Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 14:18

"And with these sayings scarce restrained they the multitudes from doing sacrifice unto them." — Acts 14:18 (ASV)

When they finally realized what was going on, Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes in horror at such blasphemy and rushed out into the crowd— shouting their objections and trying to make the people understand them. There is no reason to think that the majority of the Lystrans knew anything of Jewish history or of the Jewish Scriptures, or that they had been vitally affected by Athenian philosophies. Culturally, they were probably peasants living in the hinterland of Greco-Roman civilization, with all of the lack of advantages of people in their situation. Such is the context of Paul’s second missionary sermon. By far the briefest of the three (cf. 13:16–41; 17:22–31), its brevity reflects its confused setting. Negatively, Paul’s sermon at Lystra has to do with the futility of idolatry; positively, it is a proclamation of the one true and living God. Its language, particularly in its denunciation of paganism, is biblical. But its argument is suited to its hearers. And despite the brevity with which Luke reports it, two features stand out in the development of Paul’s argument. First, his demonstration of the interest and goodness of God is drawn neither from Scripture (as at Pisidian Antioch) nor from philosophy (as later at Athens) but from nature: “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food....” It is an approach to theism that peasants would understand. Second, Paul preached that “in the past, he [God] let all nations go their own way,” which suggests that at Lystra Paul preached about a progressive unfolding of divine redemption. While the sermon does not explicitly refer to salvation through Christ, it is hard to believe that it was not meant to point to Jesus Christ and his work as the divine climax of history. “We too are only men, human like you,” Paul and Barnabas insisted. But, they went on to say, “we are bringing you good news”—the best news possible—of the unity and character of the one true God and of redemption through the person and work of Jesus his Son. Yet for most of the Lystrans, the message fell on deaf ears, and they tried to carry on the sacrifices in honor of the visitors.