The Stoning of Paul
And when there was an assault made .... They were aware of it, and fled unto 
Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round 
about; and there they preached the gospel 
 Acts 14:5-7
God's Purpose in Persecution
Driven from Antioch by the outbreak of persecution, Paul and Barnabas moved 
on to Iconium. There was about ninety miles between the two towns, and now 
they might reasonably hope to be at peace.  Iconium was a fine strategic point. 
The Roman roads between east and west ran through it. Many a morning Paul 
would be wakened from sleep by the noise of some caravan under his window 
as it rolled westward with its eastern merchandise. And again, it would be the 
tramp of Roman legions as they marched eastward along the military way. All 
this would have set the heart of Paul a-throbbing. Maybe his preaching of the 
Word would reach to the end of the world from Iconium? Paul might have 
settled at Iconium for years if God had not said to him, "This is not your rest." 
That is one purpose which persecution serves. It is God's way of bidding His 
soldiers march. Jesus was thinking of far more than personal safety when He 
bade His disciples flee from city to city (Mat_10:23). Just as the wind effects 
the falling rain and drives it away till it falls on distant fields, so persecution, 
striking on the Gospel, carries it to unexpected spots. Paul and Barnabas had 
to flee from Iconium. It was the Jews who stirred up trouble again.
THE APOSTLES WERE LEARNING, IN A VERY 
BITTER WAY, HOW A MAN'S FOES CAN BE THOSE 
OF HIS OWN HOUSEHOLD.
THERE IS NO FOE SO DANGEROUS OR SO 
RELENTLESS AS AN OLD FRIEND WHO HAS 
TURNED DEAD AGAINST US.

Into the Land of Wolves for a Purpose
About forty miles from Iconium lies Lystra in the wild and 
dreary plains of Lycaonia. Lycaonia means the Land of Wolves, 
and we can picture the desolate region by the name. I think 
that when Paul crossed into that wolf-land he would remember 
the saying of his Master, "Behold I send you forth as sheep in 
the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as serpents and 
harmless as doves" (Mat_10:16). To Lystra, then, Paul and 
Barnabas fled, and there they preached. And at Lystra, by the 
power of Jesus, Paul healed the cripple. You could tell that the 
writer (Luke) had been a doctor by the fond minuteness with 
which he describes the disease. Most writers would just have 
said that the man was lame. But the physician made a much 
fuller diagnosis. The man was impotent in both his feet; he had 
been so from birth; he had never walked. Do you see how all 
the training we have had can be used in the long run towards 
glorifying God? Luke never thought of that when he was 
studying medicine; but the miracle is doubly vivid just because 
he studied. So, every interest we ever had, and every pursuit 
we were ever zealous over, and every hobby that once 
fascinated us, no matter how childish or slight it may have 
been— all these, when we are Christ's, shall prove of service. It 
is the vessel full of water that becomes wine.

?
The People of Lystra Recalled the Legend of 
Baucis and Philemon
Now there was a legend very well known in Lystra, for the scene of it 
was that very region—it was the legend of Baucis and Philemon. The 
Lystran children used to gather around their mothers and beg for the 
story of Baucis and Philemon. Baucis and Philemon were two humble 
cottagers to whom Jupiter and Mercury had come disguised. The gods 
had knocked in vain at every other door, but these two lowly souls 
gave them a welcome. It is a sweet story, exquisitely told by Ovid; it 
was devoutly believed in the homes of Lystra. Many a mother would 
call her son Philemon with the prayer that Jupiter might come again. 
Who, then, were these two strangers in the town who had healed the 
lame man in such a marvelous way? Was not one of them august and 
kingly and the other all life and activity and eloquence? It ran like 
wildfire through the marketplace that here were Jupiter and Mercury 
returned. Paul did not understand what all the stir was. 
The excited people fell back on their own dialect. He felt as helpless 
as a we would feel in the middle of a crowd all speaking Russian. But 
when a solemn procession halted before his lodging, and he saw the 
oxen with garlands on their heads, it flashed on him in a moment 
what was happening, and he and Barnabas sprang out to stop the 
blasphemy. Had it been Jews whom Paul was called to speak to, you 
would have had plenty of texts from the Old Testament. Had the 
crowd been an Athenian crowd, there would have been swift appeals 
to history and art. It shows the infinite tact of the apostle that with 
these rude folks he argued from the rain (Act_5:17). It was a sore 
disappointment to excited Lystra; the current of feeling very swiftly 
changed. We are not surprised a few days later to find Paul stoned 
and left for dead.
Paul Saw That the Cripple Had Faith
1.	First, the keen eyesight of a saint (Act_5:9). Paul saw in a 
twinkling that the cripple had faith. There was something 
in the face of this poor sufferer that told the apostle that 
true faith was there. Our Savior was always on the outlook 
for faith, and Paul had caught this secret from the Master. 
There is nothing like love and fellowship with Christ for 
revealing the best points in a poor beggar's face.
2.	There is a meaning even in a raindrop (Act_5:17). It had 
often spoken to Paul of the Creator.
3.	Lastly, (we cannot learn this too young) that today's 
sacrifice may be tomorrow's stoning. One day, with Jesus, 
it was "Hosanna"; a little afterwards, "Crucify Him, Crucify 
Him." And one day, with Paul, it was "He is a god"; a little 
afterwards, "Stone him and cast him out." 

Now I want no one to become cynical. The world is a kindly and 
happy and pleasant place. We are amazed as we struggle 
through life at the loyalty and love that surround us.  
*	Let’s set our affections on things which are above, 
*	not to rate very highly human praise, 
*	not to be greatly depressed by human censure. 

Had Paul been desperately anxious to please Lystra, I believe 
the stoning would have killed him.

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