Today we’re going to be talking about a tough dude. We’re going to talk about a man who got beat down and did something extraordinary. Hopefully we’ll learn how to be a little bit braver.
But before we get into our main scripture in Acts 14, we need some background on what Paul and Barnabas have been up to in Acts 13
Background Context
What Had Paul and Barnabas Done There?
Antioch
Acts 13:15-16 (KJV)
“And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”
Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
They were invited by the rulers of the synagogue to give a word of exhortation.
What was “a word of exhortation”. This practice was standard in first-century Jewish services. It was when leaders invited qualified visitors—like Paul and Barnabas—to offer scriptural exposition, application, or comfort to the congregation.
Paul was trained by Gamaliel. Barnabas was a respected Levite.
Antioch was a Gentile-heavy city, so the synagogue probably wasn’t full of the Jewish Sanhedrin who adamantly opposed Jesus, like it would have been at Jerusalem.
It was very likely that Paul and Barnabas simply appeared as very educated, well-respected Jews, and hence they were given the opportunity to speak.
And speak they did…
Paul began with a history lesson and eventually ended up preaching Christ and explained that the Law could not justify them.
Acts 13:39 (KJV)
“And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
The Gentiles were deeply interested, as this was drastically different from what Jews often focused on.
Acts 13:44 (KJV)
“And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”
But the Jews became envious.
Acts 13:45 (KJV)
“But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.”
Paul and Barnabas responded boldly:
Acts 13:46 (KJV)
“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”
The Jews then stirred up influential people in the city and expelled them.
Acts 13:50–51 (KJV)
“But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.”
Iconium
Again they preached in the synagogue.
Acts 14:1-6(KJV) And 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. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. Long 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. But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And 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, They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
So we see the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and divided the city.
Eventually, a plan was formed to stone them.
They fled from one attempted stoning. Keep that in mind.
So then they come to Lystra…
It is there Paul perceives that a lame man has faith to be healed.
Paul heals the man.
When the people see what Paul has done, they declare that he is a god.
They call:
- Barnabas → Jupiter
- Paul → Mercurius
Who Was Jupiter?
Jupiter was the Roman god of the sky, weather, and law. Lightning bolts and thunder were considered his weapons. He was the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Zeus.
Who Was Mercurius?
Mercurius was the Roman god of commerce, travel, and communication. He was believed to control the flow of information. He was the Roman equivalent of Hermes.
This aligns with Scripture, because Paul was described as the chief speaker:
Acts 14:12 (KJV)
“And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.”
The Attempted Sacrifice
The priest of Jupiter came to the gates with oxen and garlands, intending to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. The people believed that their gods had come down in the likeness of men and wanted to worship them.
When Paul and Barnabas heard this, they tore their clothes — a visible sign of grief, distress, and horror at blasphemy — and rushed into the crowd, rebuking them.
Acts 14:15 (KJV)
“And 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:”
They called the people to turn from “vanities” — empty, false gods — to the living Creator.
This mirrors what happens today: people attribute the miraculous works of God to created things rather than to the Creator Himself.
“Men of Like Passions”
When they say they are “men of like passions,” they mean they are human — subject to the same emotions, weaknesses, and mortal condition as everyone else. They are not divine beings.
Every person has passions and beliefs. Some are true; some are false. Oh that our passions and beliefs would align with that of our Creator! Oh that we would stop chasing after the trappings and the vanities of this world?
- What vanity are you consumed with today?
- What snare are you entrapped in?
As Paul and Barnabas did in their day, so are we called to do today. To challenge each other to turn from vanity into oneness and newness in Christ!
If we are to truly look at the world around us, we see that God has left witness of Himself in creation. He’s given us example after example to trust and believe on Him!
Acts 14: 16-17 (KJV)
“Nevertheless 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.”
God has blessed and provided for us all. Those who love him and those who hate him. Those who actively seek Him and those who have never heard His name.
Even with this explanation, they barely restrained the crowd from sacrificing to them:
Acts 14:18 (KJV)
“And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.”
The Stoning at Lystra
Acts 14:19 (KJV)
“And 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.”
- Antioch to Iconium: ~85 miles
- Iconium to Lystra: ~30 miles
- Total: ~115 miles
In that time, a typical journey on foot was 20–25 miles per day. So we know this was an intentional pursuit. These Jews from Antioch and Iconium followed Paul and Barnabas. They wanted them eliminated.
The Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuaded the people at Lystra.
The crowd was so stirred up that they ignored due process and stoned him inside the city.
