May 13, 2007 Acts 14:8‑18

In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and said with a loud voice, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 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. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are preaching the Gospel, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and 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." Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

Several years ago a movie came out by the name of Bruce Almighty. It featured Jim Carrey - a struggling news man who was complaining to God about everything that was going wrong in his life. In return, God became so sick of his complaining that He endowed Jim Carrey - called “Bruce” - with almighty powers to see what it was like to be God. Although the story was sacrilegious in some aspects and had false doctrine laced through it - it played to man’s fantasy that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. “If only I could be like God! If only I could have the powers of God!” But it only happens in our dreams and in Hollywood.

Here’s a real story in today’s text that is neither a dream nor a fabrication of Hollywood. The Apostle Paul was given powers from God to do Godlike things. The book of Acts records several different miracles that God performed through him. He was able to blind a sorcerer by the name of Elymas in a powerful judgment on him. Just earlier in this chapter Luke also mentions that Paul and Barnabas were performing a variety of signs and wonders to confirm their message. Usually this had to do with healing people and driving demons out. As a result of this a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed that Jesus was the promised Christ. This is what God wanted.

But here in Lystra, something completely unexpected happened. The people of Lystra thought that Paul was Zeus and Barnabas was Hermes - both Greek gods that they had been brought up to believe in. Before Paul and Barnabas knew it they had bulls and wreaths being brought to the city gates to be sacrificed to them. How would you respond to such a thing? Where would you begin? Maybe this happens more regularly with you, but it’s not every day that someone mistakes me for Zeus or Hermes. It seems rather bizarre to have a whole town come rushing to Paul and Barnabas and all of the sudden want to start offering bulls to them. Yet it’s not as strange as it may seem.

Paul Almighty? It’s Not as Strange as it Sounds

I. Most humans have looked for gods on earth

Throughout the history of mankind - in their attempt to picture what “God” would look like in their minds - man has come up with a variety of concepts. In the far east it would appear that their god is an overweight Chinese looking guy. So they put statues of this “Buddha” all over the country for people to offer incense at. In Egypt their gods had human bodies with dog and eagle heads. In India people worship cows and let them wander wherever they want to - thinking that they are somehow divine. So it’s not really peculiar to the Greek culture to believe that a god could come in human form. These Romans seem to have been brought up with Greek folklore of all sorts of gods interacting with men and actively participating in different ways here on earth. The stories are actually quite interesting to read as they make these gods both jealous and weak and vengeful with each other - with man sitting below bearing the brunt of their - that’s the gods - dealings. Zeus was the chief god who controlled the weather. He had a number of wives - and Hermes was one of his god children that communicated with the people on behalf of the gods. In these stories they were brought up on these gods came and messed with men all the time. It is even said that they worshiped the emperors as some sort of gods. Just earlier in Acts the people also accredited Herod with being a god as well. Either way, the point I’m trying to make is that gods appearing on earth as men was not unique to this culture.

If we think about our Bible history - God coming in human form is not so strangee either. In Judges chapter 13, the angel of the LORD appears to Manoah and his wife - predicting the birth of Samson. She very clearly recognizes him as a man and calls him a man - though she somehow recognizes that He is more than a man as well. When the “man” then ascends into heaven in a flame - both Manoah and his wife recognized it was the LORD who had taken on flesh and visited them. In the same way, while Abraham was sitting outside of his tent he saw three “men” approach him. Yet chapter 18:1 of Genesis clearly says that the LORD visited Abraham. Again, God was appearing to Abraham in human form. God coming in human form is not strange to Bible history.

Doesn’t God’s Word also culminate around this very concept? Isn’t that what the Old Testament pointed forward to?

• Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;

• Isaiah 7:14 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

• Isaiah 53:2‑3 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, . . . . He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Our whole religion - our whole faith - is based on this concept of God becoming man - a seemingly normal man - though born of a virgin - and intervening in human history to change it. We believe that it was God who walked and talked and dwelt in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. We even put a cross up in the front of the church and believe that God was hanging there with the sins of the world on His shoulders. We believe that this same God and man died and was buried in the ground. Although it initially sounds very strange and we may laugh at people of Lystra thinking that Paul and Barnabas were gods - through the eyes of faith in the Scriptures this concept should not be strange to us at all. If anything - it should be normal.

II. The response of the people of Lystra is normal

Thinking that Paul and Barnabas were indeed Zeus and Hermes, they were about to make sacrifices of bulls to them. Again, this concept seems rather strange to us. We don’t have sacrificial bulls down at 21^st and Fairlawn waiting to be slaughtered anytime soon. The whole concept of slaughtering animals to the gods - it again seems strange at first sight. Yet we should neither laugh at such a concept nor poke fun of the people of Lystra for responding as they do.

Why not? Look at your Old Testament. The Old Testament was full of sacrifices that our God demanded of His people - the Israelites. Every morning and every evening they would slaughter a lamb and burn it whole on the altar at the temple in Jerusalem. Once a year every Israelite family would also slaughter a lamb and eat its meat. Throughout the Old Testament the heathen religions are mentioned for even having sacrifices of their own children.

The whole concept behind these sacrifices was to appease either the true God or the heathen gods. In the Old Testament - it carried the concept of sin on the part of man and holiness on the part of God. The sacrifices were demanded as a reminder to the people of their own sinfulness and their need to appease God’s wrath. They pointed forward to a greater sacrifice to come. Among the heathens the sacrifices were made to try and get special favors from their gods - to get their attention or arouse their sympathy at the death of their children. When you venture to foreign countries you can still see people at least burning incense to their gods if nothing else - to try and get their attention. So again - should this concept of bringing sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas really be as strange as it seems?

