The Apostle Paul, Servant of Christ Boiling Springs, NC Overview Study Guide 704 966-6845 Unit II, Chapter 6 [email protected] “The Second Missionary Journey” © All rights reserved by Lorin L Cranford Quick Links to Study 6.1.0 The Second Journey 6.1.3 Ministry in Macedonia 6.1.4 Ministry in Achaia 6.1.5 Return to Antioch 6.1.1 Minstry in Syria and Cilicia 6.1.3.1 Work in Philippi 6.1.4.1 Work in Athens Conclusion 6.1.2 Ministry in Galatia and Mysia 6.1.3.2 Work in Thessalonica 6.1.4.2 Work in Corinth 6.1.3.3 Work in Berea Introduction Once the conference in Jerusalem was concluded, Paul and Barnabas made the long journey back north to Antioch in Syria. Judas and Silas from the Jerusalem church went with them in order to officially deliver the letter from Jerusalem to the church in Antioch. Although unnamed, other members of the Antioch church who had traveled with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem (cf. 15:2) are presumed to have also returned back to An- tioch after the conference in Jerusalem. Acts 15:30 simply indicates regarding this group of men that “Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀπολυθέντες κατῆλθον εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, therefore these having been sent off went down to Antioch. What a discussion must have taken place among these six or more men as they made the several day journey back to Antioch. The church joyously received the news about the position regarding Gentiles that was taken in Jerusalem (cf. 15:30- 35). Both Judas and Silas enthusiastically encouraged the church to continue its ministry as it had been doing (v. 32). After the passing of some time Silas and Judas decided to return home to Jerusalem, but Paul and Barn- abas had found a new spiritual home in Antioch and thus they remained in the city to help the church (vv. 33-35). How much time passed is not specified by Luke in Acts. Neither does he include the disruption that happened with who Peter made a visit to the city after Silas and Judas had left for Jerusalem. But this is not surprising since Luke’s objective in his writing was to stress unity and harmony between the emerging Gentile Christianity and the Jewish oriented Christianity. Paul included it (Gal. 2:11-14) simply because it fit his writing purposes of stressing the independency of his apostleship from control by the Twelve in Jerusalem. The next major event in Paul’s life would get off to a bad start in a conflict with his dear friend Barnabas over John Mark. But Paul had much yet to learn about missionary service. This second trip would indeed be blessed by God and commissioned by the church at Antioch. But it would take twists and turns completely un- expected by Paul. He would venture much further from his homes in Tarsus and Jerusalem than he had ever been before. He would encounter Greek culture first hand as he traveled in Macedonia and Achaia preaching the Gospel. The moral rottenness of Greek society by this point in time would confront him with new challenges he had not had to deal with in the eastern Mediterranean where Greek culture was influential but was not native to the local cultures. God was again pushing the apostle outside his comfort zones into new situations of ministry that demanded total dependence on divine leadership for their success. 6.1.0 The second missionary journey (ca. AD 48-51), Acts 15:36-18:22 Acts 15:36-39. 36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. 39 The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 36 Μετὰ δέ τινας ἡμέρας εἶπεν πρὸς Βαρναβᾶν Παῦλος· ἐπιστρέψαντες δὴ ἐπισκεψώμεθα τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς κατὰ πόλιν πᾶσαν ἐν αἷς κατηγγείλαμεν τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου πῶς ἔχουσιν. 37 Βαρναβᾶς δὲ ἐβούλετο συμπαραλαβεῖν καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην τὸν καλούμενον Μᾶρκον· 38 Παῦλος δὲ ἠξίου, τὸν ἀποστάντα ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Παμφυλίας καὶ μὴ Page 292 συνελθόντα αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸ ἔργον μὴ συμπαραλαμβάνειν τοῦτον. 