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Acts 14

God opens faith to the nations as Paul and Barnabas face violence, refuse worship, and strengthen new churches.

Paul and Barnabas preach in Iconium, where many Jews and Greeks believe and opposition divides the city. After escaping a threat of stoning, they reach Lystra. There Paul heals a man who has never walked, and the crowd tries to worship the apostles as gods. They refuse the honor. Opponents then turn the crowd against Paul, who is stoned and left for dead. The apostles continue to Derbe, revisit the new disciples, appoint elders, and report back to their sending church in Antioch.

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1In Iconium, they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.
2But the disbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.
3Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4But the multitude of the city was divided. Part sided with the Jews and part with the apostles.
5When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them,
6they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
7There they preached the Good News.
8At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked.
9He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him and seeing that he had faith to be made whole,
10said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked.
11When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
12They called Barnabas “Jupiter”, and Paul “Mercury”, because he was the chief speaker.
13The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes.
14But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes and sprang into the multitude, crying out,
15“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of the same nature as you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
16who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.
17Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
18Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the multitudes from making a sacrifice to them.
19But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
20But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe.
21When they had preached the Good News to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.
23When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they had believed.
24They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.
26From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
27When they had arrived and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.
28They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.
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Key verses
Acts 14:22The apostles strengthen new believers by naming affliction as part of entering God’s Kingdom and urging continued faith.
Acts 14:15Paul and Barnabas reject divine honors and direct the crowd toward the living God who made all things.
Acts 14:27Their report credits God with the work and identifies the nations’ access to faith as his doing.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis shares the confession of God as Creator, while Romans also speaks of creation as a witness to God, linking with the apostles’ appeal at Lystra. 2 Timothy recalls Paul’s persecutions at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, places named in this account of opposition and endurance.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about how Paul and Barnabas respond to praise compared with threats?

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How does the apostles’ return to strengthen disciples shape your understanding of care within a church?

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Questions people ask about Acts 14

Why did the people call Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercury in Acts 14?

After the healing, the crowd concludes that gods have appeared in human form. The text says they call Paul Mercury because he is the chief speaker; it gives no reason for calling Barnabas Jupiter. The priest’s preparations for sacrifice show that the crowd intends to worship them.

Did Paul die when he was stoned in Acts 14?

The text says Paul’s attackers dragged him outside the city, supposing he was dead. It then says he rose while the disciples stood around him and went back into the city. It does not state that he died or describe his recovery as a resurrection, so that conclusion goes beyond the account.

What does Acts 14:22 mean by entering God’s Kingdom through afflictions?

Paul and Barnabas speak these words while strengthening disciples in towns where they have faced violence. They urge believers to continue in faith despite suffering. The statement presents affliction as part of their path into God’s Kingdom. It does not say suffering earns admission; the chapter credits God’s grace and his opening of faith.

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Acts · 28 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).