Acts 14:8-13 (NIV)
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra, and very soon saw an opportunity to demonstrate the power of God. Paul had been teaching in the open air, not in a synagogue, and his listeners in this case were gentiles, believers in the Greek gods, not Jews and God-fearers as he usually began with.
As Paul taught, he noticed a lame man on the edge of the crowd who was listening intently, nodding vigorously, and who seemed to be right on the verge of trusting in Jesus. Paul took the opportunity to demonstrate the power of God with a miracle that would seal the deal for the lame man, and likely move many others in the crowd to believe. So, he called out and told the man to stand up. And he did!
The reaction from the crowd, though, was not what Paul had anticipated. There was lots of excited talking going on, but it was in the Lycaonian language, which neither Paul nor Barnabas understood. There was a rush to the healed man’s side, lots of smiles, and amazed looks at the missionaries, both of whom took this as a positive sign.
But more was going on here than they realized. The Greek religion was full of stories of the gods who had appeared in human form to the people of the past. These gods had blessed those who had treated them well and had cursed those who had not been hospitable to them. Because of the miracle they had just witnessed, the Lystrans figured that that was what was happening to them. They figured that Zeus and Hermes had come to them in human form, and that they needed to put their best foot forward, treat these “gods” well, and thus receive blessings instead of a curse.
So, while Paul and Barnabas basked in the adulation from the crowd, totally misunderstanding where it was coming from, the priest of Zeus hurried from the temple just outside the city with bulls and wreaths in order to make sacrifices to them. As far as they knew, they were doing the right thing, honoring the divine visitors who had dropped in unannounced for a visit.
Father, I’m not sure if this was the first time that Paul and Barnabas had preached to purely gentile crowd, without a beachhead of Jewish believers and God-fearers to act as buffers and interfaces, but it seems to be. And there was a learning curve in reaching out into new areas, even for them. Help us, Lord, as we bring Your good news to those around us who need to hear it, to listen carefully to Your Spirit, and to follow Your lead so that, as much as possible, we can avoid misunderstandings. Amen.
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