Paul and Barnabas Bear Witness to God’s Grace

Fleeing Iconium one step ahead of a murderous plot against them, Paul and Barnabas arrive in Lystra. There they heal a crippled man. The pagan crowds see this and go wild, wanting to worship them as gods with parades and sacrifices. Paul seizes the opportunity to tell them the gospel. Since the people have no Jewish background, Paul must start at ground zero with their innate understanding of God through creation. This lesson answers many questions relevant to our lives today. What does Paul mean when he says this man was crippled from his mother's womb? Is he implying that life begins at conception? Why isn't everyone healed? How should the gospel be presented to those who have no background in reference to the true God? How can creation be used as a tool when we are talking about God to multi-cultural, multi-religious people like the ones we encounter in our daily lives?

As the church expands, we see a trend toward the future disconnect of Christian Jews as a sect meeting in the synagogue. The move is from a Jewish framework to a Gentile framework. Great multitudes of Jews and Gentiles in Iconium responded to Paul’s message in their synagogue. The Jews who were not obedient to the message of God’s grace stirred up a serious division. Paul and Barnabas had to flee to Lystra and Derbe where they continued to preach the gospel. Study all that is understood in the word believe. Is the word here for unbelieving the opposite of believing? How is this word translated in other passages?

As we see Paul focus on the gospel with the Jews in Antioch in Pisidia, we should be aware of some modern evangelistic challenges seen through a comparison of Lordship Salvation and Free Grace. Those in Paul’s audience knew the scriptures, so it was effective for him to string together prophesies pointing to Christ. Review many of these Old Testament promises and see the familiar terms imputation, justification, forgiveness, propitiation, righteousness, and Christ the Servant. How does the resurrection seal the fulfillment of the Messianic prophesies? Do these Jews respond to Paul’s message?

In this section Paul continues the gospel message to these Jews by shifting to the Davidic Covenant, a promise which was very familiar to them. Review the Davidic Covenant which is an elaboration of the seed promise in the Abrahamic Covenant. Walk back through numerous Old Testament Messianic passages that address Israel’s future hope in turning to God, His restoration of the Land and promise to David of an eternal kingdom through his seed. See how directly Paul addresses these Jews on the basis of their well-known scripture and the unquestionable ways Paul presents to them, through recognition of the promise of the Davidic Covenant, that these things are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Scripture has seen many translations. The study of the origins of these translations is key to understanding their accuracy related to the inspired text. Here Paul presents Jesus to a Jewish audience, weaving Old Testament promises through his message which are fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Could a fuzzy translation compromise the fact that these verses are meant to be Messianic? Take a careful look at the clarity of promise in these Messianic passages. Develop the meaning of begotten, the shared natures of God and His Son, the timing of the Messiah’s reign on earth and the imagery in these passages which present Jesus as Messiah and clearly show His relationship to the Father.

Paul is giving the gospel to Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the local synagogue. Paul addresses them within the framework of their familiar as he anchors his message deeply within scripture, stressing their understanding of forgiveness of sin and justification. If it were only that easy to approach an unbeliever today, one who had such a deep knowledge of scripture. This is highly unlikely. Our approach must confront the realities of their position. The optimal starting point is for us to be profoundly familiar with the Word and to have a developed relationship with our audience. Paul will show us how to deal with a variety of circumstances so that we will have a pattern from which to launch our own approach and the assurance that rugged roadblocks aren’t necessarily terminal.

The gift of prophesy still existed in Acts before direct revelation ceased after the Canon was complete. The Holy Spirit, in specific divine guidance, actually called out Barnabas and Saul (who certainly had this gift), to take the gospel to these destinations. Learn the meaning of Saul’s name and the significance of his new name. Travel their path; encounter their resistance and the positive response. Learn about how the synagogue functioned. See how Paul spoke to these Jews, encapsulating Jewish history and focus in few words and introducing its long-awaited fulfillment through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We learn that evangelism may be most effective when the presentation is specific to the hearer.

Our scene is in Antioch in a well-established, conservative congregation, about 15 years after Pentecost. Antioch thrives with commerce and the decadent culture of the times. It also has a large Jewish population, within which are Christians, viewed as a sect of Judaism. Teachers and prophets gather to minister to the Lord and fast. What does it mean to minister to the Lord? What does fasting accomplish? Today a fast can be an initiation into a weight-loss program, a systemic purge, a social protest or a mystical manipulation of God. What was fasting about as it was practiced scripture? Is it a prescribed ritual for us? Is Biblical fasting an anachronistic term in our modern culture. Should we fast?

Acts is a transition, a historical narrative that is descriptive, not a prescriptive pattern of what happens in the Church today. The phenomena of the church growth movement in the late 60s based church growth on sociological issues and stressed experience as a validation of the Bible. As is often the case with Satan’s plan, this method seemed to work. But understand fully the instruction Jesus gives Peter to feed His lambs while He builds the church. Jesus doesn’t tell Peter to manage an organization through techniques in church growth, but instructs him to proclaim and teach. Review Paul’s journeys and allow instruction from his many discourses to teach us how we can maximize our approach with the message of God’s Word to people in our lives with differing backgrounds.

Also includes John 21:15-17