TRACINGS FROM THE ACTS OF THE
APOSTLES
XIII. THE SECOND MISSIONARY
JOURNEY. DIVINE GUIDANCE.
ACTS xv. 36—xvii. 14.
BRISKLY, we may well believe, the work went on at Antioch.
Paul and Barnabas were labouring, teaching and preaching; but not alone, for
many others also were now engaged in the work. A great centre this city had
become. Labourers were abundant, and, what is more, the contention of Paul and
Barnabas on behalf of converts from the Gentiles had been successfully
sustained at Jerusalem, the Apostles and Elders in the metropolis of Judaism
being of one accord with them, that Gentiles were not under the law, nor, when
converted, were ever intended to be placed under it. The urgent need then once
existing for their presence and labours in the ancient capital of the
Seleucidai had ceased, and the two missionary Apostles could contemplate a
fresh journey to revisit the scenes of recent labour.
Peter's
Visit. But ere formulating plans for another tour, Peter's visit to
Antioch, related only in Gal. ii. 11-21, we presume took place. Another crisis
in the Church's history arose. Certain came from James whilst Peter was in the
city, stirring up Judaising controversy afresh; not now insisting upon the
converts from heathenism observing the law, but arousing those who had been
Jews to keep apart socially from such, so as not to eat with them. How busy was
the enemy! How persistent in his efforts to divide the assembly in that city,
and thus, of course, to bring discredit on the work! As a Jew Peter had rightly
never kept company with any Gentiles (Acts x. 28). God, however, had taught
him, on the housetop at Joppa, to call no man common or unclean. In conformity
with that he was mixing socially at Antioch with the converts from the
Gentiles, for all true believers were, and are, members of the one body of
Christ, and so members one of another. The middle wall of partition has for all
such been broken down, the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances, having been annulled in the flesh of Christ.
Certain men,
however - Paul does not call them brethren (Gal. ii. 12) - came from James,
and, working upon Peter, made him separate socially from those formerly
Gentiles. The old question was thus revived, but in a new dress. If Gentile
converts could not be Judaised, those who had been Jews should certainly keep
apart from them. Thus the middle wall would be in practice re-erected. Coming
from James, and with Peter now gained over, victory seemed almost secured; for
the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was
carried away with their dissimulation. This new turn in affairs was speciously
arranged, and one can see how those not established in full Christian teaching
might by it be carried away. For, granted that no word of God imposed the
keeping of the law of Moses on the Gentiles, the word of God had distinctly
imposed the law on the children of Israel. Must not, then, all such still keep
it? If so, separation socially from other Christians must of necessity take
place. The citadel of Christian truth, which Paul and Barnabas had successfully
defended, seemed on the point of being unconditionally surrendered.
For
Peter was ensnared. Barnabas too was led away. Fear of man, not conviction, was
acting upon Peter. He, and the other Jews at Antioch, dissembled, writes Paul
(Gal. ii. 13). If Paul now gave way all would be lost. But he, formerly a
Pharisee of Pharisees, and once so zealous for the law, kept his ground through
grace, stepped into the breach and preserved the truth for the whole Church of
God. He was, as it were, at this time the one strand of the rope which
preserved the whole from breaking. He withstood Peter to the face. Peter's
course was inconsistent with that which he held and had declared at Jerusalem
(Gal. ii. 16). It would make him, too, a transgressor through building again
the things which he had destroyed. For why had he given up for a time social
separation if it was right to uphold it? Besides, his present conduct was
really making Christ the minister of sin. He had left legal observances as a
disciple of Christ to be justified by faith. If that was really wrong, in what
a solemn light it placed the Lord Jesus Christ! (Gal. ii. 17, 18). These
arguments we suppose were convincing, and had the effect of recovering Peter
and Barnabas; so that Paul could take the latter into counsel about a second
missionary journey, to revisit the places in which they had worked together.
Into this episode in Paul's life Luke has not entered. We can understand that.
His purpose was to trace out at this time the work among the Gentiles. That
incident at Antioch, therefore, he passed over, as not bearing directly on his
subject.
A Contention. Agreement on the part of Barnabas to
accompany Paul being readily given, a question arose as to the one who should
accompany them. Barnabas desired Mark. Paul's judgment was against that,
considering how he had left them during their first journey. Every one must
feel that Paul had reason on his side. As neither would give way, and a sharp
contention having arisen between them, they parted company, to work in
different places. Barnabas with Mark revisited Cyprus, the scene of former
labour; Paul, choosing Silas as his companion, went to Asia Minor, and went
forth with the commendation from the brethren at Antioch, and began by
traversing Syria and Oilicia and confirming the churches.
