Jupiter - Acts 14:1-18

After being persecuted to the point of expulsion, Paul and Barnabas leave Antioch and travel to Iconium. Again, they start at the local synagogue and teach with great results because “a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.” Unfortunately, they still have the same problem as everywhere else, in that those who don’t accept the gospel view these new teachings as a threat to their power and control over the people. While there “they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” But they were eventually thrown out of Iconium, “and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia.”

It is at this point that Paul and Barnabas are referred to as Apostles. I imagine that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles anciently runs the way that ours does now, in that when one of the members dies or is removed for some reason, then another is called in his place. We saw this happen when the remaining Apostles called Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot after his death. Before his death, Jesus must have ordained the Twelve to the apostleship and given them all the keys of the kingdom that they needed, or I guess he could have done it posthumously. The IM says that an Apostle is a “special witness of the Lord.” I have never really understood what that meant, and I’ve heard it said during General Conference before, but it makes me wonder what exactly does that mean, “a special witness of Jesus Christ.”
Even though it’s been alluded to, I can’t seem to recall any miracles being performed by Paul that was mentioned in detail in the scriptures. As with Jesus in Palestine during his mortal ministry, Paul saw “a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never walked.” We aren’t given background on this man, we are not told if he is a Jew or if he has subscribed to one of the pagan, polytheistic religions, but his past beliefs were not important. What is important is that this man “heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him,” the gospel resonated with his spirit and Paul was moved be the Holy Ghost “and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.”
Full conversion wasn’t required to be healed, but faith was. What’s the difference? Faith is a foundational yet simple principle of conversion. We can remember Alma’s teaching that even if you don’t full believe, simply wanting to believe is sufficient for faith to start making a difference in our lives. This man hadn’t heard all the doctrines, he hadn’t been baptized, but he was open to the message and that is what made the difference in his case. I think that so much of the time we think that our miracles are based on our perfect knowledge and acceptance and adherence, but this man’s faith to be healed was enough for the Lord’s healing power to take effect. Because this man’s affliction was physically visible to everyone, the healing was obvious, but our beginning baby steps of faith can start our spiritual and emotional healing, and that’s more difficult for others to see. But it happens, it’s happened to me, to my dad, and to so many other people. The healing power of Jesus Christ is real and it’s incredible.
In addition to the man being healed, the multitude surrounding them also had sufficient faith to witness the healing. We know that miracles don’t convert, only strengthen existing faith, so when the multitude of people saw this man be healed, “they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Pula, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.” They could recognize that Paul and Barnabas were representing spiritual truth, so they ascribed their power to the religion that they knew, which was the pagan, polytheism of their time and culture. In fact, the religious leadership was so convinced that “the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.”
It would be easy to look at these people as heathens or something negative and dramatic like that, but in actuality, it appears that they took the knowledge that they did have and used it to accept the message that Paul and Barnabas were putting out. It’s like when a kid draws you a picture, the effort and thought and consideration that went into it makes it worthy of framing. Here, the efforts of the people were worth appreciation, but they were misdirected. Paul and Barnabas react to this sincere, though incorrect show of acceptance by doing what so many other prophets and apostles and believers have done throughout human history and tell them, “we also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God.” They are saying, “hey, we are just human beings like you guys are, but it is the true and living God that you should be worshipping.”
Paul starts with very basic teachings, the creation, “the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein.” He answers the question, “why wouldn’t this God make himself known to us?” by saying, “who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.” But in a beautiful way tells the people that, though this God was not known to them, they were known to him, and “he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” All good and happy things come from God, and that was his way of telling them he loved them. The people are pacified and don’t go through with the animal sacrifice.
It seems like they had some success among the people in the city, but “there came thither certain Jews from Antioh and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.” That escalated quickly. The IM comments, “Some Jews from Antioch and Iconium so vehemently opposed Paul and Barnabas that they followed them to Lystra and persuaded people there to help stone Paul. Paul survived the ordeal, and it did not dissuade him from continuing his labors in spreading the gospel.”