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Acts: 14:18-19 (NKJV)
18 And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.

19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

People are funny. One minute you're loved, and the next they're ready to kill you. What is it about human nature that makes us so fickle? In this passage, the Lord uses Paul to heal a crippled man. The "multitude" is amazed and want to "worship" Paul and Barnabus. Because of the reference to "the Jews" who came to Lystra from Antioch and Iconium, I'm going to assume that the crowd here included Jews and Gentiles. If that's correct, my question would be why are Jews involved in pagan worship pracices? (see v. 11-13)

This is probably one of the things that the orthodox Jews from these other cities used to turn the "multitude" in Lystra against Paul. Could they have been convinced that the message of hope that Paul and Barnabus presented was another deviation from Judiasm, the only true religion?

The immediate question still remains...how does one go from being sacrificed to, to being sacrificed? I think it has to do with mankinds inheirant need to be in the majority,with the ruling class. Instead of thinking for ourselves and making a stand, we give into the covictions of others, just so we don't have to be different.

Following Jesus calls us to be seperate. Following Jesus requires us to know what we believe and why we believe it. We need to guard against allowing the culture or popular opinion to influence who, what, or how we worship.

Posted by Jeff on November 14, 2006 6:42 AM |

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