Read the Bible closely. It says in verse 19, “ having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city ”. Why would they have to pull him out the city AFTER stoning?
Deuteronomy 17:5, Leviticus 24:14, Numbers 15:35-36 all tell us that stonings were supposed to be held OUTSIDE the city. And if there’s one thing that Jews paid attention to, it was the law.
What can we tell from this? Why is it so important that the people were drawn up in such a rage that they ignored all the rules. They ignored all the laws.
Because it shows just how thick the opposition was against Paul and Barnabas.
Let’s back up a second to when they were called Mercurius and Jupiter.
False gods were nothing more than demons that people in this time worshipped. The gods Jupiter and the god Mercurius: these were demons. Their prophets did have visions, and their prophets did feel and do things. When people worshipped, things happened, but it was because of the power of the demons.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
The prince of the power of the world is Satan. Satan does have the ability to perform supernatural things because God has given him that power over this world.
- Acts 16 speaks of a girl who had a spirit of divination. Essentially a demon possessed her, giving her fortune-telling abilities. Her masters earned profit off of her because of her fortune-telling.
- In Matthew 4, Satan offers Jesus all the world’s kingdoms in glory if only Jesus would worship him. Satan truly did have the power to give this to Jesus at that moment in time.
So we know that there was a power there that was not of God, but was still miraculous.
What does the Bible say? In Ezekiel 28:12-17 it says that Lucifer is beautiful. These demons are not some dark beings with horns; they can appear that way, of course, but they can also appear as angels of light.
In that city, this group of people was essentially under that demonic influence. I believe demons tried to convince the people that Paul and Barnabas were their false gods. It was just another opportunity for Satan to steal God’s glory. Those people were so overcome in that wicked city that they succumbed to the demonic manipulation immediately.
When that didn’t work and Paul and Barnabas shut that down and started glorifying the true God, the narrative switched very quickly. The same people who had proclaimed them gods minutes earlier tried to stone them. In fact, they possessed such a mob mentality and were so rabid that they stoned them within the city walls, which was most likely against the rules.
Lystra was a Roman colony. Before Rome took it over, it was a Lycaonian ( lie-KAY-oh-nee-un ) village. There wasn’t that much Jewish influence in it. Stoning wasn’t even a standard Roman execution style, but the Jews who had come in and incited of the violence, very much were fans of stoning. Interesting enough, they didn’t ask for Paul to be dragged outside of the city first. He was stoned within the city walls. That was against the legal norm of the time, which was to drag them outside of the city first as to not pollute or defile the city
That flip from enthusiastic praise to rabid murder, defying all legal norms (that dramatic switch back and forth) hints to me there was demonic activity at play.
I watched a movie the other weekend called Nefarious, and if you haven’t seen it, you need to go watch it. It’s an excellent movie. On YouTube for free. It gives a glimpse of how the same demonic activity that was working over the crowd in Paul and Barnabas’s day works in people today just the same.
What we call disassociation and narcissism and chronic depression and suicidal thoughts isn’t just medical. It’s spiritual. The same battle that Paul and Barnabas were fighting that day in Lystra, we must fight today.
Because the demonic influence of today going to try to shut us down just the same.
They’ll try to elevate you to render you ineffective, or they will try to tear you down to render you ineffective
Please know that Satan isn’t just going to attempt to wreck havoc in your life. A lot of us get the idea that Satan wants us all to be like Job. He wants us to be broken down, alone, sick, and poor. He wants us to feel defeated and demoralized and downtrodden.
No!
Satan wants one thing. For you to be apart from God.
Why? Because he knows that is what hurts the Father’s heart the most. When we, God the Father’s creation, who he loved enough to send his only Son Jesus to suffer and die for, turn away from Him, it hurts Him. It hurts God our Heavenly Father.
Please understand me clearly. It won’t defeat the Him. It won’t stop his Will or His way. But he feels sadness to see those he loves ignore Him and reject Him. And Satan knows that.
- So if Satan can elevate you in your job to get you distracted, he will.
- If he can load you down with riches and vanities to occupy all your attention, he will.
- If he can get you interested more about watching what’s on TV on Wednesday night than being in God’s house, supporting brothers and sisters in Christ, He will.
- If he can get you to spend more time with your friends and hobbies than with your spouse and kids, he will.
- If he can get you turning to a bottle or a pill rather than prayer, he will.
- If he can get you wrapped up in what youre reading on Facebook or in self-help books, rather than what you’re reading in your Bible, He will.
