“But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.”
Acts 14:20 (NLT)
In Acts 14, Paul calls out to the man who had the faith to be healed, and the man jumps up to his feet and begins walking. But when the crowd sees evidence of the good news that Barnabas and Paul preached, they do not trust in the God Paul is preaching about. They treat Paul and Barnabas like they are gods themselves, and they praise the man of God instead of the God behind the man of God.
Paul and Barnabas do not immediately understand what is happening, because the people are speaking in their local dialect. But when they figure it out, these apostles tear their clothes. They shout in despair, “Guys, why are you doing this? We are just human beings like you. We do not have the power to heal people. God does.” But even while they are yelling and tearing their clothes, the apostles are barely able to keep the people from making sacrifices to them.
Unfortunately, as this crowd is gathered and there is confusion, some of the Jews who had opposed the gospel in Antioch and Iconium take advantage of the situation. They convince the crowd to turn on Paul and Barnabas, these men they were just trying to worship. The crowd stones Paul and drags him out of town because they think he is dead. Then the next verse begins with one of the best words in the Bible: But. As the believers gather around Paul, he gets up, goes back into town, and then the next day he leaves with Barnabas for Derbe.
I believe Paul was dead, and I trust these believers had faith in the name of Jesus. They gathered around him because they’re in a circle praying over Paul. Then Paul was raised back to life. The miracle of healing Paul gave away, he received back, and God brought it back to him in excess of what he gave. The crippled man had one area of his body restored but Paul had all of his body healed by God. Paul got a more than enough miracle. You can experience more than enough too. If trials come, no matter how big or small, we can return to our assignment for the Lord as well. Have faith in Jesus today. Let believers circle around you in the middle of whatever you are going through, put Christ at the center, and then get up in faith.