Fwd: The Social Gospel of Jesus

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Mike Bird with Word from the Bird <michaelfbird@substack.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 29, 2023 at 4:32 AM
Subject: The Social Gospel of Jesus
To: <benjamintoh@gmail.com>

On the topic of social justice, if I had to choose between the Pope and Jordan Peterson, I'm going to go with the Pope. Now, I do not believe in the "social gospel" of old liberalism from 19th/20th century Protestant theology. In old liberalism, the promise of the forgiveness of sins is replaced with the love of God and the brotherhood of man and the eschaton is collapsed into quasi-Marxism rather than working for and waiting for the new creation. Hard pass from me!  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Open in app or online Enjoy Today's Word from the Bird The Social Gospel of Jesus Michael F. Bird Mar 29   Save ▷  Listen   Dr Jordan B Peterson @jordanbpeterson There is nothing Christian about #SocialJustice . Redemptive salvation is a matter of the individual soul. Pope Francis @Pontifex #SocialJustice demands that we fight against the causes of poverty: inequality and the lack of labour, land, and lodging; against those who deny social and labour rights; and against the culture that leads to taking away the dignity of others. 8:00 AM ∙ Mar 2, 2023 2,842Likes297Retweets On the topic of social justice, if I had to choose between the Pope and Jordan Peterson, I'm going to go with the Pope. Now, I do not believe in the "social gospel" of old liberalism from 19th/20th century Protestant theology. In old liberalism, the promise of the forgiveness of sins is replaced with the love of God and the brotherhood of man and the eschaton is collapsed into quasi-Marxism rather than working for and waiting for the new creation. Hard pass from me! That said, Jesus does have his own social gospel, in that the gospel includes Israel's liberation from exile, and the proof that Israel's exile is ending is that the Isaianic signs of restoration are happening: the blind see, the lame walk, the captives are freed, and good news is preached to the poor! Luke 4:14-30 narrates how Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth where he is invited to preach in the synagogue. Jesus stands up, reads from Isa 61:1-2, and then utters a nine-word sermon (in both Greek and English): "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus is then rebuffed by the audience as something of an upstart and he responds by quoting the proverbs of the sick physician and alluding to the stories of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:1-24) and Naaman the Syrian (2 Kgs 5:1-14)—scandalous stories where an Israelite prophet heals Gentile outcasts. Jesus, therefore, warns his fellow Jews that if they reject God's messenger then God will extend his blessings to those outside the boundaries of Israel (Lk 4:16-30).  This episode, called the "Nazareth Manifesto," illustrates how the gospel has a holistic vision of salvation. Jesus does not say: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the affluent middle classes who want enough religion to make them feel secure with God, but nothing that is going to challenge their consumerist, therapeutic, individualist, and indulgent way of life." Rather, the biblical view of salvation means rescuing the poor, the oppressed, the blind, and the captive. If the gospel is to be good news, then it must have a good message for those on the margins of society, for those who know poverty, hunger, alienation, and shame. Accordingly, Luke's favourite words for salvation are aphesis and aphiēmi, which refer to the act of freeing people from their sins (Lk 1:77; 3:3; 5:20; 7:48; 11:4; 24:27; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38-39; 22:16; 26:18), infirmity (Lk 4:39), and debts (Lk 11:4). This perspective does not to reduce the gospel to a social gospel of the love of God and the brotherhood of man or to secular social justice projects with a light sprinkling of Bible verses. Rather, the biblical gospel is a justice-bringing, sin-forgiving, slavery-crushing, illness-healing, debt-remitting, low-status-reversing, sin-cleansing, outsider-including, and truthing-to-power gospel.  That was Jesus's manifesto and it should be ours too! As the church goes forward in its mission it goes forth with the very same Nazareth Manifesto. Upgrade to paid Share Donate Subscriptions Leave a comment   Like Comment Share   Read Word from the Bird in the app Listen to posts, join subscriber chats, and never miss an update from Michael F. Bird. © 2023 Michael F. Bird 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe

