Day 249: Acts 14:23–28

When they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed (v. 23).

I hope we have shared some of the strength and encouragement Paul and Barnabas gave to the believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. Those new converts saw living examples of perseverance through suffering. Paul and Barnabas departed from each city under difficult circumstances. They went out of their way to return so they could say, “We’re OK! We’ve survived! And we’re still believing and serving!” In seeing the joy and commitment of God’s suffering servants, they knew they could survive too.

The time came, however, for Paul and Barnabas to leave. But they did something to ensure an ongoing strengthening and encouraging of their new disciples.

Acts 14:23 tells us they appointed elders in each church. The Greek word is presbuteros, which means “older, a senior.” The Holman Bible Dictionary tells us the “elders in the Pauline churches were probably spiritual leaders and ministers, not simply a governing council.”58 Not coincidentally, Paul and Barnabas wanted to leave the new believers with ongoing strength and encouragement, so they carefully appointed elders who were not only spiritually mature but also (if I may say so gently)—old! However, older men were not the only ones charged with responsibility.

In Titus 2:3–6, Paul also charged older women, younger women, and younger men to faithful service. Sounds to me like God values the wisdom and life experience of older men and women. It also sounds to me like He chooses to use people of every age whose hearts are turned to Him.

Life is difficult. The converts in Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch were surely strengthened and encouraged as they saw living examples of people who were surviving hardships with victory and joy. Listening to Paul and Barnabas testify must have greatly impacted their ability to endure. We don’t have Paul and Barnabas, but we have hosts of older people who are more than happy to tell us about the faithfulness of God—if we’ll just stop, ask them, and listen.