Saturday 26 July 2025
When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” (v. 11)
Background
In this episode of the ongoing saga of the first Christian mission into Gentile territory, Paul heals a man who had been crippled from birth. The crowds in Lystra were duly amazed, and declared that Paul and Barnabas must be gods. Paul and Barnabas were horrified, and tried to convince the crowds that it was the one true God working through them who had brought about the miracle. Past President of the Methodist Conference, The Revd Leo Osborn, described a saint as ‘anyone through whom the light of God shines’. The crowds in Lystra saw this light shining, when the man was healed, but mistakenly believed it came from Paul and Barnabas themselves.
There are parallels in this passage with Peter’s healing of a crippled beggar in Acts chapters 3 and 4. In both cases, the man had never been able to walk, and the situation seemed hopeless. Both Peter and Paul looked ‘intently’ at the two men (3:4, 14:9) and then commanded them to stand up (3:6, 14:10). Both men ‘jumped’ or ‘sprang’ up immediately (3:8, 14:10). Like in Thursday’s passage, it seems that Luke was eager to emphasise that Peter and Paul were engaged in the same mission, and that the same God was working through them both.
There are also parallels with Paul’s visit to the Areopagus (the council in Ancient Athens) in Acts 17. Standing by an altar to ‘an unknown God’ (Acts 17:23), Paul tried to explain to the Athenians that there is only one God, and that they could have a relationship with this God through Jesus Christ. The crowds in Lystra were eager to identify Paul and Barnabas as gods, and to make them objects of worship and devotion. In Britain today, there are many people seeking comfort, hope, peace, security and love, without realising that all these things are freely available through God. Like Paul and Barnabas, we must find ways of pointing away from ourselves, and towards the one whose light and love shines through us.
To Ponder:
- Have you experienced physical healing through God, or seen someone else experience it? What impact did this experience have on you?
- What do you think the man who was healed went on to do next?
Bible notes author: The Revd Naomi Oates
Naomi is a Methodist minister, currently serving in four churches across five communities in the North Kent Circuit. When not being rugby-tackled by her two young children, she enjoys cycling, baking and reading Golden Age detective fiction (although not all at the same time).