Contemplative Bible Reading

Acts 14 (New International Version)

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. ¹³The 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.

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¹⁹Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

This history shows a really big change of mind. This occurs while Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra. In the first verses, the people are so impressed with Paul and Barnabas that they call them gods and want to offer sacrifices to them. In the next verse, some Jews from other places arrive and sway the crowd. Now they stone Paul and drag his supposedly dead body out of the city.

Wow, that is a B I G change of mind. From “this guy is a god” to “let’s kill him.” Those Jews from Antioch and Iconium must have been persuasive. Or perhaps the people in Lystra weren’t quite stabl1e.