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Category: Acts for a 21st c. Church

Acts Apostolos - Acts of the Apostles - the chronicles of Christ's Apostles - a history of Christ's Church including early leaders like Stephen, Philip the Evangelist, Paul, Barnabas and many others
Acts of the Apostles + a History of Christ’s Church

Acts of the Apostles 1-28

 

Acts of the Apostles:
+ The first century Church SHARED Christ while suffering severe persecution.
+ Luke records a historic account of the Church which gives 21c Christians a context to SHARE the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Read more about the Early Church & add your COMMENT on Scripture.

ACT now.

+ SHARE the Gospel history witnessed in the CURRENT chronological SERIES from ACTS of the APOSTLES.

  • Second Missionary Journey – Acts 16

    Second Missionary Journey – Acts 16

    ACTS 16 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. 

    (A quick glance at the Google Earth MAP cover for Paul’s Second Missionary Journey will reveal merely the start of this 2nd mission.)

    Start new

    The apostles’ intention was to return to churches of their first missionary journey but plans have changed. Paul’s journey must start on new roads into all the world without Barnabas.

    Have you ever had to start new journeys to places where you thought you knew the way?

    AND somehow your GPS great planning systems to travel back to where you have been before sends you in a completely different direction?

    THAT’S what happened to Barnabas and Paul.

    BUT there is a connection between these two missionary journeys we may have missed.

    (really all 3 mission trips of the Apostle Paul)

    Acts 15 – Connecting 2 Missionary Journeys

    In fact, the Holy Spirit had other plans for their new start to familiar as well as new and unfamiliar places.

    AD 49 – THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL

    Preaching Good News then a Parting of Paths to the Gentiles
    ACTS 15:36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas,
    “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

    Our conflicting Christian maps of what WE THE CHURCH plan to do in our MISSIONS to preach the Gospel to all of the world often blur a higher view from the perfect perspective of Holy Spirit of God plans.

    The heart of man plans his way,
    but the LORD establishes his steps.

    Proverbs 16:9 ESV
    Acts of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas sent by the Holy Spirit on a mission to the gentiles
    The Holy Spirit had sent our Paul and Barnabas from Antioch Syria to the gentiles

    Barnabas and Paul then planned to deliver a letter to all the followers of Jesus Christ — Jews and Gentiles — an important encouragement from their recent Council in Jerusalem with the Apostles and leading members of the Antioch Church in Syria.

    YET LATER..

    .. they separated from each other.

    Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed..

    ACTS 15:39b-40a ESV

    Acts 15:39-40 Barnabas and Mark depart for Cypress while Paul will journey with Silas to Derby

    Two apostles of the Church separated?

    YES.

    Their second separate journeys to deliver encouragement of the Council in Jerusalem to distant new churches with Jews and Gentiles joined in the worship of the risen Lord Jesus Christ DID NOT go as THEY had planned.

    YET NOW,

    the apostles’ missions will include two more apostles sent forth [*] by the Holy Spirit: MARK with Barnabas and SILAS with Paul.

    40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended [*] by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

    Lystra, Derbe and Iconium in the Taurus mountains.

    Paul wanted to return to encourage new believers in these towns with the Council’s letter and instructions on his second missionary journey initially planned with Barnabas.

    Joseph of Cypress, his fellow apostle with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, had parted ways to encourage his fellow Cyprians. Their previous new start together occurred after a brotherly disagreement between Saul of Tarsus and Barnabas.

    That dispute also involved their assistant John Mark son of Mary, who remained at the foot of the Cross during Jesus’ crucifixion. They had also welcomed Peter into their home after the Apostles miraculous escape from Herod’s prison in Jerusalem.

