Bible Guys Classics: Acts 14

Show Notes

When people misunderstand the work of God, humility matters.

In this episode of The Bible Guys, Jeff and Chris unpack Acts 14, where Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for gods after a miraculous healing.

The conversation highlights humility, truth, and the importance of pointing all glory back to God. Jeff and Chris discuss how quickly admiration can turn into confusion—and why staying grounded in Christ is essential.

If you’re learning how to navigate success, attention, or misunderstanding, this episode offers biblical wisdom and clarity.

🎧 Listen now and learn why all glory belongs to God alone.#TheDailyBibleGuys #Acts14 #BibleStudyPodcast #Humility #GodsGlory #FaithInAction

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Well, today we're going to find out that the apostle Paul gets the ultimate compliment. He gets called a Greek god. Paul and Barnabas. I think they must have haunt a lot in the gyms. Yes, so that's what we're talking about today. He's Chris, I'm Jeff, and we're the Bible guys. So Jeff, yes, today we're going to do this thing where I don't know if you've ever seen Jimmy Fallon, I have the Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show does this thing where somebody wears headphones and they play loud music and then the other person whispers a phrase. Okay, so if the podcast listeners are only listening and not watching, they'll be able to hear our responses. Those who watch can actually they can. See play out. Okay. So this is very creatively entitled the Whisper Challenge, the Whisper Challenge. Okay, And I don't know what it is that you're going to say, No, you do not, of course. Right, Okay, of course, so I have to swap up my headphones. Yep, swapping on his headphones. He's gonna put things on directly connected with Now I get these tell me. And then you're going to turn on some music or something. Is it? Boy? It's too loud? Okay? Is that better? You got turned up? But a little more? Okay, okay, I can't hear anything. I can't hear anything. Okay, here we go. I can't hear you. Here's the phrase. Look at you ready? Yeah, leave the gun, take the canoley. It looked like you said, leave the gun beside the toilet. Close. Okay, leave the gun, take the cannoli, leave the gun beside the toy. Oh, leave the gun, take the conoley. Oh, I don't know. It looks like you've changed something about a cold steak. I don't know. No, no, no, no. It is the famous line from the Godfather. Leave the gun, take the canoli. Leave the gun. Take from the Godfather. Yes, okay, okay, I got one for you, so go ahead. Oh yeah, yeah, great, okay, yeah. So it's kind of loudly. I couldn't hear. That's funny. It's so hard to see what you're saying. Okay, are you ready? Oh wow, that that is loud. Okay, okay, the truth. You can't handle the truth. What the heck? Do more motion with your lips? The truth. You can't handle the truth. The truth is astronomical. No, try it again. That was your first try. Try again, the truth. You can't handle the truth. You can't handle the truth. Oh there you go, get it? Yeah you got it. Yeah. Wow, that's I. Said the truth. You can't handle the truth. That's you said. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that wasn't the lie. Yeah I know, but but it looked like you said the truth first. Yes, and then I picked up you said you can't handle the truth. The actual quote is I. Want the truth. You can't handle the truth. That's right. That's what the that's what the line. So I said the truth. I didn't say I want the I said the truth. You can't handle the truth. That's awesome. That's good, good job. Yeah, thanks man. Yeah. I was just trying to think of something that was in your wheelhouse. And you know, I read the Bible a lot, but you watch a lot of movies, and so I thought maybe you would know movie references. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. And I can go on all day about things that we do to consume our time. If it's not the Bible, then it's evil right probably, or something right right right? Or football. Those are the things that please the Lord. Okay, please the Lord. So we are continuing with Paul and the story in the of Acts and the spread of the Gospel. And so now Paul and Barnabas are traveling, and if you remember, they had been in a town, and they had spoken specifically first there at Antioch and Pasidia to the Jews and in the synagogues, and some people believe, some didn't. They kind of rejected them. And so then they took the Gospel of the Gentiles, and then that became the pattern from that point on. They come in, they go to a synagogue, and then they go out in the streets and preach to everybody else. So that's what's going to be happening here. We're going to read kind of a long passage, but it's very interesting. So just follow a long We're and read Acts chapter fourteen, reading from the New Living Translation, said the same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. Some of the Jews, however, spurned God's message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas, But the Apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord, and the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. But the people the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews and some with the Apostles. Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. When the Apostles learned of it, they fled to the regional Lyaconia, to the town of Lystra and Derby and the surrounding area, and there they preached the good news. While they were at Listra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He'd been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed, So Paul called to him in a loud voice, stand up, and the man jumped to his feet and started walking. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect. These men are gods in human form, and they decided that Barnabas was their Greek god Zeus, and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Now, the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town, so the priests of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices the apostles. But when the. Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, friends, why are you doing this. We are merely human beings, just like you. We've come to bring you the good news that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. In the past, he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rein and good crops, and gives you food and joyful hearts. But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them. Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side, and they stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead, But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derby. After preaching the good news in Derby, making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antiocho, Pasidia, where they strengthen the blue. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord in whom they had put their trust. Then they traveled back through Pasidia to Pamphylia. They preached the word in Perga, and they went down to Atalia. Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch Assyria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work that they had now completed. Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the gentiles too. And they stayed there with the believers for a long time. So that's kind of cool. So just to be clear, all of these towns that they're mentioning our ancient towns in what would be now modern day Turkey, the central portion of modern day Turkey. So yeah, and there's a lot happening here. So the first observation is is that Saul is no longer called Saul. It's only Paul, and that. Only Paul at this point. And it's not Barnabas and Paul, it's it's Paul and Barnabas. Yeah. So it's it's very obvious that their fame has been growing. Uh, you know, they've been gaining momentum in their ministry. Uh. And obviously Paul's confidence, you know, the more time that separates him from his past, the more empowered. And I'm sure he probably feels yeah. And then uh, and then it says that, you know, first of all, it says they hear of a stoning. Now some people you know, who grew up like me. You may hear. Stoning and think of something else, But stoning is actually. Paul and Barney has got stoned. But not but not but not the way that we're that's correct, not the way you think of it. Well, Woodstock thinks, right, So it's it's more so they would take rocks and they would I mean, it was the easiest. Way, right. It was a form of execution. It was a form of execution. They would bring people out and they would take rocks and they would just throw them and they try to you know, I don't want to say it, but like to hit him in the head. Yeah, And so that's that was it. So it would be you know, and they're not just taking little rocks, they're taking big, big chunks of rocks. Usually this still happens some in developing portions of the world Afghanistan, Pakistan, some portions of India, Bangladesh. I've heard of stoning's where people still do this kind of thing. Yes, well you know that means of execution. Do you remember the story I told with Pastor Samson with a cup of tea and the sugar. Oh yeah, yeah, that was the ston uh huh yeah. Yeah, So they still do it. It's still a customary thing. It's just because it turns out stones and rocks are everywhere, so they're readily readily handy. So the basically they use the same strategy. They come in, they preach in the synagogues. Some of the Jewish people go, you're right, Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the one we've been waiting for, and some rejected it. And then there was some murmuring and discussion. Then they go out and they begin to murmuring, it's. Such a good word. Murmur murmur murmur, it's such a good. Word for exactly what's happening there, right, just this buzz going on, people disagreeing, and then some of the gentiles believe. But then the whole crowd turns. So it's amazing how quickly people's opinions change. Hey, he's a good guy. No, he's a bad guy. He's a good guy. No, he's a bad guy. Let's kill him. Not only that, they went from he's a good guy too, he's a bad guy, to let's kill him in a very quick period of time. Well, you know what it reminds me if it reminds me of social media, right, I was gonna say, it reminds me of of everybody's opinions about every political campaign ever. Oh yeah, right, it's just like we're all sheep. And so my buddy has this saying and he says, he says, man. We're all sheep. He's like, he always does this all the time. And it is true. We form opinions based on almost no facts. Right on twenty five second tiktoks right, change our world views, right, Yeah, And. So anyway, the point is is that there's a fickle crowd. And by the way, you know, it does remind us that not a lot of changes over the years. Yeah, even though thousands of years later so much has changed. So that first time they hear of the plot to stone them and they leave. And so in this area there were little regions, almost like counties or maybe even little states, and they just left one region and they go over to another region. It's only like eighteen or twenty miles, but you know, when everybody's walking, that's a long ways. So they get over to what town is it? They're in Lystra and in Derby. These are kind of like sister cities and they're fairly prosperous cities, and they're fairly Greek in their outlook, in their worldview. And so these guys come in and they see while they're preaching, they see this guy who's been crippled for his whole life, and Paul speaks with authority and heals this guy. And I think it's interesting how it says Paul had realized that the man had enough. Faith to be healed. Yeah. Yeah, And so there's a part of me, you know, the movie part of me Cert is like wondering if Paul sensed it like God, because it does say that God gave them the abilities, right sure, it's at the beginning of the chapter it said that God had given them special abilities to do miraculous science. It says giving them power to do miraculous science, and wonders. So there's a part of me that wonders if Paul had this almost supernatural sense, you know. But at the same time, being a speaker, I know that, you know, if I speak to a crowd, I could tell the people who are with me, you know, and this man might have just been completely agreeing, and you can just tell, like this man is believing everything that I'm saying. So it could just be that to you. You know, the Book of Hebrews talks about faith, you know, the whole book, so much of it's about faith, and it talks about how you have to have faith in God, that he first of all, that he