:: in.a.mirror.dimly :: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other.

It’s so easy to read the Bible as some kind of other-worldly story, forgetting that it simply narrates the work of ordinary people encountering God. I find it easy to miss out on the more extraordinary pieces that can be easily glossed over in the midst of moving from one supernatural event to another.

In Acts 14 Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey in present-day Turkey. After successfully preaching in Antioch, but encountering a great deal of resistance, they shook the dust off their feet and moved on to Iconium. At Iconium they enjoyed success with many following Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit, but some in the city began plotting to stone them. When they catch wind of this, they move on to Derbe and Lystra.

Things go pretty well at Derbe and Lystra until the wild card of pagan idolatry emerges, and Paul and Barnabas are treated like gods. When the plotters from Iconium  arrive on the scene, their plot to stone Paul is carried out and he’s left for dead.

Now I’ve always thought it’s amazing how nonchalantly the text says, “But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe” (Acts 14:20). I can’t believe Luke just drops that fact on us and moves on. But I think it’s also extraordinary that Paul and Barnabas retrace their steps, returning through the towns of Antioch and Iconium that they had previously fled.

I wonder if he spooked some people who left him for dead.

It seems Paul almost taunted them to stone him again. I can’t imagine what he was thinking and the Bible isn’t much help on that account. I just can’t get over the boldness God gave them on their return journey!