    Before Paul’s 10 year Missionary Journey

    • + AD 30 – Jesus’ Crucifixion (Mark’s mother at the foot of the Cross
      • Jesus’ RESURRECTION! 3 days later
      • Pentecost with the Holy Spirit giving believers a new start in an eternal life and sending out hundreds of witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection into all the world.
    • AD 32 – Stephen martyred in Jerusalem with Saul of Tarsus as witness, who then is sent out by the Jews to terrorize Christ followers.
    • ~ AD 37 Jesus appears to Saul on a road in Syria and he witnesses the risen Lord!
      • After his return from Arabia Saul will start a new preaching of the Gospel
        • in Damascus (Syria),
        • Jerusalem,
        • Caesarea (Herodian port of Rome in Samaria near Galilee, all part of Roman Syria
        • and Saul’s home of Tarsus, a port city of Roman Cilicia.
        • Then this new start:
          • on ‘3 missionary journeys’
            • after about ten years of proven faith
            • Saul is now also known as Paul

    Paul’s nearly continuous MISSIONARY JOURNEY of 10 years

    AD 47-57

    SOON our outlined divisions of CHAPTERS & VERSES of Acts will navigate a new course — a journey so different from our mortal TIME that Christians often miss months and years in the blink of an eye between verses.

    In this brief section of ACTS of the APOSTLES we call:

    ‘The Second Missionary Journey of Paul,’

    the ‘apostle to the gentiles‘ will join with many other apostles sent out into all the world of their first century with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    ALL will be sent out by the Holy Spirit whose plans may differ from our own.

    NEXT, God-willing, we will meet some of these new companions of the Apostle to the Gentiles as Paul continues his ‘2nd missionary journey’ …

  • a Who’s Who of Paul’s Three Missionary Journeys

    a Who’s Who of Paul’s Three Missionary Journeys

    Now that we have settled the ‘Where Next?’ of Paul’s second missionary journey (after his separation from Barnabas), before we proceed further let’s take a helpful glance at the ‘Who’s Who’ of Paul’s missionary journeys.

    1st Missionary Journey

    Antioch-Cypress

    Paul & Barnabas with John Mark

    Pamphylia-Pisidia-Syria

    Paul & Barnabas without John Mark

    Acts 15:39-40 Barnabas and Mark depart for Cypress while Paul will journey with Silas to Derby

    2nd Missionary Journey

    Barnabas and Mark separate to a second mission trip back to Cypress (without Paul) AND

    Paul and Silas depart for Derbe in Pisidia (without Mark or Barnabas)

    A threefold cord is not quickly broken – Ecclesiastes 4:12 

    Commentators make much of the disagreements involving John Mark that led to a parting of ways of Paul and Barnabas. The Holy Spirit will use these men to accomplish even more as time and Scripture will witness of their later work and love for each other in Christ.

    WHO’S WHO on the Second Missionary Journey

    Paul

    Paul or Saul of Tarsus we now know well. This notable apostle to the gentiles hails from a who’s who lineage of Jewish Pharisees. We would also include him in a who’s who of Cilicia as a leading Roman citizen of its capital. Jesus Christ called the Apostle to proclaim the Gospel a dozen years ago.

    Who is this Saul, Apostle to the Gentiles?
    From ACTS 9

    Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

    A parting of paths of Barnabas (who sails again to Cypress) & Paul who now plans a 2nd missionary journey to Derbe by land through Syria and Cilicia.
    Cilicia – journey through Syria to Pamphylia

    Silas [or Silvanus]

    Σιλᾶς – Contraction for Σιλουανός (G4610)

    From the Who’s Who of Paul’s 2nd missionary journey the often overlooked Silas [pronounced: see’-las]

    Joins Paul in ~AD49 sent from Council in Jerusalem with their Epistle (letter) to the gentile churches. Silas, like Paul, is both Jewish and a Roman Citizen. In addition to his missionary journeys Silas also becomes an important messenger from Peter, Paul and other Church leaders who is sent out with letters, witness and encouragement to remote church leaders.