Acts Epistles Timeline

The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God's Mercy, 2018

• Introduction: Prodigal Prophet. How can God be both merciful and just? Jonah wants a God of his own making, a God who smites the "bad" people [wicked Ninevites] and blesses the "good" people [Jonah and his people]. When the real God shows up, Jonah can't reconcile the mercy of God with his justice: How can God be merciful and forgiving to people who have done such violence and evil? Jonah points to the ultimate Jonah (Mt 12:41) who is both just and the justifier of those who believe (Rom 3:26). Only the gospel enables us to be neither cruel exploiters like the Ninevites nor Pharisaical believers like Jonah, but Spirit-changed, Christ-like people. The parallel of 2 stories:
1. 1st half Jonah plays like the "prodigal son" (Lk 15:11-24) who ran away from his father; 
2. 2nd half he is like the "older brother" (Lk 15:25-32) who obeys his father but berates him for his graciousness to repentant sinners. His response to God's mercy shows that he still has a great deal of self-righteousness.
• In both cases he's trying to get control of the agenda.

1. Running from God (1:1-3a). "...the way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin." Flannery O'Connor. 
• Unless Jonah can see his own sin, and see himself as living wholly by the mercy of God, he will never understand how God can be merciful to evil people and still by just and faithful.
2. The World's Storms (1:3b-4)
• Every act of disobedience to God / All sin has a (mighty) storm attached to it. No one can control the weather. [Wisdom literature, Proverbs.] Every difficulty may not be the result of sin, but every sin will bring you into difficulty. Prov 16:5; 21:7. 
• "Sin...sets up strains in the structure of life which can only end in breakdown." Derek Kidner. Liars are lied to, attackers are attacked, and he who lives by the sword... Sin is a suicidal action of the will upon itself. Numbers 32:23.
• For Christians, every difficulty/storm can help reduce the power of sin over our hearts...driving us toward God.
• Storms can develop faith, hope, love, patience, humility and self-control in us that nothing else can.
• Deep within the terror of the storm God's mercy is at work to draw our hearts back to God.
3. Who Is My Neighbor? (1:5-6) The World Rebuking the Church. Hugh Martin. The Church Before the Watching World. Francis Schaeffer.
4. Embracing the Other (1:7-10) Identity: Person, Place, People. Everyone gets an identity from something. 
• To be "in the image of God" (Gen 1:26-27) means that humans were not created to stand alone. We must get our significance and security from something of ultimate value outside us. To ask, "Who are you?" is to ask, "Whose are you?" To know who you are is to know what you have given yourself to, what controls you, what you most fundamentally trust. Peter failed because his most fundamental identity was in his commitment and love to Jesus, not Jesus' love for him.
• Shallow Christian identities explain why professing Christians can be racists, greedy materialists, addicted to beauty and pleasure, or filled with anxiety and prone to overwork. All this is because it is not Christ's love but the world's power, approval, comfort and control that are the real roots of our self-identity.
• A shallow identity leads to a blindness of one's real self, and to hostility rather than respect for people who are different. Then you can't be honest about your own flaws because you won't have an identity secure enough to admit your sins, weaknesses and flaws [lack of courage, achievement, performance, goodness, virtue, valor, attractiveness].
5. The Pattern of Love (1:11-17)  The truest pattern of love is substitutionary. True love meets the needs of the loved one no matter the cost to oneself. All life-changing love is [some kind of] substitutionary sacrifice. Parents must lose much of their freedom at present, or their children will not become free, self-sufficient adults later.
6. Running from Grace (1:17-2:10)  It is only when you reach the very bottom, when everything falls apart, when all your schemes and resources are broken and exhausted, that you are finally open to learning how to completely depend on God. The usual place to learn the greatest secrets of God's grace is at the bottom. We find grace not at the high points of our lives but in the valleys and depths, at the bottom. God's grace is often an abstraction, not a life changing power [Knowing God, J.I.Packer]. 3 crucial truths to be acknowledged and felt in one's heart:
1. We deserve nothing but condemnation. ["moral ill-desert"] (Jer 17:9; Isa 64:6)
2. We are utterly incapable of saving ourselves. ["spiritual impotence"]
3. God saves us, despite our sin, at infinite cost to himself.
7. Doing Justice, Preaching Wrath (3:1-10)  
• Repentance is always a work of God (2 Tim 2:25).    We seldom see churches that are equally committed to preaching the Word fearlessly and to justice and care for the poor, yet these are theologically inseparable. To work against social injustice and to call people to repentance before God interlock theologically.
8. Heart Storms (4:1-4)  
