I implied that Paul and Barnabas left Pisidian Antioch quickly last time, but I don’t think that’s what happened. The last verses of Acts 13 say, “And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.“

At first reading, it sounds like this was only a week after their initial arrival, but there are three main points to consider:

1. “The word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.” There had to be some time involved to allow for regional spread of the gospel. Paul and Barnabas probably spent time in the marketplace and traveling around in the surrounding areas sharing with the people.
2. There was a concerted effort by the Jewish leaders to stir up trouble. Again, this would have taken some time on their part to incite sufficient animosity to be able to drive the missionaries away.
3. “The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” As we’ll see shortly, Paul’s typical mode of operation was to hang around long enough to disciple the new converts and help them set up some sort of church governance, plan, and organization. We know this because at the end of their first missionary journey, Paul returns to visit all the newly established churches to see how they’re doing.

All three of these factors imply that there was a significant amount of time spent in the region of Pisidian Antioch. I don’t know how long, but will conjecture at least several weeks to a month or more. At any rate, let’s not rush things too much, shall we?

Luke continues the narrative in Acts 14:1-28.

“Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”

Once again we see that Luke is giving us an overview of the work done during this missionary journey, but it’s easy to skip through it and forget how much time and effort was invested by the team into their work in the region. Luke says “they remained for a long time.” This could have been several weeks or months and they had time to perform “signs and wonders” in their midst.

“But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.“

“Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.”

The tenth fresco painting from the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (and photographed by the Hermit’s Door) depicts Paul (the one with the halo, of course) urging the priests of Zeus not to slay the ox as an act of worship of him.

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.’ Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.“

Notice that Paul’s message imploring the people not to treat he and Barnabas as gods pointed to Jehovah God, but did so not using the Jewish history or scriptures, but rather Paul pointed to evidence of God as creator and sustainer in the world. This is called God’s general revelation. Here is a short video about the doctrine of general revelation.

https://www.facebook.com/thegospelproject/videos/625419491314565

Paul and Barnabas had some success spreading the gospel in Lystra, which I’ll comment on again in a few moments. But Luke tells us,

“But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.” Paul recalls this stoning in his second letter to the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 11:24-25): “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea.“

The eleventh fresco painting from the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (and photographed by the Hermit’s Door) depicts Paul (still with that halo) being stoned in Lystra.

“But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.“

It may have been on this return trip to visit the recently established churches that Paul first encountered Timothy and his family. We know that Timothy joined Paul on his next missionary journey when Paul passed through Lystra. Paul’s later letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:14) says, “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” It was probably this council of elders that Paul helped establish here at the end of this first missionary journey. Paul may have met Timothy’s mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, during the first pass through Lystra since they became Christians before Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5). Perhaps it was on this return visit that Paul met Timothy and it was during some laying on of hands ceremony that a prophecy regarding Timothy was uttered.

“Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.“

Next time we’ll look at the next phase of events in Syrian Antioch and the precursors to Paul’s second missionary journey.