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We Are Made To Worship
Today is an interesting read because it's the first time we encounter anything like this in the NT so far. When Jesus did miracles, the audience was always thoroughly Jewish and would NEVER worship Him as a god (which of course is incredibly ironic since He is the one TRUE God). The same is true for the most part in Acts so far - when the disciples perform miracles, it is in the presence of mostly Jews. Now the Acts is transitioning to ministry to the Gentiles, we see a MUCH different reaction to Paul and Barnabas.
So why did the people worship them?
"Identification of Paul and Barnabas with Zeus and Hermes (vv. 11–12) is understandable, for “Zeus was the most widely worshipped God in Galatia.… [and] was often linked with other gods. In the territory of Lystra there are carvings and inscriptions which show Zeus accompanied by Hermes.” The frenzied response of the Lystrans may be traced to an ancient legend retold by Ovid (43 B.C.–a.d. 17) in his Metamorphosis. Zeus and Hermes once visited the Phrygian hill country disguised as ordinary men. They were turned away from a thousand homes where they sought lodging, but were finally taken in by an elderly couple into their humble home. The gods turned that house into a temple and destroyed all the houses that had rejected them.
Paul and Barnabas could not understand what was being said by the people since they were shouting “in the Lycaonian language” (v. 11). This accounts for their delayed response to plans to offer sacrifices to them. When they found this out, their response was swift and typically Jewish (v. 14). “Jewish people were required to tear their clothes when they heard blasphemy.” It was an opposite reaction to Herod when he was equated to a god (12:22–23)." [1]
This explains some of the background of why the people thought they were Zeus and Hermes, but I don't think it really gives us a good "why". Why did they respond in worship when they saw these wonders?
Because we are all made to worship.
One of the more famous questions and answers in the Westminster Catechism is "What is the chief end of man?" Meaning "Why are we here? What is the purpose of life?" The answer given is:
"The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
We are made in the image of God for the purpose of worshiping and enjoying Him. It is what we are MADE TO DO. It is our purpose. It is the ultimate "why" of our existence.
The problem? As Romans chapter 1 tells us, everyone knows that there is a God because He reveals Himself in creation, yet we suppress that true to worship created things. In this case, the people have suppressed their knowledge of God and worship other men: Paul and Barnabas. In other cases, they worshiped the sun or the rivers or any number of other things. But of course we, the educated people of today would NEVER be so simple as to do something like that, would we? (it's hard to indicate sarcasm in writing, so please understand that the previous statement is dripping with sarcasm)
Today, we don't (usually) worship snakes and rivers and trees, but things far less impressive like trophies and money and success. Not only has our culture for the most part suppressed the knowledge and worship of God, it seems that most of us have even lost the ability to worship anything outside ourselves. Instead our passions and goals and efforts are all built upon our accomplishments. Make no mistake: we are born to worship, and if we don't worship God we WILL worship something else. As John Calvin wrote: "The human heart is an idol factory."
So what we see here isn't all that unusual. The people saw something amazing and powerful. They responded how all of us are MADE to respond: they worshiped. But the problem is that they were worshiping the wrong thing.
So that's my question for today: are you worshiping the wrong thing? What drives your choices? Toward what are you giving the most effort? What takes up the majority of your time and attention? No matter what you might WANT to say that you are worshiping, the answer to those questions reveal the real answer. You become what you worship, so pay close attention to your life.
We Are Made To Worship
Today is an interesting read because it's the first time we encounter anything like this in the NT so far. When Jesus did miracles, the audience was always thoroughly Jewish and would NEVER worship Him as a god (which of course is incredibly ironic since He is the one TRUE God). The same is true for the most part in Acts so far - when the disciples perform miracles, it is in the presence of mostly Jews. Now the Acts is transitioning to ministry to the Gentiles, we see a MUCH different reaction to Paul and Barnabas.
So why did the people worship them?
"Identification of Paul and Barnabas with Zeus and Hermes (vv. 11–12) is understandable, for “Zeus was the most widely worshipped God in Galatia.… [and] was often linked with other gods. In the territory of Lystra there are carvings and inscriptions which show Zeus accompanied by Hermes.” The frenzied response of the Lystrans may be traced to an ancient legend retold by Ovid (43 B.C.–a.d. 17) in his Metamorphosis. Zeus and Hermes once visited the Phrygian hill country disguised as ordinary men. They were turned away from a thousand homes where they sought lodging, but were finally taken in by an elderly couple into their humble home. The gods turned that house into a temple and destroyed all the houses that had rejected them.
Paul and Barnabas could not understand what was being said by the people since they were shouting “in the Lycaonian language” (v. 11). This accounts for their delayed response to plans to offer sacrifices to them. When they found this out, their response was swift and typically Jewish (v. 14). “Jewish people were required to tear their clothes when they heard blasphemy.” It was an opposite reaction to Herod when he was equated to a god (12:22–23)." [1]
This explains some of the background of why the people thought they were Zeus and Hermes, but I don't think it really gives us a good "why". Why did they respond in worship when they saw these wonders?
Because we are all made to worship.
One of the more famous questions and answers in the Westminster Catechism is "What is the chief end of man?" Meaning "Why are we here? What is the purpose of life?" The answer given is:
"The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
We are made in the image of God for the purpose of worshiping and enjoying Him. It is what we are MADE TO DO. It is our purpose. It is the ultimate "why" of our existence.
The problem? As Romans chapter 1 tells us, everyone knows that there is a God because He reveals Himself in creation, yet we suppress that true to worship created things. In this case, the people have suppressed their knowledge of God and worship other men: Paul and Barnabas. In other cases, they worshiped the sun or the rivers or any number of other things. But of course we, the educated people of today would NEVER be so simple as to do something like that, would we? (it's hard to indicate sarcasm in writing, so please understand that the previous statement is dripping with sarcasm)
Today, we don't (usually) worship snakes and rivers and trees, but things far less impressive like trophies and money and success. Not only has our culture for the most part suppressed the knowledge and worship of God, it seems that most of us have even lost the ability to worship anything outside ourselves. Instead our passions and goals and efforts are all built upon our accomplishments. Make no mistake: we are born to worship, and if we don't worship God we WILL worship something else. As John Calvin wrote: "The human heart is an idol factory."
So what we see here isn't all that unusual. The people saw something amazing and powerful. They responded how all of us are MADE to respond: they worshiped. But the problem is that they were worshiping the wrong thing.
So that's my question for today: are you worshiping the wrong thing? What drives your choices? Toward what are you giving the most effort? What takes up the majority of your time and attention? No matter what you might WANT to say that you are worshiping, the answer to those questions reveal the real answer. You become what you worship, so pay close attention to your life.
[1] Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 398-99.
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