• Jonah's real problem was at the deepest level of his heart (4:1-4): "Without that...I have no desire to go on." He lost something that had replaced God as the main joy, reason and love of his life. There was something else he valued more than his relationship with God. All theological problems play themselves out not merely in our intellects but in our commitments, desires and identities.
• Rightful racial pride can become racism. Rightful national pride and patriotism can become imperialism.
• Inordinate anger of self-righteousness and fear is a sign that the thing loved is a counterfeit god. Jonah is inordinately committed to his race and nation.
9. The Character of Compassion (4:4-11).  The Emotional Life of Our Lord, B.B.Warfield. The Bible records Jesus weeping 20x for every 1 time he laughs. He had enormous joy (Lk 10:21), yet he grieved far more than he laughed.
• God's perfect heart, perfect in generous love is not excusing and not harshly condemning.
• God sometimes blesses believers and judges the pagans, but at other times he blesses the pagans and punishes the believers. God is an extremely complex character. He's not just a being of wrath or love--he's both, and in unpredictable ways.
• All of God's goodness (Exo 33:23): infinitely loving to pardon everybody AND infinitely just to never let any sin go unpunished (Exo 34:6-7).
• God sends Jonah a storm, a fish & a plant. God is both too holy and too loving to either destroy Jonah [& us] or to allow Jonah [&us]  to remain as he is [as we are]. The root of Jonah's disobedience was his mistrust in the goodness of God.
10. Our Relationship to God's Word: Running from God (1:1-3)   Sin always begins with the character assassination of God. God puts us in a world of delights but won't give them to us if we obey him. We trust God too little because we trust our own wisdom too much. 
• Jonah ran from God but a storm pursued him. Life in the world is filled with storms--difficulties and suffering. Suffering now "prevents greater evils later" (Newton). The greatest danger of all is that we never become aware of our blindness, pride and self-sufficiency. We naturally believe that we have far more ability to direct our lives wisely than we really have, and that we're more honest, decent and virtuous than we really are. These are deadly errors.
• Self-sufficiency, self-centeredness, self-salvation make us hard toward people we think of as failures and losers, and ironically makes us endlessly self-hating if/when we don't live up to our own standards.
• To understand yourself, you must understand that all sin against God is grounded in a refusal to believe that God is more dedicated to our good and more aware of what that is, than we are. Adam and Eve didn't want to be evil; they just wanted to be happy. But they didn't trust that God's commands were the only way for them to be happy.
• 3 unhelpful responses when people go through storms [my blind default]: minimizers [things could be worse], teachers [God is teaching you things, so look for the lessons], solvers/fixers [if you just keep your chin up and do X, Y, Z, you'll come through this]. A better way to help sufferers is to simply weep with them and love them, as Jesus did (Jn 11:32-36). 
11. Our Relationship to God's World: Who Is My Neighbor? (1:5-6). Christian identity is received, not achieved.
• What makes a person a Christian is not our love for God, which is always imperfect, but God's love for us.
• Our identities and self-worth come from our achievements, and they are irreducibly based on feeling superior to groups and persons whom we see as inferior. But our security and assurance of being loved/accepted do not rest in our performance. Then we can look into our hears and recognize our flaws and admit them (Rom 7:21-25).
• Abandon everything you rely on for meaning and security. An outline of Abraham's life:
• "Go" (Gen 12:2). Where? Later. Just go. 
• "You'll have a son" (Gen 15:4). How? Later. Just trust. 
• "Sacrifice your only son" (Gen 22:2). Why? Later. Just climb.  
12. Our Relationship to God's Grace: Running from Grace (2:1-10). The main purpose of Jonah is to get us to understand grace.
• Anyone, even a successful prophet [preacher] can be in the dark about grace.
• How can we be freed from our idols, self-salvations and self-justifications, which are so fragile and subject to circumstances?
• How can a Christian feel superior to anyone else if our standing before God is only by grace's riches at Christ's expense?
• Why does God send us [Jonah] difficulties and disappointments? God is only trying to liberate you [me] from the things that enslave you, drive you and control you.
• We live in a world fragmented into various "media bubbles," where you hear only news that confirms what you already believe. The internet and social media repeatedly encourages us to become like Jonah toward "those other people" [the Assyrians]. Groups demonize and mock other groups. Christians are sucked into this maelstrom as much as if not more than anyone else, while claiming to be totally objective and rational. The book of Jonah asks, how can a Christian look at those with deeply opposing beliefs and [voting] practices with no compassion? (Jon 4:11)

