Through many tribulations

, “ Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.”

18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.”

23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.”

Through many tribulations... we must still rise!

The people of Lystra were so awestruck by the miracle of the lame man walking for the first time that, even though Paul and Barnabas gave them a disclaimer of their divinity and then propose to them a clear challenge to turn away from vain things to the living and true God.

They still had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing and worshipping them. There pagan superstition moved the Lycaonians to offer misdirected homage to the visitors until some other Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.

Verse 19a says, “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds...

You see the passions of these antagonists Jews can be measured by the fact that they travelled more than a hundred miles just to oppose the missionaries and were unimpressed by any attempt to turn the pagans of Lystra to the worship of the God of Scripture. Once again, unbelieving Jewish opponents were able to persuade unbelieving Gentiles to join them in hindering the progress of the gospel, remember,

, “But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.”

Now in , “...They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.”

Look at this in a quick reversal of their praise and worship of Paul and Barnabas these unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles convinced these, Lycaonians to stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city.

They stone him so harshly that they were sure he was dead

Stoning is a method of execution during which a group of people, usually peers of the guilty party, throws stones at the condemned person until he or she dies. Death by stoning was prescribed in the Old Testament Law as a punishment for various sins. Both animals and people could be the subjects of stoning.

, “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner had been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.”

Stoning seems to have been associated with sins that caused irreparable damage to the spiritual or ceremonial purity of a person or an animal.

Stoning was the method of execution chosen by the unbelieving Jews who persecuted the early Christians. Stephen, the church’s first martyr, was stoned to death outside of Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin. On that occasion, a young man named Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, held the coats of those who cast the stones.

, “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of the God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “ Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stoning is a horrible way to die. That particular manner of execution must have been a strong deterrent against committing the sins deemed offensive enough to merit stoning. God cares very much about the purity of His people. The strict punishment for sin during the time of the Law helped deter people from adopting the impure practices of their pagan neighbors and rebelling against God. The wages of sin is death, and Israel was given a stern commandment to stay pure: “You must purge the evil from among you.”

This physical attack was presumably directed at Paul alone, because he was the one who had healed the lame man and had called for an abandonment of their traditional gods, called for him and the others to turn away from vain things.

But Paul how was Paul able to handle such a vicious attack from these people. Well, praise God that this was not Paul’s first rodeo, he had be attack before, Look at , “24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” ().

From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. - ()

Paul was the type of servant that could take a licking and kept on ticking.

Ministry is fraught with trials and tribulations, but Jesus tells us that we must be of good cheer because He has already overcome the world. God places tests and hinderances along the way so that we might discern God’s will. , Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

So, pastor why does God test us?

When we ask why God tests us or allows us to be tested, we are admitting that testing does indeed come from Him which is a great first step. When God tests His children, He does a valuable thing because it is through testing that we learn to rise to the occasion.

David sought God’s testing, asking Him to examine his heart and mind and see that they were true to Him (; ) and after testing he rose to the occasion. When Abram was tested by God in the matter of sacrificing Isaac, Abram obeyed () and showed to all the world that he is the father of faith and Abram rose to the occasion. ().

In both the Old and New Testaments, the words translated “test” mean “to prove by trial.” Therefore, when God tests His children, His purpose is to prove that our faith is real that they might rise to the occasion. Not that God needs to prove it to Himself since He knows all things, but He is proving to us that our faith is real, that we are truly His children, and that no trial will overcome our faith and that we will rise to the occasion.

In His Parable of the Sower, Jesus identifies the ones who fall away as those who receive the seed of God’s Word with joy, but, as soon as a time of testing comes along, they fall away. James says that the testing of our faith develops perseverance, which leads to maturity in our walk with God (). James goes on to say that testing is a blessing, because, when the testing is over and we have “stood the test,” we will “receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (). Testing comes from our heavenly Father who works all things together for good for those who love Him and who are called to be the children of God (). It is through trials and testing we are compel to rise once again through our faith.

