Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 14:5

"And when there was made an onset both of the Gentiles and of the Jews with their rulers, to treat them shamefully and to stone them," — Acts 14:5 (ASV)

There was a division among “the people” (GK 4436) of the city regarding the apostles and their message, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles. Interpreted broadly, “the people” denotes no more than the populace of the city, though it may denote an assembly of prominent citizens that met to conduct the business of a Greek city-state. While no official action seems to have been taken against them, there was a “plot” brewing among some of the Gentiles and Jews to mistreat and stone them. Significant here is Luke’s lumping Barnabas together with Paul in the phrase “with the apostles” (GK 693), While Barnabas was neither one of the Twelve nor a claimant to any special revelation, he was probably one of the 120 (cf. 1:15) and may have been a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. Yet as with most titles of the NT, Luke, like Paul himself (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:23; Galatians 1:19), not only used “apostle” in the restricted sense of a small group of highly honored believers who had a special function within the church but also in the broader sense of messengers of the Gospel.