Question 1

What was happening in Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in this passage?

Accepted Answer

This passage follows Paul and Barnabas as they move from city to city on their journey. In Iconium, they start in the synagogue, preach so clearly that many Jews and Greeks believe, and God backs their message with signs and wonders. But unbelieving Jews stir up the Gentiles, and a violent plot grows. When they hear of plans to stone them, they move on to Lystra and then Derbe. In these places they keep preaching, see a crippled man healed, face idolatry and then stoning, and later return to strengthen the young churches.

Question 2

Why did the people of Lystra try to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods?

Accepted Answer

In Lystra, Paul heals a man who had been crippled from birth and had never walked. When the crowd sees him leap up and walk, they shout in their own language that the gods have come down in human form. They call Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius, and even the priest of Jupiter brings oxen and garlands to offer sacrifice. They read the miracle through their old pagan beliefs. Instead of seeing the living God behind the healing, they try to give worship to the messengers standing in front of them.

Question 3

How did Paul and Barnabas respond when people wanted to sacrifice to them?

Accepted Answer

When Paul and Barnabas realize people are about to offer sacrifice to them, they are horrified. They tear their clothes, rush into the crowd, and shout that they are only human, with the same nature and feelings as everyone else. They tell the people to turn from these empty practices to the living God, the Creator of heaven, earth, sea, and everything in them. They explain that God has always given good gifts like rain, fruitful seasons, food, and gladness as a witness to himself. Even with this, they barely stop the crowd.

Question 4

What does it mean that God left not himself without witness?

Accepted Answer

Paul explains to the people in Lystra that, even when God allowed nations to go their own way, he still left clear signs of himself. God showed his kindness by giving rain from heaven, fruitful seasons, and filling human hearts with food and gladness. These everyday gifts are like a quiet testimony that there is a living, generous Creator behind the world. So people cannot say they had no hint of God at all. Creation, harvests, and the joy they bring are meant to point people away from idols and toward the true God.

Question 5

Why was Paul stoned and left for dead, and what happened next?

Accepted Answer

Hostile Jews travel from Antioch and Iconium to Lystra and win over the crowd that had once tried to worship Paul and Barnabas. The mood swings, and they stone Paul, drag him out of the city, and assume he is dead. While the disciples stand around him, he gets up and actually goes back into the city. The next day he leaves with Barnabas for Derbe. Instead of quitting, they keep preaching. Later they even return to Lystra, the very place he was stoned, to strengthen the believers there.

Question 6

What does “through much tribulation we enter into the kingdom of God” mean?

Accepted Answer

When Paul and Barnabas revisit the new believers, they do not promise an easy path. They strengthen their souls and urge them to stay in the faith, saying that we must enter God’s kingdom through many troubles. This means hardship is not a strange accident for followers of Jesus, but part of the normal path. Opposition, suffering, and pressure often come with belonging to Christ. Yet this does not shut the door of the kingdom; it is the road that leads there. This verse helps believers expect trials and keep going instead of giving up.

Question 7

Why did Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in every church?

Accepted Answer

As Paul and Barnabas retrace their steps, they do more than preach once and move on. In each church, they appoint elders, praying with fasting as they do so. These elders are local leaders who will care for, teach, and guide the believers after the missionaries leave. By commending these churches to the Lord in whom they had believed, Paul and Barnabas show that lasting ministry needs ongoing shepherds, not just visiting workers. This also shows they did not act high‑handedly, but sought God’s guidance and involved the gathered believers.

Question 8

What does this passage teach about how believers should respond to persecution?

Accepted Answer

Here we see several responses. Paul and Barnabas stay “long time” in Iconium, speaking boldly even as opposition grows, showing courage and patience. When a plan to stone them becomes clear, they leave, not out of fear for comfort, but so the message can continue in other places. After Paul is stoned in Lystra, he gets up, keeps traveling, and later returns to strengthen that same church. Together this shows that believers may sometimes stand firm in danger and sometimes move on, but in both cases they keep trusting God and continue the work.

Question 9

What does this passage show about God’s work among Gentiles?

Accepted Answer

Throughout this passage, people who are not Jews respond to God’s message. In Iconium many Greeks believe alongside Jews. In Lystra and Derbe, Paul and Barnabas preach to a mostly pagan crowd, call them from idols to the living Creator, and see a crippled man healed through faith. At the end, when they return to their sending church, they gather the believers and report all that God had done with them, especially that he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. This makes clear that God’s grace and salvation are for all nations.

Acts 14:1

And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

The Visit to Lystra and Derbe

Strengthening the Disciples

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

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Acts 14:1

And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

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Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

The Visit to Lystra and Derbe

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Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

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