Evening star., 1921-08-13

Our lesson gives us a bird's-eye
view of the remaining portion of
Paul's first missionary journey, which
covered the chief cities of Antioch,
Iconium, Lystra, and Berbe. Ramsay
includes the countries of Pamphylis,
Pisidia. Phrygia and Lycaonia in a
general way with what Luke calls
the region of Phrygia and Galatia,"
SO that the Epistle to the Galatians
was addressed to those who had been
won for the Lord Jesus during Paurs
first missionary tour. One can easily
discover something in the study of
this weeks lesson of the missionary
task, tact and tenacity of purpose
with which Paul and Barnabas car
ried on their work that covered over
1.400 miles without the aid of steam
ships or railroads, and without abun-
dance of funds to make this first and
epoch making missionary journey
comfortable
Persecution appears to mark the
pathway of the apostles, which title
Antioch of Pisidia. Shaking off
from their feet the dust of the dry
and Sunburnt road, in token of Gods
Judgment upon wiliful unbelievers.
they turned to the luxurious garden
city of Iconium. Here they adopted
the same methods of preaching Christ
as at Antioch, with similar results.
They found an opening in the Syna-
gogue and as result of their efforts
among both Jews and Gentiles the
town was divided concerning the
gospel. One can understand some
thing of the Jewish opposition, for
seldom in all history have any class
of men been called to give up more
on becoming Christians than was re-
quired of the Jews of that period. For
them to accept the gospel involved
the admission that Judaism had full
filled its mission, and that its institu-
tions must now be placed upon an
other basis, and that their peculiar
privileges were to be shared by all
the world. The opposition which the
apostles faced here was worse from
the Gentiles than it was from the
Jews, who stirred up the antagonism
so that the missionaries had to flee
them from preaching the gospel, so
that we next find them face to face
with the darkness of heathenism in
LyStra.
1t is evident that Paul recognized
that the great centers of population
presented the challenge of heathen-
dom and the gravest social problems,
which could be solved only by the
gospel of the Lord Jesus. 1t was in
Lystra where Paul faced for the first
His missionary task called him to
preach the gospel to these heathens.
who were ignorant of the true and
living God The Jewish population
was so small in Lystra that they did
not possess a synagogue, SO Paul
preached in the market place. The
attitude of a poor helpless man, who
was unable to walk, having been
born a cripple, attracted the attention
Of Paul, who recognized that he had
faith SO that he could be saved and
healed. The three-ply statement of
his condition by Luke, who was a
physician. proves that he was not a
fake medicant but a genuine case
whose miraculous cure was demon
strated by his leaping at once and
continuing to walk. It proved to Paul
that divine approval had been given
to his efforts to evangeliZe the
heather in their darkness.
That deed went home to that pagan
crowd, as the work OF our medical
missionaries has won place for
Christianity among the heather
peoples of the world. They could un-
derstand that deed of benevolence.
They saw in it the power of God.
They misjudged 1t when they con-
sidered Barnabas and Paul to be none