Acts 14

Acts 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter tells the story of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. During their travels, they visited places such as Phrygia and Lycaonia. Their journey was an important part of spreading the teachings of Jesus and helping new communities learn about Christianity. The book of Acts, including this chapter, is believed by many to have been written by Luke, who also wrote the Gospel of Luke. This chapter shows how early Christians faced challenges and shared their beliefs with people in different lands.

Text

This chapter of the book was written in Koine Greek and has 28 verses.

Some old copies of this text include:

In Greek:

• Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350)
• Codex Sinaiticus (330–360)
• Codex Bezae (~400)
• Codex Alexandrinus (400–440)
• Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450)
• Codex Laudianus (~550; complete)

In Latin:

• Codex Laudianus (~550; complete)
• León palimpsest (7th century; verses 21–28 exist)

The story in this chapter connects to parts of the old books, like Genesis 1:1/Genesis#1:1) and Psalm 146:6/Psalms#146:6). It also links to later writings such as Revelation 14:7/Revelation#14:7).

Locations

This chapter talks about several places where important events happened. Some of these places are Iconium in Phrygia, Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia, Antioch, Pisidia, Perga in Pamphylia, Attalia, and Antioch in Syria. These cities were important stops during the travels of Paul and Barnabas.

Timeline

The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas happened around the years AD 47 to 48. During this time, they traveled to places like Phrygia and Lycaonia to share their message.

Preaching in Iconium (verses 1-7) and Lystra (verses 8–20)

Paul and his companions traveled from Antioch in Pisidia to the east along the Roman road (Via Sebaste). They went to Iconium and then to Lystra. At first, both Jews and Greeks in Iconium welcomed their message, but some Jews who did not believe caused problems.

At Lystra, Paul helped a man who had been unable to walk since birth. When the people saw this, they were amazed and said in their own language that the gods had come down to them like people. This reminds us of an old story about Zeus and Hermes visiting the area long ago.

Later, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and persuaded the crowd against Paul. They attacked him and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. But after his friends gathered around him, Paul got up and continued his journey with Barnabas to Derbe the next day.

Returning to Pisidia (verses 21–23)

After leaving Derbe, Paul and Barnabas traveled back to Antioch, Pisidia. Along the way, they visited the new churches they had started, helping and encouraging the believers to stay strong in their faith. Paul later did the same in his letters, as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 2 and 1 Thessalonians 3.

Paul used the word "Elders" to describe church leaders. This word appears in other writings such as Titus 1:5 and 1 Timothy 5, along with another term found in Acts 20:28 and Philippians 1:1.

The journey home from Pisidia to Syria (verses 24–28)

After their travels, Paul and Barnabas returned home. They traveled by land until they reached a city called Attalia, where they boarded a ship to sail to Seleucia. This was the port city near Antioch in Syria. When they arrived, they met with the church there and shared a full report about their journey. They told the people how they had opened a "door of faith" for many new believers.