Paul in Acts: Lystra

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Jason

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifices to them.

Acts 14:8-18

In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas encounter a man crippled from birth. But the gospel message stirs his heart and he believes. He comes to faith in Jesus the same way countless others have come to faith down through the ages: by hearing the Good News and trusting in Jesus.

But what’s fascinating to me is what it says in v9: And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well…

I wonder: how could Paul see that this man had faith? Particularly the faith to be made well? Is this even possible? To see someone’s heart?

There’s certainly a word here about faith being made manifest. True faith in Jesus will see beyond the reality of the present toward the horizon of possibility, the glorious future God has in store for His people. We are to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:2) and this kind of transcendent, elevated vision is evident to those around us. We might ask if our faith is as readily apparent to others.

But in my reading, I am paying special attention to Paul and I’m amazed that he sees that this man has faith. He sees beyond the physical realm — the domain of this man’s disability — to gaze deeply into the man’s heart. Both Paul and the man in Lystra are seeing with eyes of faith, taking everything in via the whole-heart commitment to the lordship of Jesus.

Maybe there’s something in the way Paul looks “intently.” Does this mean that Paul looked at him with intensity? I think that’s likely. Imagine Paul’s countenance as he sees into this man’s soul. “Intensity” is probably a good word for that kind of moment. But I think there’s more to it than this. To look intently is to look with intentionality. And perhaps this is another key to understanding this story. Paul is intentional in the way he looks at this man. Rather than seeing him in terms of his physical limitations, Paul cuts through to the deeper level, to see this man in terms of soul and spirit.

Maybe this intense, intentional gaze allows us to see beyond what’s “real” to focus on what is possible instead. And maybe that’s the true way of seeing. And maybe this is the heart of faith – what it really means to believe in Jesus in the first place.

Lord, cultivate in me this intent gaze, this intentional way of seeing.

May I look upon you — and others — with this degree of intensity.

Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, a willing spirit obedient to You and You alone.

Help me see what you see, O God.

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Dodger Candids

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Jason

It is amazing how many pictures of this dog we share in our family text thread. Here are just a few:

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Paul in Acts: Iconium

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Jason

Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Acts 14:1-7

By now we are familiar with the missional pattern: Paul and Barnabas arrive in such-and-such a place; they go to the synagogue and proclaim the Good News about Jesus; both Jews and Gentiles believe, but some oppose them; Paul and Barnabas move on to another location and the cycle begins again.

What’s different here is the escalation of the opposition. For the first time on their missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas face the threat of death. This has happened to Paul before (Acts 9:29, his dispute against the Hellenists in Jerusalem) but not on the missionary journey. In Iconium, the crowd seeks to stone them — which is a bit of irony, given that Paul was present at the stoning of Stephen. This won’t be the last time Paul will endure this threat from those who oppose his work.

I think it’s notable that Luke ascribes the signs and wonders to the Lord (14:3). Paul and Barnabas were in Iconium for many days, speaking boldly for the Lord — who bore witness to their words by granting signs and wonders to be done. We’re reminded once more that Luke’s Gospel bears witness to all that Jesus “began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1), implying that the Acts of the Apostles is a sequel focused on all that Jesus continues to do among His people.

I greatly admire the steadfast devotion Paul and Barnabas have for their mission. Surely it was not easy to continue when your own brethren turn against you like this. How many of us could bear up under the threat of such physical harm? But Paul is persistent. He resolutely holds to this conviction that Jesus is the Messiah and the proclamation of His gospel is the Good News of eternal life for anyone who would believe. If you have the promise of eternal life coming from a risen Savior, even the threat of death won’t faze you. And Paul never wavers, never capitulates, never quits. I love that.

One final note of interest: v7, “…they continued to preach the gospel.” Literally, the text reads, “…and there they were gospeling.” Undeterred, Paul and Barnabas just keep on gospeling. Wherever they are, whatever the response, these two continue “gospeling” in faith. What an example!

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On the Mound

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Jason
Screenshot
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Paul in Acts: Antioch in Pisidia

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Jason

[For context, read Acts 13:13-52]

Having preached the gospel across the island of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas set out for Perga in Pamphylia. At this point, for unspecified reasons, John Mark leaves the group and returns to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). This seemingly minor detail will be important later, as it will lead to a major rift between Paul and Barnabas. From Perga, the missionary effort focuses on Antioch in Pisidia.

This section is notable because it gives us a glimpse of Paul’s sermon content. Luke offers details that read like the account of an eyewitness. For example, he notes that Paul motions with his hands as he speaks (13:16). We might be reading too much into this, but this leads many scholars to believe that Luke joined with the missionary team at some point prior to this moment.

Paul’s sermon demonstrates his adept ability to interpret the Old Testament scriptures with an eye toward the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. Preaching in the synagogue, Paul begins with God, with the story of Israel in the Exodus. That’s interesting. I might think he would begin with Abraham, the one who was justified by faith hundreds of years before the Law of Moses. But Paul begins with the Exodus, with slavery. From the exodus through the judges to the period of the kings, Paul deftly narrates Hebrew history as a movement from slavery to exalted status to yet another form of slavery. But the promise is that there is a King who emerges, One who follows in the footsteps of David as “a man after God’s own heart.” David is a proxy, a placeholder in our minds until this King — the True King — arrives.

