Thursday 2021.07.29
Expelled at Antioch Pisidia, fled from Iconium, stoned at Lystra
Today I read chapters eleven through fourteen of the Acts of the Apostles. The passage in Acts 13:4 - 14:26 records the account of the First Missionary Journey of the Apostle Paul accompanied by Barnabas.
Upon being sent out by the assembly at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas made their way to the nearby port of Seleucia Pieria bringing John Mark along with them. From Seleucia, they sailed to the city of Salamis on the island of Cyprus, crossed the entire length of Cyprus to the southern city of Paphos, then sailed northward to Perga in Pamphylia.
John Mark left them at Perga and returned to Jerusalem:
Acts 31:13 KJV
Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
From Perga, Paul and Barnabas travelled northwards by land to Antioch in Pisidia where after preaching to many people, they were expelled by devout and honourable women and chief men of the city who were stirred up by the Jews (Acts 13:50).
Paul and Barnabas went on to Iconium where some Gentiles and Jews plotted to capture and stone them, making them flee from Iconium to Lystra.
At Lystra, after Paul had healed a cripple, both of Paul and Barnabas were mistaken by the locals for being pagan gods who had come to visit them. Eventually a group of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. They stirred up the people to stone Paul and to drag him out of the city, leaving him for dead. (14:19)
However, Paul recovered and continued his journey with Barnabas to Derbe, then returned to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, and finally back to Perga in Pamphylia, preaching the gospel and ordaining elders in every assembly (Acts 14:23). From Perga they visited one more city, Attalia in Pamphylia, before they sailed all the way back to Antioch.
