Paul's Missionary Journey/ How To Approach Others

Read Acts 16:1-5

Title in NIV: Enlistment of Timothy by Paul and Silas.

This starts Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul and Silas set out to visit the cities Paul preached in earlier.  (Refer to the map in the side bar.) They went by land this time. They took the road trough Cilicia and through the Taurus Mountains. Then they went to Derby, Lystra, and Iconium. The Spirit told them not to go to Asia so they went to Bithynia. Again the spirit said no, so they went to through Mysia to Troas. There Paul had a vision to go to Macedonia (16:9). Paul, Silas and Timothy boarded a ship to Samothrace then to Neapolis, the port city of Philippi. Luke stayed in Philippi while Paul, Silas and Timothy went to Amphippolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica. Trouble arose and they fled to Berea.  When their trouble followed them, Paul boarded a ship to Athens. Silas and Timothy stayed to encourage the believers. Paul left Athens and traveled to Corinth. Then he went to Ephesus. Then to Caesarea. Then he traveled to Jerusalem to report on his trip before returning to Antioch.

The next couple of weeks will consist of what happened on the journey Paul and his companions took on the second missionary journey.

When Paul came to Lystra, a man named Timothy lived there. His mother was a Jewess and a believer and his father was a Greek. He had a good reputation. Paul wanted to take him with him so he circumcised him because they all knew his father was a Greek.

I wondered why Timothy had to be circumcised when later in Romans 2, Paul discusses that physical circumcision has nothing to do with a man’s heart. It says circumcision is of no value if you are a law breaker. Basically, following part of the law is not worth much. And, being circumcised does not make you better than anyone else. It is all about the heart and not about the physical.

However, in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul discusses that he makes himself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Jews, he became like the Jews to win the Jews. To the one’s under the law, he became like one under the law so as to win those under the law…. To the weak, I became weak, to win the weak.  I have become all things to all men to that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel.

My conclusion: Paul circumcised Timothy so that on their journey he would be accepted by those he was preaching to and the message would be accepted, too. My mom suggested that is might be for Timothy’s protection also.

Later in Galatians 2, though, Paul says that not even Titus was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

Paul and his companions traveled from town to town delivering the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. The churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.