These verses present us with one of Luke’s characteristic summaries. As the work in Iconium unfolds in much the same way it has in previous locations, there is no need to recount it in detail. One difference is a serious threat arising from leaders on all sides (v 5), so Paul and Barnabas move on to minister in another area (vs 6,7). Given a few sentences, I wonder how we would describe the everyday events of our own ministry, whatever we understand it to be. 

Much more than a narrative device, this overview offers insights we can live from. We see the value of a strategy for sharing Jesus (and develop one), we recognise the reality of opposition (and cultivate resilience), and we are encouraged to continue, wherever events carry us. Closed doors may be nudges into a new area. Above all, we are reminded that this is for God, and that the centrepiece is the story of his grace, which he delights to prove in marvellous ways. Doesn’t that stir something in you? We may not be pioneering first-century missionaries, but there are new frontiers in every neighbourhood, opportunities for boldness in every office and countless wonderful ways God wants to reveal more of his person and power to or through us each day.