14:1-2 Iconium was a Greek city-state in the geographic region of Phrygia.
". . . while Rome chose Antioch of Pisidia and Lystra as bastions of its authority in the area, Iconium remained largely Greek in temper and somewhat resistant to Roman influence, though Hadrian later made it a Roman colony."573
Iconium was, ". . . a garden spot, situated in the midst of orchards and farms, but surrounded by deserts. . . . Iconium, too, owed its bustling business activity to its location on the main trade route connecting Ephesus with Syria and the Mesopotamian world, as well as its orchard industries and farm produce."574
In Iconium Paul and Barnabas followed the same method of evangelizing that they had used in Antioch (13:14). They visited the synagogue first. They also experienced the same results: many conversions among both Jews and Gentiles but also rejection by some of the Jews (cf. 13:43). These unbelieving Jews stirred up unbelieving Gentiles who joined them in opposing the missionaries (13:50).
14:3 Because God was saving many people, the missionaries stayed on in Iconium "a long time"regardless of opposition that evidently increased gradually. They testified boldly (cf. 13:46) and relied on the Lord Jesus for their success. The phrase "the word of His grace"(v. 3) describes the gospel message stressing the prominence of God's grace in it (cf. 20:24-32). They did many miracles there too thus confirming their message (cf. 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:6, 13; 15:12; Gal. 3:5, 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4).
". . . the couplet miraculous signs and wonders' places the ministry of Paul and Barnabas directly in line with that of Jesus (cf. 2:22) and the early church (cf. 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36) in fulfillment of prophecy (cf. 2:19)--as it does also in 15:12. Later when writing his Galatian converts (assuming a South Galatian' origin for the letter), Paul appeals to these mighty works performed by the Spirit as evidence that the gospel as he preached it and they received it was fully approved by God (cf. Gal 3:4-5)."575
14:4 The "apostles"were Paul and Barnabas. Luke used the word "apostle"in a technical sense to describe the Twelve apostles plus Paul in Acts. He also used it less frequently in a non-technical sense to describe any believer sent out into the world with the salvation message (e.g., v. 14; cf. Rom. 16:7; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25). There were only 13 men with the officeof apostleship, but there were many others who, with more or less gift, did the workof an apostle. Similarly there were some with the prophetic office, but many more with prophetic ministries.576
14:5-7 "The schematic description of the mission in Iconium follows the pattern of the mission in Jerusalem more closely than the pattern of the mission in Antioch of Pisidia."577
The Gentiles and the Jewish rulers took the initiative to persecute the evangelists. The attempt to stone them appears to have been an act of mob violence rather than a formal Jewish attempt at execution (cf. 7:58-59).
"It would have required a regular Hebrew court to sanction it [a legal stoning], and it would never have been tolerated in a Roman colony."578
Consequently Paul and Barnabas moved south into the geographical region of Lycaonia, which was also in the Roman province of Galatia. Lycaonia means "land of the wolf."This became the next area for their ministry. They left one political area to start afresh in another.
"Luke's accuracy was once severely challenged on this point because abundant records exist showing that Iconium was also a Lycaonian city, and thus no border would have been crossed between Iconium and Lystra. It was careful study of this matter which changed the British scholar William Ramsay into a strong defender of Luke's accuracy when he discovered that Iconium was Lycaonian earlier and again later, but that Luke's statement was accurate at theperiod when Paul visited Lycaonia; that it was accurate at no other time except between 37 and 72 A.D.'"579