    Timothy

    Τιμόθεος – Strong’s G5095 – timotheos [pronounced: tee-moth’-eh-os]

    From the Who’s Who of Paul’s 2nd missionary journey Timothy will become best known as Paul’s successor as a Pastor in the Church in Ephesus.

    Antioch-Syria-Cilicia

    ACTS 16:1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy..

    map of return journey of Paul and Barnabas from first missionary journey

    (We’ll return to maps of the local geography of these three towns from Paul and Barnabas’ first visit later.)

    Paul and Silas travel with Timothy in Pisidia

    (but not Antioch on this second journey0

    Pisidia-Phrygia-Galatia-Macedonia

    Paul, Silas & Timothy

    (We’ll follow maps of their journeys later.)

    Epistle of James greeting of 1:1 map major Jewish cities of Roman Empire - Rome Antioch Damascas Jerusalem Alexandria

    Macedonia-Greece-Achaia

    Silas & Timothy; & an unnamed disciple

    Paul with Aquila & Priscilla

    Aquilla & Priscilla with Apollos

    Aquila & Priscilla

    Ἀκύλας – Aquila = “an eagle” & Πρίσκιλλα – Priscilla (i.e. little Prisca)

    ACTS 18:1-2 .. Paul.. went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.

    AND looking back at an earlier account WE almost missed this:
Here is another WHO'S WHO name rarely mentioned on Paul's 2nd missionary journey & not even named in his text in Acts of the Apostles:
    Luke, the beloved physician, author of the Gospel of Luke & Acts of the Apostles

    Luke

    Λουκᾶς – Loukâs, loo-kas’; contracted from Latin Lucanus; Lucas, a Christian:—Lucas, Luke.

    NT Commentators including Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Acts and David Brown point to a subtle key reference of the author Luke in the “we passages” after recording previous acts of Paul and others as “they.”

    ACTS 16:

    6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia..

    10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

    .. 11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage..

    12 and from there to Philippi..

    We remained in this city some days.

    Luke – a first-person Witness

    Like John Mark as a scribe recording the First Missionary Journey on Cypress, the beloved physician Luke now joins Paul’s Second Missionary Journey as a first hand witness.

    The author of Acts will also have ample time on ships and in many towns throughout the Roman world of the apostles to the gentiles to interview others for his orderly account and record what has happened previously and concurrently in other places.

    AD 49-51

    2800 miles (4,500 km)

    The Second Missionary Journey of Paul (and many others)

    To Be Continued

    Talk of JESUS . com

    Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

  • Acts 15:39 Barnabas Sails off to Cypress

    Acts 15:39 Barnabas Sails off to Cypress

    Second Missionary Journey[s] – Departures:

    Acts of the Apostles 15:39

    Acts 15:39-40 Barnabas and Mark depart for Cypress while Paul will journey with Silas to Derby
    2 missionary journeys

    39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 

    Paul is stranded in Antioch [see map]

    NEW PLAN:

    • DO NOT PASS GO
    • Go BACK to Jerusalem
    • Bring Silas along to Antioch
    • GO BY LAND
      • From Antioch North through Syria
      • Preach the Gospel to NEW Towns in CILICIA
      • Continue from Derby to the Churches started on the First Missionary Journey

    Acts 15:40 (some weeks later)

    • ~AD 49 or AD 50

    40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 

    41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

    [See the Land route from Antioch to Derbe on the Google Earth Map of the Departures of the Second Missionary Journey]

    Acts 15:39 Barnabas sails for Cypress. Google Earth Map shows where Paul wanted to go (Derby)
    Map of departures of Barnabas and Paul

    16:15 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς πορευθέντες εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἅπαντα κηρύξατε τὸ εὐαγγέλιον πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει

    And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

    Mark 16:15 – command of the Lord Jesus Christ after His Resurrection!

    Talk of JESUS . com

    Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

    NEXT, God-willing, ACTS 16 – the Second Missionary Journey of the Apostles to the Gentiles – Paul & Silas.

    To be continued…