Acts 14:19

Acts 14:19. And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch. With rare exceptions, the Jews stirred up every persecution suffered by Paul. The stubborn jealousy of the race felt that in Paul they had to fear one whose life's work was the breaking down the wall of partition which separated the Hebrew race from the rest of the world. The arrival of these enemies of Paul was no accidental circumstance; the news of the success of the apostles in Lystra had reached Iconium and Antioch in Pisidia, and they came to the scene of his successes to thwart him, and, if possible, to compass his destruction.

Who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul. The Lycaonians, we know, were proverbially fickle and faithless. It has been well said, ‘How fickle the world is! they first bring garlands, then stones. Every generation ultimately stones its own gods; the only difference is found in the manner in which the stones are cast.' This ‘stoning' shows that Jews at least prompted the cruel, murderous outrage. Stoning was peculiarly a Jewish punishment. The terrible experience at Lystra is alluded to by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:25, possibly also in Galatians 6:17, where he speaks of the marks of the Lord Jesus borne in his body.