39 ἐγένετο δὲ παροξυσμὸς ὥστε ἀποχωρισθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων, τόν τε Βαρναβᾶν παραλαβόντα τὸν Μᾶρκον ἐκπλεῦσαι εἰς Κύπρον, After the passing of some time (Μετὰ δέ τινας ἡμέρας) in their busy minis- try in Antioch, the discussion turned to the churches established on the first mission- ary journey in southern Galatia. Quite nat- urally Paul and Barnabas were concerned about the welfare of these congregations. Although Antioch was located on one of the major Roman roads that connected to those running east and west across the re- gion where these churches were, private communication between these mission- aries and those congregations was very difficult. From Luke’s description in v. 36, they evidently had not heard anything from these churches where they had been two to three years earlier, and perhaps even longer than that. Thus their concern about the welfare of those congregations is easily understandable. Thus Paul proposed to Barnabas, ἐπιστρέψαντες δὴ ἐπισκεψώμεθα τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς κατὰ πόλιν πᾶσαν ἐν αἷς κατηγγείλαμεν τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου πῶς ἔχουσιν, “Come, let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” The heart of Paul’s proposal was simply ἐπισκεψώμεθα τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς... πῶς ἔχουσιν, let us see after the brothers, how they are doing. The first part is pastoral and is taken from the verb ἐπισκέπτομαι meaning to see after in the sense to take care of. The second grows out of the first. The phrase πῶς ἔχουσιν, posted at the end of the second and after the relative clause, has the literal sense of saying, how they are holding on to the Word of the Lord. The spiritual welfare of these churches was tied into how faithfully they were adhering to the Gospel message Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed to them in that initial evangelizing and subsequent training on the first missionary trip. Since all of this had been given in oral form rather than in written form, it was even more urgent for these missionaries to pay another visit. Barnabas was keen on the idea of re-visiting these churches, but he had another idea that Paul did not think was so keen: he wanted to take John Mark with them, again: Βαρναβᾶς δὲ ἐβούλετο συμπαραλαβεῖν καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην τὸν καλούμενον Μᾶρκον, Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. The translation of ἐβούλετο is better rendered as ‘was determined to.’ This was more than a suggestion by Barnabas to Paul; it was close to a demand. Mark was a nephew of Barnabas, and had accompanied them to Cyprus on the first missionary journey as an assistant: εἶχον δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννην ὑπηρέτην (Acts 13:5b). But at the mainland port city of Perga, John Mark left them to return home to Jerusalem: Ἰωάννης δὲ ἀποχωρήσας ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα (Acts 13:13b). Paul did not think1 that he had justifiable reason to leave the two older missionaries: Παῦλος δὲ ἠξίου, τὸν ἀποστάντα ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Παμφυλίας καὶ μὴ συνελθόντα αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸ ἔργον μὴ συμπαραλαμβάνειν τοῦτον, But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia2 and had not accompanied them in the work. This was an impasse between these two men, that is understandable. Both had arguments for their views. Paul did not want to risk another failure for such an important mission, while Barnabas wanted to give his nephew a second chance. 1“Whereas the Alexandrian text reads ēxiou, ‘he (Paul) was considering it fitting,’ MS D reads rather ouk ebouleto legōn, ‘he (Paul) did not want to, saying (that).’ MS D also adds (at the end) eis ho epemphthēsan, ‘for (that for) which they had been sent.’” [Jo- seph A. Fitzmyer, vol. 31, The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 572.] 2No contradiction between Acts 15:5b and 15:38 over location: Perga was a city in the district of Pamphylia, as the above map indicates. Page 293 What would be interesting to know is why Mark left the group at Perga. Luke only indicates that he did leave them, although he characterizes Paul’s perspective in 15:38 as Mark being τὸν ἀποστάντα ἀπʼ αὐτῶν, who had deserted them.3 The participle ἀποστάντα used by Luke comes from ἀφίστημι with the basic meaning of ‘go away’ or ‘withdraw.’ The more negative translations such as ‘deserted,’ ‘withdrew,’ ‘a quitter,’ are based on the double preposition construction ἀποστάντα ἀπʼ αὐτῶν where the use of ἀπό τινος with the verb ἀφίστημι carries this negative characterization of literally ‘putting oneself away from someone.’4 Similar uses in Heb. 3:12 and 1 Tim. 4:1 refer to apostasy though this construction. Whatever it was behind Mark’s motivation, Paul considered his withdrawal from the group at Perga to be inexcusable and a signal of a lack of trustworthiness.5 Luke indicates that both missionaries refused to budge from their positions, and the only solution was for them to go their separate ways: 39 ἐγένετο δὲ παροξυσμὸς ὥστε ἀποχωρισθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων, τόν τε Βαρναβᾶν παραλαβόντα τὸν Μᾶρκον ἐκπλεῦσαι εἰς Κύπρον, 40 Παῦλος δὲ ἐπιλεξάμενος Σιλᾶν ἐξῆλθεν παραδοθεὶς τῇ χάριτι τοῦ κυρίου ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, 39 The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.