NOTES for Act 14:19-28

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¹⁹And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

²⁰Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

²²Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

²³And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

²⁴And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:

²⁶And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

²⁷And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

²⁸And there they abode long time with the disciples.

"Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God"... What exactly does this mean? Are troubles necessary for salvation, or are they simply inevitable? In other words, where should the emphasis be placed in this phrase?

The emphasis belongs in a place quite different from where we are used to putting it. The main thing in this phrase is not "tribulations," but "enter the Kingdom." There are and will be tribulations for everyone - for Christians and non-Christians alike. Sometimes Christians have far more tribulations than others; sometimes people find themselves in such an unfavorable position not for religious reasons at all, but, for example, because of their nationality...

However, Paul gives us joyful news: these tribulations can and must become our path into the Kingdom of God. And it depends only on us whether we make use of this possibility - to entrust everything into God's hands and receive everything back from Him again, and in this way enter the Kingdom.

Other notes

For Act 14:19-28

¹⁹And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

²⁰Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

²²Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

²³And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

²⁴And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:

²⁶And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

²⁷And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

²⁸And there they abode long time with the disciples.

How difficult it can sometimes be for us to bear problems, a lack of something, or simply bad weather... Everything is wrong; there is no desire... Read more

How difficult it can sometimes be for us to bear problems, a lack of something, or simply bad weather... Everything is wrong; there is no desire to do anything and no joy. The knowledge that we must thank God for everything only intensifies the irritation that has already poisoned the day... What are we to do? We want to break free from this state, but how? The answer will come as no surprise: only with God's help. Yes, through our discontent and unwillingness to acknowledge our condition as sinful, and through our shame over all of it, we must entrust ourselves to the Lord and to His grace (Acts 14:23). Through the prayers of our brothers and sisters and by standing before Him ourselves, we must come to Him without fearing that He will not receive us (John 6:37).

For Act 14:1-28

¹And 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.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

³Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

⁵And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

⁶They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:

⁷And there they preached the gospel.

⁸And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:

⁹The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

¹⁰Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

¹¹And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

¹²And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

¹³Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.

¹⁴Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

¹⁵And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

¹⁶Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

¹⁸And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

¹⁹And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

²⁰Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

²²Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

²³And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

²⁴And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:

²⁶And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

²⁷And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

²⁸And there they abode long time with the disciples.

In today's reading we see how astonishing and difficult for human understanding is the mystery of human cooperation with God... Read more

In today's reading we see how astonishing and difficult for human understanding is the mystery of human cooperation with God. For the Gentiles of Lystra it is much easier to accept that the miracle of healing the lame man is connected with Zeus or Hermes coming to them. And when it turns out that the apostles are people just like themselves, they quickly lose all authority and are subjected to beatings and persecutions.

Meanwhile, the essence of apostolic ministry is precisely that they act in God's name, but not in His place. They know that the Lord Himself is present in this world, in those who believe in Him, and therefore with trust they commit the newly established churches to His gracious protection. Without doubt, this mystery of cooperation, of working together with God, must be realized in us as well, and this requires our consent, trust, and devotion to Him. Only we must remember that, on the one hand, we are ordinary people, and on the other hand, God is with us.

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