
The church in Antioch had a true international flavor and its leadership, hailing from lands across the eastern Mediterranean, chose Saul of Tarsus (now known as Paul the Apostle), Barnabas and John Mark to carry the Gospel into the Roman world (Acts 13:1–3). Paul’s first missionary journey took him and his companions initially to Cyprus, the homeland of Barnabas. They traveled the length of the island from Salamis to Paphos, stopping in synagogues along the way and counting among their converts Sergius Paulus, the island’s Roman proconsul, or governor (Acts 13:4–12).
From Paphos Paul sailed northwest to Perga, a large port city in Pamphylia, where John Mark decided to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13; cf. Acts 15:36–38). From there Paul and Barnabas crossed the rugged Taurus Mountains to Pisidian Antioch, a moderate-sized city in southern Galatia lying a hard ten-days’ walk from the coast (Acts 13:13–14). It has been suggested that the “perils of rivers” and “perils of robbers” mentioned in 2 Corinthians (2 Cor 11:26) may refer to this part of Paul’s travels—or certainly something similar. Paul preached in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch on several occasions; his message was met with mixed feelings by the Jews, but was well received by a gentile audience (Acts 13:15–49). Facing opposition in Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas fled southeast along the main trade route that connected the province of Asia with Syria, to Iconium, where his modus operandi—and the results—were the same (Acts 13:50–14:5).
From Iconium Paul and Barnabas continued farther southeast to Lystra. No synagogue is mentioned in Lystra, although Paul’s most-beloved disciple Timothy would come from this town (cf. Acts 16:1–2). There Paul and Barnabas healed a man who had been born lame and were promptly hailed as Greek gods (Acts 14:6–18). Paul’s opponents from Antioch and Iconium followed him to Lystra, driving him farther east to Derbe and the
surrounding region. After making many disciples in Derbe, Paul boldly retraced his steps through Lystra,Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, strengthening the churches that he and Barnabas had planted there (Acts 14:19 –23). Tracking back through the Taurus Mountains, Paul and Barnabas sailed from Attalia (modern Antalya) to Syrian Antioch where they were well received by their sending church (Acts 14:24–28).
Paul’s success among the Gentiles prompted a heated discussion within the Jerusalem church about the relationship between Gentile converts and matters of Jewish law, particularly circumcision. In response, Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Council, where they argued for the full inclusion of Gentiles into the body of believers. After much deliberation, the Council decided to place only minimal Jewish
legal demands on Gentile believers; by not including circumcision among them, the way was paved for the development of a truly universal church. Carrying the Council’s written decision, Paul and Barnabas, together with Judas Barsabbas and Silas, two church leaders from Jerusalem, returned to Antioch (Acts 15:1–35).
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (c. AD 49–52). Desiring to strengthen the churches that he had founded onhis previous journey, Paul, this time with Silas, traveled overland from Antioch to Derbe. Their route followed the international highway through Tarsus and the Cilician Gates. Barnabas and John Mark, meanwhile, revisited Cyprus (Acts 15:36–41). Timothy joined Paul and Silas in Lystra and the three continued on to Pisidian Antioch,
then turned north through Phrygia. Skirting Bithynia, they headed west through Mysia, a northern district of Asia, to Troas, a Roman colony that owed its prosperity to its location as the terminus of a major eastern trade route on the Hellespont (Acts 16:1–8). There the three were joined by Luke, author of the book of Acts.
At Troas Paul had a vision compelling him to travel to Macedonia to preach the Gospel on European soil (Acts16:9–10), thus irrevocably altering the course of the growth of the early church. He and his companions sailed across the northern Aegean to the Macedonian port of Neapolis, then made their way inland to Philippi, a thriving city proud of its Roman heritage (cf. Acts 16:20–21). Paul’s first convert in Europe was Lydia, a prosperous businesswoman and God-fearer who opened her home to Paul and his companions (Acts 16:11 –15). As usual, opposition followed close at hand. As a result of a commotion that arose when Paul healed a demon possessed slave girl, he and Silas were jailed overnight on charges that, as Jews, they were “throwing the city into confusion” (Acts 16: 16–24). That night the Philippian jailer and his family came to faith in Christ when an earthquake destroyed the cell in which Paul and Silas were being held. The following morning, upon learning that they had imprisoned Roman citizens, the Philippian magistrates urged Paul and Silas to leave the city, hoping to put the matter behind them. Paul and Silas obliged, apparently leaving Luke in Philippi to minister to its growing, much-beloved church (Acts 16: 25–40; cf. Phil 1:3–11).
Paul, Silas and Timothy traveled overland to Thessalonica where they quickly established another church, then just as quickly were run out of town by a mob who opposed their message (Acts 17: 1–9). They found greater success in nearby Berea, where a number of Jews and influential Gentiles embraced the Gospel. Leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea, Paul continued on to Athens by ship, one step ahead of the opposition that persistently
dogged his path (Acts 17:10–15).
Paul’s stay at Athens was relatively brief and he failed to make significant inroads among its sophisticated population. No longer the political capital of Greece (Achaea), Athens nevertheless retained its reputation for culture and learning that it had gained in the fifth century B.C., the Golden Age of classical Greece. Paul’s famous defense of the Gospel before Epicurian and Stoic philosophers of the Areopagus, in which he used the
Athenian altar “to an unknown god” as a springboard to speak of the God of the Jews and the resurrected Jesus, gained a mixed reaction: some sneered while others asked for another hearing (Acts 17:16–34). It can be assumed that Paul planted a church in Athens although the New Testament fails to mention one there. The climax of Paul’s second missionary journey was at Corinth, the capital and main shipping center of Achaea,
where he stayed for eighteen months (Acts 18:1–18). Here he was joined by Silas and Timothy. Initially Paul based his ministry out of the home of Aquila and Priscilla, Jewish believers who, like him, were tent-makers by trade (cf. Rom 16:3–4). The church grew quickly after Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed the Gospel message (Acts 18: 8–10; cf. 1 Cor 1:14). Many of the new Corinthian converts came from disadvantaged life
circumstances while others were undisciplined extremists, and Paul remained concerned about the moral state of the Corinthian church for some time (cf. 1 Cor 1:26–29, 5: 9–13, 6:9–11; 2 Cor 7:5–16). Paul probably wrote his two letters to the Thessalonian church during his extended stay at Corinth.
Paul finally left Corinth to return home. He, along with Aquila and Priscilla, sailed from Cenchrea, Corinth’s port facing the eastern Mediterranean (Acts 18:18; cf. Rom 16:1–2). After a brief stop at Ephesus where he left Aquila and Priscilla, promising to return “if God wills,” Paul sailed under the prevailing Mediterranean winds across the open sea to Caesarea. Back in Palestine, he first reported to the church in Jerusalem, then returned to Antioch
(Acts 18: 19–22).