¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹²And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ¹⁶In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; ¹⁷and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Lesser men would have succumbed to the ego-stroking experience of being worshiped as gods. Emperors of Rome were treated this way upon their death, and sometimes they would even assume that status before death. It takes great humility to resist such adulation as Barnabas and Paul received after healing the lame man. Yet, it was not so much humility as it was their rock-solid loyalty to the truth. Their reaction was instantaneous and passionate to the max. This was no false humility!

While the book of Acts is moving toward focusing on Paul’s ministry, Barnabas was not fading into insignificance. The crowds saw him as Zeus, the king of the gods, incarnated as the man Barnabas. Paul was seen as Hermes incarnate, and thus the spokesman of the gods. Obviously, they saw Barnabas as the leader of the two, but Luke’s account shows both rushing into the crowd to stop their actions toward them. This must have been quite the sight, the two of them turning from a positive message to a corrective action, and with such intensity.

Barnabas and Paul are both simply men, but they are spokesmen for the one and only true God, the creator God of the universe. He is not a Greek god nor a Roman god. He is not limited to one nation or one generation. He is not an idol made of wood or metal, of human imagination and creation. While God allowed people to worship false deities, going away from the true God, He did not hide Himself (see Rom. 1:18–21). He is the One behind all the good blessings and satisfactions of the earth (James 1:17). Barnabas and Paul well understood God’s proclamation, “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images” (Isa. 42:8).

Lord, may I never steal Your glory and praise. I am only Your servant.