Based on Acts 14:1-23 (New King James Version)
“Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. And they were preaching the gospel there. And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, ‘Stand up straight on your feet!’ And he leaped and walked. Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!’ And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.’ And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’ So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.’
Marcus Tullius Cicero said: “The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.” If we go by what Cicero said, there wasn’t a whole lot of wisdom found in the public that was present in our story today. What was the problem? How could there be so many different reactions, changes in feelings, and apparent misunderstandings? At least it doesn’t seem like it was a language problem. Then, what was it? The big problem was, and still is today is the disposition of man. Man’s disposition is guided by something that only belongs to him. Within the great spectrum of God’s power and dominion, in which everything God has established is subject to the great cosmic design, there exists a measure of freedom to which many refer to as free will. Free will is under the reign of man’s thoughts and reasoning. God made people with the capacity to think, to feel, to be able to interpret what they desire to interpret or how to interpret it. Unfortunately, this reasoning is many times guided by the lust or affinity to sin that each person possesses inside. Instead of listening to their soul’s desperate desire to be redeemed from the punishment of sin, they give into the evil of their thoughts and the sin within their members. In other words, they are guided by the desire to satisfy the evil intentions contained within them, those which can only be entertained temporarily through the five senses.
We can see the intentions of the different groups involved in the story in this manner. There were Jews that just did not want to believe, no matter what the apostles would do. There was a deep envy or anger which extended from those that were instrumental in the death of the Lord (even though we’re all responsible, but these in particular envied Christ), and their evil was transmitted in the same manner to others like themselves. There were other people that were consumed with idolatry and other vain things involved with that. Within the idolatry was the exploration of pleasure, including deviated sexual pleasures and with substances. Many of the rituals consisted of orgies, drunkenness, exploring with stupefying substances, gluttony, excess, etc. And well, between the moral and spiritual deviance, the envy and evil of the Jews, everything ended up with: from worshipping them like gods, to killing Paul (it was a very mercurial multitude), who was resurrected in this occasion. And in the minority were a select few that were able to understand what Paul and Barnabas were preaching, and they were not only able to believe in Christ, but some were also healed (like the crippled man, where the problem started per se).
The same problem exists today. There is a great spiritual block because there are many people who have the disposition of their heart focused on evil, in fulfilling their wrongful desires, and in rebelling against God. We see this clarification in the Scriptures: “And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’” Matthew 13:10-15. In the end, there are many folks that don’t have a language problem, or an understanding problem, or lack the ability to change; but rather, their hearts are dulled in their sin, with very little disposition to listen to the reasoning of the Almighty. And with this, we understand that although God is love, He also has a limit with constant rebellion. But, God continues to call to repentance because He desires good for man, and not eternal punishment.
Today’s question is: Where is the disposition of your heart, on God or on something else? Lord bless! John