They
passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
Acts 14:24-26
Acts 14 [20.] But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the Good News to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom. When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
Acts 14 [24.] They passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled. When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations. They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.
Acts 15 [1.] Some men came down from Judea and taught the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can’t be saved.” Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. They, being sent on their way by the assembly, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all the brothers. When they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them.
Meaning:
Paul and Barnabas had retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, strengthening the disciples and appointing elders in every assembly (Acts 14:21-23). These verses describe the last stage of the first missionary journey, the return to the church in Syrian Antioch that had sent them out.
- “They passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia”
The route took them back down from the highlands of Pisidia to the coastal plain of Pamphylia, retracing in reverse the road they had taken after leaving Cyprus (Acts 13:13-14). Every step was familiar, and every city held believers who now had reason to remember the visitors who had brought them the Good News.
- “When they had spoken the word in Perga”
On the outward journey Luke records no preaching in Perga; it was there that John Mark left them, and they “passed on” to Antioch of Pisidia. Some suggest that Paul was unwell at the time, since he later told the Galatians, “because of weakness of the flesh I preached the Good News to you the first time” (Galatians 4:13). Whatever the reason, this time they did not pass Perga by. A city that had been missed on the way out received the word on the way home.
- “They went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch”
Attalia, today’s Antalya, was the main harbor of the region. From there they sailed back to Antioch in Syria, the city from which their journey had begun (Acts 13:1-4). Luke mentions no stop in Cyprus this time; the mission was complete.
- “From where they had been committed to the grace of God”
When the leaders at Antioch laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out, they were entrusting them to God’s grace. That grace had carried them through danger, opposition, sickness and stoning, and it had brought them safely home. The same phrase describes Paul’s next departure, when he went out “being commended by the brothers to the grace of God” (Acts 15:40). Paul himself later entrusted the elders of Ephesus “to God, and to the word of his grace” (Acts 20:32).
- “For the work which they had fulfilled”
These words look back to the Holy Spirit’s call: “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). The work the Spirit had given was now completed. There is an echo of Jesus’ words to the Father, “I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do” (John 17:4), and of Paul’s own words near the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). The journey had produced churches in at least four cities of southern Asia Minor. Many scholars think these are the “assemblies of Galatia” to whom Paul later wrote (Galatians 1:2), while others place those churches further north; both views have support. On arrival they gathered the assembly and reported all that God had done (Acts 14:27).
The Significance of Acts 14:24-26
- Finishing the task God gives
Barnabas and Paul did not simply start a work; they completed it, including the follow-up that made the new churches secure. God values faithfulness to the end.
- Sustained by grace
The missionaries had been entrusted to God’s grace, and that grace proved sufficient. Those who serve God today can rely on the same grace for every stage of their work.
- Accountability to the sending church
The apostles returned to the church that had sent them. Christian service flourishes within a community that prays, sends and welcomes back.
Cross-References:
Acts 13:2: "Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them." The work now fulfilled.
Acts 15:40: "but Paul chose Silas, and went out, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God." The same commendation for the next journey.
2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith." Paul’s life of finishing the work.
1 Corinthians 3:6: "I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase." The work was God’s from first to last.
Conclusion: Paul and Barnabas came back down through Pisidia and Pamphylia, preached in Perga, and sailed from Attalia to Antioch in Syria. They returned to the church that had entrusted them to the grace of God, having fulfilled the work to which the Holy Spirit had called them. The first missionary journey ended as it began, in dependence on God’s grace.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible