Acts 14:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

NIV: Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

NASB: And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

CSB: Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.

NLT: But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

KJV: And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

NKJV: And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.

About mid-way through their missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3), Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra. In most of the cities they visit, they start preaching in the synagogue. There, they will encounter devout Jews and God-fearing Gentiles with a good understanding of the prophecies of the Messiah found in Jewish Scriptures. That presents a comparatively simple task: to show how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills those prophecies as the promised Son of David (Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1).

Lystra is different. It's a small town and there don't seem to be enough Jews to have a synagogue. Still, the people listen as well as they can, and at least one man, who has been crippled since birth, has come to accept Jesus as his savior. As a sign this man has placed his faith in the true God, Paul heals him (Acts 14:8–10).

The crowd immediately misunderstands what has happened. Their territory has legends of visitations by local gods they have renamed Zeus and Hermes. In one story, Zeus and Hermes visit a town and find no one to show them hospitality except one old couple. In response, they flood the entire town, killing everyone except their kind guests. Not wishing to meet the same fate, the Lystrans decide Paul, who does most of the speaking, must be Hermes and Barnabas is Zeus. The priest of the temple of Zeus leads the people in offering sacrifices to the visitors (Acts 14:11–13).

Paul and Barnabas are horrified. They tear their clothes, and Paul tries to convince the crowd they are mere men, there to share the true God who made the world and provides for His creation. The crowd is determined, but they finally listen (Acts 14:14–17).

Yet, the crowd proves to be fickle. There are few more despised things than idols that fall from their pedestal, even if they never asked for honor. Jews who fought with Paul and Barnabas in their last two stops, Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, arrive and convince the Lystrans the two apostles are dangerous heretics. The crowd stones Paul and leaves him for dead. But the Creator God who provides rain and food and joy for His creation isn't done with Paul, yet. The apostle lives, and he and Barnabas continue to their next town (Acts 14:19–20).

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.