Acts 14:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

NIV: They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,

NASB: And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,

CSB: After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,

NLT: After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia,

KJV: And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

NKJV: And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

"That city" is Derbe, a town south of center of modern-day Asia Minor (Acts 14:20). This is the farthest Paul and Barnabas go on their missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3). It's also very close to Paul's hometown of Tarsus. They could just cross the mountain pass and take a short boat ride back to Syrian Antioch.

No one will blame them if they take the shortcut. In Pisidian Antioch—different from Syrian Antioch, where they have their base—the local leaders drove them off (Acts 13:50). In Iconium, the pair fled when they heard a mob was planning on stoning them (Acts 14:5–6). And in Lystra, the local people first tried to offer them sacrifices, thinking Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes, and then stoned Paul and left him for dead (Acts 14:8–19).

Paul and Barnabas cannot leave without revisiting their new friends. They know that preaching the gospel and making converts is not enough to establish strong local churches. The new believers need leadership, more training, and answers to their questions (Acts 14:22–23). Paul will visit these churches again on his second journey, meeting Timothy in Derbe of Lystra (Acts 16:1–6), and his third (Acts 18:23). He'll also write the book of Galatians to make sure the Gentiles understand they are saved without following the Jewish law. Paul's job is to establish the churches well; it's the Holy Spirit's work to keep them.

Acts 14:21–28 tracks Paul and Barnabas' journey home from Derbe, the farthest point they reach in Paul's first missionary journey. Instead of taking the quick route south, they return west, building up the churches in cities they had fled due to persecution. They then travel south to the Mediterranean and preach about Jesus in Perga before catching a ship to take them east, back home to Syrian Antioch. Their experiences will prove vital for the leadership of the church in Jerusalem who must decide how to properly integrate Gentiles in Jesus' church (Acts 15:1–35).

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.