12 EKOBEE

‘Susu E’agaloo Kɔā Ue Tɛ̄maloo Ekpo Jɛhova’

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Pɔɔl le Banabas bee kumalookɛ̄, su mɛm siātam, sa ɛrɛ e’agaloo

Dɛɛa nyɔɔ Doonu 14:1-28

1, 2. What series of events unfolds while Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra?

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3. What questions will we consider in this chapter?

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“Gbɛnɛkpo Nɛɛ . . . Bee Yira” (Doonu 14:1-7)

4, 5. Why did Paul and Barnabas travel to Iconium, and what happened there?

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ICONIUM—CITY OF THE PHRYGIANS

Iconium was located on a high, well-watered, and fertile plateau. The city stood at a crossroads on an important trade route linking Syria with Rome, Greece, and the Roman province of Asia.

The local religion in Iconium was worship of the Phrygian fertility goddess Cybele, which included elements adopted from Greek worship during the Hellenistic period. The city came under Roman influence in 65 B.C.E., and in the first century C.E., it was a large and prosperous center of trade and agriculture. Although Iconium was home to an influential Jewish population, the city seems to have retained its Hellenistic character. The Acts account, in fact, refers to resident Jews and to “Greeks.”—Acts 14:1.

Iconium lay on the border between the Galatian regions of Lycaonia and Phrygia. Certain ancient writers, including Cicero and Strabo, called Iconium a city of Lycaonia, and from a geographic standpoint, the city did belong to that region. The Acts account, however, distinguishes Iconium from Lycaonia, where “the Lycaonian language” was spoken. (Acts 14:1-6, 11) For this reason, critics argued that the book of Acts was inaccurate. In 1910, though, archaeologists found inscriptions in the city indicating that Phrygian was indeed the language used in Iconium for two centuries following the visit of Paul and Barnabas. Hence, the writer of Acts was correct in distinguishing Iconium from the cities of Lycaonia.

6. Why were Paul and Barnabas effective teachers, and how can we imitate them?

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7. (a) The good news produces what effects? (b) If your family is divided because of your obedience to the good news, what should you remember?

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8. Why did Paul and Barnabas leave Iconium, and what lesson do we learn from their example?

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“Kiiya . . . Pii Bari A Le Dum” (Doonu 14:8-19)

9, 10. Where was Lystra located, and what do we know about its inhabitants?

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LYSTRA AND THE CULT OF ZEUS AND HERMES

Lystra was located in a secluded valley off the main highways. Caesar Augustus designated the city a Roman colony, naming it Julia Felix Gemina Lustra. Its garrison was to defend the province of Galatia from local mountain tribes. The city was thus administered according to traditional Roman civic organization, with its officials bearing Latin titles. Even so, Lystra retained much of its local character. It remained more Lycaonian than Roman, and indeed, the Lystran protagonists in the Acts account spoke the Lycaonian language.

Among the archaeological finds in the vicinity of ancient Lystra are inscriptions referring to “priests of Zeus” and a statue of the god Hermes. An altar dedicated to Zeus and Hermes has also been discovered in that area.

A legend recorded by the Roman poet Ovid (43 B.C.E. to 17 C.E.) provides further background for the Acts account. According to Ovid, Jupiter and Mercury, the Roman counterparts of the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes, visited the hill country of Phrygia disguised as mortal men. They sought hospitality in a thousand homes, but everyone turned them away. Only an elderly couple, named Philemon and Baucis, welcomed them into their humble cottage. As a result, Zeus and Hermes transformed that home into a temple of marble and gold, made the elderly couple its priest and priestess, and destroyed the homes of those who had refused them lodging. “If the people of Lystra remembered such a legend when they saw Paul and Barnabas heal the lame man,” says The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, “it is not surprising that they would want to welcome them with sacrifices.”

“Turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth.”—Acts 14:15

11-13. (a) What did Paul and Barnabas say to the inhabitants of Lystra? (b) What is one lesson that we can learn from the statements made by Paul and Barnabas?

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14-16. What second and third lessons can we learn from what Paul and Barnabas said to the inhabitants of Lystra?

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