The testing or trials we undergo come in various ways. Becoming a Christian will often require us to move out of our comfort zones and into the unknown. Perseverance in testing results in spiritual maturity and completeness. This is why James wrote, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (). The testing of faith can come in small ways and daily irritations; they may also be severe afflictions () and attacks from Satan (). Whatever the source of the testing, it is to our benefit to undergo the trials that God allows.The account of Job is a perfect example of God’s allowing one of His saints to be tested by the devil. Job bore all his trials patiently and “did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (). However, the account of Job’s testing is proof that Satan’s ability to try us is limited by God’s sovereign control. No demon can test or afflict us with beyond what God has ordained. All our trials work toward God’s perfect purpose and our benefit.

There are many examples of the positive results of being tested.

The psalmist likens our testing to being refined like silver (). Peter speaks of our faith as “of greater worth than gold,” and that’s why we “suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (). In testing our faith, God causes us to grow into strong disciples who truly live by faith and not by what we see ().

When we experience the storms of life, we should be like the tree that digs its roots ever more deeply for a greater grip in the earth. We must “dig our roots” more deeply into God’s Word and cling to His promises so we can weather whatever storms come against us.

Most comforting of all, we know that God will never allow us to be tested beyond what we are able to handle by His power. His grace is sufficient for us, and His power is made perfect in our weakness (). “That is why,” Paul said, “for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

As we go back to our text, Luke is careful to point out that the crowd left Paul thinking he was dead, when he was actually only unconscious or semi-conscious.

But after the disciples had gathered round him, he rose up and went back into the city.

Remember, you have only been knocked down if you get up, if you do not rise you have been knocked out.

It is likely that Luke has not told us the whole story of Paul’s ministry in Lystra and that there were converts who cared for him in their homes , “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.” (This passage suggest that there were disciples in Lystra). Otherwise, the disciples who helped Paul were members of his team, perhaps joined by converts from other places who had followed him. One way or the other, his return to the city was a sign of God’s care and deliverance and an expression of Paul’s own trust and confidence in the true and living God. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe, a journey of about 60 miles (97 km.) southeast of Lystra. No mention is made of others here because Paul and Barnabas are consistently regarded as the key figures in the mission team; thanks be to God for His bringing them through many tribulations that they might rise through faith for the occasion.

Through many tribulations...we must strengthen the souls

This passage gives a brief insight into the way Paul strengthened the souls of the new converts and established a pattern of leadership for the congregations he had founded. The warning about enduring hardships is particularly powerful in the light of the suffering endured by Paul and Barnabas in the preceding narratives. Example and exhortation are brought together in this way. , “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disiciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconicum and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disiciples.” Their return to Antioch in Syria marks the end of the first missionary journey and provides the opportunity for encouraging that church with news of what God had done through them despite Satan’s opposition. Whatever their success in winning Jews, the whole campaign is evaluated in terms of opening ‘a door of faith to the Gentiles’ (v. 27). This indicates a new and more extensive impact of the gospel on the Gentile world than was witnessed previously.

In verses 21–22 Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in Derbe and won a large number of disciples. The Greek verb “mathēteuo” (‘discipled’) occurs only here and in ; ; . In the present context it implies a process of teaching and training beyond, this goes beyond evangelizing (euangelizomenoi), an example of which is given in v. 22. The ministry in Derbe appears to have been unhindered by Jews from Antioch and Iconium. Presumably, the state in which they left Paul (14:19) convinced his opponents that he was no longer a threat, and they left Lystra to return to their own cities. Derbe lay on the eastern border of Galatia (cf. v. 20 note). Instead of continuing further east and reaching Syria through Cilicia, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith (,‘to continue in the faith’; cf. 11:23, ‘to continue with the Lord’; 13:43; ‘to continue in the grace of God’). This journey was necessary because continuing persecution made it difficult for new converts to survive and flourish. ‘Luke makes no comment on their courage in revisiting so soon cities in which they had received such shameful treatment; his matter-of-fact statement that they stopped at each of them is eloquent enough.’ Confining their ministry to believers in these places of conflict, Paul and Barnabas did not stir up any further opposition. Two further visits to these South Galatian churches are recorded in 16:1–6; 18:23. It is also likely that Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written to them in the period before the Jerusalem Council, when Paul was back in Syrian Antioch (14:28).

