Acts 14:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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."

NIV: Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."

NASB: yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.'

CSB: although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy."

NLT: but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.'

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.

NKJV: Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

Paul and Barnabas are in a tough situation. They are in Lystra, trying to share the message that Jesus of Nazareth has come to offer forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. When a man born crippled hears their message and believes, God, through Paul, heals him. The crowd immediately forgets the message, focuses on the miracle, and decides Paul is the Greek god Hermes and Barnabas is Zeus. The only logical response, in their minds, is to offer sacrifices to the pair (Acts 14:8–13).

Now, Paul and Barnabas must convince the crowd they're not Greek gods, Greek gods are "vain things" (Acts 14:15), and there is a Creator God who has blessed them their entire lives.

Paul's message here reflects themes later scholars will refer to as "the book of nature," displayed in God's creation, and His "common grace," a concept Paul will also use with pagan philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:24–31). The "book of nature" is a theological term for what Paul will later write in Romans 1:19–21. The majesty, beauty, and benevolence of nature should be evidence enough that there is an all-powerful and benevolent Creator God.

God's common grace provides rain on the just and unjust, ensuring proper conditions for crop growth (Matthew 5:45; Genesis 8:22). And yet mankind is very adept at ignoring the evidence and developing theories that justify their desire to deny the existence and authority of Creator God. In the times of the Bible, people worshiped gods that were not gods, thinking a proper sacrifice would bring rain or fertility. Today, we take God's gift of science—designed to explain some of the wonders of His creation and based in an assumption that there is a God of order who created it all—and twist it to try to prove our existence doesn't require Him.

The false Greek gods, generations removed from their cruel ancestors who created the cosmos, bring uncertainty, fear, and violence. Presupposing God does not exist leaves people with no purpose in life except the survival of their genetic material. The Creator of the Universe, however, is a personal, loving Father who not only offers common grace to maintain life on earth but saving grace that offers eternal life, forgiveness, and relationship. Paul doesn't get the chance to share this God much longer. Soon, antagonists will arrive, and Paul will be stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19). Denying God's existence makes wise people fools (Romans 1:22–23).

Acts 14:8–20 finds Paul and Barnabas in Lystra in the province of Galatia in modern-day Asia Minor. This city's reaction is the extreme opposite of what happened in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, where they were threatened with stoning (Acts 13:50; 14:5). In Lystra, they are initially worshiped as gods. The two Christian missionaries are horrified by this reaction and do their best to stop it. Before long, however, antagonistic Jews from their previous stops arrive and convince the locals to stone Paul. God's warning that Paul would suffer greatly for Him begins to come true (Acts 9:16), but Paul considers being left for dead a small price to pay for his salvation through Jesus (Romans 8:18).

Acts 14 describes the last half of Paul's first missionary journey. He and Barnabas leave Pisidian Antioch, near central modern-day Asia Minor, and travel southeast to Iconium where they establish a new church. In Lystra, Paul heals a man born crippled. The amazed people insist Barnabas is the Greek deity Zeus, and Paul is Hermes. They attempt to offer sacrifices to them, much to the horror of the two evangelists. When antagonists from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium arrive, Paul is stoned but survives. The pair travel to Derbe, then retrace their steps, encouraging the new churches before sailing back to Syrian Antioch.

Paul's first missionary journey, recorded in Acts 13—14, gives a glimpse of issues that the church will face throughout its entire existence. When presented with Jesus's story, some will accept Him while others will not. Opposition is sometimes violent. Some integrate into church life easily, but for centuries the church has struggled with how to integrate those from vastly different cultures. This raises the crucial question of which aspects of faith and worship are biblical, making them universal, and which are cultural, and therefore optional? In Acts 15, the church leadership will start a discussion on that subject which continues even today.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.