exists, and that he rewards those who you know, have faith in him do good. So it may have been that he could identify that this guy, of all the people, this guy had dialed in and went, yes, I do believe in the Creator, and yes, I do believe the Creator can do anything. And so because that's consistent with the messages they're giving. So you're right that either way. It was a sense or he was picking up on this this guy's response, But how much faith does it take? It takes enough faith to say I believe that that's it. Because this guy didn't know all the details in the gospels, he didn't know everything about Jesus Christ. He was identifying with what little faith he did have, and that's how much faith it takes to come to God. Yeah. Well, people actually say all the time, actually they say I have to have more faith. I have to have more faith. And if you look in the scriptures, Jesus said always asked the question where is your faith? Right now? He did marvel twice. He marveled twice about I've never seen such great faith in Israel. Right. And one, by the way, was from a Jewish or from a Greek pagan, right and you know who you know, remember the man who said, come and just speak the word, and my servant be healed. And then and then the other one was a Roman. Romans, yeah, Romans. And so Jesus marveled twice about great faith. But he never challenged people and said you must have more faith. He always asked the question, where is your faith? And so people always say. Well that the one father said I believe, help my unbelief, right, and Jesus healed the Mand's son with that statement. Right right right. I believe partly, I believe mostly. And I want to say that I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions in Christianity. People always punish themselves. They say, the reason why I'm not healed is I just have to have more faith. And there are actually teachings, there's denominations out there that that indicate that, like, well, hey, we're doing everything right, you know, we're laying hands, we're praying. The reason why you're not healed is because I guess your faith is not big enough. And so I've I've counseled people over and over and over who cry and they say, I just have to have more faith, And I guess it's my fault that I'm not healed. And I think to myself, well, that's spiritual abuse, because Jesus said, you don't have to have bigger faith, you just have to believe in a bigger God, right, because it takes faith of a mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds. And Jesus said, if you have just that much faith, and he's talking about true faith, he's you know, just your faith doesn't to be bigger. You just need a bigger God. That's right. And God selectively does these miracles for a purpose. And then this. Purpose it's to be able to highlight the fact that the message that Paul and Barnabas are bringing you have the power of God behind him. Right. So I'm sure that there were other crippled people in this region that didn't get healed that day, but this guy did. There's different reasons why God chooses not to heal. We still live in a sinful world. We live in a broken world, and a part of that is we live under the curse of Eden. It's not a perfect place. There are a lot of really bad things that we struggle through, not because God hates us, but because that's the consequence of the fact that we live under the curse of Eden. Yeah, and I think I think it's Roman's eighth that tells us that we live under the bondage and they of sin. That's right, right, and it tells us that we live in this broken world. So anyways, they come in, they heal this guy, and then everybody's. Like, oh my gosh, these guys are gods. And there's right outside this town is the temple to Zeus, and so the preach. By the way. By the way, there's multiple temples of Zeus. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, there's just like. There are mosques or just like there are churches or synagogues. So this isn't the temple that we know of that still stands today right somewhere, you know, with archaeological Okay, go ahead. So but they had a temple to Zeus there. He was their favorite god. So they decided Barnabas because he's not talking much. He just seems to have a lot of authority. Barnabas must be Zeus, and then Paul, he's one making all the arguments, so he must be Hermes, and they decided they're going to make sacrifices to him. Yeah. Now Hermes was also the son of Zeus, and he was the Zeus or Zeus's son by Maria, no, by may I whatever. I'm looking at the notes. Maya m A I A. Yeah, that's a weird way. To spell it. And it says that he's also the Hermes is the fertility god and the god that escorts people to Hades, right wherever Hades. Is, yeah, yeah, yeah, the place of the dead. Yeah, the place of the dead. Yeah. So they're like, oh, wow, we're gonna make a sacrifice. These guys are living, walking guys, which means they were absolutely convinced of the miracle they saw. Convinced absolutely, So there wasn't any question about this one. This guy had never walked in his whole life. They've seen him forever. Typically, those kind of people would be sitting and begging at the city gates or out in the streets. People would see them all the time. There was no social network, the social network to help people that were physically disadvantaged would always be just pure charity. So people be begging, and so they would have known this guy his entire life, right, and then they see this miracle and they genuinely believe it happens. But then Paul gets up and he preaches a different message then the messages we see him preach. To the Jewish people. To the Jewish people, he gives kind of a argument that Jesus is the Messiah based on Abraham all the way through David, all the way to Jesus, and he gives this Jewish argument. Here he goes, look it, the creator of the universe gives you rain, gives you crops, and he starts with where they're at. That power comes from that creator, right, that's what. So he started with the limited information that they had, and then he begins to come to Jesus or bring them to Jesus there and so people were thrilled, many people trusted. And then maybe some of the enemies that came from Pasidia, they came from somewhere from Antioch or wherever they and Iconium they come in and immediately shift the crowds to the point that they stoned