Confirming. A word on confirming disciples, in addition to that which
has been said on p. 213 above. It allowed of course on the profession of faith
on the part of the converts, but was not a necessary prelude to their partaking
of the Lord's Supper. The Apostles and others confirmed the assemblies (Acts
xv. 41). Paul and Barnabas retracing on their first journey their steps and
re-visiting the places in which they had worked, confirmed the disciples - not
some, but all! Had none at Antioch, Iconium, or Lystra remembered the Lord in
death till those two revisited the cities named? Then Silas and Judas, when
they went to Antioch with the letter from Jerusalem, confirmed the disciples
there (xv. 32). Had none all these years met in Antioch to remember the Lord in
the breaking of bread ? Were Silas and Judas competent to do what Apostles as
Paul and Barnabas could not ? Again, in xviii. 23, Paul, we read, went through
the countries of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening, or confirming
(the same word here as elsewhere) all the disciples. All needed strengthening,
or confirming. The context will show what the historian intended to state. The
disciples as a company in the different places needed such a ministry. The Lord
provided it, and others besides Apostles could do it.
Timothy.
"Through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches" intimates how the work in
those provinces must have spread. Churches there were. Disciples were not
confined to Antioch in the former province and to Tarsus in the latter. But
Paul desired to press on. So he entered Lycaonia this time from the east, which
brought him necessarily to Derbe by the Cilician Gates before reaching Lystra
or Iconium. At Derbe the Apostle came on the track of his first journey, and
was now reversing the order of his travels. Coming next to Lystra - for the
historian hastens on, and tells us this time nothing of any work at Derbe -
Paul again meets with Timothy, a convert through his labours on the previous
journey; now well reported of at Lystra and at Iconium, but evidently quite a
young man, as the Apostle's remark to him years after (1 Tim. iv. 12) shows.
Paul nevertheless was minded to take him for the work - first circumcising him
because of his parentage by his mother's side. Titus he would not allow to be
circumcised. About Timothy's circumcision he was decided. All occasion against
Paul by the Jews should be avoided. Through the cities they now went, carrying
the decrees ordained at Jerusalem. To some of the cities, as Iconium, and
probably Antioch, Timothy was no stranger, and he must have known disciples in
them. Silas was a perfect stranger to them all; ranking, however, as we see in
the Apostle's salutation to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. i. 1 ; 2 Thess. i. 1),
before Timothy, and next after Paul. Cheered indeed must have been the
Apostle's heart amid all that he had to try him. The converts had evidently
kept their ground. The "much tribulation" of which they had been warned, and
which they had many of them witnessed meted out to Paul, and by this time had
probably experienced in their own persons, had not quenched their ardour for
the spread of the truth. The assemblies planted on the previous visit were
assemblies still. And now enjoying fresh apostolic ministry, they were
established or confirmed in the faith, and increased in number daily. We gather
from this that a time of cessation from persecution was experienced, like that
which the churches of Palestine had proved after the conversion of Paul (ix.
31). God does allow graciously a breathing time when the energy of persecutors
has for a time expended itself, like a volcano which enters on a period of
comparative inactivity after some great outburst from internal fires. So it
seems to have been with the churches in Asia Minor at this time.
So far
the Apostle had been re-visiting scenes of his former labour. Now he would
break new ground, turning northward to Phrygia and Galatia, through both of
which provinces he went, having been forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the
Word in Asia.* Divine guidance was markedly manifested on this journey. Here we
first meet with it. Viewing the map, it will be seen that from Iconium and by
Antioch a direct road led to Asia - i.e., the Roman proconsular province of
that name. Thither he would have gone, had not the Holy Ghost, who guides as to
the fields of labour on earth, forbidden it. The time to work that field had
not yet come. Other countries were first to receive his attention. Phrygia and
Galatia were to profit by it, ere Asia heard the Gospel from his mouth. And
profit they certainly did, if what we learn of the work in Galatia was at all
indicative of what it was in Phrygia. Gladly did the people in the former
province welcome the Apostle; "Ye received me," he writes, "as an angel of
God," - his infirmity, his trial in the flesh, in no way checking the readiness
of the Galatians to receive his ministry. Nor did that readiness diminish as
they made better acquaintance with him. "I bear you record," he could add,
"that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and
have given them to me" (Gal. iv. 14, 15). We may suppose, from this, that he
suffered in his eyesight as well as in other ways. The Galatians felt for him,
they loved him warmly. But, evidently of a versatile disposition, they were
subsequently much taken up with Judaising teachers, and Paul was then regarded
by them in a very different light. Gauls they were, who had migrated to Asia
Minor, and exhibited that characteristic which can be traced in the race to
this day.
