Surely nothing but the fervor of Christian conviction can explain the fact that after the two apostles, Paul and Barnabas, had been driven away from the synagogue at Antioch and had barely escaped with their lives in the bitter persecution that followed, we next hear of them attending the synagogue in the town of Iconium, still seeking to gain the ear of the Jews. (See Acts 13:50–52; 14:1.)
Iconium, a very ancient city, lay within the district of Lycaonia, some eighty miles southeast of Antioch, and the apostles seem to have reached there in the fall of the year 47 A.D. There their mission was at first very successful, just as it had been when they began to preach at Antioch, and "a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed." But as usual, the apostles' teaching in the synagogue had a double effect. It converted many of those who heard it but increased the antagonism of others among the Jews, who not only opposed Paul themselves but sought to arouse against him the animosity of the Gentiles. In spite of this, we read that the apostles remained in the city for a "long time," thought to be anywhere from a month or two to a year. They continued preaching and carrying on the healing work implied in the statement that they did "signs and wonders" (v. 3)—words repeatedly employed in the New Testament to describe, among other things, the healing of physical disease.
But during this period the Jews also continued to be active, stirring up strife against the apostles until the whole city was divided in the discussion concerning the new faith. The Jewish authorities took advantage of this tense situation to enlist the aid of the Gentiles in an assault against Paul and Barnabas, but the apostles heard of the conspiracy in the nick of time and succeeded in escaping from the city. (See v v. 4–6.)
