Grace is offensive. Holiness is offensive. Yet people everywhere are hungry for both. This tension sits at the heart of the missionary journeys of Paul and Barnabas as they navigate the treacherous waters of sharing the gospel in first-century cities.
Following their progress through Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and beyond reveals a striking pattern. Initial enthusiasm often erupts into fierce opposition when the exclusive Jewish establishment realizes that God's chosen family is expanding to include "any old, pork-eating, idol-worshipping social reprobate." The message that anyone could come, repent, be baptized and experience transformation threatens those who've built their identity on being spiritually superior.
What's remarkable is not just the opposition they face—public denunciation, stoning, plots against their lives—but their extraordinary resilience. They knew when to stay and when to flee, when to endure and when to move on. Their teaching to new believers wasn't false promises of ease but the stark reality that "it is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." This counterintuitive approach strengthened rather than weakened the early church.
The episode in Lystra highlights a particularly relevant challenge for modern Christians. When Paul heals a lame man, the crowd mistakes him for Hermes and Barnabas for Zeus, completely missing the true source of the miracle. In our spiritually curious but biblically illiterate world, even supernatural encounters won't automatically point people to Jesus without clear explanation.
Following Jesus will make your life better, but not necessarily easier. The spiritual disciplines Paul practiced—solitude, fasting, prayer—build the resilience needed for the journey. In a society increasingly lacking the ability to handle setbacks, these practices prepare us for the inevitable valleys on the path to the kingdom. The gospel still grows most vigorously not in the soil of comfort, but through the faithful perseverance of those willing to count the cost.
© Bentley Baptist Church Inc.
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