Biblical missions means being sent by God to cross cultures with the good news about Jesus. In Acts 14:1-28, Paul and Barnabas show three marks of biblical missionaries. They proclaim the gospel even when people oppose them. They contextualize the gospel, explaining it in terms their listeners can understand without changing the message. And they make disciple-makers, strengthening new believers and appointing local leaders so the churches can continue without them. These marks still apply to every follower of Jesus.
Setting the Scene in Acts 14:1-28
In the previous chapter, the church in Antioch fasted, prayed, and sent out Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:1-52). They preached in Cyprus and in Pisidian Antioch, where many Gentiles believed but opposition drove them out. Acts 14 completes Paul’s first missionary journey, which took him through Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, cities in the Roman province of Galatia in what is now central Turkey. Paul would later make two more major journeys (Acts 15:36-18:22; 18:23-21:17).
The word “missionary” comes from the Latin word for sending. Likewise, the Greek word apostolos means “one who is sent,” and Luke calls both Barnabas and Paul apostles in this chapter (Acts 14:14). A missionary is someone sent on God’s mission, which Jesus gave to all his followers.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Not every effort called missions actually fulfills that mission. Building wells, schools, and hospitals is good and often necessary, but Jesus’ command was to make disciples. Acts 14 shows what that looks like.
Biblical Missionaries Proclaim the Gospel
Paul and Barnabas followed their usual pattern in Iconium, starting at the synagogue.
Acts 14:1-3 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
The results were mixed. Many Jews and Greeks believed, but others stirred up opposition. Instead of leaving right away, Paul and Barnabas stayed a long time, speaking boldly, and the Lord confirmed the message with signs and wonders. Eventually the city was divided, and when they learned of a plot to stone them, they moved on to Lystra and Derbe and kept preaching (Acts 14:4-7).
Many great missionaries had a huge impact on society. William Carey, often called the father of modern missions, campaigned against sati, the practice of burning widows in India. David Livingstone’s writings exposed the horrors of the slave trade in Africa. But for these missionaries, social impact was a byproduct of their main goal: telling people about Jesus. Some people will respond with joy and others with hostility. That part isn’t up to us. Our part is to share the good news.
Biblical Missionaries Contextualize the Gospel
In Lystra, Paul healed a man who had been lame from birth, much like Peter had done at the temple gate (Acts 3:1-26). But the crowd interpreted the miracle through their own worldview.
Acts 14:11-13 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
There was a reason for this reaction. The Roman poet Ovid tells an old legend from this region about Zeus and Hermes visiting the area disguised as humans. Everyone turned them away except an elderly couple named Baucis and Philemon, and the gods punished the rest. The people of Lystra weren’t going to make that mistake twice. They called Barnabas Zeus, the chief god, and Paul Hermes, the messenger god, because he did most of the speaking. Since they spoke in their local Lycaonian language, Paul and Barnabas didn’t understand what was happening until the priest showed up with bulls and wreaths.
Acts 14:14-17 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
Tearing their clothes was a Jewish sign of horror at blasphemy. Then notice what Paul did. In the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, he started with the Hebrew Scriptures. Here, speaking to rural pagans who had never read them, he started with what they already knew: the living God made heaven and earth and showed his kindness through rain, crops, and joy. Theologians call this general revelation, God’s witness through creation (Romans 1:20). Paul met them where they were, but he didn’t water down the message. He still called them to turn from worthless idols to the living God.
Every culture has its own assumptions about what is good, true, and real. Acts 1:8 isn’t only a geographical outline but also a cultural one, moving from people like us to people very different from us. Biblical missionaries learn to explain the gospel in ways that make sense to their listeners while keeping the gospel itself unchanged.
Faithful Through Suffering
The crowd’s worship turned to violence almost overnight.
Acts 14:19-20 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
Opponents from Antioch and Iconium won over the crowd, and they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. Paul later listed this among his sufferings: “once I was pelted with stones” (2 Corinthians 11:25). Yet he got up, went back into the city, and left for Derbe the next day. It was likely during this visit that a young man named Timothy from Lystra witnessed Paul’s endurance, and he would later join Paul’s team (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 3:10-11).
Biblical Missionaries Make Disciple-Makers
After preaching in Derbe, Paul and Barnabas could have taken a shorter route home. Instead, they retraced their steps through the very cities where they had been attacked.
Acts 14:21-23 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
They strengthened the disciples, encouraged them to stay true to the faith, and reminded them that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. Then they appointed elders in every church and committed them to the Lord with prayer and fasting. Within a short time, these young churches would have their own local leaders.
In the 1800s, mission leaders Henry Venn and Rufus Anderson described a goal often called the “three-self” principle: churches should become self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating. Missionaries can’t stay anywhere forever. The goal is a church that makes disciples who make disciples. Paul and Barnabas then returned to Antioch and reported to the whole church all that God had done and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14:26-28). That success would soon raise a big question in the church (Acts 15:1-41).
What This Means for Us
You may never move overseas, but every follower of Jesus is sent. Your neighborhood, workplace, and school are full of people with different backgrounds and assumptions about God. The three marks of Acts 14 apply to all of us. Do we actually share Jesus, or just try to be nice? Do we listen well enough to explain the gospel in ways people can understand? And are we helping people grow into disciples who reach others?
This passage also helps churches think wisely about supporting missions. Good missions work is measured not just by activity, but by whether disciples and disciple-making churches are being formed.
The Takeaway
What does biblical missions look like? In Acts 14:1-28, Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the gospel despite opposition, contextualized the message for pagans in Lystra without changing it, and returned to strengthen believers and appoint elders. Biblical missionaries share Jesus, speak to people where they are, and make disciples who make disciples. Every Christian is sent to do the same.
