Acts 14:14

Acts 14:14 Meaning and Explanation

Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

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When Barnabas and Paul hear of it, they tear their clothes and rush into the crowd, crying out against the sacrifice.

What Does Acts 14:14 Mean?

Word of the planned sacrifice reaches the missionaries, and their response is instant and bodily. Tearing one's garments was the ancient gesture of grief and horror at blasphemy (Mark 14:63), and they hurl themselves into the crowd to stop the ceremony before it begins.

Here is the test that revealed Herod (Acts 12:21-23): what does a man do when worship comes his way? Herod accepted the crowd's cry and was struck down; Barnabas and Paul tear their clothes as though wounded. Nothing exposes the heart of a servant like misdirected praise, and nothing adorns the gospel like glory urgently refused and passed upward to God.

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What does Acts 14:14 mean?

When Barnabas and Paul hear of it, they tear their clothes and rush into the crowd, crying out against the sacrifice.

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