Sinclair Ferguson (Acts 14)
395
And it was written for Theophilus probably
in order to help him to understand that in
God’s purposes for his people two things
always go hand in hand. Number one, that
God is keeping the promise that Jesus made
that the gospel would extend to the ends of
the earth and to the end of the ages
And the acts of the apostles which begins
with the that statement ends with the apostle
Paul at the center of the earth in those days,
the great capital city of the Roman empire,
Rome itself. And the last words of the acts
of the apostles as we’ve sometimes noticed
are ‘without hindrance’ (28:31)
And between these two bookends, Luke is
telling his friend Theophilus the story of the
triumph of the gospel to the ends of the earth
and to the center of the empire
But the other thing that we’ve noticed
inevitably that is woven into that story of the
triumph of the gospel is the story of the
trials of the apostles which lie behind and
are so often God’s way of moving forward
the triumph of the gospel. As for Christ no
cross, no crown, so for the victory of the
Christian, no cross no crown
But it’s only at the beginning of chapter 13
that we’ve seen the church moving from
needing persecution or revelation to being
willing to accept the God-given mission of
Jesus Christ to take the gospel not only to
the Jews but also to the Gentiles
1
Derek Thomas (Acts 14:1-20 [pages:378-
It was written to enable us to understand that
in God’s purposes two things always go
hand in hand: first, God is keeping Jesus’
promise that the gospel is to reach the
nations of the world. Jesus tells the disciples
after the resurrection that they will be
witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and
Samaria, and ultimately, to end of the earth
The book of Acts comes to a close with the
apostle Paul in Rome, at the capital of the
empire… “without hindrance” (Acts 28:31)
Between these two bookends, Luke is telling
his friend Theophilus the way in which the
gospel has made it to the very heart of the
Roman Empire
In the second place, Luke is also telling the
story of the trials of the apostles that lie
behind the greater story of the advance of
the kingdom of God. He wants us to see that
the gospel moved forward through trials and
persecutions of the apostles. As it was true
for Christ – “no cross, no crown” – so also is
it true for his disciples (p.379)
Only at the beginning of chapter 13 have we
seen something of the church’s willingness
to accept its God-given mission to be a
witness for Jesus Christ in the entire world
PROCLAMATION AND POISON
As is their custom, we’re told here, they go
first of all to the Jews (verse 1)
And they preached the same message they
had preached everywhere
They spoke of a gospel that was free, a
gospel that required no qualifications, to
people who were used to thinking in terms
of qualifying for the grace of God
You’ll notice how Luke adds the style of
their preaching, again in verse 3: “they spent
a considerable time there speaking boldly
for the Lord.” That’s a word that literally
means “all speech”. And it’s used frequently
in the new testament to designate what
happens when God’s Holy Spirit fills the
person who is speaking the word of God,
either privately or publicly.
There is such a sense of God’s grace and
power as they speak that they are able to
speak boldly for the Lord Jesus Christ…
And their message was confirmed by these
miraculous signs.
the word of God had been spoken about the
grace of God to these people… And in
addition to the truth of his word, God had
confirmed the truth of the gospel by these
miracles. It was that their hearts were
hardened and nothing would change them.
2
PROCLAMATION AND POISONING
As was their custom, they went, first of all,
to the Jews…
Paul and Barnabus preached the same
message in Iconium that they preached
everywhere
The gospel requires no prior
qualifications…Paul and Barnabus spoke to
people who had become used to thinking in
terms of qualifying for the blessings of God
(p.380)
Notice the manner of their proclamation.
They spoke “boldly for the Lord.” The word
translated “boldly” literally means all
speech. It is used in the New Testament to
describe the way in which the Holy Spirit
fills the person who is speaking the Word of
God wither privately or publicly.
There is such a sense of God’s power when
they speak…
… Their message was confirmed by
miraculous signs (p.381).
