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At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue as usual. They spoke there with great power. Large numbers of Jews and Greeks became believers. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up some of the Gentiles who were there. They turned them against the two men and the new believers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent a lot of time there. They spoke boldly for the Lord. He gave them the ability to do signs and wonders. In this way the Lord showed that they were telling the truth about his grace. 4 The people of the city did not agree with one another. Some were on the side of the Jews. Others were on the side of the apostles. 5 Jews and Gentiles alike planned to treat Paul and Barnabas badly. Their leaders agreed. They planned to kill them by throwing stones at them. 6 But Paul and Barnabas found out about the plan. They escaped to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding area. 7 There they continued to preach the good news. 14:1–7 Jesus had talked about how people would disagree very strongly about him (Matthew 10:34–36). That happened in the city of Iconium after Paul and Barnabas preached. Some people believed their message and others didn't. People turned against one another because of what they believed about God's grace. Paul and Barnabas were in danger so they kept travelling.
8 In Lystra there sat a man who couldn't walk. He hadn't been able to use his feet since the day he was born. 9 He listened as Paul spoke. Paul looked right at him. He saw that the man had faith to be healed. 10 So he called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ Then the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 The crowd saw what Paul had done. They shouted in the Lycaonian language. ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ they exclaimed. 12 They called Barnabas Zeus. Paul was the main speaker. So they called him Hermes. 13 Just outside the city was the temple of the god Zeus. The priest of Zeus brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates. He and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
14 But the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about this. So they tore their clothes. They rushed out into the crowd. They shouted, 15 ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We are only human, just like you. We are bringing you good news. Turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the living God. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth and the sea. He made everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 But he has given proof of what he is like. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven. He gives you crops in their seasons. He provides you with plenty of food. He fills your hearts with joy.’ 18 Paul and Barnabas told them all these things. But they had trouble keeping the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
14:8–18 The crowd around Paul was amazed when he healed a man in Lystra. They were Gentiles who worshipped false gods. They tried to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods because of the miracle. The apostles were very upset and wouldn't allow the people to worship them. Paul often talked about Jesus as the Saviour God had promised to send to his people. He did this when he preached to Jews. The Greeks in Lystra didn't know about Jewish history or Jewish Scriptures. So Paul preached to them in other ways. He talked about God as the Creator and the Lord of all creation. Paul urged the people in Lystra to worship the true and living God.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. They won the crowd over to their side. They threw stones at Paul. They thought he was dead, so they dragged him out of the city. 20 The believers gathered around Paul. Then he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
21 Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in the city of Derbe. They won large numbers of followers. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. 22 There they helped the believers gain strength. They told them to remain faithful to what they had been taught. ‘We must go through many hard times to enter God's kingdom,’ they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church. The elders had trusted in the Lord. Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted. They placed the elders in the Lord's care. 24 After going through Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas came into Pamphylia. 25 They preached the good news in Perga. Then they went down to Attalia.
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch. In Antioch they had been put in God's care to preach the good news. They had now completed the work God had given them to do. 27 When they arrived at Antioch, they gathered the church together. They reported all that God had done through them. They told how he had opened a way for the Gentiles to believe. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the believers.
14:19–28 Some Jews from the cities Paul had recently visited came to Lystra to attack him. They hated the good news. Since Paul wouldn't stop sharing it, they tried to kill him. But Paul didn't die. He and Barnabas travelled on to Derbe. Then they returned to the cities where they had been treated badly. They weren't afraid of those who opposed and attacked them. They were faithful to complete the work the Holy Spirit had given them to do. They taught the new believers to also stay faithful even when they faced hard times. Paul chose church elders to help the new communities of believers. They would help the churches be strong and continue to trust Jesus. Paul and Barnabas then returned to Antioch in Syria. That is where God had appointed them to go to the Gentiles. They told the church there about all that God was doing among the Gentiles. That was the end of their first journey to spread the message about Jesus.