Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
At Lystra Paul preached Christ as healer to a man crippled from birth who had never stood or walked, who listened and believed, and when Paul perceived his faith he commanded him aloud to stand, and the man obeyed in faith and was instantly made whole so that he stood and leaped and walked before the crowd. The complete cure left no room for doubt and testified that the ascended Christ remains the Friend and Physician of humanity with undiminished power to heal. The onlookers mistook the apostles for gods come down and sought to sacrifice to them, but Paul and Barnabas refused worship and pointed them to the living Creator, until enemies turned admiration to hatred and the same crowd stoned Paul and left him for dead, yet he rose and went on preaching. The account stands as the pattern for gospel workers to lift up Christ with full power to save from sin, to endure opposition without shame, and to confirm believers to continue in the faith through much tribulation into the kingdom.
The Miracle Described
At Lystra occurred the healing of a man crippled from birth who had never walked or stood and could only sit, having never used his limbs, whose condition and person were well known to the people. The cure took place in the presence of an idolatrous assembly and was witnessed by the crowd.
While Paul was preaching Christ and lifting Him up as healer and recounting His works of healing the afflicted, the man listened to the preaching. He fastened his eyes upon Paul and received and believed the teaching about Christ's healing work. Paul looked steadily at him and perceived that he had faith to be healed, grasping the hope that the Saviour, though ascended to heaven, would heal him.
Paul then with a loud voice commanded him to stand upright on his feet. The man through faith instantly obeyed and trusted the command. Strength came with the effort of faith, and for the first time in his life he stood, then leaped and walked in perfect health and strength as though he had never known infirmity.
The cure was complete and left no reasonable room for skepticism, convincing those who saw it that supernatural power attended the apostles. It was a sign and wonder through which God testified to the word of His grace and gave evidence of His approval of the preaching. It displayed miraculous power through His representatives, Paul and Barnabas as representatives of the God of heaven and His Son.
The healing showed that Christ, though ascended to heaven, remained humanity's Friend and Healer and Physician, with power to heal. That power was even greater than when He was on earth.
Worship Offered Then Violently Rejected
Those who witnessed the instant cure were convinced that supernatural power attended the apostles, yet being fickle, excitable idolaters whose faith was not anchored in the true God, they wrongly concluded that the gods had come down to them in the likeness of men. The healing was complete, its subject well known from a lifelong inability to stand or walk, and it left no reasonable room for skepticism, but instead of turning to the true God the crowd treated Paul and Barnabas as gods. That misreading powerfully affected all who saw it and first made them ready to worship the apostles as divine beings.
They called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius or Mercury because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Jupiter brought oxen and garlands to offer sacrifice to them. A similar response occurred when Paul survived the viper bite unharmed and the islanders treated him as divine.
Paul and Barnabas refused divine honor, rent their clothes, and declared themselves men of like passions, only men and fellow laborers. They could scarcely restrain the people, and Paul was grieved by the attempt to sacrifice to them. They exalted God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all things therein as the only one to be worshiped, and used the miracle to preach turning from these vanities to the living God. That living God in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, yet left Himself not without witness in doing good and giving rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling hearts with food and gladness.
Opponents denied that God had any part in the work and falsely claimed it was accomplished through demons served by the apostles. This repeated the same unreasoning wrath once directed against Jesus when He was accused of casting out devils through the prince of devils and denounced as a deceiver.
Unbelieving, envious Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who had driven the apostles from that coast, followed on their track to Lystra. With false reports and falsehoods and misrepresentation about the history, faith, character and work of Paul and Barnabas they inflamed the idolaters and filled the people with their own bitter spirit. Thus wonder and admiration were turned to hate, and reverence turned to abuse and a determination to kill, until those who would have worshiped the apostles counted them worse than murderers whose death would do God and mankind good service and who ought to be put out of the world.
The same people who had been ready to worship the disciples stoned Paul and drew him out of the city supposing him dead. As the disciples stood about him mourning he rose up to their joy and went with them into the city. There he went on preaching, teaching many, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith through much tribulation into the kingdom of God.
Pattern for Gospel Workers
The command to stand upright belongs to a missionary pattern to be copied now, in which workers enter every place where entrance can be gained and have success in saving souls to Jesus Christ, then after working a large territory visit again the churches they have planted and return to the place of setting apart by prayer and counsel, as Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. Those preparing to labor together with God in these last days are to study and become familiar with the whole of Acts 14, because they will realize similar experiences to the stoning and opposition recorded there. Like Paul and Barnabas they must confirm the souls of the disciples, teach many, and exhort them to continue in the faith through much tribulation into the kingdom of God.
Paul's soul-winning work in the healing means lifting up Christ as One who hates sin, loves the sinner, bore human sins, and has full power and authority to impart His righteousness. By that preaching among idol-worshipers he gave them their first knowledge of faith in the true God and of the worship and honor due Him, exalting God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all things therein as the only one to be worshiped. It means presenting the truth as it is in Christ rather than revealing smartness as theologians with many words little understood. Those who connect firmly with Christ and keep the heart under the control of the Holy Spirit sow the story of the atonement in a way that touches hearts, so the seed sown will spring up unto eternal life.
At Lystra Paul stood before a furious mob never ashamed of the cause he advocated. His one great purpose was to serve Christ whose name had once filled him with contempt, and no opposition or persecution could turn him aside from that purpose. His faith, made strong by effort and pure by sacrifice, upheld and strengthened him there. Though the wonder and admiration over the miracle was turned to hate and the same people who had been ready to worship the disciples stoned him and drew him out of the city supposing him dead, as the disciples stood about him mourning he rose up to their joy and went with them into the city and went on preaching.
