A Closer Look at Acts 13–14
Bible Background: This marks the beginning of Paul’s 1st Missionary Journey through Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Antioch seems to have become the ‘headquarters’ of the early church. Barnabas and Paul are set aside by the Holy Spirit for this mission. The pattern for Paul is to speak in the local synagogue; call people to turn to God; meet some people who warm-up to his message; and then have to face opposition from troublemakers. Today’s story is interesting when he and Barnabas are mistaken for two of the Greek gods, which in part reveals the universal hunger for the divine.
Digging Deeper: 1. Note how the leaders at Antioch are a diverse bunch! And note how they send Paul and Barnabas off with prayer and laying-on of hands. P & B don’t decide to set out on their own!
2. Paul & Barnabas heal a crippled man, like Peter and John did in Acts 3. Then, the crowd mistakes them for gods, and wants to worship them! Paul puts a stop to that…but just barely. Who do we tend to worship or to put up on pedestals? Famous entertainers? Athletes? Politicians? Religious leaders? What are the risks of that? How do we avoid those pitfalls?
3. In this healing, Paul sees that the man “has faith to be healed”. That suggests that God has been at work in Lystra before Paul ever got there. Can we look for signs of God at work in people and in places where we might not expect to see that?
4. There’s often ‘opposition’ to change and to the Good News of Christ. (Paul gets stoned in the next scene.) How do we make sure that we’re not part of the opposition? If we as God’s servants are the target of the opposition, how do we deal with that and stay focused on God’s mission?
5. How much do we believe in the ‘power of the Spirit’? Does the Spirit give us courage for ministry? In what ways do we have the power to extend Christ’s healing?
6. Imagine traveling with Paul; speaking with boldness; meeting all sorts of people; being met with open arms and being met with hatred and distrust. Could we pray for the grace to be Christ’s witnesses wherever life and the Spirit leads us?