Despite the word of grace and the
confirmation of the truth by miraculous
signs, they refused to believe. Their hearts
were hardened, and nothing would change
them (p.382)
Strange alliances against the word of God
and the gospel of Christ are always the work
of Satan…
… those with hardened hearts who will not
be alone in the hard hardness now are not
content with that but of course they want to
poison the minds of those who have begun
to be drawn to the gospel. And like
something out of Hamlet, the way in which
to poison the minds of people is to pour the
poison into the ear
…. it’s a story intended to teach Theophilus
and us that we cannot be faithful to the
gospel of Jesus Christ as a fellowship or as
individuals scattered throughout the city
without some of these things beginning to
happen
TRANSFORMATION AND
TRIBULATION
Now there was a reason they said that, given
their pagan religion, because there was a
story, actually recorded a number of years
before this, in the writing of the Roman
author Ovid on the Gods changing into
human form. Ovid recorded a story that was
told in this very part of Asia Minor of how
the two gods, Zeus and Hermes, had come
down to this very vicinity and they had gone
around in the disguise of men and they had
been asking if there would be people who
would put them up for a night, and they
went round a thousand homes and nobody
one would put them up until they came to
this home of a poor old pair of bodies who
took them in and made them welcomed
3
Strange alliance of this kind against the
work of God are always the work of Satan
Those with hardened hearts begin to poison
the minds of those who have begun to be
drawn to the work of Christ. The enemies of
the gospel begin to pour poison into the ears
of those who show interest
This teaches us that we cannot be faithful to
the gospel of Jesus Christ as a fellowship
without possibly experiencing a measure of
opposition
TRANSFORMATION AND
TRIBULATION
Paul and Barnabus may well have known
the story of the Roman author Ovid…
written half a century or so earlier. It was
sent in this same district and told of two
Greek gods, Jupiter (Zeus) and Mercury
(Hermes), who visited the Phrygian hill
country disguised as mortal men. They were
turned away from a thousand homes where
they sought lodging, but were finally
welcomed into the home of an elderly
couple. The gods turned the house into a
temple, destroying all the homes that had
rejected them (p.383)
The man jumps up and he begins to walk.
Now, if you’ve been following the Acts of
the Apostles you’re bound to think, ‘I think
I’ve heard this before.
That is of course Luke’s point: he’s wanting
us to see as he is telling the story of the
gospel standing at the gate of the pagan
world that the needs of the people and the
power of the gospel are just the same here
among pagans as they were there in
Jerusalem…
That the same power of God that was
present in Peter’s ministry there at the
beginning of the church is present in the
ministry of Paul and Barnabus as the church
moves out to conquer a Gentile and a pagan
world…
The same grace is evident because the same
basic needs are present.
These people don’t have the bible. And so
he makes his point of contact first of all with
where they are. And he teaches them truths
that are found in the bible without actually
telling them they need to look at the bible…
The way in which God has displayed his
amazing goodness in creation and
providence
God builds his church and works in the lives
of every single individual believer that
triumph comes hand in hand with and
through the means of tribulation
4
Both are said to have leaped up and walked
following their healing. Readers of the Acts
of the Apostles, from Theophilus to the
modern reader, must surely find themselves
saying, “I’ve heard this story before!” What
is going on
Luke wanted us to see that Paul and
Barnabus were… standing in the temple of
paganism, just as Peter was standing in the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
The same power of God that was present in
Peter’s healing was present here in Lystra
among the Greek pantheon…
The same grace was evident because the
same basic needs were present (p.384)
They did not have the Scriptures… Paul was
teaching them Bible truth without citing the
bible! He found a point of contact…
Paul employed the truths of cration and
providence… and talked to them about
God’s goodness
The triumph of the gospel comes hand in
hand with and through the means of
tribulation (p. 388)
…there are fragments of that message that
stick into our lives
…so that the trials that we experience as we
seek to be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ,
should never take us by surprise, nor should
they be an indication to us that those who
oppose the gospel are triumphing,
we’re seeing the general fulfilment here of
Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8, the gospel has
now actually begun to penetrate to the pagan
recesses of the Roman province of Asia
Minor
But Luke also wants us to see that there is
another promise of Jesus that is being
fulfilled here, a promise that he had recorded
was given to Saul of Tarsus, (through
Ananias): ‘go’ the Lord said in Acts 9:15:
‘But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a
chosen instrument of mine to carry my
name before the Gentiles and I will show
him how much he must suffer for my
name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16).
And as Paul was eventually to realize,
looking back on his life, he began to realize
Christ had called him to be an enormous
illustration of the principles by which God
builds his church
CONSOLIDATION AND
COMMUNICATION
[Quotes:
1. 2 Cor. 4:6-12
2. Amy Carmichael’s poem, The Sign
(p.394)
5
Fragments of this message often pierce our
lives… (p.388)
…Trials are not an indication that those who
oppose us are triumphing (p.389)
A promise is being fulfilled here, ensuring
that the gospel perforates the pagan world
(Acts 1:8)
In doing so, God also warned (through
Ananias in Damascus): “[Saul] is a chosen
instrument of mine to carry my name before
the gentiles and kings and the children of
Israel. For I will show him how much he
must suffer for the sake of my name
In many ways, Paul was a walking
illustration of the principles by which the
Lord Jesus Christ builds his church
CONSOLIDATION AND
COMMUNICATION (p.389)
[Quotes:
1. 2 Cor. 4:6-12
2. Amy Carmichael’s poem, The Sign,
p. 394)
6