He wants you to become so lax and so lazy that you don’t have anytime for God or God’s Will for your life.
He wants you to become so engrossed in how rich you are, self-dependent you are, educated you are, and amazing you are and how respected you are that you can’t be bothered to respect and be amazed by God.
He wants you to feel as if youre a god, so you don’t have time for the true God.
Makes more sense now why Paul and Barnabas suddenly became Mercurious and Jupiter doesn’t it?
The playbook hasn’t changed.
But if you reject that attack. If you still give God proper place in your life, Satan might attempt to deal you the other hand.
He’ll line you up in front of sinners who reject the true God, thereby serving him, Satan (the god of this world) and he’ll influence them to hurl stones.
- You’ll be a bigot
- You’ll be a blasphemer
- You’ll be intolerant
- You’ll be close-minded
- You’ll be racist
- You’ll be homophobic
You might be blackballed in your job, unable to move up because you don’t compromise your godly morals.
You might be rejected by your family because you’re a hypocritical holier-than-thou goody two shoes.
You might lose friends.
You might get sued.
And these are the first world problems.
In other countries, we’re seeing where Christian brothers and sisters are jailed, raped, and beaten.
So there Paul stood.
I wrote some thoughts a week ago about this moment in time.
Paul started by standing bound and mostly naked in front of a mob of people, prepared to be stoned for proclaiming Jesus. He may have looked past the crowd to see a young man standing behind them, holding coats. They may have locked eyes and Paul might have remembered what it was like to be that boy himself. Cheering on the murderers of Stephen. Holding their coats as they stoned him. Maybe he thought this was a deserved end.
That mob went from just jeering and proceeded to pelt him with stones. They bloodied him. They bruised him. Pieces of rock flew at his face, groin, arms, legs, chest like fastballs.
He started by standing. As the barrage continued, a well-placed throw brought him to his knees. The torture continued and he eventually keeled over. His blood seeped into the ground. The dust hung around, clinging to his broken body in the as stones missed their mark or hit the ground, rebounding off of his flesh. What little clothing they had allowed him to wear was ripped from the jagged edges of the rocks. His skin was crosshatched with cuts and lacerations. He blacked out from the pain.
Eventually they stopped. He wasn’t moving anymore. Paul was dead. They dragged him by his hands, hair, and feet further outside the city and dropped him in an unceremonious heap on the ground.
His brothers in Christ surrounded him laying there, too stunned to speak. The man who had once assaulted them as Saul had died for proclaiming the name of Jesus. He was barely recognizeable.
A few minutes passed. God wasn’t done with him yet. Paul began to stir on the ground. A groan escaped his lips as he shifted his weight, rubbing his gashes and broken skin against the blood-soaked dirt. He shakily pushed himself up onto his knees. In my mind’s eye I see him spitting and wiping the bloodied snot from his nose. The other disciples are too shocked to move.
His blackened eyes looked back towards the city. Filled with people he loved. People he wanted to be saved. People who had just tried to murder him. He drew a deep, labored breath and, with the help of his brothers, pulled himself to his feet. He began limping back. Back towards the same city. The same people. God wasn’t done with him yet. And he wasn’t done with those sinful wicked men and women in that city. Paul went back to serve the Lord again. In the face of all the pain and all the adversity. He limped back into the lion’s den, because God was still calling him to the fight.
Friend. There’s a fight for you to fight today. There’s a war that’s being waged. And it’s not going to be solved with inspirational feel-good messages. It’s not going to be solved with potlucks and bowling nights and retreats. Don’t fall into the slumber of the easy Christian’s life. It’s not what we see in God’s word. When you really stand for the cause of Christ it won’t be popular. You’ll be beaten down. But through the power of God you’ll get back up again and continue to fight. To witness. To love. To stand for Christ.
He survives.
And he goes back into the city.
Consider this: What do you think happened when the people who stoned him saw him walk back in alive?
That moment would have been more powerful than any sermon.
(14:21) He comes back! Would you?
- Are you limping back into your lion’s den?
- Are you continuing the fight?
- Are you on Satan’s radar this morning as a threat? Paul was.
Fear not, for he that is with us is greater than he that is in the world.
- God will give you to go the strength to go out and be the witness, just as he did Paul.
- He will not force you to go into the fight against the culture . We have to make that decision for him.
- in our personal lives
- in our families
- in our workplaces
- in our churches
- What a time to be alive. (Luke 10.2)The fields are white with harvest but the laborers are few.