Bible Students

Introduction

Acts is likely the book placed most out of context by readers of the New Testament. It stands alone as the only New Testament historical book that is not prophetic in nature (Revelation) or a Gospel by nature. Acts is a historical work written about the continuing acts of Jesus through the Apostles in the early church. A large amount of the New Testament (around half) stems from this historical section. Most of the Pauline epistles are written somewhere in the timeline of Acts, or shortly after (in the case of the prison epistles). Because the Acts context of the Pauline epistles is so often overlooked, it would be good to go over the events that take place in these early churches to which Paul writes. 

Throughout Acts, Paul takes three main journeys. The first journey is taken with Barnabas, the second with Silas and Timothy, and the third seemingly alone. Paul meets many people on these journeys, who he later writes about in many of his epistles. 

First Missionary Journey

The first missionary journey begins at the beginning of chapter 13 up until chapter 14 verse 28. This trip takes place approximately from around AD 46 to AD 48. This being the first missionary journey, many seeds are planted which later will be harvested. 

Paul begins his missionary journey in Antioch with Barnabas. Barnabas was introduced earlier in Acts 4:36 as Joses, who was then renamed Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement.” He was with the Apostles well before Saul’s conversion on the Damascus road, and was the person who presented Paul to the Apostles in order for him to join them. 

Barnabas also takes John Mark, who may have been Barnabas’ cousin. From there they visit Cyprus, a Roman city, and then travel to Pamphylia in modern day Turkey. There, John Mark left the company of Paul and Barnabas. The local Jews resisted Paul and Barnabas, which was the defining moment when they began preaching to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). Paul and Barnabas then visit Phrygia, a city just south of Galatia, and then to Lycaonia. Phrygia may be of importance in the discussion of the letter to the Galatians. They planted a handful of churches along the way. After all of this, Paul and Barnabas go back to Antioch, completing the first missionary journey. 

Barnabas is one of the most prominent figures in this section. He is mentioned later by Paul in Galatians 2:13, where he writes that Barnabas was partaking in Peter’s bad behaviour of not eating with Gentiles while Jews were present. He also mentions Barnabas in I Corinthians 9:6 as a brother in the work of Christ Jesus, alongside Peter (called Cephas). 

A church in Galatia had been sprung up by the time Paul had finished his three year mission trip. He wrote his letter to the Galatians around AD 49 in Antioch, not long after completing his first journey. The letter to Galatia may be interpreted politically, which would be a region including Phrygia and neighbouring cities. If this were to be true, the church or churches being referred to would likely have been planted on Paul’s first missions trip.

Second Missionary Journey

Paul’s second missionary journey takes place in Acts 15:36-18:22, from around AD49 to AD52, only a year after the original trip, and the same year Paul wrote Galatians. This trip differs from the first, both in direction and in company. Paul takes a new member on this trip, called Silas. Silas was called a chief man among the brethren (Acts 15:22), as well as a prophet (Acts 15:32). They begin their journey by heading back to Lystra. There, they meet a key figure: Timothy. 

Timothy plays an important role in the New Testament, even if his major recorded role is as receiver of Paul’s letters. Without Timothy much (if not all, in the case that Titus and Timothy are the same) of the pastoral epistles would not have existed. Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and Gentile father, living in Lystra (Acts 16:1). Paul took a liking to Timothy, and brought him along on the journey. 

From there they depart to Phrygia again. This was just south of the province of Galatia, where Paul had earlier written his letter. They travelled for a bit before staying in Thessaloniki, where Paul preached and started a church. Silas and Timothy stayed in the nearby city of Berea, while Paul continued his journey to Achaia. Silas and Timothy rejoined him there. They travelled to Corinth, where they met Aquila and Priscilla, two godly spouses who would be mentioned by Paul later. After this, they returned to Jerusalem. 

