Commentary - Acts 14:1-7

Bird's-eye view

This brief section in Acts is a perfect miniature of the gospel's advance throughout the world. It follows a predictable and divinely ordained pattern: faithful preaching produces genuine conversions, which in turn provokes bitter opposition from the established unbelieving order. This opposition, however, does not halt the work. Rather, it serves to confirm the truth of the message and embolden the preachers, leading to a period of powerful ministry. The inevitable result is that the truth of the gospel acts as a dividing line, splitting the city into two camps. When the opposition finally boils over into a credible threat of violence, the apostles demonstrate godly wisdom, not by ceasing their work, but by relocating it. The persecution, intended to stamp out the fire, instead serves to spread the embers. This is the story of the Church in every age: the Word goes forth, souls are saved, hell is enraged, the city is divided, and the kingdom of God continues its inexorable, victorious march.

Luke shows us that the Christian mission is not a quiet affair conducted in polite society. It is spiritual warfare. The apostles come into Iconium as an invading force, armed not with swords, but with "the word of His grace." The effects are immediate and dramatic: a great harvest and a great hostility. The Lord stands with His servants, testifying to His own Word with signs and wonders, but the fundamental battle is the one waged by the proclamation of the truth. This passage is a necessary encouragement and a sober warning for the church. We are to expect the same pattern: conversions, conflict, and the continued, unstoppable progress of the gospel.

Outline

Context In Acts

This passage picks up immediately after Paul and Barnabas were driven out of Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:50-52). This is the first missionary journey, and a clear pattern is being established. They go to a new city, begin their ministry in the Jewish synagogue as the most natural starting point, and see a mixed response. Some Jews and many God-fearing Gentiles believe, but the established Jewish leadership, protective of their status and traditions, becomes hostile. This hostility, as seen in Antioch, spills over and successfully incites the secular Gentile authorities. Having been expelled from Antioch, Paul and Barnabas arrive in Iconium, about 90 miles to the southeast, and the cycle begins again. This repetition is deliberate on Luke's part. He is showing his readers how the gospel makes its way in the world and demonstrating the fulfillment of Jesus's commission to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The rejection by many in Israel is the very thing that propels the mission forward into the Gentile world.

Key Issues

The Divided City

When the gospel is faithfully preached, it does not bring a superficial peace. It brings a sword. Jesus Himself said this (Matt. 10:34). The truth, when it arrives in a city, a family, or a human heart, forces a decision. It sorts everyone into one of two camps. There is no DMZ in this conflict, no room for neutrality. The arrival of Paul and Barnabas in Iconium was the arrival of the King's heralds, and the city had to decide what to do with the King's message. The result was that "the multitude of the city was divided."

We have been trained by our therapeutic culture to think that division is always a bad thing, a sign of failure. But in the Bible, division is often the first sign of success. It means the light has been turned on, and the cockroaches are scattering. It means the truth has hit its mark and people can no longer comfortably continue in their fuzzy, undefined allegiances. The division of Iconium was not a failure of the apostles' ministry; it was the intended consequence of it. The Word of God is a sharp, two-edged sword, and its job is to divide. It divides truth from error, light from darkness, sheep from goats, and those who side with the apostles from those who side with the old, corrupt establishment.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now it happened that in Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

Having been run out of Antioch, they do not change their strategy. They go straight to the synagogue, the place where the Scriptures were known. They went in "together," presenting a united front. And they "spoke in such a manner" that a great multitude believed. This was not about rhetorical flourish or marketing savvy. This was preaching with the unction of the Holy Spirit. The power was in the message itself, proclaimed with boldness and clarity. The results were immediate and significant. Not a few, but a "large number" believed. And notice the makeup of this new church: "both of Jews and of Greeks." The gospel was already demolishing the dividing wall, creating one new man in Christ right there in the heart of Anatolia.