* It is questioned what the historian intended by Galatia here,
whether the Roman province of that name, or what may be called Galatia proper.
We have said, "having been forbidden," for this is what Luke wrote, assigning
thereby this reason for turning to Phrygia and Galatia.
Troas.
Phrygia and Galatia traversed, but no details recorded connected with this
visit, nor with the second referred to in xviii. 23, the historian hastens on
to the moment when the call to enter Europe was made known. Coming over against
Mysia, the Apostle had desired to enter Bithynia, the north-western province of
Asia Minor. But, as with respect to Asia, so too with respect to Bithynia,
Divine guidance forbad it. "The spirit of Jesus," as we should read, "suffered
them not" (xvi. 7). But why these checks and diversions from the Apostle's
purpose? Certainly the work in Galatia might have appeared a sufficient reason
for not allowing him at that time to enter the Roman province of Asia. But why
was the way to Bithynia barred when they were so near to it? This question
remained unanswered till, passing by Mysia and coming down to Troas, Paul
learnt by a vision at night, that to Europe they were to go. By prophetic
announcements and by visions God was guiding His servant, and the company.
Forbidden of the Holy Ghost to enter Asia, and again hindered from entering
Bithynia, Paul by this vision was summoned to Macedonia.
Journeying
across the Troad, as they needs must have done, they reached the town of
Troas,* "the port for embarkation for any country to which the Holy Spirit
might send them" (Lewin). Near to the site of ancient Troy, and now a ruin, it
was then a place of importance, its walls embracing a circuit of several miles.
Its harbour accommodation was good, though the port had been artificially
constructed. From it and to it flowed much of the traffic which passed between
the continents of Europe and Asia. But to Paul Troas was otherwise memorable,
and never, surely, did it fade from his remembrance. For the vision that he had
on his first visit, and the incident connected with Eutychus on his last visit
before his imprisonment, were doubtless imperishably fixed on his mind. To us
it has an additional interest, apart from classical associations, since it was
the place where, according to our narrative, Luke first joined company with
Paul. For the knowledge of this we are indebted, incidentally we may say, to
the historian himself.
* How they reached Troas, whether by skirting the
southern boundary of Mysia, or whether they followed the road which ran through
the middle of that province, and would land the travellers at Troas, is another
point which is questioned. Mysia lay in the way, so part of it had to be
traversed to reach the coast. If "passing by" be taken, as Mr. Lewin contends,
in a metaphorical, not in a geographical sense, we shall understand that the
Apostle passed along the direct road, without taking up any work in Mysia. Asia
forbidden him at present, this seems the most natural understanding of the
passage.
The Vision. Alone with God, in the silent hours of the
night, the Apostle received what we may call fresh marching orders; and the
secret of his steps being diverted from entering Bithynia was now to be
understood. "A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of
Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Gome over into Macedonia, and help us" (xvi.
9). Communicating to his companions what he had seen and heard, all agreed that
it was a call from God to cross the sea to visit that country. For we read,
"And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into
Macedonia, assuredly gathering that God" (not "the Lord") "had called us for to
preach the gospel unto them" (ver. 10).
Companions in Travel.
Here for the first time does Luke write in the first person plural, associating
himself with Paul as one of his companions - "we endeavoured to go into
Macedonia, assuredly gathering that God had called us," etc. In this
unobtrusive way does he first present himself on the stage. Henceforth we can
trace, by the pronouns used, when he was with Paul and when he was not. And now
we have been introduced to the great Apostle's chief companions in labour one
by one. Of Titus we have learnt that he was with Paul and Barnabas at the
conference at Jerusalem, Silas joined him as travelling companion at Antioch,
Timothy at Lystra, we suppose, and now Luke at Troas. Of these Titus and
Timothy were his children in the faith. As to the time and human instruments
used for the awakening of Silas and of Luke, history is silent.
