Last week, we learned that: the increasingly cosmopolitan church at Antioch was instructed to release Paul and Barnabas for missionary work without much reluctance, the church at Antioch released with their blessing these two men into the leading of the Holy Spirit. the pair, along with John-Mark, encountered both opposition to and acceptance of the good news of Jesus. while Jewish leaders became jealous of the attention and notoriety of the travelling missionaries, Paul and Barnabas’ ministry among the Gentiles began to show some incredible gains.

“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. ”

“In Lystra there sat a man who was lame “In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.  He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way.  Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.”

“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.  But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.”

“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.”

Undaunted by the mixed reception to the good news of Jesus in Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas continued their pattern of ministry by speaking to the Jews and Gentile converts in the synagogue in Iconium. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”. (Romans 1:16) Because the good news of Jesus came through the people of Israel and the traditional religious system of the Jewish people, they were the intended first recipients of the blessings of the gospel.

As Paul and Barnabas spoke and performed signs, the city became divided; some sided with the apostles, while others gravitated to the more traditional holdings of Judaism. There is a divisive quality to gospel in that some will accept it, while others simply will not. Learning from 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Though our aroma – our witness – is always pleasing to God, it is divisive to our audience, some receiving it as the scent of life, while others receive it as the smell of death.

The divisive nature of the gospel culminated in Iconium in Jewish aggression against Paul and Barnabas. The plan is not only to drive the apostles out, but now is to “mistreat them and stone them” (Acts 14:5). Death by stoning in Iconium is not in the cards for these two men, as they learned of the plot and narrowly escaped to the cites of Lystra and Derbe, some 40 kilometers away.

In Lystra, they encountered a lame man who exhibited intense interest in the message of the apostles and instructed him to stand up on his feet. In response, the lame man miraculously leapt to his feet and began walking around. The crowds of Lystra began heralding Paul and Barnabas as the Greek gods, Zeus and Hermes, preparing to sacrifice to them. The apostles were able to dissuade them from sacrificing animals, explaining that they were nothing more than human messengers of a good God who had specifically provided for their salvation in Jesus Christ.

The peace would not last as we learn that Jews from both Pisidian Antioch and Iconium made their way to Lystra in hot pursuit of Paul and Barnabas. They succeeded in riling up the recently calmed people of Lystra and they proceeded to stone Paul to death, dragging his body outside the city. God was protecting Paul, preserving his life; he would not taste death on this day. Mere hours after being left for dead, Paul was en route to a ministry appointment in Debre with Barnabas in tow. What an incredible commitment!

Paul and Barnabas had success in Derbe and then circled back for their home base in Antioch, heading into the teeth of the angry Jewish authorities, encouraging new believers and assigning leaders in each church. Paul’s message that “one must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”, carried on bruised limbs and spoken through broken teeth, must have been sobering and have emboldened the resolve of the newly appointed elders in these towns. With the report that Gentiles had come to faith in Jesus in increasing numbers, Paul and Barnabas stayed with the church in Antioch for a lengthy time.

How do we handle the reality of a divisive gospel? Because this tension is very difficult for us, we see one of two extremes in the world of Christianity: those who embody an openly abrasive approach, seemingly thinking that if the gospel is divisive, they might be so as well. those who embody an active reluctance to proclaim the good news of Jesus in hopes that this will lessen the divisiveness of the gospel. If we are to fulfill the mandate of Acts 1:8, we must be prepared that some will embrace our witness, while others will reject it.

How do we personally apply the concept that “one must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”? What are you willing to endure to enter his Kingdom? The Parables of Matthew 13:44-46 If entering the kingdom of God means enduring hardship, do you still consider following Jesus worth it? My prayer today is that we would find the gospel to be like an unspeakable treasure worth risking everything to attain and that we would be eager to share with those around us just how priceless a treasure Jesus truly is!