2 But the unbelieving Jews instigated and embittered the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers.

Here is the antithesis, the necessary reaction from the kingdom of darkness. Unbelief is never passive. It is an active, malignant force. The Jews who rejected the message did not simply shrug and walk away. They went to work. The words used are potent: they "instigated and embittered." This is poison. They stirred up trouble and filled the minds of the pagan Gentiles with malice and suspicion against the Christians, here called "the brothers." This is the classic tactic of the enemy: when you cannot refute the message, slander the messenger. They could not defeat the gospel in open debate, so they resorted to a whispering campaign, poisoning the well of public opinion.

3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done through their hands.

The logic here is gloriously upside down from the world's perspective. Because of the opposition, "therefore" they stayed. The rising hostility was not a signal to retreat, but a confirmation that they were right over the target. Their extended stay was characterized by boldness, but this was not a function of their own grit. It was "with reliance upon the Lord." And the Lord showed up. He bore witness, not to Paul and Barnabas, but "to the word of His grace." The message is central. The signs and wonders were God's own "amen" to the sermon. They were not the main attraction; they were divine footnotes confirming the authority of the proclaimed Word. Miracles accredit the message; they do not replace it.

4 But the multitude of the city was divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

The result of this prolonged, powerful, and contested ministry was a schism in the city. The Greek word here is eschisthē, from which we get our word schism. The gospel is a wedge. It forces a choice. You cannot have Jesus and your old allegiances. You cannot serve two masters. The battle lines were clearly drawn. On one side were the apostles and the new community of believers. On the other side were the unbelieving Jews and their agitated Gentile allies. The city was polarized, which means the gospel was working.

5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers to mistreat and to stone them,

The opposition now escalates from a war of words to a conspiracy of violence. The slander campaign has done its work, and now the mob is ready to be unleashed. Notice the unholy alliance: "both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers." The religious establishment and the secular authorities, who normally had little to do with one another, found common ground in their hatred for Christ's messengers. This is a recurring pattern, a fulfillment of Psalm 2 where the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and His Anointed. The plan was not just to rough them up, but "to stone them," a form of execution with deep roots in Jewish law, now co-opted for mob justice.

6-7 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; and there they continued to proclaim the gospel.

Their departure was not an act of cowardice, but of profound spiritual wisdom. Jesus had commanded His disciples, "When they persecute you in one city, flee to the next" (Matt. 10:23). There is a time to stand your ground and a time to move on. With a credible plot to murder them, that time had come. But notice what they do. They flee, but they do not stop preaching. They simply relocate the mission headquarters. The persecution in Iconium directly results in the evangelization of Lystra and Derbe. The devil's attempt to silence the gospel in one place only served to spread it to two other places. They "continued to proclaim the gospel." The mission is constant. The location is variable. The Word of God is not bound.

Application

This passage should calibrate our expectations for Christian ministry. We are often tempted to believe that if we are just winsome enough, clever enough, or nice enough, we can present the gospel in a way that avoids all conflict. Acts 14 disabuses us of this notion entirely. The most Spirit-filled, miracle-backed, effective preaching imaginable resulted in a city being torn in two and a lynch mob being formed.

First, we must be committed to the simple, bold proclamation of "the word of His grace." Our confidence must not be in our programs or our personalities, but in the power of the gospel itself. It is God who testifies to His Word, and it is God who brings the increase.

Second, we must not be surprised or discouraged by opposition. Opposition, particularly from the religiously-minded, is a sign that our message is being heard. Unbelief is not a passive state of ignorance; it is an active, hostile rebellion against God. When it manifests, we should, like the apostles, see it as a reason to press in with more boldness, relying on the Lord.

Finally, we must cultivate godly wisdom. We are to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We are not called to seek out martyrdom through foolish bravado. There is a time to flee, not to save our skins for the sake of comfort, but to preserve our lives for the sake of the ongoing mission. The goal is not self-preservation, but gospel-proclamation. Whether we stay or whether we go, the mission remains the same: to continue to proclaim the gospel, trusting that our sovereign God will use even the wrath of man to praise Him and to build His unconquerable Kingdom.