Melanie and I have a favorite “Precious Moments” figurine of a little boy preaching behind a pulpit. His listeners have redecorated the sacred desk and his face, throwing eggs and tomatoes at him. When I returned from preaching at nursing homes in Great Falls Montana, my dad would ask me, “Did they throw tomatoes at you?” After forty years as a pastor, I can report that I have never had anyone throw anything at me, though some may have wanted to. My friend Ben Oliver was once shot while preaching down in Brazil. His opposition came from the local church leaders who did not want the Protestant message preached in their town.
Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the church in Antioch to preach. Luke also tells us that the Holy Spirit sent them, so they went out with good authority. Their preaching met with mixed results. After they healed a lame man at Lystra, the people wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas as the gods Mercury and Zeus. The apostles refused their adulation. Then right after that, an opposition group stirred up the crowd which stoned Paul nearly to death. Sometimes it is hard to know if people are following you or chasing you out of town. Paul and Barnabas left there and had a successful ministry in the next town of Derbe.
After they baptized new believers, Paul and Barnabas went back to the cities, encouraging and strengthening. Our gospel can never be “save them and strand them.” Discipleship calls for intentional teaching of all things Christ commanded to new believers. Believers do not thrive alone. The apostles established churches in the towns where people were converted. They told the new believers the truth about the hardships they would endure in the kingdom of God. Paul and Barnabas not only preached but they prayed and fasted for these new believers. Established in the gospel, the churches grew.
In what ways do we share in continuity with the ministry Luke describes? N. T. Wright reportedly observed, “Whenever Paul preached the gospel, there was a riot or a revival. When I preach they serve tea.” It is perplexing, isn’t it? The gospel still calls for a decision. When we preach the truth in love, some may believe and others may be repelled. We are not responsible for the results. We are called to obey and to leave the results to God.
