In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

After Jesus Christ won our salvation, he sent out apostles to proclaim the gospel to all the world. That was a very large task! Thirteen years ago this week I received my first call to be a pastor. I was called to be the one WELS missionary in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was called to reach out to the entire city, a population of about 400,000 people. But, I didn't have to sit down and think, "Where should I begin?" because there was a little congregation there already. But when Paul and Barnabas came to the town of Lystra, there was no Christian congregation there, so they did have to think about where to begin. Now, usually, Paul would have gone to the local Jewish synagogue to tell the Jews that the Messiah had come. Paul would have given them a Bible study on the Old Testament promises of the Savior and told them how Jesus fulfilled those promises to the letter. But here he doesn't do that, because apparently there was no local synagogue. So, it seems that Paul just started talking to the people in town, preaching the good news of salvation. Now, let's take another look at this text from the book of Acts and we'll see what happened in Lystra. We'll find...

A MIRACLE...

{8-9a} In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. {9} He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Many of the people in the town of Lystra must have known this man. He was unable to use his feet, and so he could not walk. He had been this way since the day he was born. He had never walked. He was listening as Paul was preaching God's Word. Paul seems to be talking in public, maybe on the streets of the city, talking to anybody who would listen.

{9b-10} Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed {10} and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. Paul looked right at this man, and somehow realized that he was a believer. Maybe he confessed his faith. Maybe God revealed it to Paul. Then, the apostle called out in a loud voice, "Stand up!" And the Lord worked a miracle. The man "jumped up and began to walk."

Atrophy is no problem for God. If you break your ankle, and the doctor puts a cast on it, you don't use that ankle for about six weeks. After six weeks of rest, your ankle muscles shrink and become weak. It takes a while to get your strength back. But this man had never walked before in his entire life! That's no problem for the Lord. The Lord enabled this man to jump and walk right away. This was an amazing miracle!

But there had been a greater miracle before that, but it was invisible. God worked a miracle in this man's heart when he gave him faith. That faith came from hearing the message that Paul the apostle was proclaiming. Just as always, faith comes from hearing the Word of God. But the miracle that the people noticed was the outward one, the miracle of healing. This man who had been unable to walk, was jumping and walking. The people would all notice this and be impressed, but it would lead to...

A MISUNDERSTANDING...

{11-13} When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" {12} Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. {13} The 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. The people were so impressed by this miracle that they misunderstood its meaning. The people regarded Paul and Barnabas as gods. They called Paul Hermes because he was the one who led in the talking. They called Barnabas Zeus. The people seemed to rush to sacrifice to them! It seems insane! But, we have a hint in ancient history.

The people might have reacted this way because of a well-known legend in this area that went something like this. Zeus and Hermes came to a town disguised as men seeking a place to stay. They asked for lodging at a thousand homes, but no one would take them in. Finally, an elderly couple showed them hospitality and did all that they could in their own humble way. Then there was payback. Zeus and Hermes appreciated what the elderly couple did for them, and turned the humble cottage into a temple with a golden roof and marble columns. But they were not at all pleased with the other people who refused them a place to stay. One after another had turned them away, so Zeus and Hermes punished them by destroying all of their homes.

What seems to have happened here is that the people of this town saw the miracle, and instantly assumed that Paul and Barnabas were Hermes and Zeus, and they did not want to make a mistake. They did not want to suffer the wrath of the gods and have their homes destroyed. So, without delay, the priest and the crowd were about to offer a sacrifice. This was a monstrous misunderstanding! But it forced Paul and Barnabas to loudly proclaim...

A MESSAGE...

{14-15a} But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: {15a} "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. The "apostles" tore their clothes, which was a common symbol at that time of grief and distress. They hurried to clear up this vast misunderstanding. They shouted to the people, "We are only men!" But the people knew that a miracle had happened, so more explanation was needed. In this tense situation, they spoke this message...

{15b} We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. The whole reason for their coming to this town was to bring the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ! They were missionaries, trying to proclaim the gospel to this town. But first, they needed to proclaim the first commandment and say that idol worship is sinful and worthless. They wanted to teach the people about the one true God, the living God, who created all things. Notice how Paul and Barnabas try to use what knowledge the people did have to reveal God's truth! But they were there to bring the good news of Jesus Christ. They went on...

{16} In the past, he let all nations go their own way. {17} Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." God had been patient with all of the Gentiles. They had no excuse. They should have known the Lord through his creation of the world and his providing care. Without God, there would be no rain. Without God, crops would not grow. Without God, we would have no food. Without God, we would have no joy! Paul and Barnabas were trying to tell them about the one true God, and to lead them away from this false idea of Zeus and Hermes.

{18-20} Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. The people were not listening very well. Even Paul had trouble getting the people to understand. This comforts me as a preacher and a missionary. I've never been in a situation exactly like this, but I know that sometimes people can get the wrong impression. There is a very thin line between being a hero and being a goat. It is a very fine line between having people like you too much for the wrong reasons and having people hate you. Do you think I'm exaggerating?

Listen to the rest of the story... (19-20) Then 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. {20} 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. Wow! First, the people were going to worship them by offering sacrifices. Then, after a few nasty people said some harmful words, the crowd stoned Paul. All it took was a little poison talk and this crowd began throwing rocks at Paul trying to kill him! That's a quick change! When you are a preacher of God's Word, there is a fine line between having people like you too much for the wrong reasons and having people hate you!

Dear friends, please do not misunderstand, and please, do not throw rocks! Christ called me here to proclaim the good news of salvation! I need to study God's Word, pray, and proclaim God's Word to all who will listen. God's Law shows us our sins. It says, "You shall have no other gods!" God must come first, before anyone and anything, before relatives and friends, before movie stars and sports stars. God must even come before ourselves and our selfish desires. When things go well at church, the glory belongs to God!

When people don't listen to God's Word, some of the blame might belong to me. We all fall short in one way or another. But that was not the problem in Lystra, was it? The crowd was not listening. I recently read a book about preaching that had a whole chapter about how people need to listen more carefully. The crowd was not listening to the apostle Paul. Do you always listen carefully?

Let me tell you a little secret. Most of you know that I talk about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in every sermon. It's not that I can't think of any other way to speak the gospel. Sometimes I do say it in other words. The real reason is that I don't want anybody to miss it! I want every visitor to hear the gospel clearly. I want every member to know the gospel so well that they can tell it to others. We can never know the gospel too well. We can never hear it too often. Please, listen carefully...

Though we are all sinners, God loved the world so much he sent his one and only Son to be our Savior. Jesus Christ did save us. He lived a perfect life and died on the cross as full payment for all of our sins. He rose from death because he had won our forgiveness. Whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life! Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! Believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin, and you will live in heaven forever! Let us worship him here and in eternity. Amen.