Acts 14

KJV · Chapter 14/28

1And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

2But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

3Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

4But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

5And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

6They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:

7And there they preached the gospel.

8And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:

9The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

10Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

11And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

12And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

13Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.

14Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

15And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

16Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

17Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

18And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

19And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

20Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

21And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

22Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

23And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

24And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

25And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:

26And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

27And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

28And there they abode long time with the disciples.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

In Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, Paul and Barnabas preach and heal a lame man, but are mistaken for Greek gods. Shortly after, Paul is stoned and left for dead, but recovers and continues the journey.

Explanation

The crowd's reaction in Lystra, calling Paul and Barnabas 'Mercury' and 'Jupiter,' reflects a local Greek legend about gods visiting that region in disguise — which helps explain why the crowd reacted so quickly. The apostles tear their clothes in horror, refusing worship that belongs to God alone. The reversal just a few verses later — from being nearly worshiped to being stoned — shows how unstable popular opinion can be, and how God's calling demands perseverance even in the face of violent rejection.

Fun facts

  • There is an ancient Greek legend (recorded by the Roman poet Ovid) about Zeus and Hermes visiting the region of Phrygia disguised as mortals, welcomed only by an elderly couple — which explains why the people of Lystra were so quick to identify the apostles as gods.
  • Timothy, who would become one of Paul's chief companions, was from Lystra — he probably witnessed this episode as a young man (Acts 16:1).

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Acts 14:1Arriving in Iconium, Paul and Barnabas repeat their usual pattern: they go first to the Jewish synagogue, where their preaching convinces a large number of both Jews and Greeks present there.
  2. Acts 14:2The unbelieving Jews react by trying to poison the opinion of the city’s Gentiles against the two missionaries, creating division instead of letting the matter die down.
  3. Acts 14:3Despite the opposition, Paul and Barnabas keep preaching boldly for quite a long time, backed by signs and wonders that confirmed the message.
  4. Acts 14:4The city ends up divided: part of the population supports the Jewish leaders, and part supports the apostles, showing the tense atmosphere the preaching created.
  5. Acts 14:5The tension escalates into a concrete plan of violence, uniting Jews and Gentiles opposed to the message in an attempt to insult and stone Paul and Barnabas.
  6. Acts 14:6Warned of the plan in time, the two flee before the violence happens, going to Lystra and Derbe, cities in the region of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor.
  7. Acts 14:7Even fleeing one city, they do not stop the mission: they carry on preaching the gospel as usual as soon as they reach the new destination.
  8. Acts 14:8Lystra was a small city in the region of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, more rural and less Hellenized than other cities Paul visited. This explains why the crowd’s reaction to the miracle is so different from what was seen in larger cities.
  9. Acts 14:9In Lystra, Paul notices that a lame man listening to his preaching had enough faith to be healed, a detail he perceives even before acting.
  10. Acts 14:10Paul commands in a loud voice for the man to stand up, and the healing is instant: he leaps up and starts walking right away, with no gradual process of recovery.
  11. Acts 14:11The crowd reacts in the local language, Lycaonian, saying that gods had come down in human form — a reaction that shows how rural the region was and how unfamiliar it was with Jewish preachers.
  12. Acts 14:12The crowd responds to the miracle by concluding that the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes had come down in human form, calling Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius, the Roman names for those same gods. There was even a well-known regional legend about these two gods visiting that very area in disguise.
  13. Acts 14:13The local priest of the temple of Jupiter prepares an animal sacrifice in honor of Paul and Barnabas, thinking he was honoring gods. The two tear their own clothes, a Jewish gesture of shock and protest, to stop it.
  14. Acts 14:14On learning they were about to be worshipped as gods, Barnabas and Paul tear their own clothes, a Jewish gesture of shock and protest, and rush into the middle of the crowd to stop it.
  15. Acts 14:15The two insist that they are just ordinary men like anyone else there, and use the opportunity to proclaim the true God, creator of everything, instead of accepting the misguided worship.
  16. Acts 14:16Paul acknowledges that in the past God allowed the other nations to walk in their own ways without intervening directly, an argument to explain why the Gentiles did not yet know this God.
  17. Acts 14:17Even without direct intervention, God always left signs of Himself through nature: rain, good harvests, and plenty of food, as indirect proof of His existence and care.
  18. Acts 14:18Even with this speech, the apostles barely manage to convince the crowd to give up on making the sacrifice planned in their honor.
  19. Acts 14:19A harsh episode in which the very people who had wanted to worship Paul as a god, just days later, try to kill him by stoning, stirred up by opponents from other cities. It shows how quickly popular opinion could turn.
  20. Acts 14:20After being stoned and left for dead in the previous verse, Paul gets up surrounded by the disciples and goes back into the city, continuing on the next day to Derbe.
  21. Acts 14:21After preaching in Derbe and making new disciples there, Paul and Barnabas decide to go back through the same cities they had already visited, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia.
  22. Acts 14:22The purpose of this return trip is to strengthen the newly converted disciples, warning them that facing hardship was part of the way into the kingdom of God.
  23. Acts 14:23The “elders” were local leaders chosen to care for each newly formed community after Paul and Barnabas moved on. It was a model of shared leadership, not a single pastor.
  24. Acts 14:24Continuing the return trip, the two travel through the region of Pisidia until reaching Pamphylia, retracing the route of their outward journey.
  25. Acts 14:25After preaching in Perga, a city already visited at the start of the journey, they go down to the port of Attalia to catch a ship.
  26. Acts 14:26From Attalia they sail back to Antioch in Syria, the same place from which they had set out commissioned for this first missionary journey.
  27. Acts 14:27On arriving, they gather the local church and give a report of the journey, telling everything God had done and pointing out how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles as well.
  28. Acts 14:28Paul and Barnabas stay there in Antioch for quite a while before any new journey, resting together with the city’s disciples.

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