Session 8

The Jerusalem Council – Where We Left OffPaul, Barnabas and the Antiochene delegation return home with Judas and Silas and word of the Jerusalem Council is spread throughout the land.

Judas and Silas stayed for a short time and returned to Jerusalem

Paul begins to yearn to travel back to the area where he and Barnabas spent their time on their first missionary journey.

Paul wanted to know if his letter to the Galatian churches had solved their problem.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaPaul and Barnabas discussed the upcoming journey. Both of them felt it was needed and worthwhile.

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along.

Paul on the other hand was afraid Mark would bail out again.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaPaul and Barnabas discussed the upcoming journey. Both of them felt it was needed and worthwhile.

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along.

Paul on the other hand was afraid Mark would bail out again.

What ensued was what can only be described as a “huge fight” between Barnabas and

Paul. The term Luke uses here is paroxusmo,j which denotes a strong disagreement.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaPaul and Barnabas discussed the upcoming journey. Both of them felt it was needed and worthwhile.

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along.

Paul on the other hand was afraid Mark would bail out again.

What ensued was what can only be described as a “huge fight” between Barnabas and

Paul. The term Luke uses here is paroxusmo,j which denotes a strong disagreement.

The end result is that Paul and Barnabas split up. Barnabas heads to Cyprus with John Mark and Paul decides to go on to Galatia.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaPaul and Barnabas discussed the upcoming journey. Both of them felt it was needed and worthwhile.

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along.

Paul on the other hand was afraid Mark would bail out again.

What ensued was what can only be described as a “huge fight” between Barnabas and

Paul. The term Luke uses here is paroxusmo,j which denotes a strong disagreement.

The end result is that Paul and Barnabas split up. Barnabas heads to Cyprus with John Mark and Paul decides to go on to Galatia.

Paul needs a mission companion. He chooses Silas (Silvanas?) because he too is a Roman citizen and would be accorded the same courtesies and rights as Paul.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaSilas agrees but there’s only one problem. Paul is in Syrian Antioch and Silas is in Jerusalem.

The traveling season was upon them and Paul couldn’t wait for Silas to catch up,so he sends a message for Silas to meet him in Derbe.

We believe that Silas left Jerusalem (Caesarea Maritima) by sea, probably headed for Tarsus, at the same time Paul left Antioch on foot

The Second Journey – Off to Galatia

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaPaul travels to his old hometown of Tarsus.

To get there he passes through the Syrian Gates – the location of the site of Alexander’s famous Battle of Issus in 333BC.

Traveling alone, Paul was probably lonely. He’s approaching fifty years old. But as he walked he could see the mountains of Cilicia and with them the promise of his old haunt – Tarsus.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaChances are he doesn’t spend much time, if any, in Tarsus proper rather he visits the Christians in the hinterlands outside of Tarsus where he spent a several years teaching and preaching before going to Syrian Antioch.

By now the snow would have melted from the mountain passes and Paul heads into Galatia through the Cilician Gates.

While we don’t know for sure, chances are that Silas teamed up with Paul either right before he left for Derbe

and Galatia or somewhere on the road.

The Second Journey – TimothyOnce in Derbe Paul and Silas delivered the Jerusalem council decision and completed Paul’s work from his letter regarding the “circumcision” dispute.

From Derbe, they followed Paul and Barnabas’ route in reverse heading next to Lystra.

Waiting for them in Lystra was a young man named Timothy.

We know that Timothy’s mother and grandmother were Christians.

2 Timothy 1:5 - I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grand-

mother Lois and in your mother Eunice and,

I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

The Second Journey – TimothyTimothy would have been somewhere between18 and 21 years old when Paul and Silas met him. We do know that he had already built a name for himself not only in Lystra but also in the neighboring city of Iconium.

Acts 16:2 – The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

Paul and Silas convince Timothy to join them on their journey. But before he could go, he had to be circumcised.

Even though Eunice had raised young Timothy as Jew, his father was a Greek (non-believer) and as such would not have allowed his son to be circumcised.

On the surface this act seems to be inconsistent with Paul’s assertion that circumcision made no difference.

The Second Journey – TimothyAs the son of a Jewish mother and Greek father, he would have been regarded as a Jew, but an illegitimate Jew if left uncircumcised.

Timothy’s first mission field would be the cities in Galatia where he would have been known.

For Timothy to have been an “illegitimate” Jew would have hindered Paul’s work.

Paul never said that circumcision was wrong, only unnecessary.

Once Timothy healed from his surgery, the three of them headed off to Iconium.

The Second Journey – Change of PlansPaul’s initial trip confirmed that he must modify his strategy. He had two goals in mind:

1 – to win individuals to Christ.

2 – to establish churches that would not only last after he moved on, but also send out their own missionaries to evangelize the world.

Paul’s experience in Galatia taught him that he needed to spend more time in one area which then would become a pivot point for Christian witness in the region.

