Context:
Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium and preached so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But again the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the crowds and they were chased out of the city. They preached in the surrounding countryside. In Lystra they healed a man who was lame since birth, and the crowd believed Paul and Barnabas were the gods Zeus and Hermes in the flesh. They tried to offer sacrifices to them but Paul and Barnabas shouted back at them the truth about the only living God, barely keeping the crowd contained.
Today's Text Acts 14:19-23
19Then 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. 20But 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.
21They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. 23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (NIV)
taken from www.biblegateway.com
The first time we ever hear about Paul/Saul is in Acts 8:1, when he is watching over the cloaks of those who are stoning Stephen. During that episode, Stephen fell to his knees in prayer and vocally forgave his persecutors. I imagine that scene was heavily imprinted in his mind as each stone hit his body. Do you think he felt that he deserved this punishment? I wonder if he knew that he would live through this or if he was hoping he would die sooner rather than later. Was he able to muster up forgiveness for his tormentors?
Just a few days later he is again preaching the Good News. As he revisits the very city where he was stoned, maybe even before all the cuts and bruises have faded, he tells the believers of Jesus' words that there will be trouble in this world. I'm not able to find any information in my reference books about Paul's statement that "we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." It almost sounds like there is a need for us to be persecuted and complete difficult tasks to accomplish entrance, although there are many passages that convince me that salvation is attained at the moment of repentance/surrender.
I know that entire religions have been formed to address passages like this, and I won't pretend to have theological wisdom for this argument. I do know that we in America are pretty clueless about the realities of persecution the folks suffered in the early days of the church. I've never been purposely hit with stones for what I believe, have you? Regardless, Paul was a very credible witness. I think I would have gone far out of my way to avoid revisiting a city that had caused so much physical pain and I would have let someone else strengthen the members of that church. How about you?
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