• Grace can never be earned or deserved. If it is, it is not grace.

The Prayer of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,

From every one who desires me ill, 
Afar and anear, 
Alone or in a multitude. 

Christ shield me today
Against wounding

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

Set Apart and Sent Off (Acts 13)

"...the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off" (Ac 13:2-3).

• Are all Christians called and "set apart" to be "sent" to the nations in some fashion or another? Do you have a personal sense of being "set apart" and "sent" (Jn 15:16)?

1. How has the fulfillment of Acts 1:8 played out so far (Ac 5:28; 8:1, 5-8, 12, 25, 26-38; 9:15; 10:1ff)? How is Acts 13 the midpoint / turning point of Acts? What is the difference between "the church in Jerusalem" (Ac 11:22) and "the church at Antioch" (Ac 13:1a)?
2. What does the listed order of the "prophets and teachers" suggest (Ac 13:1-2, 42, 46; 14:1)? What do we know about them (Ac 4:36-37; 9:26-27; Lk 23:26; Mt 14:1-2, 10; Mk 6:27; Lk 9:9)?
3. What were they doing [leitourgeō - liturgy] (Ac 13:2a)? Who "set apart" Barnabas and Saul (Ac 13:2b) and "sent" them off (Ac 13:3-4a)? Why were they sent out (Ac 13:5; 11:26; 9:15; 1:8)? What does this reveal about God (Gen 12:2-23; Lk 19:10; Jn 20:21)
4. Where is Seleucia, Cyprus and Paphos (Ac 13:4-6)? What did Paul do first (Ac 13:6)? Is this his regular practice (Ac 13:14; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19; 19:8)? Who is John (Ac 13:5; 12:12, 25; Col 4:10)? What is his role? What did he eventually do (Ac 13:13)?
5. How is Bar-Jesus/Elymas described (Ac 13:6-7; Dt 18:22; Mt 7:15)? Why did he oppose Barnabas and Paul (Ac 13:8)? Why was Paul so harsh with him (Ac 13:9-11)? How did the curse also suggest God's mercy (Ac 13:11; 9:8-9)? Was the procounsel converted (Ac 13:12; 8:13)? Why might Saul be called Paul from this point forth (Ac 13:9, 13, etc.)?
6. Where is Perga in Pamphylia and Pisidian Antioch (Ac 13:13-14)? 
• Where does Paul begin in his review of salvation history (Ac 13:17-20)? 
• How did the monarchy come about (Ac 13:21-22)? 
• What is the crucial point in salvation history (Ac 13:23)? 
• How did John the Baptist contribute (Ac 13:24-25)? 
• For whom is this message of salvation (Ac 13:26, 16)? 
• How did the Jerusalem residents and leaders fail (Ac 13:27-29)? 
• Did their failure thwart or hinder God's salvation plan (Ac 13:27, 30-31; 2:23-24)?
• What is the good news which was promised to the Jewish ancestors of God (Ac 13:32-35; Ps 2:7; Isa 55:3; Ps 16:10)?
7. After Paul preached the gospel, how did he exhort his audience (Ac 13:38-39)? What is his warning (Ac 13:40-41)? How was the initial response (Ac 13:42-49)? The subsequent response (Ac 13:50)? Paul and Barnabas' response (Ac 13:51)? The result among the disciples (Ac 13:52)?

