Acts 14:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

NIV: and called out, 'Stand up on your feet!' At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

NASB: and he said with a loud voice, 'Stand upright on your feet!' And the man leaped up and began to walk.

CSB: Paul said in a loud voice, "Stand up on your feet! " And he jumped up and began to walk around.

NLT: So Paul called to him in a loud voice, 'Stand up!' And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

KJV: Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

NKJV: said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.

While Paul preaches in Lystra, he notices a man crippled from birth who has placed his faith in Jesus. Paul realizes his faith is not just to salvation but to healing (Acts 14:8–9). Instead of telling the man he is healed, or declaring the healing has happened, he commands the man to live out that healing by standing.

Peter did something similar on the steps of the temple, telling a lame man to "rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). Jesus told a paralytic, "rise, pick up your bed, and go home" (Mark 2:11) and an invalid, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk" (John 5:8). The men responded by acting immediately.

In the Bible, God often gives His prophets and servants the ability to heal to authenticate their message. But sometimes, He allows the listener to experience healing as an affirmation they have placed their faith in Him. In response, they are called to immediately live as a healed person—often by getting up and walking. When the Holy Spirit heals us of an emotional or spiritual wound or even of a physical ailment, we need to remember that He does so for the purpose that we live healed lives. We forgive and live in freedom, or we work for His kingdom, even leading others to healing.

If we have faith in Jesus for salvation, we will receive some kind of healing, particularly spiritual. The proper response is to live like that is the case.

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.