1. Acts 14:5 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why would unbelieving Jews and Gentiles seek to stone Paul and Barnabas?

Acts 14:5 (ESV)

5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,

Stoning is chosen as a deterrent, with the recognition that it could result in death.1 The authorities in Iconium do not have the right to simply kill Paul and Barnabas. If they were to die as a result of a stoning it could be written off as mob justice.2 For the Jews, there is a possibility that stoning is chosen because it was the old covenant penalty for blasphemy (see Deuteronomy 13:1–11; Deuteronomy 18:20; Leviticus 24:16).3