Opposition in Iconium
October 1, 2022
Commentary
Christians who are doing anything for Christ must learn how to deal with many kinds of rejection. One rejection can tip the scales weighted with hundreds of affirmations. Satan’s trick is to get our mind so occupied with a rejection that we forget all about the good things that are happening. Paul and Barnabas came to the city of Iconium, which was some seventy or eighty miles east of Antioch. Following the pattern established in Antioch, they went to the Jewish synagogue first to proclaim their message.
It must be noted that Paul and Barnabas were taking their lives in their hands more and more (vv. 1-2). What was proposed in Iconium was nothing more than a lynching. The further Paul and Barnabas went, the further they moved from civilization. In the more civilized cities, their lives at least were safe because Rome kept order, but in the area farther away, Paul and Barnabas were always under the threat of mob violence from the excitable crowds stirred up by the Jews. These two were brave men. It always takes courage to be a Christian. As usual they began in the synagogue, and as usual they had good success, but the jealous Jews stirred up the mob
God enabled the men to perform signs and wonders (v. 3). The city was divided, and the Christians were threatened with public disgrace and stoning (vv. 4-5). When Paul and Barnabas learned of this plot to mistreat and stone them, they fled to Lystra, which was about eighteen miles southwest of Iconium (vv. 6-7).
Application
I must never let negative things that people say influence me about what I do for the Lord? If I have opposition, it is probably because Satan doesn’t like what I have to say and has stirred up the problems that I face. God will never ask me to do anything that He doesn’t equip me to do.
Acts 14:1– 7 (NET)
1 The same thing happened in Iconium when Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a large group of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they stayed there for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace, granting miraculous signs and wonders to be performed through their hands. 4 But the population of the city was divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made an attempt to mistreat them and stone them, 6 Paul and Barnabas learned about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding region. 7 There they continued to proclaim the good news.
Illustration: Interpretation of Rejection
A young salesman became discouraged because he had been rejected by so many customers he approached. He asked a more experienced salesman for some advice. “Why is it that every time I make a call on someone I get rejected?” “I just don’t understand that,” answered the older salesman. “I’ve been hit on the head, called dirty names, and thrown out the door, but I’ve never been rejected.” Rejection isn’t what happens to us but how we interpret what happens to us. (Lou Nicholes – Missionary/Author).