The mission moves forward despite the persecution of Paul and Barnabas. Acts 14: 19 Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. 20 But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day, he left with Barnabas for Derbe. [1]
We aren’t sure how the Jews in Antioch and Iconium heard that Paul was preaching in Lystra. Perhaps the news of the healed cripple spread quickly. The miracle may have intensified the Jews’ jealousy. While Iconium was fairly close, only 18 miles away, Pisidian Antioch was 100 miles away. Yet, there were Jews who were willing to travel on their own time and expense to stop Paul and the Gospel.
An Easily Manipulated Audience
The people of Lystra seemed to be easily manipulated. While some became true believers, more were easily swayed. They had been willing to declare Paul and Barnabas to be gods only a short time before they turned and wanted to kill them.
For us, this demonstrates the importance of learning Scripture and continued discipleship. The people of Lystra had difficulty discerning the truth about the apostles. Our enemy loves to use deceived people to deceive others. The angry Jews influenced the local people, and they all decided to stone Paul. Scripture doesn’t say if anything happened to Barnabas. But the rioters thought Paul was dead and dragged him outside the town.
A God-Sent Reprieve to a Crisis
There were only a few believers in Lystra, and now their leader appeared to be dead. But even though these believers had just come to faith, they gathered around Paul. Scripture doesn’t say, but I think they were praying for Paul. Was he dead or just knocked out? We can’t tell, but either way, he had to be bloodied and bruised. This is the only stoning Paul writes about (2 Corinthians 11:25).
God seems to do a healing, and Paul can get up. He bravely goes back into town, probably to gather his things so they can go on to Derbe. Others would have quit, but not Paul. Even though their stay in Lystra was short, it was influential, and the mission moves forward to Derbe.
Timothy Was From Lystra
We never know how the seeds we plant now will affect those in the future. There was a young man in Lystra named Timothy. A few years later, when Paul revisited the church of Lystra, he chose Timothy as an assistant to help him on his second mission trip (Acts 16:1-3). Perhaps Timothy was one of the new believers who had prayed for Paul.
Years later, after Timothy had become a partner in the ministry, Paul wrote him a letter reminiscing about the difficult times. 2 Timothy 3: 11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it.[2]
Unbeknownst to Paul at the time, his persistence in preaching the Gospel had brought a young man to faith. This one would continue God’s mission after Paul had gone to heaven. Where do you need to persist in spreading the Gospel? Who can you mentor to raise up the next generation of leaders? To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/strength-in-the-midst-of-suffering
[1,2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.