The Mythical and the Truth

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE MYTHICAL AND THE TRUTH

Acts 14:11-20

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 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. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 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." 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

NIV

Why would men want to believe in that which is not true, rather than consider the truth of God? Because Paul and Barnabas were filled with the Spirit and empowered to perform miraculous signs and wonders, the townspeople thought they were two of the mythical Greek gods. Because Zeus and Hermes have never been seen by anyone, as they are mythical, not real, people believed that when they saw what Paul and Barnabas did, it was an easy leap to believe their gods were real. Paul and Barnabas would have nothing to do with them, believing them to be gods, so they tore their garments in an effort to prove they were just men, like everyone else. Here is the central truth of this narrative in Lystra. The good news is meant to turn people from worthless things to the living God. How can people deny that the rain comes from the Living God? How can people deny that all the food we have to eat comes from the hand of God, for he spoke all plants into existence and all the livestock. Yet they would rather believe in false gods that have no ears to hear, eyes to see, or a mouth to speak. But now the people of Lystra believed they had two of them when they saw the crippled man walk. We wonder if even believers can be deceived by falsehoods. Yet that is the case when so many listen to those silver-tongued purveyors of deception who tickle the ears and hearts with falsehoods, that God wants them to be wealthy, and to live in material abundance. Not that he wants us to be poor and live without any material things. But life should not be about satisfying ourselves or living a self-oriented life. Life is about loving the Lord with our whole self, our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We should be living a God-centered life because we see the evidence of his majestic power and authority all around us. The whole earth and all that is in it testify to God being the creator and the giver of life. We can see that others who came to Lystra, Jews who were completely opposed to the truth of God, were stuck in their own form of religion, which came to turn the people who first wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas, now wanted to stone them.  Why would men rather believe in men than God? If we are honest with ourselves, we understand that all people can lie, but God never lies; he tells only the truth, for he is the truth. There is the mythical, then there is truth.