The Tupelo journal., 1909-05-14
PAUL AT ICONIUM
AND LYSTRA
sunday School Lesson for Nay ls, 1909
Specially Arranged for This Paper

nations are idols; but the Lord made the
heavens."-Psalm 96:5.
TIME.-Immediately after the last les
son. Perhaps in the autumn OF A. D. Al.
PLACE.-Lycaonia, in southern Gala
tia. Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. with a re-
turn to Antioch and Perga, and thence to
Antioch in Syria.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
The greater the work a man IN.
deavors to do, the greater the obsta-
| cles that he will meet, and the more
numerous they will be. 1t is a princi-
pie of physics that resistance increases
as the square of the velocity. PauT's
work, like that of all true Christians,
was very great, and therefore it en-
countered formidable obstacles.
But these h%indrances were over
come, in Christ's strength; and the
process Of overcoming them strength
ened Paul, as it will strengthen us. "A
certain amount of opposition is a great
help to a man. Kites rise against and
not with the wind. Even a head wind
is better than none."-John Neal.
"A great multitude both of the Jews
and also of the Greeks (Jewish prose-
lytes) believed" but there were 'unbe-
lieving Jews Or. v. "disobedient" to
the TRUTH, who p~rejudiced the Gentile
populace against the missionaries by
their calumnies. For this double rea-
son ("therefore," ". 81 Paul and Barn
abas remained at Iconium a "long
time," probably several months, since
(1) there were so many converts to be
instructed in their new faith, and (2)
that faith was evidently to be tried by
severe opposition and would need to be
strongly REINFORCED by instruction.
Finally, however, the hatred of the
Jewish rulers and of the Gentiles
whom they Influenced mot the Gentle
rulers, see v. 81 became so inflamed
with the missionaries bold speech and
increasing success that a plot was
formed to stone them as blasphemers.
Getting knowledge of this, and mindful
of Christ's command Matt. 1929 to
fee from persecution, Paul and Barna-
bas escaped, going first to "Lystra,"
Is miles south-southwest of Iconium,
and then to the Derbe, 20 miles to the
southeast of Lystra.
Stories of the gods coming down to
man were common among the Greeks
and other races. Like distorted and
obscure reflections In muddy water,
they give a blurred image of the great
truth."-Maclaren. They show that
Christ's coming was in response to a
universal need. One of these tales
was of the visit of Jupiter and Mercury
to this very Lycaonia. The people
thought them to be poor Migrants, re-
fused to entertain them, ridiculed and
maltreated them. At last they came
to the hut of the poor peasants, Baucis
and Philemon, who received them hos
pitably and entertained them with the
best they had. In return, the gods
transformed their hut into a glorious
temple over which they were set as
the chief ministers of worship, while
the churlish neighbors were punished
by a terrible food which overwhelmed
them. The statue of Jupiter stood be.
fore the gate of Lystra, and Ewald
suggests that this story of Baucis and
Philemon may have been recited year
by year at the great festival in this
temple.
They persuaded the people" Prob
ably they Influenced the multitudes to
regard the miracle, the reality Of
which they could not dispute, as the
work not of beneficent gods, but of
evil demons."-Expos. Greek Tesla
ment. They raised a mob, which
STONED Paul." whose bold speech had
centered hostility upon himself. What
memories of the stoning of Stephen
ten or eleven years before must have
passed through Pauls mind! Trans
formed into a bowling mob, like those
which even in Christian America shoot
negroes, Cinnamon and Italians, the
,quondam worshipers left Paul ready,
as they supposed, for the cremation
fires or the vagrant dogs.'-William
Elliot Griffs, l.. H. d. Perhaps, as the
stoning of Stephen must have moved
Paul toward Christianity, the stoning
of Paul was the turning point in the
life of Timothy. The young mar may
have been among "the disciples who
stood round about him." to give what
aid they could, and care for his body
if he were really dead.
Note the sudden change in the feel
ings of the people toward Paul, and
compare it with the revolution in the
attitude of the people of Jerusalem to
ward Christ, from "Hosanna!" to
Cruelty him!" Compare also the sud-
den change in the minds of the people
of Malta, Acts 28:4-6. The lesson is
mot to rate very highly human praise;
not to be greatly depressed by human
censure. Had Paul been desperately
anxious to please Lystra, I fancy that
that stoning would have killed him
Morrison.
How did the missionaries close the
first missionary journey? Properly and
wisely, with a report to the home
church at Antioch in Syria, which had
sent them forth.
This report was to the whole
church, for all had G part in the work,
and needed the stimulus Of the report.
Every member of the congregation
should be in the missionary meeting.
co It was a modest report, telling what
God had done with them,' on their
side, as an ally, and not recounting the
achievements as their own. (3) 1t
was an encouraging report, a report Of
progress, telling of the great forward
step that had been taken, the admis-
sion of Gentiles into the church
through the door of faith" and no
longer through the rite of circum-
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