DAY SEVENTY-NINE: 

More Missionary Journeys 

Acts 16:6-20:38 

Paul was the first man to be bitten by the "missionary bug." He wrote "...and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.'" (Romans 15:20-21) After the Jerusalem Council and some time with the brethren in Antioch, Paul got the urge to head west again. He shared his plans with Barnabas, who said "Great! I'll go get John Mark and tell him to get ready." Paul didn't think that was such a good idea. This young man was unprepared for the hardships they faced on the first trip and he went home. Paul didn't want to take him, but Barnabas insisted. Neither budged, so they went their separate ways. Silas joined Paul and they headed back toward Asia Minor. Barnabas took John Mark and they headed to Cyprus. Barnabas, you'll recall, was the one who interceded for Paul with the apostles after his conversion, and the one who brought Paul from Tarsus to help with the work in Antioch. Barnabas means "son of encouragement," and he was. Barnabas helped John Mark to grow in faith and confidence. John Mark went on to write the Gospel of Mark. That probably wouldn't have happened were it not for Barnabas.

Paul and Silas headed back to the churches founded on the first journey. They found strong and healthy churches. In Lystra they met a young man named Timothy. His mother and grandmother were Jewish Christians, his father a Greek (and presumably a pagan). Timothy impressed Paul so much that he asked him to come on the journey. He agreed, and Paul nurtured Timothy as if he were his son. Acts 16:5 sums it all up: "So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily." It's time to move on and share Christ elsewhere.

The Holy Spirit constrained Paul and his companions from preaching the Gospel as they headed west through Asia Minor. God had different plans. One night Paul had a dream in which a man from Macedonia, the northern part of Greece, appealed to Paul to come and help. This is an important development. The Gospel went into Europe rather than staying in Asia. Had it been the other way around we might have had to be converted to Christ through the work of Chinese missionaries!

The crossed by boat to Macedonia and made their way to Philippi, the largest city. There they met Lydia. She was a businesswoman, selling dyed cloth. She responded to the Gospel and invited Paul and his companions to stay with her. But before they got there Paul got them into trouble by casting a demon out of a slave girl. You would think that was a good thing, but the owner used her to tell fortunes and now she was useless for that purpose. He had Paul and Silas arrested. The authorities took them to the jail, where they were beaten and put into stocks (like the ones pictured above). Rather than complaining about this new "crook" in their lot they chose to sing and pray to the Lord. Their fellow prisoners listened in.

All of a sudden an earthquake struck. The cell doors opened and the chains fell off. The jailer, assuming that the prisoners had escaped, prepared to commit suicide (Roman law required jailers to pay with their lives if prisoners escaped). Paul stopped him and said that everyone was there. The other prisoners were so taken by Paul and Silas' display of faith that they didn't run. This totally freaked out the jailer. He said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Paul replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." The jailer believed and brought Paul and Silas into his home. He tended their wounds while Paul and Silas shared the Gospel with his family and servants. What a joyful night came out of that terrible injustice because Paul and Silas kept their eyes on the Lord! The officials who had jailed them asked them to leave, so they sent out for their next stop, Thessalonica.

Thessalonica was a bustling port with ships from all over the Roman world. Paul and Silas went to the synagogue first, as was their custom. As we've seen before, some Jews believed and also many of the God-fearing Greeks. The other Jews who did not believe were jealous and caused trouble. The foundling church sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Again they went into the synagogue. This time, however, they found a more reasonable audience. "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." Many believed, but their troubles in Thessalonica followed them. They sent Paul away to safety in Athens while Silas and Timothy continued to minister in Berea.

A monument to an unknown god, perhaps the same one Paul saw in Athens.

While in Athens Paul saw all the temples and monuments to the Greek gods. This stirred him up and he started to proclaim Christ. Instead of anger Paul encountered curiosity. The philosophers grabbed him and took him to the top of Mars Hill, where there was a public forum. The author of Acts tells us, "Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new." Paul was before an audience that didn't know and didn't care about the Hebrew Bible. The Old Testament references he used with Jews would fall flat before the Greeks. But Paul adapted brilliantly. He pointed to a monument he had seen with the inscription "To An Unknown God." There's a fascinating story behind this monument, which you can still see today, but we don't have time for it now. This article will give you the background. But Paul used that inscription to say that he would introduce them to this unknown God. He is the God who made everything, and He created us to search for Him. Paul even quoted some of the great philosophers to make his points. He held their attention until he said, "...he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." In the Greek philosophy of the day the physical body was considered a hindrance. The spirit was what mattered. So the concept of a resurrection made no sense to them. Why would you want your body back once you got rid of it? So most of those philosophers scoffed, but some said they'd like to hear more. And a few gave their hearts to Christ right there on Mars Hill.

Next stop: Corinth. Corinth was the largest city in Greece and third largest in the Roman Empire. It was situated at the narrowest part of the peninsula between Sparta and the rest of Greece. It was a prosperous city. It was also known for rampant sexual immorality, of a type that shocked even a culture steeped in immorality. Paul met two Jewish believers, Aquila and his wife Priscilla, who shared his vocation of tentmaking. He stayed with them and worked with them, preaching and teaching the Gospel as he was able. Again opponents from Thessalonica and Berea followed him to Corinth, but God encouraged Paul to hang in there. "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." (18:9-10) He stayed there for a year and a half then left for a return trip to Antioch.

On the way Paul stopped briefly at Ephesus, the fourth largest city in the Empire. He spent a few days preaching in the synagogue. They wanted to hear more, but Paul had to go. He said he would return, Lord willing. Paul left Priscilla and Aquila there, and they ministered to the fledgling believers. They met a man named Apollos, an eloquent speaker, who was preaching about John the Baptist's work. Priscilla and Aquila gave him a needed update so that his preaching would reflect the truth of Christ. Apollos eventually went to Corinth and greatly strengthened the church there.

Paul didn't stay long in Antioch. Soon he headed out again and checked on the churches he had planted and looked for places he hadn't been. This was the third missionary journey. In time he ended up back in Ephesus, this time staying a good while. He rented a lecture hall and taught God's Word daily. Then he checked on things in Macedonia and Greece. On the return trip he skipped his home base at Antioch and went to Jerusalem. That's where we'll pick things up tomorrow.

Paul illustrates for us what it means to share the Gospel in different contexts. When he addressed Jews he used the familiar stories of the Old Testament to make his points. When he spoke to Greeks he spoke their philosophical language. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." Too often we approach people who are different from us as if they were just like us. W. Cameron Townsend was a missionary in Guatemala, trying to reach a remote tribe for Christ. He had learned Spanish and tried to share the Gospel in that language. Even though the Indians understood what he said, they weren't impressed. One of them said, "If God's so smart, why can't He speak my language?" That was the answer! Townsend dedicated himself to learning this tribe's language and then translated the Bible. When they heard God's Word in their own language, they began to respond.

We've covered a lot of ground today. I'll leave you with a longer video today, about 25 minutes. I urge you to take the time to watch it. It will give you a look at what it's like to be a missionary today, and the wonderful fruit that comes from their work. The Sawi tribe's values were so opposite of ours. How would Don Richardson reach them for Christ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv7ZeJetGO4