Silvanus (known as Silas), was a partner held dear to the apostles. Not only did Paul greatly appreciate his companionship, mentioning him in 2 Corinthians 1:19, but even Peter makes note of him, calling Silas a faithful brother (1 Peter 5:12). Silvanus also helped Paul write multiple letters, including 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and preached with Paul and Timothy in the Corinthian church. 

Aquila and Priscilla, too, were important characters to the early church. Priscilla and Aquila were refugees from Rome (Acts 18:2), who Paul later cited in Romans 16:3 and 2 Timothy 4:19. In addition, Paul also writes on their behalf in 1 Corinthians 16:19, saying that they send warm greetings to the church in Corinth. 

Most notably, though, is Timothy, who is mentioned at length in the New Testament. Timothy is mentioned in Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, and Hebrews, with 1 and 2 Timothy being addressed to him. In these letters he is mentioned both as a background figure (sending greetings to churches), and as a contributor with Paul, and sometimes Silas. 

During this trip, two letters are written to the church in Thessaloniki. These letters were written sometime between AD 51 and AD 53, shortly after Timothy and Silas rejoined Paul in Corinth. Paul had stayed in Thessalonica for around a month to start a church, to which this letter is addressed. Paul wrote this letter to the church with the aid of Timothy and Silas. 

Third Missionary Journey

The third missionary journey takes place in Acts 18:23-21:16, around AD 53-57. This journey takes place shortly after the second mission, though is much longer than the first or second. This is the last recorded missionary journey of Paul. He begins in Antioch, similarly to the first journey. He visits Phrygia and the region of Galatia again, likely checkin in on the Galatian church. He visits Ephesus, where Aquila and Priscilla stayed and taught at the Ephesian church. A teacher, Apollos, was met by Paul there. Paul stayed in Ephesus for around three years. After that, he left to Macedonia, briefly visited Philippi, and then left to Miletus to meet with Ephesian leaders. When he had finished his journey, he left to Jerusalem, where the Jewish officials delivered Paul to prison. 

One of the most prominent figures of this mission trip was Apollos. Apollos was met by Paul in Ephesians as a teacher, where he needed to be taught by Paul about the Holy Spirit. After this, Apollos was able to also teach in Corinth. It was in the letter to the Corinthian church that Paul mentioned Apollos frequently, since the members in Corinth had created groups around following either Paul or Apollos. Apollos is also mentioned in Titus as a traveller. 

Three major letters were written around this time. These include both letters to the Corinthians, and the letter to the Romans. The first letter to the Corinthians was written in during Paul’s stay in Ephesus, around AD 55 to AD 57. After the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:21-41), Paul travelled to Macedonia, where he wrote the second letter in around AD 55 to AD 58. Later, he also visited Corinth in Acts 20. Paul makes mentions of Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla, Timothy, and Silas in these letters. These were figures the Corinthian church knew personally, since they had preached to them. 

The letter to the Romans was also written around this time, near AD 56 to AD 58. Paul wrote this letter from Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla, who would eventually become leaders in the church (Romans 16:3). A man named Gaius was also a Corinthian believer known in the Roman church (1 Corinthians 1:14, and Romans 16:23). Timothy was also mentioned in this letter, and he had apparently been present in the Roman church. Paul also lists a multitude of other helpers at the end of Romans. 

Conclusion

The point of all of this is to unveil the mystery behind many of the New Testament names. This is an issue found all throughout the Bible: Lists of names are given, and often Christians don’t know what the stories are around the individuals. In the New Testament this is found in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, and between Acts and the epistles. In the Old Testament especially, this is found between the narratives of Kings, Chronicles, and the prophets. When these things are plainly laid out, and names are given a story, the whole biblical narrative comes together fluidly.

Bibliography

“Acts and the Epistles Chronology – Study Resources.” Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/pnt/pnt02.cfm. 

Barker, Kenneth L. eds John R. Kolenberger III. The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Corporation, 1994..

Barton, Bruce, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman. Life Application New Testament Commentary. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers.

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Handbook: A Book-by-Book Exploration of God’s Word. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson.

Wilmington, Harold L. Willmington’s Bible Handbook. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers.