Neglected Passage #8: "The Spies Like Us" Episode: Acts 14:6-19

I'm fascinated by emerging research into ethnicity in the ancient world, an area about which many of us have been largely ignorant for some time. Ethnic concerns figured prominently among Greek and Roman writers. You might note an ethnic slur in Titus 1:12: "Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons" (NRSV). (Thanks to Wil Gafney for reminding me of this.) Grounded in Greek and Roman studies, ethnicity research is beginning to influence biblical studies as well.

See
• Hall, Jonathan M. Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity (Cambridge 1997).
• Hall, JonathanM. Hellenicity: Between Ethnicity and Culture (Chicago 2002).
• Malkin, Irad (ed.). Ancient Perceptions of Greek Ethnicity (Harvard 2001).

Acts 2 depicts the ethnic diversity represented within Judaism. Not only do Jews gather in Jerusalem from all over the ancient world, they speak a variety of local languages. This leads me to wonder if an ethnic joke of some kind might reside beneath Acts 14:6-19, as some interpreters suppose. Luke occasionally employs stereotypes in the interest of entertainment, as we have seen in the case of Rhoda, or for the sake of moving the story and developing the characters (as with the Athenians in Acts 17). Might something similar be going on with the Lycaonians?

The story has it that Barnabas and Paul so impress the folks in Lystra that they are confused for Zeus and Hermes, respectively. "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Luke presses the point harder. Bringin oxen and garlands, the priest of Zeus prepares to offer sacrifice to the newly appeared deities. Zeus and Hermes -- I mean, Barnabas and Paul -- use the acclaim as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel. Yet only with difficulty do they restrain the crowds from worshiping them. I call it the "Spies Like Us" episode because -- well, if you've seen the old 80s comedy, you know why.

Perhaps Luke is relying on a stereotype, now lost to us, of the Lycaonians as gullible and perhaps superstitious. I've asked some Lukan scholars their opinion on the question, and most of them have suspected such. The problem is, we have no external evidence for such a stereotype. It's simply a matter of intuition.

Right away, however, Jews from Antioch and Iconium (how'd they communicate?) come into Lystra and persuade the crowds to stone Paul, dragging him out of the city in the belief that they have killed him (14:19). (The NIV and NRSV break up the Greek sentence, which links winning over the crowds with stoning; thus my interpretation.) If the Lycaonians so readily perceived deity in Barnabas and Paul, why shouldn't they believe new teachers just as readily?

What about Rhoda? Acts 12:12-17

Everybody makes fun of Rhoda. After his miraculous escape from jail, Peter knocks at the "door of the gate" outside Mary's house. Rhoda, a slave girl, comes to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, she runs inside to tell the others that Peter was standing at the gate. So moved by joy is she, that she abandons Peter outside while she tells the others.

Poor Peter keeps on knocking while the other disciples refuse to believe Rhoda. They call her crazy. They say she's seen Peter's angel. (But wouldn't that be something?) And Peter keeps knocking. Apparently, Rhoda never thinks to bring Peter in to make her point. Finally, the others hear Peter and open the gate for him.

Read this way, Rhoda provides a case study for literary criticism of Acts. Like other ancient writers, Luke clearly enjoys spicing his stories with humor that draws upon common stereotypes. For example, consider the superstitious Lycaonians who mistake Barnabas and Paul for Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:8-18). Because Rhoda is a servant and a woman, she's an easy mark for Luke. Foolish and impulsive, she fits a well recognized character type. So the reading goes.

But wait a minute. Foolish? Rhoda knows Peter's voice. She's not fooled. Impulsive? She runs from joy, the most appropriate response to Peter's deliverance. It's common wisdom, though uncommonly practiced: first things first. Message before person. So Rhoda, who testifies to the message. She opens the path for them to demonstrate faith (see Luke 24:10-11). Rhoda, hearing Peter's voice, believes. They, hearing hers, do not. So Rhoda.