Here we have a brief record of the sort of pastoral care offered to newly formed congregations. Paul’s role as pastor is more fully presented in 20:18–35. We know from his letters that Paul believed God would keep those who were genuinely converted true to the faith,

, “4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge-6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you- 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-

7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - ;

However, he knew that his own prayers and teaching were part of the process by which God would sustain them, , “9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Strengthening of their souls (epistērizontes) is mentioned again in 15:32, together with encouraging , as a ministry of prophets to believers. Strengthening the churches was also the aim of Paul and Silas on their journey through Syria and Cilicia in 15:41. In 14:22 it is specifically ‘the souls of the disciples’ that need strengthening, meaning the disciples in their inner lives or individual selves before God. Paul says in

, “ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”

Do we as Christians truly understand that we can not lead a credible outer life before unbelievers if you are not being strengthen in our inner lives.There is an individual and a corporate strengthening which can be accomplished by a ministry of exhortation. We find this emphasis in some of Paul’s letters, as well as here in Luke’s brief report of what the missionaries said by way of warning:Acts 14:22b...encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. We are Christian as called to always rise through many tribulations. What is a tribulations and why must be go through them pastor?

One of the most difficult parts of the Christian life is the fact that becoming a disciple of Christ does not make us immune to life’s trials and tribulations. Why would a good and loving God allow us to go through such things as the death of a child, disease and injury to ourselves and our loved ones, financial hardships, worry and fear? Surely, if He loved us, He would take all these things away from us. After all, doesn’t loving us mean He wants our lives to be easy and comfortable? Well, no, it doesn’t. The Bible clearly teaches that God loves those who are His children, and He “works all things together for good” for us (). So that must mean that the trials and tribulations we go through God allows in our lives are part of the working together of all things for our good. Therefore, for the believer, all trials and tribulations must have a divine purpose.

As in all things, God’s ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son, “ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” ().

This is the goal of the Christian, and everything in life, including the trials and tribulations, is designed to enable us to reach that goal. It is part of the process of sanctification, being set apart for God’s purposes and fitted to live for His glory. The way trials accomplish this is explained in : "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The true believer’s faith will be made sure by the trials we experience so that we can rest in the knowledge that it is real and will last forever.

Trials develop godly character, and that enables us to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” ().

Jesus Christ set the perfect example. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (). These verses reveal aspects of His divine purpose for both Jesus Christ's trials and tribulations and ours. Persevering proves our faith. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me" ().

However, we must be careful never to make excuses for our "trials and tribulations" if they are a result of our own wrongdoing. "By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler" (). God will forgive our sins because the eternal punishment for them has been paid by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. However, we still have to suffer the natural consequences in this life for our sins and bad choices. But God uses even those sufferings to mold and shape us for His purposes and our ultimate good.

Trials and tribulations come with both a purpose and a reward. "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. . . . Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (,).

Through all of life’s trials and tribulations, we have the victory. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ." Although we are in a spiritual battle, Satan has no authority over the believer in Christ. God has given us His Word to guide us, His Holy Spirit to enable us, and the privilege of coming to Him anywhere, at any time, to pray about anything. He has also assured us that no trial will test us beyond our ability to bear it, and “he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” ().

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God’ refers to the divine plan. ‘The implication seems to be that the persecution of believers is to be understood as consistent with God’s plan, not that it is an entrance requirement that believers must meet by virtue of their own conscious choice.’ There is a clear reminder here of the theological context in which the Christian life is to be pursued: the gospel provides a certainty about entering the kingdom of God. Even though it is only occasionally mentioned in Acts (1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31), the kingdom remains the theological framework in which to understand and proclaim Christ. In the present context it specifically refers to the restoration of all things associated with the return of Christ and functions as an equivalent for eternal life.