And this is Paul’s bold thesis: Acts 13:23, Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

With this, Paul finally mentions Abraham (13:26). God’s message of salvation has come to Abraham’s family, even though the leaders in Jerusalem could not recognize Him, nor the words of the prophets about Him. Another interesting detail: when Paul mentions the death of Jesus, he doesn’t say anything about the forgiveness of sin. This point will come out clearly in his later writings, but that doesn’t seem to be the focus of this particular sermon; Paul only mentions it briefly in v38. Instead, Paul stresses the faithfulness of God. In Jesus, God is doing what He had always promised to do, that which was always promised in texts like Psalm 2, Isaiah 55, and Psalm 16 (Paul’s references here).

13:38-39 shows why Paul begins his sermon with Exodus instead of Abraham: “Through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” Jesus liberates us, leading a New Exodus. This is what the original Exodus had been pointing toward all along.

Jesus is greater than David by the testimony of the resurrection. For all his greatness, David’s death ends in decay. By point of contrast, Christ’s death ends in glorious resurrection. How much greater, then, is the Kingdom of the One who defeated death? How much greater the One who frees us from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses (13:39)! Justification through faith in Christ is at the heart of this early gospel proclamation.

Paul closes with a warning: don’t be like those scoffers in the day of Habakkuk who would not believe what God was doing even if someone explained it to them!

Jesus is the focal point of Paul’s preaching because Jesus is also the demonstration of God’s covenant faithfulness throughout the story.

When some of the Jews begin refuting their message the next week, Paul and Barnabas take up the charge given to Israel in Isaiah 49:6 to be a light to the Gentiles. And the Gentiles receive this word joyfully, understanding this to be the way to eternal life. But the Jews are hellbent on driving Paul and Barnabas away. In the words of Jesus, Paul and Barnabas simply shake the dust off their feet and move on.

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Paul in Acts: Cyprus, Part Two

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Jason

According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a native of Cyprus. He and Paul arrive in Salamis, formerly the capital, on the eastern coast. Here they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogue, which is consistent with the earlier missionary activity described in 11:19. Perhaps the earlier evangelists to Cyprus had been to other areas on the island, prompting Paul and Barnabas to choose Salamis as the next logical and strategic location for this work. Going to the Jewish synagogue prefigures what Paul will practice throughout Acts and his teaching in Romans 1:16 that salvation is to the Jews first.

John Mark is mentioned by name in 13:5. Having come to Antioch with them from Jerusalem (12:25), he is now on hand to assist Paul and Barnabas in their work. Some scholars have surmised that John Mark gives eyewitness testimony to certain gospel events that neither Paul nor Barnabas could supply, thus “helping” in the proclamation of the gospel. This may be true, but the general sense of the term “helper” is probably the best understanding. John Mark helped Paul and Barnabas in a number of ways, in all likelihood.

Salamis is large enough to have multiple Jewish synagogues throughout the city. From here, the team traverses across the breadth of the island, eventually arriving at Paphos in the west, the new capital city. Here they are opposed by Bar-Jesus who is also known as Elymas, a Jewish false prophet and magician. This is at once striking, given the condemnation of sorcery and occult practices in Deuteronomy 18:10, 2 Kings 17:17, Jeremiah 27:9, Ezekiel 12:24. With the Aramaic name “Bar-Jesus” (son of Joshua / Jesus), he appears as a dark alternative to the true Savior. He attends to the proconsul as a court astrologer / magician.

And yet, the proconsul is intrigued by the gospel message. Luke emphasizes that he was an intelligent man, which indicates that the efficacy of the gospel goes far beyond tent revival emotionalism. No, the Good News here is presented as a reasonable, rational message with a coherent worldview. The implication here is that this Good News also undercuts the dark power of the occult as characterized by Bar-Jesus. Feeling threatened, this shadowy figure tries to use his influence to dissuade the proconsul from believing.

The Greek word here for “magician” is magos, the same word to describe Simon of Samaria in Acts 8:9. Just as Simon Peter confronts this dark magic in Samaria, so does Paul confront it in Cyprus.

And this is where we see more of Paul’s trademark zeal. He denounces the magician as a child of the devil rather than a son / follower of Jesus as his name would indicate. Paul calls down divine judgment upon him in the form of temporary blindness. And there is no irony here. Paul understands better than anyone that the darkening of the eyes can lead the mind and soul to be restored to the light.

When it says that Elymas stumbles about seeking someone to lead him by the hand (Acts 13:11), we are reminded of Paul (Saul) in a similar condition on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:8). Does Elymas — like Paul before him — conclude that Jesus is the true Messiah? Does he abandon his devotion to the dark arts and live up to his namesake by becoming a follower of Jesus? We’re left to wonder; the text doesn’t say.

