Acts 14:21

Preached the gospel. Gr. euaggelizo (see on ch. 13:32).

Taught many. Or, “made many disciples.” Perhaps Gaius of Derbe, whom Luke mentions as one of Paul’s companions on a subsequent journey (ch. 20:4), may have been one of those converted at this time. The work accomplished implies a stay that may have lasted several months.

Returned again. It would have been a much simpler matter to proceed east to Tarsus, and return by ship to Antioch in Syria. But Paul and Barnabas chose a long, weary way, traveling some 250 mi. on their return journey to the sea. But by going back over the ground they had covered, they had opportunity to scatter still further the seed of the word they had earlier sown at such personal peril. The hostility of the Jews at Antioch and Iconium must have subsided to enable the apostles to revisit those cities without further personal danger. Perhaps in some places the city officials had served their terms, and others had succeeded them. See Paul’s First Missionary Tour.