Philippi. Setting sail from Troas, they made a straight course to the
island of Samothracia, now Samothraki ; and the next day they reached Neapolis,
now Cavallo, to which they were bound. Leaving there the vessel, they set forth
up the country by land to Philippi, distant some eight to ten miles. Now in
ruins, it was then a town of importance as the first city of that district of
Macedonia, taking that place as the capital of Macedonia Prima, which had once
belonged to Amphipolia. Connected in profane history with the overthrow of
Brutus and Cassius by Octavius and Antony, it became a Roman colony with the
Italicumjus. This carried with it immunity from public taxes,* with municipal
government. It was governed by Roman laws.
* As the land tax and the poll
tax.
On the first Sabbath after their arrival the travellers sought out
the place for prayer, there being no synagogue in the city ; this indicating
that the Jewish population was neither large nor wealthy. Resorting to the
spot, near the river Gangites, now Angista, they found only women. Where were
the men? Religion among the Jewish settlers seems to have been at a low ebb.
Some faithful ones were, however, there. The women would attend at the place
for prayer, if the men did not. Was the vision all a delusion, a snare? A man
of Macedonia Paul had seen, who said, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us."
Had men been crying to God in that country? Very likely it was the prayer of
godly women which was to be answered by that vision and its consequences.
Unbelief might have judged erroneously, and, seeing only women, might have
thought there was little field for labour in that city. Paul and his company,
however, were not discouraged. "They sat down and spake unto the women which
resorted thither." And they spake, we can well believe, as freely and as
earnestly as if a large number of men were collected with a proportionate
number of women. And the women got a blessing. Thus the work began. Ere long
the question, where, were the men? received an answer, as many evidently were
converted. A small beginning led to great blessing.
Lydia. Of
one woman we are now to read, Lydia her name, from the city of Thyatira, in the
province of Lydia in Asia Minor. She "heard us," said Luke; and the Lord opened
her heart to attend unto the things spoken by Paul. The change in her was real,
and soon effected. And baptised, she and her household, she offered hospitality
to Paul and to his company. Engaged in business, a seller of purple, she was a
woman of means. She would not be denied. "If ye have judged me to be faithful
to the Lord," were her words, "come into my house, and abide there." She meant
what she said. "She constrained us," writes Luke (xvi. 15). Her house became
the sojourn-place of that little company of four, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and
Luke. There was now one Christian household at least in the city of Philippi.
Divine guidance was marked. A resting-place for those labourers was thus
unexpectedly opened out. That day's converse with the women at the prayer-house
outside the city was destined to produce many and important results. Blessing
came to Lydia, a home was found ready for Paul, etc.; and encouragement surely
they must all have felt. One step led to another. But they were content to take
one step at a time. In the work of God how often may that be necessary. Of
Divine guidance Lydia could also surely speak. A native of Thyatira, but
resident at Philippi for the prosecution of her trade, she could now see God's
hand in leading her to that city. She was brought thither to hear and to
receive the Gospel, and to have the honour of entertaining servants of Christ.
The Apostle and his companions lived under her roof. How many, surely,
reviewing their path can speak of the way God has led them. Far away was
Lydia's native city. Led forth from it for secular work, she found that God's
eye had been on her, and His hand had guided her, and now His voice she had
heard in the depths of her soul, ministering salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus.
A Pythoness.Happy seasons they must have enjoyed, the
labourers partaking of Lydia's hospitality and imparting Christian instruction,
whilst she and her household were drinking in apostolic teaching. Nor was the
work confined to that household. Brethren are mentioned as converts ere Paul
left the place (xvi. 40). Luke, however, does not dwell on the quiet hours and
fruitful seasons, but proceeds to tell us of the opposition aroused, and of the
prosecution which followed, directed against Paul and Silas, occasioned as it
was by the deliverance of the Pythoness from the demon that enslaved her. A
Pythoness she was called,* as having a spirit of divination, and was supposed
to be possessed by Apollo. Evidently the work of the Lord was proceeding, and
was pretty well noised abroad. For that damsel, under the influence of the
demon, followed Paul and Silas day after day - "many days," said Luke - and
publicly advertised them, crying out, "These men are the servants of the Most
High God, which show unto you (not us) the way of salvation" (Acts xvi. 17).
Mark the language - you, not us. She did not include herself among those for
whom salvation was in store. Rightly so; for it was the demon who spake through
her, and there is no salvation for demons, and they know it (Matt. viii. 29).
Two women are then specially noticed at Philippi, - Lydia, who opened her house
to Paul, after the Lord had opened her heart; and the Pythoness, who opened her
mouth to advertise the work.
