"Through Many Tribulations (Acts 14:1-28)" | 6/5/22
Acts 14:1-28 | 6/5/22 | Thad Yessa
Gospel Advance Demands a Durable Gospel
Prosperity Gospel?
God’s desire is for us to acquire as much creature comfort as possible because that is God’s design for us. We should be successful and prosper.
Sometimes we laugh because it is so anti-gospel.
Money in the bank
Cars in the garage
Boats on the lake
No category for suffering
How do we respond when we experience suffering?
What did I do wrong?
Is God punishing me?
Is there sin that I don’t know about?
A better question is to ask, “Am I seeing this through the lens of Jesus?”
Jesus said in this world there would be suffering.
He didn’t sugarcoat that there would be hardships, trials, and hostility.
We need to remember that Jesus also willingly chose to be born into this world. He did not call us to something that He himself was not willing to suffer through and go one step further and suffer greater than us.
We view God as the guy upstairs we like when things go our way, but as soon as something bad happens our response is often times anger or anxiety.
“21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,22 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.” Acts 14:21-22
Being conformed to the image of Christ is a refining process that comes through tribulation. What we are going to unpack this morning is this question:
What should the church expect when following Jesus?
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.2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 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. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.
Hostility & Division (vv.1-7)
Paul and Barnabas are doing what they usually do. They are starting in a new city by going to the synagogue most likely for a couple of reason: 1) they knew their would be people there and 2) because those people were at least theistic, they believed in some concept of a god. So they begin to preach the gospel, even though in the last town they had gone to the synagogue, preached the gospel and were just driven out they keep at it.
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Their ministry is one of speaking/preaching/proclaiming the gospel.
There is a temptation to have faithful presence at the expense of faithful proclamation
Character, speech, and way of life, but the mission doesn’t march forward without speaking.
Those things in and of themselves don’t speak or communicate the gospel.
The gospel is a message.
There were those who believed and those who didn’t and it caused a great hostility and an environment of division. The reason for this is that the gospel message isn’t a message of something to do. It is not about religious acts to perform, it’s not about boxes to check off; it is about a person who died and rose again and the question is to we believe that or disbelieve that? To understand the real message of Jesus is to recognize that there really is no neutrality. The speaking of Paul and Baranbas is asking people what will they do with Jesus.
“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” Acts 14:2-3
What we draw from this is that resistance has a way of making us resilient for the cause of Christ. Paul and Barnabas amidst much hostility counted the cost and remained resilient in their mission for proclaiming the gospel. They weren’t surprised, in fact, they were continuing the same pattern that they had followed in previous cities, where they would go to the synagogue and preach Christ crucified and resurrected, and just last week in chapter 13 we saw there was hostility and again here, we see hostility. BUT even though there was great hostility they refused to let anything compromise their message or mission.
Which in some ways feels like the opposite for us. We are tempted to let any barrier deplete us. But here it says that they remained. They pushed on, they remained resilient, and they persisted.
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:19
Don’t think Jesus tricked anyone into what the Christian life was going to be like or what we are going to face when we counted the cost to follow Jesus. There is going to be hostility and division.
The gospel by nature brings division. We see it in the text that
But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. Acts 14: 4
The gospel by its nature is a dividing message. You either believe the message that you are a sinner, in need of a Savior, or you reject the gospel and spend eternity separated from God.
I wonder why some of us are surprised and shaken by a world that is hostile to the gospel. These kinds of expectations actually make us hostile to the world.
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15
Being in an environment of hostility and division requires endurance and wisdom.
Misunderstanding (vv. 8-18)
Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. 11 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!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 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. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “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. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 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.” 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifices to them.
A legend at the time was that Zeus and Hermes would disguise themselves as people and destroy the homes of those who refused them hospitality. After they witnessed this miracle, they thought these guys were gods in disguise. So what do they do? They tear their clothes at even the thought of being worship, which would have been anti-gospel. In fact they were declaring, stop worshiping false gods, instead worship the one true God.
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. Acts 14:15
Paul’s audience isn’t a Jewish audience, but a pagan one. He is trying to correct their theology that all these good things that they received, fruitful harvest seasons, rain, etc. were common graces given by the one God the Creator of all. Yet, they misunderstand.
How hard is it when the message of the gospel is misunderstood or the world responds wrongly to your words?
We can become so easily disheartened, impatient, intolerant, apathetic when someone responds with a misunderstanding to our gospel message. We begin to forget our own struggles, and our own idol worship when we are trying to tell others about their idol worship. We remember our own struggles to believe the gospel. That their hearts are not softened to Christ. Paul and Barnabas have an urgency to communicate truth but also a spirit of compassion. They don’t fall into pity or anger, but instead a concern for the souls of those caught up in the worship of false gods and idolatry. What message am I preaching when someone doesn’t respond to the gospel?
Offer a hopeful response, and remember our own fight with false gods.
Suffering (vv.19-20)
19 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. 20 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.
These verses are just astonishing. These Jews have come 100 miles not to poison minds, or attempt a persecution. The level of hate and jealousy is similar to what we read about Jesus when He was crucified; despised, rejected taken outside the city to be killed. Yet, we see God miraculously spare Paul’s life, so that the message of the gospel and Paul’s ministry would continue to be further. God doesn’t always do that, early in Acts we read of Stephen who was not spared. In the midst of suffering, we see that God surrounds His people with His people. We see these followers of Jesus surround Paul and Barnabas, I imagine they are helping piece back together with their flesh and bandage them up, and they go right back into the city to preach the same gospel that brought them this suffering. Paul and Barnabas don’t let the fear of pain or further suffering stop them from fulfilling the mission. What kind of reason did Paul have to accomplish this? That the message of the gospel is so hope-filled and so glory-filled that someone was stoned and thought to be dead and would get up the next day, hopple 50 miles to the next town to share that same gospel.
We could be tempted to read this and say, “Man Paul was able to be stoned and go back in and preach the gospel, but I won’t even go across the street to talk to my neighbor?” Shame is not a great motivator, that won’t get you very far.
But consider Paul’s view of the gospel, love of Jesus, and compassion for his fellow image-bearers? Think about it, Paul gets up and says, “Hey guys, I know you just tried to kill me, but Jesus is just that good!” If that’s our view of God, our love of Jesus, the love of others, and the urgency of the message imagine what that would do for our lives and fuel us for the proclaiming of the gospel?
2 Corinthians 4 - light an momentary affliction.
Greater than the weight of the world that opposes the gospel. Greater is the weight of glory when we are face to face with Jesus. Even though the church should expect hostility, division, misunderstanding, and suffering, it should not lose hope because Jesus really is that good to forsake the mission. Remember where we started that gospel advancement demands endurance, and sometimes that endurance calls for enduring suffering.
Gospel Advancement (vv.21-28)
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,22 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. 23 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. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 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. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.
They declared all that God had done with them. They weren’t complaining or grumbling about how they were treated. Instead, they focused on the work that God was doing in them and through them. The focus is on God and on his mission.