Acts 14:8-21
8-10. there sat there a certain man . . . a cripple from his mother's womb . . . The same heard Paul speak—in the open air and (Ac 14:11) to a crowd of people.
9. who steadfastly beholding him—as he did Elymas the sorcerer when about to work a miracle on him.
and perceiving that he had faith to be healed—Paul may have been led by the sight of this cripple to dwell on the Saviour's miracles of healing, and His present power; and perceiving from the eagerness with which the patient drank in his words, that he was prepared to put his own case into the Redeemer's hands, the Spirit of the glorified Physician came all upon Paul, and "with a loud voice" he bade him "stand upright upon his feet." The effect was instantaneous—he sprang to his feet "and walked."8-10. there sat there a certain man . . . a cripple from his mother's womb . . . The same heard Paul speak—in the open air and (Ac 14:11) to a crowd of people.
11-13. in the speech of Lycaonia—whether a corruption of the Greek tongue, which was well enough understood in this region, or the remains of some older tongue, is not known.
The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men—the language of an unsophisticated people. But "that which was a superstition in Lycaonia, and for which the whole "creation" groaned, became a reality at Bethlehem" [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].12. they called Barnabas, Jupiter—the father of the gods, from his commanding mien (CHRYSOSTOM thinks).
and Paul, Mercurius—the god of eloquence and the messenger and attendant of Jupiter, in the heathen mythology.13. the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city—that is, whose temple stood
before their city, brought oxen and garlands—to crown the victims and decorate, as on festive occasions, the porches.14-18. when . . . Barnabas and Paul heard—Barnabas is put first here, apparently as having been styled the "Jupiter" of the company.
they rent their clothes and ran in—rather (according to the true reading), "ran forth." among the people, crying out . . . Sirs, why do ye these things?—This was something more than that abhorrence of idolatry which took possession of the Jews as a nation from the time of the Babylonish captivity: it was that delicate sensibility to everything which affects the honor of God which Christianity, giving us in God a reconciled Father, alone can produce; making the Christian instinctively feel himself to be wounded in all dishonor done to God, and filling him with mingled horror and grief when such gross insults as this are offered to him.15. We . . . are men of like passions, &c.—How unlike either imposture or enthusiasm is this, and how high above all self-seeking do these men of Christ show themselves to be!
unto the living God—This is the most glorious and distinctive of all the names of God. It is the familiar phraseology of the Old Testament. which, in such contrast with all that is to be found within the literature of heathenism, is shown to be, with its sequel, the New Testament, the one Book of the true religion. who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all . . . therein—This idea of creation, utterly unknown alike to rude and to cultivated heathenism, would not only define what was meant by "the living God," but open up a new world to the more thoughtful part of the audience.16. Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways—that is, without extending to them the revelation vouchsafed to the seed of Abraham, and the grace attending it; compare Ac 17:30; 1Co 1:21. Yet not without guilt on their part was this privation (Ro 1:20, &c.).
17. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness—Though the heinousness of idolatry is represented as so much less in the heathen, by how much they were outside the pale of revealed religion, he takes care to add that the heathen have divine "witness" enough to leave them "without excuse."
he did good—scattering His beneficence everywhere and in a thousand forms. rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons—on which human subsistence and all human enjoyment depend. In Lycaonia, where, as ancient writers attest, rain is peculiarly scarce, this allusion would have all the greater effect. filling our hearts with food and gladness—a natural colloquialism, the heart being gladdened by the food supplied to the body.18. with these sayings scarce restrained they the people that they had not done sacrifice to them—In spite of this,and Peter's repudiation of all such honor (Ac 10:26), how soon idolatrous tendencies began to show themselves in the Christian Church, at length to be systematized and enjoined in the Church of Rome!
19. came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium—Furious zeal that would travel so far to counteract the missionaries of the Cross!
persuaded the people—"the multitudes." and having stoned Paul—(See on Ac 14:5). Barnabas they seem to have let alone; Paul, as the prominent actor and speaker, being the object of all their rage. The words seem to imply that it was the Jews who did this; and no doubt they took the lead (Ac 14:19), but it was the act of the instigated and fickle multitudes along with them. drew him out of the city—By comparing this with Ac 7:58 it will be seen that the Jews were the chief actors in this scene.20. as the disciples stood round about him—sorrowing. So his labors here had not been in vain: "Disciples" had been gathered, who now rallied around the bleeding body. And one appears to have been gained on this occasion, of far more importance than all the rest—TIMOTHEUS. See on Ac 16:1-3. (It could scarcely have been at the subsequent visit, Ac 14:21, for the reason given in 2Ti 3:10, 11; while at the third visit, Ac 16:1-3, he was already a Christian).
he rose up—It is possible that this recovery was natural; the insensibility occasioned by such treatment as he had received sometimes passing away of itself, and leaving the patient less hurt than appeared. But certainly the impression naturally left on the mind by the words is that the restoration was miraculous; and so the best interpreters understand the words. This is confirmed by what follows. came into the city—Noble intrepidity! next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe—a journey for which he could hardly be fit if his recovery had been natural. (As to Derbe, see on Ac 14:6).21, 22. they returned . . . to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls, &c.—At Derbe, Paul was not far from the well-known pass which leads down from the central tableland to Cilicia and Tarsus. But his thoughts did not center in an earthly home. He revisited the places where he had been reviled and persecuted, but where he had left as sheep in the desert the disciples whom his Master had enabled him to gather. They needed building up and strengthening in the faith, comforting in the midst of their inevitable suffering, and fencing round by permanent institutions. Undaunted therefore by the dangers that awaited them, our missionaries return to them, using words of encouragement which none but the founders of a true religion would have ventured to address to their earliest converts, that "we can only enter into the kingdom of God by passing through much tribulation" [HOWSON].