* "Python was tho prophetic serpent at Delphi,
the centre and focus of Gentile divination. He gave his name and place to the
prophetic Deity of the Gentile world ; the successor of the serpent at Delphi
was the Pythian Phoebus, or Apollo. And from him all who claimed the powers of
divination received their title, and were called Pythons." - Wordsworth on
Acts, 28
We have said it was a demon which possessed her. Was that
really the case? Proof was at hand for all who wanted it. Would Paul receive
help in the work from such a quarter? The Lord would not when on earth (Luke
iv. 35, 41). The servant would not either. So, grieved by her ways, Paul at
length turned round, and exorcised the demon: "I command thee in the name of
Jesus Christ to come out of her," he said. "And it came out the same hour" is
the historian's account (xvi. 18). The damsel was delivered from the demon. The
power of the name of Christ was manifested. A greater victory was achieved than
that by Octavius and Antony over the forces of Brutus and Cassius. A poor
wretched member of the human family was delivered from demoniacal possession.
But the gain to her masters was gone. Selfish greed had actuated them - they
were making money by her. Now, all hopes of further pecuniary profit thus
ended, enmity against Paul and Silas possessed them. They laid hold of them.
They dragged them into the market-place before the rulers, and forthwith
brought them xtnto the magistrates. That it was possession was evident. The
spirit left her. That it was a demon and not divine power all could see; for,
commanded in the name of Jesus Christ, it at once obeyed and left its
victim.
A Prosecution. By Roman law the religion of a country was
not to be interfered with. Now Paul and Silas were preaching Christ. An
accusation, therefore, an indictment, was ready to hand. We learn what it was.
"These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs,
which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans" (20,
21). Virtuous, law-abiding people indeed! Worthy citizens of Philippi! In this
character they now appeared. Now what had they cared about Roman law, or the
preaching of Paul and Silas, so long as their pockets were not touched? But,
their source of gain being dried up, they came out in this new guise. Satan can
be transformed into an angel of light when it suits his purposes. The
magistrates evidently had no sympathy with the accused. The prosecutors
probably knew that. And those sitting in the seat of justice would show
themselves zealous for the law. The accusation thus brought, without delay and
apparently without further parley, the garments of the accused were forthwith
rent by the magistrates and the beating with rods commenced. Many stripes laid
on them, they were sent to prison, and the jailor was charged to keep them
safely.
A Night in Prison. Vengeance had been exacted. The
majesty of the law had been upheld. The prison population was increased by two.
Night then settled on the scene, and all was quiet, we may suppose, in the
streets and in the market-place of Philippi. The jailor, to carry out his
instructions, cast his two prisoners into the inner prison, and made their feet
fast in the stocks. He could then, like his superiors, the magistrates, retire
to rest with an easy mind. His new prisoners, he was assured, when so confined,
could not possibly escape during the hours of darkness. So he fell asleep. But
two in that prison did not sleep. What kept them awake? Were they brooding over
the gross injustice of which they had been the victims? Were the wounds caused
by the scourging so painful that sleep was banished from their eyelids ? They
did not sleep for their hearts were full, and they gave vent to their feelings
in a manner never before, we may be sure, known within those walls. Many,
doutlbess, had been the curses uttered there by prisoners, impotent to do more
than curse, or to breathe out imprecations on those who had imprisoned them.
Bub with Paul and Silas how different! For "at midnight they prayed and sang
praises to God." Prayer might seem not out of season; but praises who would
have expected? And evidently these latter were no feeble attempts to encourage
each other, or to put a bold face on their misfortunes. For the prisoners heard
them. Those, whose feet were fast in the stocks, and so unable to move, or
perhaps even to shift their position, were the freest in spirit that night.
Praises or hymns to God were heard by the other occupants of the jail, coming
forth from those two in the inner prison. If nothing else prevented the other
prisoners sleeping, the prayers uttered and the .hymns sung by Paul and Silas
must have done that, who with their wounds undressed, and painfully conscious
of the treatment they had received, showed their spirits remained undaunted,
and their hearts full of praise.
The Jailor. What would come out
of it? Why were they allowed to be thus ignominiously and unjustly treated? Had
the Lord deserted them ? The secret of it all is to be disclosed. The jailor
was one of those given by the Father to the Son before the foundation of the
world, and ere sunrise the next morning he was to profess his faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. So at midnight God began to work. The place was shaken by an
earthquake, all the prison doors were opened, and every one's bands were
loosed. The jailor, suddenly awaking out of sleep, saw the doors open and
feared that all his prisoners had escaped. He therefore drew his sword, not to
smite a prisoner, but to kill himself. But again a voice is heard, clear and
loud, from the inner prison. This time it is addressed to the prison keeper,
and in the hearing of all: "Do thyself no harm; for we are all here" (ver. 28).
