Bold Witness in Iconium
In Lystra a lame man leaps up, and the crowd decides Barnabas and Paul are Zeus and Hermes come down. They tear their clothes and point to the living Father instead. Days later the same crowd stones Paul and leaves him for dead. He gets up and keeps going.
14 1In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue together and spoke so that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up and poisoned Gentile minds against the brothers. 3They stayed a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed his message of grace, doing signs and wonders through their hands. 4But the city split: some sided with the Jews, some with the apostles. 5When both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their rulers, moved to mistreat and stone them, 6realizing this, they fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region, 7and there they kept preaching the gospel.
The Father Heals in Lystra
8A man sat in Lystra, feet disabled, lame from birth, who had never walked. 9He was listening to Paul speak. Paul stared at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 10said in a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." The man leaped up and began walking. 11When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple stood before the city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, wanting to sacrifice with the crowds.
14But hearing this, the apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their clothes and ran into the crowd, shouting, 15and saying, "Men, why are you doing this? We are humans too, with the same nature as you. We bring you good news: turn from these worthless things to the living Father, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16In past generations he let all the nations go their own way, 17yet he did not leave himself without witness: doing good, giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and joy."
18Even with these words they barely restrained the crowds from sacrificing to them. 19But Jews from Antioch and Iconium came, won over the crowds, stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, thinking him dead. 20When the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he left for Derbe with Barnabas.
Strengthening the Disciples
21After preaching the good news in that city and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples' souls, urging them to remain in the faith: we must enter our Father's kingdom through many troubles. 23After appointing elders for them in each church, praying with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord they had believed in.
24Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26from there they sailed to Antioch, where they'd been entrusted to our Father's grace for the work they had finished. 27When they arrived, they gathered the church and reported all our Father had done with them, and how he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28And they stayed there with the disciples for a long time.