Jerusalem to Antioch, Peter to Paul, Saul [his name among Jews] to Paul [his name from Acts 13:9 to symbolize that he is the missionary to the Gentiles]. Acts 13, in broad terms, marks a change, a shift of focus and energy from Jerusalem and Peter (1-12) to Antioch and Paul, and a concentration on the Gentile churches (13-28). It is the midpoint of Acts and the goal pointed to from the promise that the gospel will go "to the ends of the earth" (Ac 1:8). According to his commission as God's chosen instrument "to proclaim [Jesus'] name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel" (Ac 9:15-16), Paul assumes this role, yet the major actor and catalyst of all that happens in this salvation historical drama is God in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul could be thought of going through these stages [of sanctification (Jn 17:17)] as a Christian. Do you experience these "stages" yourself in your Christian walk?

1. Saved (Ac 9:17-18; Jn 1:12; 5:24; 2 Cor 5:17). How were you saved by God?
2. Serving (Mk 10:45; Jn 13:14-15). How are you serving God?
3. Sensitised (Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:35). How sensitive are you to the prompting of God/the Holy Spirit?
4. Saturated (Ac 6:5; 11:24). How saturated or filled by God/the Holy Spirit are you?
5. Sent (Ac 9:15; Jn 20:21). What are you being sent by God to do with your life?

The 1st Missionary Journey (13:1-14:28). Departure from Antioch (Ac 13:1-3). Return to Antioch (Ac 14:26-28). [A.D. 46-48]

1. The Commissioning (13:1-3). Barnabas and Saul are sent out from Antioch (13:1-4). The call to mission. The release of Barnabas and Saul from Antioch in Syria.
2. Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus (13:4-12); the Mission to Cyprus; the Word in Cyprus; evangelism in Cyprus. Paul, before his Damascus road experience used to be like Elymus; now he is like Jesus. Seleucia (Ac 13:4) is 16 miles from Antioch. Cyprus is 100 miles SW of Seleucia and where Barnabas grew up (Ac 4:36).
   
3. Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch [PA] (13:13-52); the mission to PA; the Word in PA; evangelism in the synagogue at PA. Paul's synagogue speech. [Compared to Stephen's speech (Acts 7), Paul is not dealing with Israel's recalcitrance but with the blessings and promised benefits God has bestowed on Israel from time to time. Paul's is a more theocentric speech, while Stephen's is more ecclesiocentric. Paul's focus is on the Jews' election--alluding to the patriarchs (Ac 13:17a)--and the formative events of the exodus (Ac 13:17b-18). Most striking is the omission of any real attention being paid to Moses, unlike Stephen's speech. This was followed by the conquest of Canaan (Ac 13:19-20; Dt 7:1).
   
• The journey from Paphos to Pisidian Antioch (13:13-14a). From Papos, Cyprus to Perga in the province of Pamphilia is a 100 mile boat trip. PA is 90 miles north and uphill--3,600 feet above sea level--from Perga. John Mark returns home to Jerusalem. [The capital of Syria, Antioch, was named after Antiochus, father of the city's founder, King Seleucus I (reigned 305–281 BC); this name became dynastic and many Seleucid kings bore it. 17 ancient cities in Turkey were named Antioch, but only 2 are remembered by any but scholars: Antakya (ancient Antioch, Syria) and Antioch in Pisidia, Asia Minor.]
• The setting: the synagogue (13:14b-15).
1. The sermon's introduction: the OT preparation (13:16-25). The election of Israel and David.
   
1. Survey of history from the patriarchs to David (13:16-22).
2. Fulfillment in Jesus and John the Baptist (13:23-25). Jesus is the royal Messiah fulfilling all the hopes of the nation in himself.
2. The sermon's focus: the death and resurrection of Jesus (13:26-37). Jesus the fulfiller of the promise to David.
   