That hard-hearted man's preserver was one of the two to whom he had shown no
sympathy, and therefore deserved none at their hands.
Changed
Circumstances. Calling for a light, springing into the inner prison, and
trembling for fear, he is seen, where previously he had never thought of being,
at the feet of Paul and Silas, whom he now brought out. Was it pity only that
now took possession of him, or remorse for his treatment of them? There was
more than that. Conscience-work had begun in his soul. He was now thoroughly
aroused. He was sensible of a want, the urgency of which would brook no delay,
nor permit him to conceal it. All might hear of it. In agony of soul, for the
first time in earnest about his salvation, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?" A moment of interest and joy to Paul and Silas. Nor to them only. Was
there not joy in heaven as these words were uttered by the jailor on earth 1
(Luke xv. 7, 10).
Were the words of that possessed woman really true?
Had she correctly described the vocation of those at whose feet he had fallen?
He knew, if no one else in the prison did, that they were blessedly true. So,
in deep anxiety, to them he turned, and inquired the way of salvation. His
question put was at once answered. "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt
be saved, thou and thy house" (ver. 31). We quote the Revised Version, and give
the better reading. Like the multitude in John vi. who asked, "What must we do,
that we may work the works of God?" - to whom the answer came, "This is the
.work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent" (John vi. 28, 29); so
to his urgent question caine the direct and simple answer, "Believe on the Lord
Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house." The jailor naturally was
thinking of himself - What must I do? The answer intimated that God was willing
to save him and all under his roof.
How real and important, aye and
personal, a matter does salvation appear, when the conscience is aroused. No
fine phrases, no vague generalities, will satisfy the person then. The one, the
all-absorbing question is, "What must I do to be saved?" The thought expressed
in that question implies, of course, ignorance of the way of
salvation.
But how completely does the answer set the soul right in this
matter, as it directs it away from itself to another: "Believe on the Lord
Jesus." Why believe on Him? Because all has been done, all has been suffered by
Him, that had to be done and suffered for salvation to be within our reach. Our
sins have been borne by Him, and propitiation has been made by His blood. How
perfect then and all-sufficient must be His atoning sacrifice, that to a
heathen, to an idolater who had never till that moment bestowed one thought on
his soul, salvation was then and there for him, and for every member of his
house if they believed on the Lord Jesus. Paul and Silas did not, however, stop
there "for they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his
house" (ver. 32). Following in this the better reading "with" for "and to," it
would appear that all his household were present with him. The message, the
salvation, was for them all. Inside the prison, then, Paul and Silas repeated
the offence for which they had been thrown into it. Would the jailor inform
against them? would he denounce them? How could he? how should he? They had
kept him from self-destruction, they had ministered the way of present
salvation to that man and to his household.
Conversion. These
prisoners had shown of what spirit they were. They sang praises with their feet
in the stocks. They had preserved the jailor, who had shown them no kindness,
but the contrary, from the guilt of suicide. They set before him the grace and
the freeness of salvation. Now we learn how grace wrought in him. He displayed
fruits of the Divine nature. He showed that he was converted. Consideration for
them was first manifested. He took them that same hour of the night, and washed
their stripes. He confessed the Lord, was ranked as His disciple, in common
with his household. For all of them were straightway baptised. He set meat
before Paul and Silas, who doubtless were in need of it. Thought, love, concern
for these two he displayed, - fruit, surely, of that Divine nature of which he
had just become a partaker ; and now, his heart full, he rejoiced greatly with
all his house, having believed in God. Well, how well could he now understand
those two singing hymns to God at midnight, since he and they were partakers of
the same grace and shared in the same joy.
The Morrow. What a
night had that been for those inside the prison! Morning came, and with it the
lictors, the officers of the magistrates, who had inflicted the punishment the
previous day. They came with a command from their superiors to let the
prisoners go. In zeal for the law those magistrates had inflicted corporal
punishment and imprisonment. Now they were to learn that they were the
law-breakers, having beaten uncondemned two who had the right of Roman
citizenship. Jealously was that right guarded by the Romans, and to act in
contravention of it was no light matter for the offender. The magistrates had
thereby laid themselves open to prosecution. At the mercy therefore of their
victims, they now cringed before them, and, as Paul had insisted, carne
themselves in person, brought them out of the prison, and asked them to leave
the city. This, after entering Lydia's house, seeing the brethren, and
comforting them, they prepared to do.
