Last week, we saw Paul and Barnabas returning to the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch only to find that the Jews had:  

…incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district (Acts 13:50). 

Paul realized that they were not actually rejecting him and Barnabas, but the Gospel. In response:

…they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:51-52).

I love what Luke recorded here, that in spite of opposition, the “disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Oh, that we would exhibit the same fruit of the Spirit in our own lives during times of trouble.

Traveling eastward from Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas entered the synagogue as was their custom, and after sharing the Good News about Jesus, a great number of Jews and God-fearing Gentiles believed. It is interesting to note that Luke records the fact that many believed after they shared the Gospel so “effectively.” Once again, Paul must have begun with the Old Testament Scriptures pointing to the Messiah, and then linked those prophecies to the life and ministry of Jesus, including His death, burial, and resurrection. This is a wonderful lesson for all of us, to learn to share the Good News of Jesus in an “effective” manner, which not only includes the content of our message, but also our temperament when sharing it! However,

Those Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers (Acts 14:2).

Once again, the responsibility for believing or refusing to believe falls upon those who hear the message. Believing is the positive response of those who are convicted by the Holy Spirit when the Gospel is presented, while unbelief (and even anger) is the negative response to the content of the Gospel. When one hears the gospel, those who reject the message resist the Holy Spirit who is trying to convict them of their sin and need for Christ, while those who believe the message respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit by repentance and faith. Luke tells us that:

Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders (Acts 14:3).

Luke tells us that signs and wonders helped to “confirm” the message presented to those who believed. But, even with these signs and wonders, the city was still divided over the Gospel, which also confirms the fact that “signs and wonders” are no guarantee that people will believe. In the end, the believers discovered a plot to stone Paul and Barnabas and so they fled to Lystra and Derbe where Jewish influence was much less prevalent.

Shortly after their arrival in Lystra, Paul proceeded to heal a lame man who leaped to his feet and began to walk. With the pagan influence throughout the region, the people began to shout:

“The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas, they called Zeus, and Paul, they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker” (Acts 14:11-12).

The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, began to bring sacrifices of bulls and wreaths, at which time Paul and Barnabas began to shout:

“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth, and the sea and everything in them”… (Acts 14:15).

Even with these words, the crowd continued making sacrifices to them. Then, sadly, Jews came all the way from Pisidian Antioch and incited the crowd, and they proceeded to drag Paul outside the city and stoned him, leaving him for dead. But here is the good news:

After the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day, he and Barnabas left for Derbe (Acts 14:20).

Did you notice that Luke mentioned the fact that “disciples” from Lystra came to Paul’s aid? Yes, even in Lystra where Paul was stoned were those who believed Paul’s message and become followers of Jesus. And upon arriving in Derbe:

They preached the gospel, and a large number of disciples came to faith (Acts 14:21).

At this point, Paul and Barnabas decided to return to the cities they had just visited in order to strengthen the new converts who had become genuine followers of Jesus. They also:

…appointed elders in each of these new churches, and with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust (Acts 14:23).

Paul and Barnabas knew that it would be some time before they would see these new believers again, so all they could do was to “commit them to the Lord” because they knew that it was in the Lord that these new believers had put their trust. Upon arriving at the southern coast, they caught a ship bound to Syrian Antioch, their “home base,” and upon their arrival:

They reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples (Acts 12:27-28).

So, they stayed a long time, huh! I wonder what they were doing during that time??? Of course, they were telling story, after story, after story, of the amazing things that God was doing among the Gentiles who had come to faith in Christ, and how God had preserved their lives during times of conflict and even violence. And I’m certain that they were also praying for these new churches that were now established in Asia Minor.

As Paul neared the end of his life during his second Roman imprisonment, I am reminded of what he wrote to Timothy, the young pastor in Ephesus:

 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim 4:6-8).

Although the end of their First Missionary Journey did not mark the end of their ministry, it did mark the end of a new beginning of targeted missionary activity. What are those things that caused Paul and Barnabas to finish well, and to finish strong? Let me suggest a few:

Love – To genuinely love all those whom Christ loves, which includes both Jew and Gentile, agreeable and disagreeable, receptive and hostile;

Resilience – To be able to “bounce back” from setbacks and discouragement; and

Endurance – To keep moving forward In spite of rejection and even mob violence.

Let me close with two exhortations, the first from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

The second exhortation comes from Barnabas (whom I believe is the author of the Book of Hebrews), but if Paul is the author, then we are still good:

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Blessings to all. I pray that each of us will live our lives in such a manner that we will “Finish Strong and Finish Well!!

Hope to see you next week.