1 Paul and Silas add Timothy
Text: Acts 16:1-5, KJV: 1Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. 4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. 5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Thoughts:
--Lystra and Derbe were two of the cities where Paul and Barnabas had preached while they were on their first missionary journey (Acts 13-14).
--Lystra was the city where Paul had been stoned, almost to death, but he arose and walked back into the city (Acts 14:19-20). What might Paul have been thinking as he approached this city for another time?
--This time, Paul and Silas found a co-worker! Timothy was the son of Eunice, a Jewish woman (her mother was Lois, 2 Tim. 1:5) and an unnamed Greek father. This may mean his father was a Gentile, not a “Hellenistic” or Greek-speaking Jew.
2 Paul, Silas and Timothy’s first travels
Text, Acts 16:6-10, KJV: 6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. 8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Thoughts:
--“They” in verse 6 most likely means Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Others may have been part of the team but they’re not mentioned in the text.
--This group wasn’t idle: they had gone through Phrygia and “the region of Galatia”. Jews from Phrygia (how did they get there?) were at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10) and Paul had earlier preached in nearby cities such as Lystra, Iconium, Debe, and even Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13-14).
--They wanted to enter Bithynia, north and east of Mysia and bordering the Black Sea, but this was one of the times when the Holy Spirit said “No”. To Paul’s credit, he listened and obeyed.
--The group came to Troas, a seaport town. Some think this is the site of ancient Troy. That didn’t matter to Paul, as he wanted to preach the gospel wherever he could.
--During one night, Paul had a “vision” of a man from Macedonia saying “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” Paul didn’t waste any time in preparing to go
--Now note the “we”, meaning Luke was added to the team. The Scriptures give little information about Luke (or most of the people of that time) except he was a doctor (Colossian 4:14) and team member with Paul during most of Paul’s journeys (note the “we” passages mentioned in Acts after this point).
--Once the team received confirmation (verse 10), they headed for Macedonia. And several things were going to happen once they arrived!
3 Success in Philippi
Text, Acts 16:11-15, KJV: 11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; 12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. 13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. 14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
Thoughts:
--Several commentators have noted how Luke uses nautical terms as well as medical terms in his writings (Gospel of Luke and The Acts). One example is his phrase “a straight course,” verse 11.
--Philippi was not only the “chief city” of that part of Macedonia but also a Roman colony. The details of whom and what made up a Roman colony are beyond the scope of these notes. Any of the standard commentaries would provide more information.
--Paul had spoken with, and witnessed to, any number of Romans, like Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:4-12) before, on Cyprus. Now he is in true pioneer missionary territory as we will see.
--Apparently they had been there for a few days at least before Luke records that on the Sabbath, Paul and the others went to the river side. This was a place of and for prayer. Compare this with the Gospels, where Jesus and the other disciples seldom were near a river, except for baptismal purposes; there is no mention any of the prayed near a river. Topography or the lay of the land may have been one of any number of reasons why.
--There they found several women (no men, oddly enough) who had “resorted” there. This implies there was a custom for these women or, perhaps, anyone else to go to the river and pray.
--The identity of these women is not stated except for one, Lydia. These women could have been wives of the men who were living in the city; servants; or family members. The good thing is that they were there, praying, on a Sabbath day.
--Paul and the others “sat down” and began speaking to these women. There may be a cultural or social reason, or custom of the time, why he and the other men sat down while they were talking with the women gathered there.
--This probably wasn’t just “small talk”, perhaps at first so the people could be introduced to each other. It didn’t take Paul very long to get back to the Gospel. He knew what the Gospel could do for people, and he also remembered what people who didn’t believe the Gospel could do. He had suffered in Pisidian Antioch when the unbelieving Jews stirred up some of the chief women, and ran him out of town (Acts 13:48-51)!
--Lydia is mentioned by name as one who believed the Gospel. How many others believed is not specified. Lydia was from Thyatira, many miles away, in Asia Minor and was a seller of “purple”. This color could be found in three different shades: deep violet, deep scarlet or crimson (Dr. J. Vernon McGee called this shade “Turkey red" in his commentary on Revelation), or a deep blue, such as the Mediterranean Sea (Vincent’s Word Studies, online edition, at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/vws/luke/16.htm, notes on Luke 16:19). This color, no matter the shade, was rare, permanent, and expensive.
--Lydia head the gospel and believed! She was baptized, probably very quickly (as was the case for the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8). Her household was also baptized. Lydia proved her love for the group of preachers by inviting them to stay at her house.
These were some of the successes at Philippi but other things were about to come.
And some of those things would not be very pleasant.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
