Session 14 - Lecture The Missionary Journeys of Paul I. Introduction The Apostle Paul (circa AD 3-62) was probably the greatest missionary of Christianity and its first theologian. A. Paul's Life 1. He was born to Jewish parents in an orthodox Jewish home in Tarsus (now in Turkey). Paul was originally named for the ancient Hebrew king Saul. On the eighth day he was circumcised, as stipulated by the Jewish Law. In fact, in all respects he was reared in accordance with the Pharisaic interpretation of the Law. 2. As a young Jew of the Diaspora (the dispersion of Jews into the Greco-Roman world), Saul took as his everyday name the Paul, a name with a sound similar to that of his Hebrew birth name. 3. Paul's letters reflect a keen knowledge of Greek rhetoric, something he doubtless learned as a youth in Tarsus. But his patterns of thought also reflect formal training in the Jewish Law as preparation for becoming a rabbi, perhaps received in Jerusalem from the famous teacher Gamaliel the Elder (flourished AD 20-50). 4. By his own account Paul excelled in the study of the Law (see Galatians 1:14; Philippians 3:6) and his zeal for it led him to persecute the new Christian church, holding it to be a Jewish sect that was untrue to the Law and that should therefore be destroyed (see Galatians 1:13). Acts portrays him as a supportive witness to the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. 5. Paul became a Christian after experiencing a vision of Christ during a journey from Jerusalem to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-19, 22:5-16, 26:12-18). Paul himself, in referring to this event, never uses the term conversion, which implies shifting allegiance from one religion to another. He clearly perceived the revelation of Jesus Christ to mark the
end of all religions, and thus of all religious distinctions (see Galatians 3:38). Click map to see a larger image 6. Instead, he consistently spoke of God's having "called" him. Paul viewed his call to be a Christian and his call to be an evangelist to the Gentiles as a single and indivisible event. He recognized the legitimacy of a mission to the Jews, as carried out by Peter, but he was convinced that Christianity was God's call to the entire world, and that God was making this call apart from the requirements of the Jewish Law. B. Paul's Missionary Journeys 1. According to the widely known account recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul carried out three well-defined missionary journeys 2. The letters reveal that Paul's missionary itinerary was guided by three major concerns:
a. the vocation of a missionary to work in territory as yet unreached by other Christian evangelists hence his plan to go as far west as Spain (see Romans 15:24, 28; see also Romans 1:14) b. the concern of a pastor to revisit his own congregations as problems arose hence, for example, Paul's several visits to Corinth c. an unshakable determination to collect money from his largely Gentile churches and to deliver the collection himself to the Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem. Although scholars do not fully understand Paul's motive for this endeavor, it is certain that he wished by it to bring together the churches of his Gentile mission with those of the Jewish Christians in Palestine. 3. Paul's first missionary journey is recorded in Acts 13 and 14. It was taken by Paul and Barnabas with the purpose of evangelizing parts of Asia Minor. The pair sailed from Antioch to Cyprus and then on to Perga in Asia Minor. While in Asia Minor, the two traveled to the province of Galatia ending up in Derbe. They then retraced their steps and returned to Antioch.
Click map to see a larger image Cyprus
Perga Antioch in Pisidia
Lystra Derbe 4. When news of the success among the Gentiles reached Jerusalem, some of the Jewish Christians said that Gentile converts must submit to circumcision also. The Apostles convened a conference in Jerusalem to address the issue. In the end, the decided that the Gentiles did not have to observe Jewish customs, but that they should be sensitive to certain Jewish practices. 5. Paul's second missionary journey can be found in Acts 15:36-18:22. This time Paul took Silas with him after a quarrel with Barnabas over John Mark. Paul once again went into Asia Minor, but after receiving a vision of a Macedonian imploring him to come into Europe, Paul went
into Macedonia and later into Greece. Some of the cities Paul visited included Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth. Click map to see a larger image Tarsus
Cilician Gates Troas
Philippi Philippi
Philippi Prison Public Bathroom at Philippi
Thessalonica Athens Harbor
Acropolis in Athens Parthenon in Athens
Athens Mars Hill
Corinth Bema Seat in Corinth
Isthmus Corinth Canal
Diolkos (the shipping road which transferred goods from one side of the Isthmus to the other) Cenchrea Harbor on the east side of the Isthmus Near the end of Paul's stay in Corinth, Jews brought charges against him before the Roman proconsul Gallio. An inscription found at Delphi mentions Gallio's proconsulship and provides a firm date for the Pauline chronology. Another inscription found at Corinth is called the Erastus Inscription. In Romans 16:13, Paul says that "Erastus, the city treasurer greets you...." It is possible that this Erastus is the same person mentioned in the inscription.
Gallio Inscription Erastus Inscription (He was known by Paul) 6. Paul's third missionary journey can be found in Acts 18:23-21:14. It started in Antioch and then proceeded to Ephesus on the western coast of Asia Minor. He stayed here for two years fraught with anxieties and danger. It was here that Paul most likely wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians, and possibly Romans. Next Paul traveled to Macedonia and Greece visiting many of the sites of his second trip. Paul then returned Ephesus and from there went to Jerusalem.
Click map to see a larger image Ephesus
Temple of Artemis Celsus Library
Agora at Ephesus Theater at Ephesus 7. From Acts it is known that Paul was arrested in Jerusalem after riots incited by his Jewish opponents, and that he was finally taken to Rome. It is also in Acts that Paul speaks of the possibility of his own death (see Acts 20:24; see also Acts 20:38). He was probably executed in Rome in A.D. 62. Christian tradition from the 4th century fixes the day as February 22.
Click map to see a larger image Click map to see a larger image
Malta (where Paul's ship crashed on his way to Rome) C. Paul's Work The New Testament contains 13 letters bearing Paul's name as author, and 7 of these were almost certainly written by Paul himself: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, and Philemon. These letters, in which Paul occasionally speaks of his personal experience and his work, are the major source of knowledge about the course of his life; most scholars concentrate on them and consult the Acts of the Apostles as a supplementary source.