Whereas the fate of Elymas remains a mystery, Luke would have his readers know this: the proconsul believed the Good News about Jesus (Acts 13:12).

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Paul in Acts: Cyprus

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Jason

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Acts 13:4-12

Barnabas and Saul were sent by the Holy Spirit – Luke makes this quite clear.

What might the Holy Spirit be sending me to do? I think this is one of the important questions we should ask ourselves as we read Acts.

Their strategy is also clear: they will go to the synagogues to proclaim the word of God. Why? The simple answer is that their fellow Jews have the context for understanding Jesus as the fulfillment of the Messianic promises of the scriptures. Paul and Barnabas leveraged their training as interpreters of the Hebrew scriptures — as well as their own unique giftings through the Spirit — to show that Jesus was God’s long-awaited Anointed One.

But just because we are sent by the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean we will be unopposed. Paul and Barnabas face a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. The fact that he dabbles in such dark arts immediately puts him in conflict with Torah and earns him the reputation as one who is “false.” At a narrative level, we note some striking parallels between Saul and the other dominant figure in the book of Acts, Simon Peter. Just as Simon Peter opposed the magician in Acts 8, here Paul faces the same challenge.

Paul’s speech to Elymas Bar-Jesus is indeed a bold one: “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness…” The name Bar-Jesus indicates that this false prophet is literally the son of one named “Jesus” (Yeshua in Hebrew, a common name among the Jews). But in this case, the name provides a contrast to the reality. Rather than being a son of the TRUE Jesus, Elymas is called “son of the devil.” Paul may have seen the light of Christ’s grace, but he is still a man of great zeal.

We might also see a bit of a parallel with Paulus, the proconsul who is referenced as a man of great intelligence. Our Apostle will also be revealed to be a man of striking intellect, and yet he will not be regarded with esteem moving forward. Indeed, as the story progresses, we will find Paul in chains, suffering greatly for responding to the call of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, he will see all of this through the eyes of faith, saying what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ (Phil. 1:12-13).

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Paul in Acts: Set Apart

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Jason

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:1-3

In addition to being led by faithful elders as mentioned in Acts 11:30, the church at Antioch was guided by a cadre of prophets and teachers. And in the midst of a time of worship and fasting, the Holy Spirit speaks to this dynamic congregation of believers.

Luke writes this as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Reading this today, I don’t know what impresses me more: the fact that the Holy Spirit spoke to these believers or the fact that they were able to hear His voice. No doubt their fasting and worship created conditions more conducive to discerning the Spirit’s voice.

The Holy Spirit speaks!

The voice of the eternal God!

How incredible!

And the Spirit directs the church there to set apart Barnabas and Saul. It seems that the Spirit has something else planned for these two. One scholar writes, “It is perhaps worth noticing that the two men who were to be released for what would nowadays be called missionary service overseas were the two most eminent and gifted leaders in the church.” Simeon, Lucius, and Manaean will continue to feed and nurture the flock in Antioch. But this is one of those Kingdom moves of multiplication through division.

How do we listen to the Holy Spirit in our assemblies today?

Is this limited to those with special gifts of prophecy?

Or is this something available to all believers?

It’s worth noting that fasting is mentioned twice here in this passage. Might this be one of the ways for us to hear the Spirit’s voice?

The rest of the narrative is impacted by this activity of the Spirit. Needless to say, Paul’s life was never the same after this commissioning. He readily steps into the adventure to which the Spirit calls him.

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Paul in Acts: Relief for the Saints

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Jason

Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:27-30

Yet again, we see that adversity becomes an opportunity for acts of cruciformity. In 11:19, the scattering led to gospel proclamation elsewhere; the Kingdom grows. Here, the believers in Antioch determine to send relief to their brethren in Judea, entrusting the transport of these funds to Barnabas and Saul. The root word for “relief” here is diakonos, “service.” Brothers and sisters in Christ serve one another when there is a need.

The reign of Claudius was marked by a long series of crop failures throughout the empire, including Judea. The famine there seems to have coincided with the procuratorship of Tiberius Alexander (AD 46-48). Egyptian records speak of a major famine there in AD 45-46, which helps us date the events of Acts 11 to approximately AD 46. Note the early mention of elders in the life of the church here. Within a few years of the church’s founding, we see Antioch under the leadership of a plurality of elders (presbyteros), a governance model that still holds.

This must have been a formative experience for Paul, for the relief for the saints in Jerusalem will never be far from his heart. The epistles are full of references to this same work years later.

The story is interrupted by a final episode involving Simon Peter. But then Luke returns to the thread of Paul and Barnabas, noting at Acts 12:25 that they returned from Jerusalem, bringing John Mark with them. Were they in Jerusalem when Herod killed James and arrested Simon Peter? Did they join in the prayer meeting described in Acts 12:5? Were they at Mary’s place when Rhoda heard Peter at the door?

It’s possible.

All we know for sure is that Paul and Barnabas made it to Jerusalem to deliver the financial gift. And they connected with John Mark while they served there.

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FHU 2025 vs. Loyola

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Jason

Second career collegiate outing for Joshua.

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