Why did the people of Lystra think Paul was a god?
The people of Lystra thought Paul was a god because he performed a miracle. They concluded that his ability to perform this miracle meant he was divine. However, when they realized he was not a god, they turned against him.
Les explains that this event occurred on Paul's first missionary journey, as recorded in Acts chapter 14. Paul had gone up into central Turkey, passing through Lystra and Derbe. At the city of Lystra, he performed a miracle. The people were so astonished that they thought he was a god, believing his miraculous power proved he was divine. This caused an uproar. But when they suddenly realized he was not a god, they turned on him, and the Jews also opposed him. Les connects this to the twelfth chapter, where Paul speaks of visions and revelations and a man caught up to the third heaven, suggesting this may be the time Paul was referring to.
And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
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