At Lystra Paul preached Christ as healer to a man crippled from birth who had never stood or walked, who listened and believed, and when Paul perceived his faith he commanded him aloud to stand, and the man obeyed in faith and was instantly made whole so that he stood and leaped and walked before the crowd. The complete cure left no room for doubt and testified that the ascended Christ remains the Friend and Physician of humanity with undiminished power to heal. The onlookers mistook the apostles for gods come down and sought to sacrifice to them, but Paul and Barnabas refused worship and pointed them to the living Creator, until enemies turned admiration to hatred and the same crowd stoned Paul and left him for dead, yet he rose and went on preaching. The account stands as the pattern for gospel workers to lift up Christ with full power to save from sin, to endure opposition without shame, and to confirm believers to continue in the faith through much tribulation into the kingdom.
The Miracle Described
At Lystra occurred the healing of a man crippled from birth who had never walked or stood and could only sit, having never used his limbs, whose condition and person were well known to the people. The cure took place in the presence of an idolatrous assembly and was witnessed by the crowd.
While Paul was preaching Christ and lifting Him up as healer and recounting His works of healing the afflicted, the man listened to the preaching. He fastened his eyes upon Paul and received and believed the teaching about Christ's healing work. Paul looked steadily at him and perceived that he had faith to be healed, grasping the hope that the Saviour, though ascended to heaven, would heal him.
Paul then with a loud voice commanded him to stand upright on his feet. The man through faith instantly obeyed and trusted the command. Strength came with the effort of faith, and for the first time in his life he stood, then leaped and walked in perfect health and strength as though he had never known infirmity.
The cure was complete and left no reasonable room for skepticism, convincing those who saw it that supernatural power attended the apostles. It was a sign and wonder through which God testified to the word of His grace and gave evidence of His approval of the preaching. It displayed miraculous power through His representatives, Paul and Barnabas as representatives of the God of heaven and His Son.
The healing showed that Christ, though ascended to heaven, remained humanity's Friend and Healer and Physician, with power to heal. That power was even greater than when He was on earth.
Worship Offered Then Violently Rejected
Those who witnessed the instant cure were convinced that supernatural power attended the apostles, yet being fickle, excitable idolaters whose faith was not anchored in the true God, they wrongly concluded that the gods had come down to them in the likeness of men. The healing was complete, its subject well known from a lifelong inability to stand or walk, and it left no reasonable room for skepticism, but instead of turning to the true God the crowd treated Paul and Barnabas as gods. That misreading powerfully affected all who saw it and first made them ready to worship the apostles as divine beings.
They called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius or Mercury because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Jupiter brought oxen and garlands to offer sacrifice to them. A similar response occurred when Paul survived the viper bite unharmed and the islanders treated him as divine.
Paul and Barnabas refused divine honor, rent their clothes, and declared themselves men of like passions, only men and fellow laborers. They could scarcely restrain the people, and Paul was grieved by the attempt to sacrifice to them. They exalted God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all things therein as the only one to be worshiped, and used the miracle to preach turning from these vanities to the living God. That living God in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, yet left Himself not without witness in doing good and giving rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling hearts with food and gladness.
Opponents denied that God had any part in the work and falsely claimed it was accomplished through demons served by the apostles. This repeated the same unreasoning wrath once directed against Jesus when He was accused of casting out devils through the prince of devils and denounced as a deceiver.
Unbelieving, envious Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who had driven the apostles from that coast, followed on their track to Lystra. With false reports and falsehoods and misrepresentation about the history, faith, character and work of Paul and Barnabas they inflamed the idolaters and filled the people with their own bitter spirit. Thus wonder and admiration were turned to hate, and reverence turned to abuse and a determination to kill, until those who would have worshiped the apostles counted them worse than murderers whose death would do God and mankind good service and who ought to be put out of the world.
The same people who had been ready to worship the disciples stoned Paul and drew him out of the city supposing him dead. As the disciples stood about him mourning he rose up to their joy and went with them into the city. There he went on preaching, teaching many, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith through much tribulation into the kingdom of God.
Pattern for Gospel Workers
The command to stand upright belongs to a missionary pattern to be copied now, in which workers enter every place where entrance can be gained and have success in saving souls to Jesus Christ, then after working a large territory visit again the churches they have planted and return to the place of setting apart by prayer and counsel, as Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. Those preparing to labor together with God in these last days are to study and become familiar with the whole of Acts 14, because they will realize similar experiences to the stoning and opposition recorded there. Like Paul and Barnabas they must confirm the souls of the disciples, teach many, and exhort them to continue in the faith through much tribulation into the kingdom of God.
Paul's soul-winning work in the healing means lifting up Christ as One who hates sin, loves the sinner, bore human sins, and has full power and authority to impart His righteousness. By that preaching among idol-worshipers he gave them their first knowledge of faith in the true God and of the worship and honor due Him, exalting God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all things therein as the only one to be worshiped. It means presenting the truth as it is in Christ rather than revealing smartness as theologians with many words little understood. Those who connect firmly with Christ and keep the heart under the control of the Holy Spirit sow the story of the atonement in a way that touches hearts, so the seed sown will spring up unto eternal life.
At Lystra Paul stood before a furious mob never ashamed of the cause he advocated. His one great purpose was to serve Christ whose name had once filled him with contempt, and no opposition or persecution could turn him aside from that purpose. His faith, made strong by effort and pure by sacrifice, upheld and strengthened him there. Though the wonder and admiration over the miracle was turned to hate and the same people who had been ready to worship the disciples stoned him and drew him out of the city supposing him dead, as the disciples stood about him mourning he rose up to their joy and went with them into the city and went on preaching.