If you actually would stop to think about it - it should somewhat embarrass us. At least the people were looking for a god - and at least they responded respectfully and in awe to those whom they thought were gods. It seems that we have become so secularized and humanized in our thinking that none of us would ever bow down to or offer anything to anyone - even if they came floating in from heaven with an angel’s wings. Our society wouldn’t know divine if it hit them in the mouth. Even if someone did do a miraculous healing of someone who had been lame from birth - the skeptics would pass it off as a hoax anyway. We are born and bred skeptics.

Let’s think about our version of religion as well. Within the confines of religion we are being born and bred to believe that God - the true God - doesn’t really get angry with anyone. America’s religion has most people convinced that everyone goes to heaven - that there is no sin - that no sacrifices need to be made to a holy God in the heavens - whom they all will have to answer to on Judgment Day. The roles are reversed. People are begged and pleaded with to come to church - being promised to be entertained and catered to in order to stay and come back. It is almost like we are treating the people in the pew as the gods instead of vice versa. Americans seem to forget that it was Jesus who said to the people in Luke 12:4‑5 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

What is worse is that within our secular progressive mind set we are brought up to think that we are gods within ourselves - that our future is in our own hands. With all of our medical and electronic advances we are brought up to think that we don’t need God - that we can fix any problem and do anything we put our minds to - we don’t think we need anyone or anything from heaven. What is more laughable and more damnable? The fact that the people of Lystra thought that Paul and Barnabas needed sacrifices made to them; or the fact that we act as if sacrifices should be made to us?

III. The Living God of kindness is the only thing that is “strange”

Since Paul and Barnabas did not understand what the people of Lystra were saying, they were surprised to find out they were going to offer them sacrifices as gods. Quickly they responded. Luke says that they tore their clothes in a sign of shock and sorrow and literally jumped into the middle of the crowd to stop what they were doing. With a stern and loving message, he tried his best to bring them to repentance.

"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are preaching the Gospel, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and 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."

Notice what Paul reminded the people of Lystra of - what he wanted them to focus on. Instead of focusing on him and Barnabas, he wanted them to listen to the message they were preaching - the Gospel.

If you really think about it, the only thing that was really strange in this story - at least in the ears of the people of Lystra - was the Gospel. The Gospel is strange because it is such good news - it seems too good to be true. The good news of the Gospel is that the God of the heavens already became a man. It was that this God made man also made a sacrifice for the sins of the world on the cross. We don’t have to bring any bulls to God. We don’t have to make any sacrifices to appease His wrath - or suffer any pain. All of this is worthless in God’s sight - because God sent His one and only Son - true God yet true man - to pay for our sins. What other sacrifice could offset the sins of the world? What other blood could make such a payment than the blood of God?

The even better news is that this God who died on the cross didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead and is now ruling in the heavens. This living God worked through Paul to raise this lame man to walk on His feet. This living God still directs the waters to flow on the earth so that it produces it’s crops in due season. The living God is much greater than Zeus or Hermes or all Greek gods put together. He provides forgiveness of sins, plenty of food and drink, and eternal life.

It is a great and might wonder this strange kind of God we have - who would hide Himself under flesh and blood - be nailed to a cross and die - for the sins of a rebellious world! It is a strange kind of God who would offer all of this to us free of charge - through simple repentance and faith in Jesus. It is a strange kind of God who would generously give us plenty of food and fill our hearts with joy - even though we don’t earn or deserve it. It is a strange kind of God who would then choose to come into our hearts and dwell in sinful humans - making His home with us and calling us His own through baptism. It is a strange kind of God who would choose to work through sinful men and allow them to do miracles and proclaim His name! It is a strange kind of God who would do all of this from the sheer mercy and generosity of His heart. Yet this is the God that reveals Himself in the Bible - who lovingly invites us to turn to Him. This is the God that we willingly sacrifice our time on Sunday mornings to. This is the God that we sing to and give our offerings to - purely out of thanks. We love how strange He is to us. We love that fact that He makes all the sacrifices we need for salvation. We love how this Stranger comes to us and makes His home with us.

How did Paul fare with this strange good news to the people of Lystra? Luke says, “Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.” In their hearts they dearly wanted Paul and Barnabas to be gods. They wanted gods to be men they could touch and see and make sacrifices to. It wasn’t too much later that these same people - under the direction of some neighboring Jews - were willing to honor them as gods ended up nearly stoning Paul to death.

Maybe you have been there - disappointed and let down because your hopes and your gods were revealed to only be mere men. The sports heros whose cards you collected end up being caught with steroids. The pastor that you thought was unflappable ended up weak. The parents that you thought would always protect you end up dying. The spouse that you worshiped because of his or her beauty and charm ended up being a frog. The very bodies that you trained to be strong and full of life become old and baggy. The sacrifices that you tried to make ended up going unrecognized or rejected. The gods that you wanted to make you happy didn’t give you everything you wanted. Life is full of disappointment. How do you respond?

No matter how much you complain, God is not going to change the way He works or appears. He won’t come walking into town anytime soon to have some bulls sacrificed to Him. Instead of getting angry at God about this as the people of Lystra did - listen to Paul’s strange message. Look to the One who already took on flesh and walked among us. Believe in the only sacrifice that ever had to be made. Have faith in the only One who gives rain and plenty of food. Trust in the Only One who can save you on Judgment Day - and that is our Living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He may not be what you expected. He may seem strange to your wants and desires. But He is the God who gives you food and drink - who feeds you with His body and blood - who wipes away your sins - who dwells with you - and who will save you on Judgment Day. In the strange way of faith, isn’t this Almighty enough? Amen.