 15; see disc. on 9:42). The language here is remarkably like that of 1 Thessalonians 1:9, which describes how the Macedonians had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” This was probably a common way of expressing Gentile conversion, but what is missing here and is found in Thessalonians is the essentially Christian component of that description: “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” Paul must have included this in his preaching at Lystra at some time or other (though perhaps not on this occasion), for disciples were made (cf. vv. 20, 21), but Luke has seen fit not to report it. His readers had already heard the gospel in the earlier speeches. Instead he reports what is distinctive to this speech, namely, Paul’s argument for the existence of God.

Three “proofs” are given, in each case the tense (present participle) indicating the ongoing nature of God’s activity. Each proof expands upon the other. The witness is not, as at Athens (17:27) and in Romans 2:15, to human consciousness and conscience, but simply to God’s presence in nature, demonstrated, first, by showing kindness (v. 17). More specifically, he is shown to be present, second, by giving rain from heaven and crops in their seasons (v. 17). This point is seen to be the more telling, as we realize that Zeus was spoken of in precisely these terms. It has even been suggested that Paul was citing a hymn to Zeus that may have been sung on this very occasion (the words of this verse do appear to be rhythmical). Rain was regarded as a sign of divine favor, and in this speech, as in the Old Testament, God’s goodness and power in giving rain and making the crops is asserted against the impotence of the gods of the heathen (see esp. Jer. 14:22; cf. also 1 Sam. 12:17; 1 Kings 18:1). As a consequence of the rain, God demonstrates his presence, third, by giving food and filling hearts with joy (v. 17). Joy translates the ordinary Greek word for “good cheer,” often associated with wine in particular. But even if the gospel is not included in this outline, this word may have been intended to point beyond its ordinary meaning to a deeper happiness brought by a richer gift than “grain and wine” (cf. Ps. 4:7), namely, the joy that springs from knowing Jesus as Lord (cf. 2:28 where the same word is used). By these arguments, and only then with great difficulty, did Paul and Barnabas restrain the people from sacrificing to them (v. 18).

14:19–20 / Their work in Lystra resulted in a little band of believers being gathered. But the missionaries were not left to go about their business in peace. The antagonism of the Jews of Antioch and Iconium pursued them even to this remote spot (for some, a journey of over a hundred miles), where they again stirred up trouble (see 13:50; 14:2, 5; also 17:13). It may have been easy to win the crowd to their side because the apostles had spurned their divine honors (cf. 28:6; Gal. 1:6). Nevertheless, some persuasion was needed, and this may well have been along the lines that the two men were imposters, perhaps even that their power stemmed from some malevolent force. So, with the crowd behind them, the Jews stoned Paul, executing at last the punishment on which they had set their hearts in Iconium (v. 5). Then as a final indignity, thinking he was dead (v. 19), they dragged him out of the town as they might a piece of garbage, to dump him outside the gate. However, when the believers came (to bury him?), they found him alive and able to go back to the town with them. Luke has no intention of presenting this as a miracle of restoration to life (note his comment, thinking he was dead). Nevertheless, we may see the hand of God in his survival. Paul showed great courage in going back to the town, though it is unlikely that the magistrates had been involved, so he had nothing to fear at that level. Indeed, as a Roman citizen he had a strong case to put before them against his assailants had he wished to do so. As it was, he chose not to prosecute, but simply to leave. The next day he and Barnabas set out for Derbe (see disc. on v. 21). These experiences must have brought vividly to Paul’s mind what had happened to Stephen (7:58). They certainly left an indelible impression on Paul himself (cf. 2 Tim. 3:11)—literally, if Galatians 6:17 is a reference to the scars that still remained from his time in Galatia. He mentions stoning in Second Corinthians as part of his apostolic experience.