Gloriographs by Rick Reynolds

8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk. Acts 14:8-10 (read Acts 14:1-22)

To say that the reaction of the people to this astounding miracle was unexpected by the apostles is vastly understated. They were anticipating serious contemplation of the power of God and sober consideration of the claims of Christ and the offer of eternal life. What they got was off-the-rails hero worship directed at them. As a result, the man whose lame feet came to life was but a bit player, lucky now to possess leaping ability to get out of the way of the adoring fans.

These Lycaonians immediately thought Paul and Barnabas to be gods themselves calling them Hermes and Zeus, respectively.

Seeing this, the apostles sprung into action themselves. Tearing their ropes in dismay, they rushed into the crowd to get them to come to their senses. Their message directed the people’s eyes to the Living God (as opposed to idols or “vain things), the Creator and Sustainer of the world, the only Wise God. (1 Timothy 1:17, KJV)

In an even more dramatic turn of events, antagonistic Jews from Iconium and Antioch entered the fray, apparently witnesses to the miracle in the background, and no doubt with the enablement of Satan, turned these misdirected worshippers into a vicious mob, and they stoned the chief speaker Paul, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead.

To show who these people were messing with, as startling as the man’s healing was, Paul stood to his feet unscathed and went on his way. Almighty God, the one true God, would not be outdone or upstaged.

Some takeaways.

1. This episode possibly explains why we don’t have this kind of dramatic “Grade A” healing (“gift”) today. (2 Timothy 4:20) It’s hard to separate the person through whom the healing of God flows from the source of the power evoked.
2. When it was time to stand in defense of God, Paul argued using His role as Creator and Sustainer. This is a good starting point in any “gospel conversation.” (Acts 14:15-17)
3. The commendations of men for doing the Lord’s work should be vehemently refused or at least adamantly deflected to God.
4. Satan doggedly attempts to derail the Gospel. Sometimes his methodology is subtle, but sometimes he wishes to “get it over with” and uses the sharpest knife (Stephen, James brother if John). We must be wary of this and vigilant to be armed up, prayed up, and studied up at all times. (Ephesians 6:10-20)