14:21–23 Derbe has only recently been located, some sixty miles southeast of Lystra (see B. Van Elderen, AHG, pp. 156ff.). The importance of this town (such as it was, but see disc. on v. 8) lay in its proximity to the border of Roman Galatia and the client kingdom of Antiochus IV of Commagene. Here the apostles preached the good news … and won a large number of disciples (v. 21, lit., “discipled many”; cf. Matt. 28:19). One of these later accompanied Paul to Jerusalem as a delegate of his church (20:4). Derbe is the only town of those we know they visited in Galatia in which they met with no persecution (cf. 2 Tim. 3:11). Perhaps winter was coming on, making conditions too difficult for the Jews to pursue them. From here it would have been possible for Paul and Barnabas to have continued…