I needed to pick up my son in Indiana but an early December storm of great magnitude had settled on Ontario. After checking weather maps carefully I believed I could drive into Michigan, and so with some trepidation I set out west on the 401.

Herod must have felt invincible. He seems to be in complete control of everything. He welcomes the flattery of those who celebrate him as a god. Herod says what he says in order to impress people. The people of Tyre and Sidon, looking to secure food to satisfy their hungry bellies, prostrate themselves before the tyrant and say whatever they need to say to him in order to gain his favour.

This passage preserves for us the account of the beginning of the great missionary movement that has continued to our day. It is a watershed moment in the book of Acts. Within a matter of years, Paul was able to say, “The good news is spreading all over the world with great success” (Colossians 1:6).

At Perga their travel companion and helper, John Mark, left them for reasons unexplained. We know that Paul was hurt by his desertion, because later on he and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement about taking John Mark with them on their second missionary journey (Acts 15:37-39).

Paul is passionate about the gospel he proclaims. He recognizes human failure, but that is background only. Against that backdrop he shows how the grace of God has been moving through people’s failures to accomplish his purposes. As Paul finished his sermon he restates the major events in the life of Jesus, and rehearses the ways that people responded to him.

Paul and Barnabas travelled into the Roman province of Galatia. The church that they start in Iconium is likely among the churches Paul would later address in his letter to the Galatians. They speak so effectively here that significant numbers of people believe their message about Jesus.

I recently purchased a copy of the NIV God’s Justice: The Holy Bible. On the back cover it says, “God’s justice – his plan for ‘setting things right’ – is a foundational principle of the Bible … the backbone of Scripture.”