The Second Journey – Off to GalatiaActs 16:6-9 – Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

The Second Journey – Change of PlansThe obvious choice for such an adventure was Ephesus. One of the largest cities and principal ports in all of Asia, it would have been stepping stone to Greece and then to Rome.

But this was not to be. The Holy Spirit prevented the trio from entering Asia so they continued strengthening the churches in Phrygia and Galatia while waiting for direction.

Another province of importance was Bythinia. Located on the southern shore of the strait of Dardanelles, the Roman cities of Nicea and Nicomedia offered the opportunity of a cultured Greek population and a number of Jews.

And so off they went, bent on reaching Bythinia and the prospect of evangelizing the northern coast of what we know as Asia.

Once again they met with a roadblock – The spirit of Jesus forbade them from entering the province.

The Second Journey – Change of PlansAnd so, they turned their path south and skirted the province of Mysia, where they had been forbidden entry as well. After some journey, they entered the city of Troas.

Troas is where Luke slips into the picture (Acts 16:11 – “we”).

This must have been a chance encounter since the trio had no intention of going there.

Paul gladly accepted Luke’s company. Paul’s

indifferent health cried out for the services of a physician.

Luke was a good foil for Paul. Paul was a brilliant,

original thinker while Luke was the careful scholar, investigating

incidents with a physician’s demand for accuracy.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiThe group set sail from Troas to Samothrace and then on to Neopolis.

With their landing in Neopolis, they entered yet another province and the opportunity to evangelized another continent.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiHere they met one of the great roads of the Roman Empire – the Via Egnatia.

From here they glimpsed one of the great cities of the region – Philippi. Named for the father of Alexander of Macedon, Philippi was the site of the great battle where Octavius (Caesar Augustus) defeated the murders of Julius Caesar.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiHere they met one of the great roads of the Roman Empire – the Via Egnatia.

The city stood at the base of the acropolis, some 1,020 feet above the plain.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiPhilippi had become a Roman colony after the battle, a bustling center of military activity, and a leading city of Macedonia.

It was a self-governing city with streets full of muscular, young legionnaires and veterans with their families.

It was a place where Roman citizens were held in high honor.

Apparently there was only a small Jewish population for there was no synagogue.

So Paul and his companions went down to the river (outside the Neopolis Gate) where they expected to find a place of prayer.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiHere they me yet another of the key figures in early Christianity – Lydia.

Lydia was a woman of some means, a Gentile God-fearer from Thyatira, a city in Lydia in the province of Asia.

Lydia was a textile merchant selling the rich purple cloth for which Thyatira was noted.

Paul told them why he had come, and spoke of the Lord Jesus. He told of how Jesus had emptied himself on the cross that through him everyone had access to eternal life.

Luke would have listened and seen the understanding as it appeared on Lydia’s face. A miracle was taking place before his very eyes – The Lord opened her heart to Paul’s message.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiThe message was clear to Paul as well.

He baptized her right away in the waters of the stream along with members of her household.

Lydia invited Paul to stay with her. I think Paul would have initially demurred. However, the Bible tells us she was persistent and eventually Paul accepted.

Perhaps Paul did not want to appear to be an opportunist, seeking shelter and favor in the first place he found.

I’m sure he remembered Jesus telling the missionaries that they were to stay in the first place offering hospitality.

Philippi was the only place where Paul accepted free room and board.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiAs always, the small congregation began to grow.

One day as he was headed down to the river, Paul ran across a young woman who could predict the future. She shouted at Paul and his companions, “These men are servants of the Most High God!”

This continued day after day.

Reaching his limit, Paul exorcised the spirit and left the woman unable to continue to work.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiThe Greek term for the spirit is pu,qwn or “python” probably from the city of Delphi.

Delphi was the home of the famous shrine of Apollo on the southern slope of Mt. Parnassus over looking the Gulf of Corinth.

The Delphic oracles were highly sought after in the ancient world and patronized by statesmen and ambassadors.

This woman’s services would have been in great demand, and a very valuable asset to her owners.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiAs one might expect, the salve girl’s owners were slightly upset to say the least.

They stirred up the citizens and carried Paul and Silas off to see the magistrate.

“They are Jews,” he said, “bent on causing unrest and advocating practices that are unlawful.”

This was bad, Jews always caused trouble – so much so that Emperor Claudius had recently expelled them from Rome.

Without the benefit of a trail, Paul and Silas a re sentenced to be flogged and thrown into prison.

Stripped of their clothing, they were beaten within an inch of their life.

The Second Journey – Destination PhilippiAfter the public beating, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison.

Taken to the prison across the Via Egnatia carved out of the hillside.

Half naked and bleeding they were placed in leg stocks, a crude devise that clamped down on the ankles and allowed the prisoner only to lie flat on his back or sit straight up.

As the sun set over the Pangaean mountains, I’m sure Timothy, Luke and the others gathered in Lydia’s house to pray.

In excruciating agony, Paul and Silas could only pray.