A night memorable for all
concerned it had indeed been. Did Lydia and those with her think that a blow
had been struck at them all by the arrest, ill-treatment, and imprisonment of
Paul and Silas? Very likely there was sadness in her house that livelong night.
Well could she now understand that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy
cometh in the morning" (Psalm xxx. 5), as Paul and Silas recrossed her
threshold, and announced the addition of another household to the newly formed
Christian community. Divine guidance, all must have felt, had been again
displayed. What seemed so detrimental to the cause had really furthered it.
Completely was the enemy again outwitted. He sought to stop the work by the
arrest and imprisonment of the evangelists. That only furthered it, and
increased the number of the disciples.
Thessalonica. From the
capital of Macedonia Prirna, they went to Thessalonica, the capital of
Macedonia Secunda, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, and along the
great Roman road, the Via Egnatia. The distance to be travelled was about one
hundred Roman miles. There - what in Philippi was not - was a synagogue of the
Jews. At Philippi we read not of Jews stirring up the multitude, such as Paul
had experienced in Asia Minor. At Thessalonica, however, the Jews were again
prominent, and foremost in the uproar. Leaving Luke at Philippi, Paul and Silas
began work at Thessalonica, and first with the Jews. "For three Sabbath days he
reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening," we are told, "and alleging,
that the Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and
that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is the Christ" (Acts xvii. 2, 3). His
heart's desire, and prayer for Israel, was that they might be saved (Rom. x.
1). In accordance with that he first laboured in the synagogue, and with great
effect. "Some of the Jews were persuaded" (better here than "believed"), "and
consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks" (i.e., proselytes), "a
great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." The work was extensive, and
souls were in earnest. Of this we have confirmatory evidence from the Apostle
Paul himself, who, writing to the Thessalonians, could say, "When ye received
the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men,
but, as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you
that believe " (1 Thess. ii. 13). So simple were they, so hearty, so
real.
Opposition. Jealousy aroused, unbelieving Jews worked on
the rabble ("vile fellows," as the Revised Version translates), to make an
uproar. The Jews, who would not eat with such, had no compunction in calling in
their aid to arrest, if possible, the movement. In this they to a certain
extent succeeded, and sought for Paul and Silas in the house of Jason, but in
vain. They could not find them. The Lord watched over His servants, and on this
occasion sheltered them in some way not explained by the historian. The crowd
however, intent on hostility to the Gospel, drew Jason and certain brethren
before the rulers of the city, there called politarchs, and accused Jason of
harbouring Paul and Silas, and charged the others with him of disobeying the
decrees of Caesar, saying "that there is another king, one Jesus." Paul and
Silas, in their eyes, turned the world upside down. What power their preaching
must have had! Jason and others abetted them. The pestilential teaching must be
stopped. It was even a menace to the authority and claims of Caesar. How loyal
to the Imperial dynasty could Jews become! At home, desirous to shake off the
Roman yoke ; abroad, when it suited their purpose, playing the role of doughty
champions of it. These accusations, put forward, troubled the multitude and the
rulers. The politarchs could not ignore them. But, more guarded in their
conduct than those at Philippi, they took security of Jason and the others, and
let them go. With this terminated the Apostle Paul's labours at that time at
Thessalonica; for the brethren - what love was this! Fearing evidently the mob,
who were ready to wreak their vengeance on Paul and Silas, sent them away by
night to Berea. How grace ministered attracts those who receive it, and calls
forth the exhibition of Divine nature - love from those who have been
blessed.
What length of stay Paul had made there it is difficult
precisely to fix, but it must have been some little time. The first three
Sabbath days were spent in the synagogue ; after which they must have worked
elsewhere, for we learn from the Epistle to the Philippians that the saints in
that city sent once and again to minister to Paul's necessity when at
Thessalonica. And since the distance between these cities was ons hundred Roman
miles, communication in those days must have taken time, and weeks must have
passed, most likely, between the first and the second remittance. Luke had been
left at Philippi, and remained there, as the change of pronoun from the first
person plural to the third now plainly indicates. We can understand then the
readiness of the Philippian saints so early in their Christian career to
minister to the Apostle's need. Luke's continued presence at Philippi would
explain, too, the repetition of that service (Phil. iv. 16), and how it came
about that the Philippian assembly was thus specially
distinguished.
