“If I could just see a miracle, I’d believe in Jesus.” If that thought has ever crossed your mind, take a closer look at today’s passage. For in two different towns, signs and wonders didn’t make believers out of everyone – in fact, for many people they had the opposite effect.

When Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium, they followed their usual pattern, going into the synagogue and telling the people that Jesus was the Messiah for whom the Jews had been waiting for so many years (14:1). But everyone didn’t believe what they said. And even when God “bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands” (14:3) many of the people still refused to believe them. In fact, some of the people planned to stone them to death, so they had to flee to neighboring towns.

But they didn’t leave their problems behind them. In Lystra, Paul met a man who had been lame from birth. When Paul saw “that he had faith to be made well,” (14:9) Paul told the lame man to stand up – and he did! But once again, instead of this miracle convincing everyone that what Paul and Barnabas said about Jesus was true, many of the people tried to fit this miracle into their already existing belief system – that’s why they called Barnabas Zeus and they called Paul Hermes, and prepared to make sacrifices to them (14:12-13).

No, the sad truth is that the people of Iconium and Lystra saw the power of God with their own eyes, but many of them still rejected Jesus and continued to worship the idols they had made for themselves. And many people have the same problem today, attributing healings or deliverances to luck or fate instead of to God’s providence, refusing to accept the claims of Christ no matter how plainly and sincerely they are presented.

So, even though we may not see miracles or be able to perform them ourselves, let’s continue to believe and proclaim the good news of Jesus (14:7). For God is able to accomplish His will and bring many people to Himself – in His way and in His time.

Acts 14:1-13 (ESV)

Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,
6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country,
7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.
8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.
9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.
11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.