HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 14:20-28
The Homeward Journey of Paul and Barnabas; or, Back to Antioch in Syria
I. The turning point.—Derbe (see on Acts 14:6).
1. The character of the apostles’ work in Derbe. Preaching the gospel. Thus early were Paul’s mottoes, “This one thing I do” (Philippians 3:13); “whom we preach” (Colossians 1:28); “Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).
2. The acceptance of the apostles’ work in Derbe. No persecutions encountered here (see 2 Timothy 3:11). The omission of Derbe from the list of places in which persecution was experienced strikingly confirms the narrative of Luke (Paley, Horæ Paulinœ, Acts 4:9).
3. The success of the apostles’ work in Derbe. They made many disciples, amongst them probably Gaius of Derbe (Acts 20:4).
4. The duration of the apostles’ work at Derbe. Not stated, but may be inferred to have been some weeks.
II. The way back.
1. The route indicated. First to Lystra, twenty miles; next to Iconium, forty miles; after that to Antioch in Pisidia, sixty miles; then to Perga in Pamphylia; then across the plain for sixteen miles to Attalia (the modern Satalia), founded by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamus, a seaport on the Pamphylian Gulf and near the mouth of the Catarrhactes; and finally thence to Antioch in Syria.
2. The work done.
(1) Confirming the souls of the disciples. Not by outward rites, but by instruction and encouragement, “exhorting them to continue in the faith,” and reminding them “that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.”
(2) Appointing elders in every Church. These elders or presbyters were not modern diocesan bishops, but presiding overseers of different Churches. The mode of their election is not sufficiently clear. Whether by the stretching forth of the hands of the congregation or of the apostles is disputed. If the method adopted in the election of deacons (Acts 6:5-6) was followed here, then the congregation would elect and the apostles ordain, the service being accompanied with fasting and prayer, in which the chosen office-bearers were commended to God for their work.
(3) Preaching the gospel. This, doubtless, would not be neglected in any of the towns visited on the homeward route, but it is specially mentioned that they spoke the word in Perga, because they had not done so on the outward journey (Acts 13:13; which see for the reason of this omission).
III. Home reached.—
1. Their arrival in the city. From Attalia they sailed to Seleucia, “saw once more the steep cone of Mount Casius, climbed the slopes of Coryphæus, and made their way under the pleasant shade of ilex and myrtles and arbutus, on the banks of the Orontes, until they crossed the well-known bridge, and saw the grim head of Charon, stating over the street Singôn, in which neighbourhood the little Christian community were prepared to welcome them with keen interest and unbounded love (Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, i. 390).
2. Their meeting with the Church.
(1) This was proper, seeing they had been by the Church recommended (or committed) to the grace of God for the work they had fulfilled (Acts 13:3). Nothing could have been more becoming than that they should report to the Church how the work had fared.
(2) Interesting, since they rehearsed all that God had done with them—i.e., their experiences, and in particular how God had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles—i.e., the success which had attended their labours.
(3) Encouraging, as showing the wisdom of the step which had been taken in despatching a mission to the heathen.
3. Their stay with the disciples. “A long” or “no little time.” The exact duration of the first missionary journey can only be approximately calculated. If it began in March A.D. 45, we are hardly at liberty to suppose that it occupied much more than a year (Farrar), in which case the return of Paul and Barnabas to Antioch would fall in all probability about the spring of A.D 46. Professor Ramsay gives April 45–July 47 (or 46–48) as the period over which the first journey extended. From the close of the journey they remained in Antioch till the outbreak of controversy concerning the terms on which the Gentiles should be admitted to the Church required their presence in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2).
Learn.—
1. The duty of persevering in the work of the Lord.
2. The necessity of abiding in the faith.
3. The only way of entering the kingdom.
4. The Scripturalness of Church order.
5. The interest Christians should take in foreign missions.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Acts 14:21-22. The Pastoral Office—its True Function.
I. To preach the gospel.
II. To make disciples.
III. To confirm believers.
IV. To comfort the suffering.
Acts 14:22. Scriptural Confirmation.
I. Not an external (bodily) rite, but an internal (spiritual) grace.
II. Not performed by the laying on of hands, but by the utterance of exhortations and consolations.
III. Not doing a work of establishment, for others, but instructing others to do this for themselves.
Acts 14:22. The Way into the Kingdom.
I. Painful—Through much tribulation or many tribulations.
II. Necessary.—We must. Un avoidable by any, indispensable for all.
III. Certain.—It leads into the kingdom. No question about whither it conducts.
IV. Blessed.—The terminus to which it tends is the kingdom of God.
Entering the Kingdom.
I. Heaven a kingdom.—
1. Its sovereign, God. The great king who built it, the architect of the universe, the Lord of Hosts.
2. Its subjects.
(1) In nature diversified, angels and redeemed men.
(2) In character, holy and without blemish,
(3) In condition, free from every defect and possessed of every felicity.
(4) In number, a multitude which no man can number and constantly increasing.
3. Its permanence. It will never be destroyed and never pass away.
II. The believer’s entrance into the kingdom.—Effected—
1. In time through regeneration, a work of gracious renewal upon his heart, which ipso facto at once constitutes him a subject of the kingdom.
2. At death, when the soul, having been purified and perfected through much tribulation, taking its departure from the body, passes through the vale and joins the company of the spirits of just men made perfect. This entrance certainly follows on the first after an interval, longer or shorter, of preparation.
Continuing in the Faith.
I. The danger of declining from the faith.—Arising from—
1. Indwelling sin.
2. The fascinations and temptations of the world.
3. The ills and tribulations of life.
4. False teachers and erroneous teaching.
5. The self-righteousness and spiritual pride of even converted hearts.
II. The necessity of abiding in the faith.—
1. Christ’s express command.
2. Continuance in the faith the best evidence of having ever been in the faith.
3. Without this the prize of eternal life cannot be won.
Acts 14:23. The Office of the Eldership.
I. Its authority.—Derived from the Head of the Church (Ephesians 4:11).
II. Its function.—To superintend the membership of the Church (Acts 20:28).
III. Its selection.—By the members of the Church. Christ an people should elect their own office bearers.
IV. Its ordination.—By the apostles in the first instance (2 Timothy 1:6), afterwards by the laying on of the hands of the presbyters (1 Timothy 4:14)
V. Its efficiency.—Derived from the Lord, on whom the elder has believed.
VI. Its sphere.—Within the Church. Purely a spiritual office.
VII. Its qualification.—The elder must himself be a believer. Other qualifications are set forth in the pastoral epistles.
Acts 14:26-27. The First Recorded Missionary Meeting.
I. The place where it was held.—In Antioch of Syria, which had sent forth the first pair of evangelists to proclaim the gospel to the heathen. An unperishable renown which never can be taken from Antioch.
II. The congregation which assembled.—The company of believers in the city, or the Church. That all the Christians who could be were present, that all were interested in the proceedings, and that all were eager to see the men who had hazarded their lives for the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 15:26), can hardly be doubted.
III. The story told by the missionaries.—Paul and Barnabas related all that God had done with them, and how He had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Acts 14:27. The (or a) Door of Faith.
I. Divinely constructed.—Salvation by faith a scheme, not of man’s ininventing, but of God’s appointing.
II. Widely opened.—By the publication of the gospel, inviting all who will to enter.
III. Easily reached.—Requiring no distant or difficult pilgrimage to get near it: “The word is nigh thee,” etc. (Romans 10:8).
IV. Freely entered.—By all who come in the exercise of simple faith, trusting in the mercy of God for Jesus’ sake.