Final entrance into that kingdom will be through many hardships for those who continue to believe in the face of hostility and opposition. ‘The tribulations through which Christians must pass recall the Jewish apocalyptic theme of the Messianic affliction, the travail pains of the Messiah, which must precede the good time to come, a theme which formed an important starting point for the Christian understanding of the suffering and death of Jesus as well as of the sufferings of Christians themselves.’ Thus, genuine Christian encouragement is properly a blend of theology and exhortation, gospel and challenge.

, “Take care brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhorts one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, that none of you my be hardened by the deceitful ness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

As noted previously, this report of Paul’s ministry in the churches of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch has an important literary function in Luke’s narrative. Persecution has been reported as a regular feature of the ministry of Paul and Barnabas and now the warning about enduring such hardship is implicitly given to Christian readers.

, You, however, have followed my teaching my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

, “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

When Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, this was clearly done to strengthen the believers in their stand for Christ.

The verb cheirotoneo, translated is the word appointed and means to ‘stretch out the hand’ and came to be understood to meaning voting, choosing, and so appointing one to an office. The laying on of hands is conveyed by another expression, , “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”

However, the addition of the words with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust implies some form of ordination to special responsibility and service. Paul was concerned about what would happen to the church and its members after he was gone. , “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciple after them.” These elders in each church help strengthen these precious souls and taught them that only through many tribulations will be enter the kingdom of God.

Through many tribulations...we must never forget what God has done.”

, “Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.”

Verses 24–28 speak to us that after going through Pisidia—‘a wild area where there was probably little opportunity for evangelism’—they came into Pamphylia, which was south of Pisidia. There they preached the word in Perga, apparently for the first time (cf. 13:13 note). Finally, they went down to Attalia (modern Antalya), which was the adjacent port on the Mediterranean coast. From there they sailed back to Antioch in Syria, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. Luke’s language here helps us to understand more of the significance of the commissioning in 13:3, when they were first set apart for work of the Holy Spirit through them.

First, he records that they had been ‘handed over to the grace of God’ for the work which was now completed. This suggests a very specific plan for the first missionary journey. Here the grace of God refers to God’s protective care, the grace of God refer to God’s enabling them through the Holy Spirit for ministry. Secondly, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, suggesting that the whole church had been involved in sending them out, in response to God’s call. Reporting back was a way of encouraging those believers to see how God in his grace had been answering their prayers. Reviewing their experiences, Paul and Barnabas were able to see the hand of God in everything that had happened. In particular, what God had done through them was to bring many to faith, so that churches were planted and patterns of leadership established over a wide area (cf. 15:4, 12). A key aspect of this is described in terms of God opening a door to faith to the Gentiles. Although Luke has highlighted some success in ministry to Jews on this campaign, it is the amazing gift of faith to so many Gentiles that is the focus of this report. Since the implied audience is a predominantly Gentile church in Antioch, where ‘a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord’ (11:21), the ‘door of faith’ image must refer to something new: a deep and extensive impact of the gospel on the Gentile world. With the two expressions all that God had done through them and a door to faith to the Gentiles, Luke prepares us for the debate to follow in the Jerusalem Council regarding the status of Gentiles in the church. ‘The emphasis on “faith” (pistis) not only picks up a major theme of the entire section (see 13:8, 12, 39, 41, 48; 14:1, 9, 22, 23), but prepares for the formal statement concerning faith as the principle of salvation in 15:9, 11.’ Finally, the importance placed on the pastoral care of churches by Paul and Barnabas is once again indicated by mention of their long stay with the disciples at Antioch (‘no little time’). They settled back into the task of nurturing the church until the advent of false teachers made it necessary for them to journey to Jerusalem. You are really being blessing if the pastoral leadership of you church is known by their willingness to nurture and spend time discipling you, teaching you and feeding you through the word of God. Are they concern about your complete understanding of the Scriptures that you might live, live not just on Sundays but live each day because of security that has been obtain in Christ. Praise God for what He has all ready done.Through many tribulations

18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.