Paul, and they think they stone him to death. So these people who saw the miracle and thought he was a god just a little while ago. They're like, nah, it's killing right. It's pretty hardcore. Yeah. And by the way, Paul later on in the epistles mentions like I've been shipwrecked, I've been stoned, I've been beaten with rods, and you know, you better believe he doesn't forget this. That's right. Right. In fact, when the scripture says that the people thought they were dead, I understand that this stoning people, unfortunately, was a common practice, which means they could tell. You know, like is the job done or not? Right? So if they think Paul's dead, you know what that means that dude get messed up, right, And I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to people hurl stones on you until they think you're dead. They stoned him and the drug him out of town thinking he was dead. Yeah, thinking he was dead. But the believers gathered around him and they were praying over him, and he gets up and goes back into town. Hey I'm not very smart, but if somebody stones me and leaves me for dead, I don't think I would go back into that town. There's other towns, man, and you know, but he did. He kept back up and went right back talking about the boldness that these guys had is disincredible. You know. I want to go back a little bit ago, Just a few minutes ago, you had mentioned that he was preaching to the Greeks right where they are. You know. So my brother Jim, he is lives in Texas, and he was at home one day and he was well, actually, whatever it was, somehow he got connected to through his church to minister to those who have come over from India and they get off the plane and literally they stepped foot in the country and they needed somebody to help them integrate in the culture. So my brother said, yeah, I'll do that. And he did such a good job. He just took it upon himself to do this great ministry. He had like four or five those those people from India living with him, like practically living with him. And the culture is so radically different. And Jim, my brother Jim, says, you know, you can go in my refrigerator. And they said, no, we dare not go in your refrigerator. He said, no, no, I'm telling you I'm trying to train you about the culture because they were coming over to go to school. Well, it turns out that the government stopped calling the church and and and said let's please. Be a part of this ministry. They ended up getting my brother's phone number. And now now the city officials call my brother, uh straight straight away because everybody flies in flies into Dallas, right and and uh and or yeah it's Dallas. And so anyway, the bottom line is this, Now my brother has three or four hundred Indians who he actually hangs out with and actually has this big ministry, and he has these photos on his you know, social media where you know, there's a huge group of people and he's right there in the center with his wife, you know, and and he's developed this whole thing. My point is this is that it is so different to try to introduce the idea that Jesus is the way to heaven to somebody who believes. In multiple gods. Because those who are you know, Hindu, they believe in multiple gods. Well it's not too much different than than this Greek you know, they have they have this. Ancient pantheon of gods. Yeah, so they're you know, they're probably theistic, which means multiple God. And anyway, so here's here's what Jimmy said. This is this is very interesting. He said, the conversation has to begin here where I have to tell them Jesus is a god and then Jesus is the God. Right, he has to start with the fact that Jesus is a god. And he said, so, so if you try to just approach people with, you know, just just the truth, he said, it's just not going to work. You got to start where they're at. Yeah. Yeah, you'll see that becomes more and more of Paul's strategy as we go through this. So then in that last thing, as they come in to give a report, they finish this big loop and they come back to the Antioch and Syria, they give a report and they admit they talk about the fact that suffering was a big part of this. And so if you asked Paul, would you do it again? We know he would because he goes on two more journeys just like this and suffers even more. So the more mature you become as a Christian, the less you are concerned about your own comfort, and the more you become concerned about being effective for the forward movement of the Kingdom of God. And so that should be kind of your attitude and your thought as you go through the to day today and over the next week. Is God, help me to be effective, Give me the strength and the courage. Paul gets up after being stone and goes right back in that same town. Tom, give me the boldness, give me the courage, give me the strength. But I want to be as effective as possible for your kingdom today. Yeah. You know what that reminds me of is just on Sunday, both Jeff and I attend Heritage Church were pastors there, and on Sunday this eighty year old woman who I know came out and she just said, Chris, I'm having a hard time. She said, because you know, we sang like this three minute medley right where we actually played Leonard Skinner right, and we did this a little little bit, but we did it with intention because we were trying to say in our culture, culture reflects the heart and the culture. Our medley was about independence, wanting to be independent. So she just says, she said, IM having a hard time, and I said, I said, yeah, but we had like twelve minutes of worship. I said, so you just have to go ahead and make sure that you are, you know, in your maturity, which is what you mentioned, right, you know, getting on board with the fact that you know, we we surrender our preferences to those who are lost. Sure, sure, so we sometimes use things that we capture the attention of somebody that's far from God in order to be able to get the Gospel to them, and that that's what we did there. So yeah, it's good. So anyways, that's what we talked about today. Tomorrow we're going to pick back up and we're going to keep going. There's a council, another council in Jerusalem and they're really trying to work through what do we do with these gentiles. So that's what we're talking about tomorrow on what do we called now the Bible guys,