Further, in support of the opinion that the Apostle's
stay was not limited to three weeks, we may mention, as we learn it from the
First Epistle to the Thessalonians, that the report of their conversion had
sounded forth throughout Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thess. i. 8), and the saints
had been instructed by Paul in person in Christian teaching, and notably in
that of the Lord's coming (1 Thess. v. 1, 2 • 2 Thess. ii. 5), though
needing more, which the Apostle by his first letter supplied (1 Thess. iv.
15-18). Then, too, we are told how Paul's heart had been drawn out towards them
(1 Thess. ii. 7, 11), even as a nurse cherisheth her children, and as a father
cares for the behaviour of his family. Moreover he had maintained himself,
while there, by working at his trade of tent-making (1 Thess. ii. 9). In
addition to all this, we would remind the reader of those ties he formed, ties
of which Paul's earnest desire to revisit them are evidences (1 Thess. ii. 17,
18; iii. 10). All these facts point to a stay in that city of some little
duration, though suddenly cut short by the violence of the mob stirred up by
the Jews. And much fruit had resulted. The work had been successful in a
remarkable manner. The word had wrought effectively in many, and already (1
Thess. v. 12,13) there had been raised up some who voluntarily cared for the
saints, labouring among them, and who were over them in the Lord. A needful
service this was, and one which the unruliness of some (1 Thess. v. 14, 15)
would cause to be increasingly valued. All this intimates that the visit there
was of some length. But much as Paul might have liked to prolong it, other
fields of labour had to be occupied, which the enemy, by driving them away from
Thessalonica, set them free to enter upon.
Berea. "Ever onward"
was the great Apostle's motto. So, carrying out the Lord's instructions, "When
they persecute you in this city, flee ye unto another" (Matt. x. 23), Paul and
Silas departed to Berea, now Verria, or Kara Verria. This was situated in
another division of Macedonia - Macedonia Tertia - and so under different
jurisdiction. Nothing daunted by past experiences, they sought out the Jews in
that city, by entering into the synagogue. Here they had a more favourable
reception from the frequenters of the synagogue, who, not indeed ready to
receive the Word just on the authority of two strange men, searched the
Scriptures daily, and proved that the new teaching was correct. Jealousy and
clamour had been displayed at Thessalonica; a readiness to weigh matters, and
fairness in listening, characterised those in Berea. "They received the Word
with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those
things were so." The result we read : many of them believed. A great number,
too, of Greek women of honourable estate, and of men not a few. Was Berea to be
a second Derbe, where they could labour in peace? Or, would it resemble more
what had been experienced at Iconium and Lystra, to which places, as we have
seen, Jews went from a distance to stir up opposition. Alas, it was to be like
these two latter ; for Jews from Thessalonica went to Berea, about fifty miles
distant, having heard that the Word of God was being preached there by Paul.
What persistent hostility to God and to His grace! Allowed to stir up
opposition and to trouble the people, the brethren in Berea, so recently
converted as they all were, cared for Paul, and sent him away as far as the
sea, and some even conducted him to Athens. What malice actuated those Jews!
They would not receive the truth, and, if possible, would hinder anybody else
from enjoying it. Children of the devil were thus manifested (John viii. 41-44
; 1 John iii. 10). Is this an uncharitable statement? Scripture so
characterises persistent opponents of the faith (Acts xiii. 10). Let us look at
things in their true light.
"As far as to the sea" they went. So we
should read according to the oldest uncials, and not "as if to the sea," which
might be held to have been but a blind to put pursuers off the scent. At what
point they embarked for Athens is not stated. A road from Berea eastward toward
the sea lay through Pydna, where it turned southward, then through Anamum and
Hatera to Dium, where it has been suggested that they took ship for Athens.
There was also another road to Dium according to the Antonine itinerary. As
Luke, however, has not traced the route we cannot definitely fix the road to
Dium, nor settle on that port as the place of embarkation. We can, however,
pause to admire the devotedness of those brethren who escorted Paul, and did
not leave him until he reached Athens. The sea voyage to Athens would occupy a
little time, say from three to six days, according as the vessel went
continuously, or stopped the nights by the way. So we may compute the journey
from Berea to Athens and back to have necessitated an absence from home of
these brethren of between two and three weeks. But sure we are neither the
time, the expense, nor the fatigue was grudged in caring for, and cheering, and
helping on his way one who had ministered such blessings to their souls, and,
it may be, whose weakness of sight made him more dependent on others. Brotherly
love was active in them. They were manifestly children of God. Paul must for a
time be at Athens alone ; Silas and Timotheus abode at Berea still.
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