We usually hear success stories from missionaries; the happy ending stories are more fun for them to tell, and they are more likely to raise money for the cause. Of course, missionaries don't always meet success. This story from Paul's first missionary journey is all about misunderstanding and persecution.

In a city called Lystra, Paul and Barnabas happened upon a man who was lame from birth, and he was very interested in Paul's message. While he never asked Paul for healing, the text says that Paul saw that he had the faith to be healed. So Paul called out to him, "Stand up on your feet!" And the man began to walk.

The unforeseen problem was that the deeply pagan crowd badly misunderstood what had just happened. People began to shout, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" They actually began to worship Paul and Barnabas and prepared to offer sacrifices to them.

Nothing could have been more distressing to these good Jews. The pillar of their faith was belief in the one true God and complete rejection of idolatry. And here they themselves were being worshiped as gods!

It's fascinating to see how Paul responded to this deep misunderstanding. He gave a speech in which he opposed all superstitious notions about God and presented God as the one Creator of everything. He spoke of God as the Maker of heaven and earth who alone should be worshiped. He proclaimed God's kindness in providing food and desiring to fill their hearts with joy. But to this Gentile group Paul said nothing about Jesus, the Messiah. Because they had no background in the Scriptures, the story of the sacrificed Christ would have made no sense to them.

Paul and Barnabas likely spent some time in Lystra, because in verse 22 Luke talks about their returning and strengthening the disciples there. We also know that Timothy and his mother lived there (16:1-2). But the main point here is the opposition to their work.

Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium to contradict what Paul and Barnabas were saying. Luke says they "won the crowd over." Then the very people who before had wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods began to stone Paul. They dragged him out of the city and left him for dead.

Why did the crowd become so violent when the Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived? Perhaps they felt foolish about the earlier incident in which they had thought the missionaries were gods. So it may have been easy for the visiting Jews to whip up strong feelings against Paul. Crowds are easily swayed, especially violent crowds.

Imagine those few disciples gathering around Paul, thinking he was dead. There is no mention of a prayer service or any action on the part of the disciples. It simply says that Paul got up and went back into the city, and the next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. Luke tells us the story as though this were an everyday event for the missionaries. And perhaps it was.

A while later, returning to Lystra, Paul strengthened and encouraged the disciples, saying, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (14:22). What's encouraging about that? In God's kingdom hardships and troubles are not necessarily signs of failure, but of success.