1. The salvific effects of the death and resurrection for humankind is the central part of every sermon in Acts (13:26-31).
2. 3 passages showing the implications of Jesus' resurrection (13:32-37).
1. Jesus is enthroned in heaven as the eternal Son of God (Ps 2:7).
2. The "holy and sure blessings" (Isa 55:3) are given 1st to the risen Christ and then to the new Israel as the covenant people of God.
3. Proof of the eternal nature made to his people is the indestructible body which would never "see decay" (Ps 16:10; Ac 13:37).
3. The sermon's conclusion: Call to repentance and faith in Christ; the choice between life and death; a promise and a warning relating to eternal life (13:38-41). The challenge not to miss out on the salvation available through Jesus. Nothing could be more important than their response to this call to salvation.
   
4. The sermon's consequences: a mixed reaction; division among the people (13:42-52). Turning to the Gentiles: Fulfilling the Servant's role.
   
1. The 1st response to the message is positive (13:42-49).
2. In the final analysis (13:50-52), the mission team is expelled from Pisidian Antioch, yet they do not leave in defeat but in victory, for as they "participate in his sufferings" (Phil 3:10), God is at work bringing souls to himself, and they leave behind a strong and growing church. They will be back (Ac 14:21-23), and God will continue to use even the opposition for his glory.
4. Paul and Barnabas in Iconium (14:1-7). Conflict and concerted opposition at Iconium.
   
5. Paul and Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe (14:8-20). Encountering paganism and evangelism of the heathen at Lystra.
   
1. The healing of the cripple (14:8-10).
   
2. The attempt to worship Paul and Barnabas (14:11-15).
   
3. The sermon Paul preached (14:15-18).
   
4. The stoning of Paul (14:19-20).
   
6. Paul and Barnabas return to Syrian Antioch (14:21-28). The return journey to Antioch. Revisiting the churches.
   

Paul's 3 representative speeches to 3 different sorts of audiences reveals Paul to be an orator of some skill and flexibility, which his letters also suggest:

1. Jews in a synagogue (Ac 13:16ff).
2. Pagans in Athens (Ac 17:22ff).
3. Christians at Miletus (Ac 20:17ff).

References:

1. Osborne, Grant. Acts. Verse by Verse. 2019. 
2. Witherington III, Ben. The Acts of the Apostles. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. 1998. The Door for the Gentiles Opens (13:1-14:28).
1. The commissioning of Barnabas and Paul and the mission to Cyprus (13:1-12).
2. The mission to Pisidian Antioch and Paul's synagogue speech (13:13-52).
3. The missionary visits to Iconium, Lystra and Derbe and return to Syrian Antioch (14:1-28).
3. Stott, John. The Message of Acts. 1990. Through the Bible through the year, Daily reflections from Genesis to Revelation. 2006. The Apostle to the Gentiles (13:1-21:17). The 1st missionary journey (13:1-14:28).
1. Barnabas and Saul are sent out from Antioch (13:1-4a).
2. 
   
4. Peterson, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar NT commentary. 2009. The Word goes to Cyprus and Asia Minor (13:1-16:5).
1. The release of Barnabas and Saul from Antioch in Syria (13:1-3).
2. The Word in Cyprus (13:4-12).
3. The Word in Pisidian Antioch (13:13-52).
1. Ministry in the synagogue (13:14-43).
   
1. The election of Israel and the election of David (13:17-23).
   
2. Jesus the fulfiller of the promise to David (13:24-37).
   
3. The challenge not to miss out on the salvation available through Jesus (13:38-43).
   
2. Turning to the Gentiles: Fulfilling the servant's role (13:44-52).
   
4. The Word in Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (14:1-20).
1. Concerted opposition in Iconium (14:1-7).
2. Encountering paganism in Lystra (14:8-20).
5. Revisiting the churches (14:21-28).
5. Marshall, I. Howard. Acts. Tyndale NT commentaries (TNTC). 1980. The Mission to Asia Minor and its Aftermath (13:1-15:35).
6. Wright, N.T. Acts for Everyone, Part 2. Chapters 13-28. 2008.