St. Barnabas 25. Fraternal Correction. St. Barnabas and St. Paul, are now back in Antioch of Syria after their first missionary trip to Cyprus and Galatia (today’s southern Turkey). It is about 48 AD – about 18 years since Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection, 14 years since St. Stephen’s martyrdom, nine years since Barnabas had been sent to Antioch ( Ac 11:22 ), and five years since Barnabas had brought Paul to Antioch. St. Euodious remained Bishop of Antioch (39-61 AD), having been ordained by St. Peter. The book of Acts tells us, “Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren,” the Christians in Antioch, Jew and Gentile, “‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’” Naturally Barnabas and Paul “had no small dissension and debate with them” ( Ac 15:1-2 ). It was an issue they had faced many times before: Must Christian men submit to circumcision? Must all Christians submit to the Jewish ceremonial law and customs? Now betwe...

St. Barnabas 24. Strengthening the Churches.       Last week we learned about St. Paul being stoned by an angry mob at Lystra in Southern Galatia (modern Turkey). St. Luke tells us that Paul was able to get up, come into the city, “and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe” ( Ac 14:20 ). The next day? The day after Paul’s attackers were certain he was dead? Now he’s walking the next day? Either divine intervention or powerful support by Barnabas. Probably both.       Derbe is a town about 60 miles to the southeast. Luke only tells us that Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel in Derbe and made many disciples ( Ac 14:21 ). In other words, they founded a local church there.       Then they returned the same way they had come: from Derbe to Lystra (where Paul was stoned); then to Iconium (where they fled a plot to stone both Barnabas and Paul; and Church tradition also tells us Paul was imprisoned and then ban...

  St. Barnabas 23. Lystra and St. Timothy. We last left St. Barnabas and St. Paul in Lystra ( Ac 14:6 ), preaching the Gospel in the streets. As it turns out, some of the troublemakers from Antioch of Pisidia and Iconium had followed Barnabas and Paul to Lystra, and Acts tells us specifically they were Jewish ( Ac 14:19 ). One would think that preaching about the “living God who made heaven and earth” ( Ac 14:15 ) would be applauded by any good Jew, but apparently they were just out for blood. It may have been that day, or perhaps weeks later, but at some point the people of Lystra and these troublemakers rose up in anger and stoned Paul, then dragged him out of the city, presumably now dead ( Ac 14:19 ). Stonings normally happened outside towns and cities (better to find rocks and dispose of the corpse), so this implies a raging crowd killing Paul right on the spot in the streets and then dumping his body outside of town. Paul includes this event in a litany of woes when a d...

St. Barnabas 22. Lystra and the Pagan Response.       St. Barnabas and St. Paul next came to Lystra ( Ac 14:6 ). They may have done their usual initial preaching in the synagogue, but this time St. Luke indicates it was more of street preaching. When Paul saw that a man who had been crippled from birth “had faith to be made well,” Paul told him “in a loud voice” to stand up – and he did, now cured ( Ac14:7-10 ).       Well! The Gentile pagan crowds – who obviously hadn’t heard Paul’s and Barnabas’ preaching sufficiently well – exclaimed that the gods had come down! They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul, “because he was the chief speaker,” they called “Hermes” ( Ac 14:11-12 ). Zeus was the lead or head god ruling all other gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus, and Hermes was the herald or messenger of the gods. The Roman equivalent would be Jupiter and Mercury. The priest of Zeus was so enthralled (or perhaps, corrupt) that he brought oxen for a sacr...

St. Barnabas 21. Iconium & St. Thekla. It is about 47 AD. St. Paul and St. Barnabas left the cosmopolitan Roman Colony of Antioch of Psidia, and now turned to the rustic peoples the Greeks and Romans tended to call the “barbarians” (cf. Col 3:11 ).  The vast plateau, about 3600' above sea level, was over the Taurus Mountains of today’s southern Turkey, then the Roman province of Galatia. Barnabas and Paul traveled in a southeasterly direction along winding roads among the hills. They would meet simple ordinary rural folks, and no doubt also robbers and bandits as was then common, and would share the gospel with whoever would listen.  Eventually they came to the town of Iconium, the first of a group of neighboring villages that also included Lystra and Derbe in the same general area of southeast Galatia. As usual, Barnabas and Paul first went to the synagogue in Iconium. There they found both Jew and Gentile attending services, and they must have been invited to spe...