Bible Study series: Acts 14:24-28. A positive and victorious report. Then they got back to work with the disciples.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn. Let’s learn together and apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn, so the translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 14:24-28
24 Then, when they passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25 After they spoke the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they set sail back to Antioch, from where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they completed. 27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything that God did with them and that he opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 They spent not a little time with the disciples. (Acts 14:24-28)
Comments:
Reaching Antioch of Syria, they complete their first missionary journey.
24-25:
“word”: this is the message of the gospel, and probably included Messianic prophecies for the Jews. We should include them in our teaching, whenever appropriate.
See a table of them here:
At that link, there is a long table of the NT quoting the OT, but Jesus fulfills more than just quoted verses. He fulfills the themes and patterns of the entire OT, like the entire sacrificial system and salvation.
“committed”: it comes from the Greek verb that means “handed over” or “given over” to the grace of God.
“grace”: see v. 3 for a closer look. Here it means the supernatural empowerment and ability to obey whatever God says to you, within the confines of moral law, which is laid out everywhere in the NT.
“completed”: it comes from the verb that means, depending on the context: fill, make full, fill up; influence fully, possess fully; to complete or to perfect; perform fully, discharge; realize, consummate; to accomplish, fulfill. Here it means, yes, “completed,” but it could also be translated as “accomplished” or “fulfilled” or carried out.” God is looking for his people to finish their journey and the task to which he called them. If you are tempted to give up, pray for the power of the Spirit. Seek fellowship with strong believers. Paul and Barnabas had each other and the new disciples they made, and they had the fullness of the Spirit.
27:
“church”: In Greek it is ekklēsia (pronounced ek-klay-see-ah) and the meaning has roots in both Hebrew and Greek. It literally describes an assembly or gathering. It literally means “the ones called out” or “the called out” or “the summoned” who gather together.
Jesus’s commission to go into Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth is gradually being fulfilled (1:8). It is stunning how rapidly the gospel was spreading in Israel—may it spread as quickly and widely even today in Israel. The church, wherever it is found, should be unified as one. It describes an assembly or gathering.
Fellowship is so important for believers. Don’t believe the lie circulating in American society, particularly in social media, that not going to church is good enough. People who skip constant fellowship are prone to sin and self-deception and satanic attacks. We need each other.
This link has a list of the famous “one another” verses, like “love one another.”
Further, since American Christianity is undergoing discussion on the sizes of churches, let me add: the earliest Christian community met either in houses (Acts 2:46) or in Solomon’s Colonnade in Jerusalem (Acts 3:11; 5:12) or a large number in Antioch (11:26), which could hold a large gathering—call it a mega-church—and presumably in mid-sized gatherings. Size does not matter, since it varies so widely.
Moreover, one thing that impresses me about all those above references, is that the apostles, as they planted churches, were guided by the Spirit—always—and they were also deliberate about setting them up and establishing them. Planning is Scriptural. So wisdom says: listen to the Spirit and plan. Listen as you plan and be ready to drop your plans at a moment notice, when the Spirit says so. God will grow the church as we proclaim the good news.
“did with them”: this speaks of their total surrender to God, and God working with them. One thing he did with them is to preach to the Gentiles, who were hungry for something more than just empty and tiring Greek deities like Zeus and Hermes. Who knows when these gods really came to earth because these claimed visitations are not recorded within historical parameters. Pagan religion was not fulfilling for the masses (though some stayed in it). They needed the living Lord. It could also be translated as “through them.” (See Acts 15:4 for its other use.)
“door of faith”: it is a literal translation, and it is a revealing and rich phrase. God opens the door to anyone who wants to walk through it. It speaks of an invitation from God. I believe God has to draw us to salvation by the Spirit. Then we can walk into his kingdom. But we can also resist his calling throughout our lives. We have enough free will to resist God, but not enough free will to accept him without his assistance. And yes, God wants everyone to be saved, not just a pre-handpicked few. In this case, God opened the door of faith—as distinct from the law—to Gentiles. God gave them the opportunity to receive the message of faith in Christ and not the religion of paganism—and certainly not legalist Judaism, which required circumcision and law keeping, which will be a hot topic in Acts 15.
28:
“not a little time”: This means a long time. The phrasing is known as a litotes (pronounced lih-toh-tees), or an understatement that expresses the affirmative by a negative! Luke likes litotes: Acts 12:18; 14:17, 28; 15:2; 17:4, 12, 27; 19:11, 23; 20:12; 21:39; 26:19; 27:20; 28:2.
“disciples”: In Acts, this term refers to followers of Jesus on some level. BDAG, a thick Greek lexicon, says of the noun (1) “one who engages in learning through instruction from another, pupil, apprentice”; (2) “one who is rather constantly associated with someone who has a pedagogical reputation or a particular set of views, disciple, adherent.”
Let’s summarize this first missionary journey with this table, introduced in Acts 13. Schnabel provides this timeline of Paul’s missionary activity:
| Period 1 | Damascus | Acts 9:19-25; Gal 1:17 | AD 32/33 |
| Period 2 | Arabia / Nabatea | Gal 1:17; 2 Cor 11:32 | 32-33 |
| Period 3 | Jerusalem | Acts 9:26-29; Rom. 1:16 | 33/34 |
| Period 4 | Syria / Cilicia, Tarsus | Acts 9:30; 11:25-26; Gal 1:21 | 34-42 |
| Period 5 | Syria
Antioch |
Acts 11:26-30; 13:1 | 42-44 |
| Period 6 | Cyprus (Salamis, Paphos) | Acts 13:4-12 | 45 |
| Period 7 | Galatia (Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe,
Pamphylia (Perge) |
Acts 13:14-14:23;
14:24-26 |
45-47
47 |
| Period 8 | Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea) | Acts 16:6-17:15 | 49-50 |
| Period 9 | Achaia (Athens, Corinth) | Acts 17:16-18:28 | 50-51 |
| Period 10 | Asia (Ephesus) | Acts 19:1-41 | 52-55 |
| Period 11 | Illyricum | Rom 15:19 | 56 |
| Period 12 | Judea (Caesarea) | Acts 21:27-26:32 | 57-59 |
| Period 13 | Rome | Acts 28:17-28 | 60-62 |
| Period 14 | Spain | 1 Clement 5:5-7 | 63-64? |
| Period 15 | Crete | Titus 1:5 | 64-65? |
| Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Zondervan’s Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, 2012, p. 549. He says that a conservative estimate is that between AD 32-65 Paul traveled at least 15,500 miles (25,000 km). Of that total, 8700 miles (14,000 km) were on foot. | |||
And Bock summarizes the regions and cities for Paul’s and Barnabas’s first missionary journey, in his table:
| City | Region |
| Antioch | Syria |
| Salamis | Cyprus (Island) |
| Paphos | Cyprus (Island |
| Perga | Pamphylia |
| Antioch | Pisidia |
| Iconium | Lycaonia |
| Lystra | Lycaonia |
| Derbe | Lycaonia |
| Lystra | Lycaonia |
| Derbe | Lycaonia |
| Iconium | Lycaonia |
| Antioch | Pisidia |
| Perga | Pamphylia |
| Attalia | Pamphylia |
| Antioch | Syria |
| Bock, p. 485, modified | |
You can look up the regions and cities online in a Bible map. Have fun!
GrowApp for Acts 14:24-28
1. Paul and Barnabas completed their mission, even though they got persecuted. God loves it when his disciples complete his mission, which is different for each disciple. What is your mission, large or small?
2. Do you intend to complete it, no matter the opposition?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 