Commentary - Acts 14:19-23

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Acts, we see the raw reality of gospel advance. It is not a story of unmitigated triumph, but rather a cycle of reception, rejection, and remarkable resilience. Paul and Barnabas have just been mistaken for gods in Lystra after healing a lame man. But the fickle affections of the crowd are a poor foundation for ministry. The same people who wanted to offer sacrifices to them are quickly persuaded to stone one of them. This passage demonstrates the satanic opposition that always dogs the heels of true gospel proclamation. Yet, it also puts on display the gritty tenacity of the apostle Paul and the sovereign care of God over His servants. The central theme here is that the kingdom of God is not entered on a path of ease, but rather through much tribulation. This is not a bug, but a feature. And following this brutal opposition, what is the apostolic response? It is not retreat, but a return to the very places of conflict in order to establish and strengthen the churches. This is kingdom work in its essence: preaching, suffering, persevering, and building.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning over the crowds and stoning Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

Here we see the persistent, dogged nature of true spiritual opposition. These Jews were not content to run Paul and Barnabas out of their own towns of Antioch and Iconium. Their malice had legs. They traveled something like a hundred miles to Lystra with the express purpose of undoing the work of the apostles. This is not a casual disagreement; this is zealous hatred for the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are missionaries of a contrary gospel. And notice their method: "winning over the crowds." The same mob that was ready to worship Paul as Hermes, the chief speaker, is now ready to stone him. Crowds are notoriously fickle. Their affections are a mile wide and an inch deep. A man who builds his ministry on the applause of the crowd is a man building his house on the sand. The agitators persuaded them, and the result was a public execution by stoning. They dragged his body out of the city, treating him like refuse, "supposing him to be dead." The world's verdict on the apostle was that he was finished, a failed enterprise. But God's verdict is always the last one.

v. 20 But while the disciples stood around him, he rose up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.

"But while the disciples stood around him..." This is a crucial detail. In the moment of apparent final defeat, the church is there. They haven't scattered. They are gathered around the battered body of their teacher. This is a picture of faithful fellowship in the face of disaster. And then the miracle happens. "He rose up." Luke presents this with a beautiful, matter-of-fact simplicity. There is no fanfare. One moment he is a corpse, and the next he is on his feet. Whether this was a miraculous resuscitation from actual death or a recovery from a state of being stoned to within an inch of his life, the divine power is unmistakable. And what is his first move? He "entered the city." He walks right back into the place where he had just been stoned. This is not bravado; it is a declaration. It is a statement that the gospel cannot be killed by rocks. It is a testimony to the disciples who were watching that the power of God is greater than the fury of the mob. Only after making this point does he depart the next day for Derbe. The work must go on. Paul's tenacity is on full display. He is not ruled by fear, but by his commission.

v. 21 And after they had proclaimed the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

In Derbe, the ministry is fruitful. They proclaimed the gospel and "made many disciples." This is the goal of all missionary work: not just converts, but disciples. Not just decisions, but followers of Jesus. But then notice the strategic decision they make. They don't press on into new territory, further away from danger. They "returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch." They retraced their steps, heading straight back into the teeth of the opposition. Lystra is where Paul was just stoned. Iconium is where there was a plot to stone them. Antioch is where the persecution began. Why go back? Because a true shepherd does not abandon the flock at the first sign of wolves. Making disciples is phase one. Establishing those disciples into a durable, functioning church is phase two. And that second phase is just as important as the first.

v. 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Here is the content of their follow-up ministry. First, they were "strengthening the souls of the disciples." The word here has the sense of making something firm or stable. New believers are spiritually wobbly, and they need to be established in the truth. Second, they were "encouraging them to continue in the faith." The Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires perseverance. And this perseverance is not automatic; it is something believers must be exhorted to do. This is why we call it the perseverance of the saints, and not the coasting of the saints. God preserves His people, but He does so by preserving them in their perseverance. And third, they gave them the theological framework for their suffering. This is the hard-headed realism of the Christian faith. "Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God." This is not an elective course. The word "must" indicates a divine necessity. Affliction is the curriculum. Tribulation is the road. The world, the flesh, and the devil will not let the kingdom advance without a fight. This is not a message you will hear from the purveyors of cheap grace and a health-and-wealth gospel. But it is the apostolic gospel. Suffering is not a sign that you are doing something wrong; it is often a sign that you are doing something right.

v. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

This is the capstone of their church-planting work. They did not leave the new disciples as a scattered collection of individuals. They gave them structure and leadership. They "appointed elders for them in every church." A church without elders is an orphan. It lacks the governmental structure that Christ ordained for the protection, instruction, and discipline of His people. These elders were not self-appointed, but were chosen and ordained by the apostles. This was not done lightly. It was accompanied by prayer and fasting, indicating their utter dependence on God to select the right men and to equip them for the task. After establishing this leadership, they "commended them to the Lord." This is a beautiful expression of trust. Paul and Barnabas had done their part. They had preached the gospel, made disciples, strengthened the flock, and established leadership. Now they had to entrust these fledgling churches to the care of the Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep. They had believed in Him, and He was able to keep what had been committed to Him. The apostles' work was to plant and to water, but it was God who would give the growth.

Application

This passage is a bracing corrective to much of modern evangelicalism's soft-pedaled approach to the Christian life. We are often tempted to think that the path to the kingdom is one of comfort, ease, and personal fulfillment. Paul's experience in Lystra and his subsequent teaching tell a very different story.

First, we must be prepared for opposition. If you preach the same gospel Paul preached, a gospel that confronts sin and calls for repentance and exclusive loyalty to Christ, you will face hostility. The world that stoned Paul is the same world we live in. Its methods may change, but its underlying enmity toward God remains. We should not be surprised when the world hates us; we should be surprised if it doesn't.

Second, we see the necessity of Christian tenacity. Paul got up from being stoned and walked back into the city. He then deliberately returned to the very places where he was persecuted. The gospel advances not through timid men who are afraid of getting bruised, but through men and women who, having counted the cost, are willing to spend and be spent for the sake of the kingdom. Our resilience in the face of suffering is a powerful testimony to the resurrection power of Christ.

Finally, we are reminded of the importance of the local church. Paul's goal was not just to win converts, but to plant churches with qualified leadership. The Christian life is not a solo venture. We need the structure, accountability, and nourishment that comes from being committed to a local body of believers under the care of faithful elders. It is in the context of the church that we are strengthened and encouraged to persevere through the many afflictions that lie on the path to the kingdom.