Pauls fourth missionary journey in the bible

He was a brilliant, pious, zealous, and well-educated Pharisee, from a wealthy and well-connected family. Saul was obviously intimately acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures, but was also thoroughly acquainted with Greco-Roman history, language, and culture. Saul became famous in Palestine because of his persecution of Christians. But things changed, dramatically.

After some heavy persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem, some believers ended up living in the city of Antioch. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent a man named Barnabas to Antioch to serve in the church there Acts Barnabas was a prophet Acts and an apostle Acts After being in Antioch a while, Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to find Saul.

Barnabas recruited Saul to come teach and lead and serve in the church in Antioch in Syria Acts Saul relocated to Antioch sometime between 44 and 46 A. Barnabas and Saul would become ministry traveling partners for the next few years, including at least one earlier trip to Jerusalem Acts in order to bring a famine relief offering to the Christians in Jerusalem likely sometime between 45 and 46 A.

Barnabas and Saul sensed the call of the Holy Spirit to go out on their first missionary journey Acts Sometime around 46 A. Before Barnabas and Saul officially left on their first missionary journey, they recruited a young man named John Mark to go with them. John Mark was the son of a woman named Mary mentioned in Acts She owned the house where the Christians had been meeting and praying when Peter was miraculously delivered from jail by the angel.

Pauls fourth missionary journey in the bible: His fourth journey was.

Sadly, however, during the missionary journey, John Mark would eventually abandon Barnabas and Saul. This would later lead to a significant dispute between Barnabas and Saul a few years in the future. Barnabas and Saul sailed from Seleucia to the island of Cyprus, apx. They began by preaching to Jewish people in the synagogues of Salamis.

The crew did ministry in several parts of the island until they got to Paphos Acts During their ministry they faced significant opposition. One of their earliest opponents was a magician who was a Jewish false prophet. Saul performed a supernatural act that blinded this false prophet. These events led to the conversion of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus Acts Some Christians have asserted that Saul changed his name.

After launching a Gentile-focused ministry, Paul would have been interacting with many Gentiles, and they would have likely preferred to refer to him by the Gentile name. It appears Luke sought to make this a point of emphasis. Scholar Greg Lanier says :. Indeed, Luke could be making a thematic point by shifting from Saul to Paul around chapter 13, given the broader theme of Acts e.

From Perga, Paul and Barnabas then continued northward into the province of Galatia, coming to the city of Antioch in Pisidia not to be confused with their home base city of Antioch in Syria.

Pauls fourth missionary journey in the bible: Paul took at least three missionary

This is strong evidence that Sergius Paulus had family roots in Antioch in Pisidia. Some scholars have argued that he was the person that probably encouraged Barnabas and Paul to travel up to Antioch in Pisidia. Once they arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, Paul went to the synagogue and preached about the good news of Jesus. Paul effectively preached in the synagogue for multiple weeks.

This resulted in many people coming to faith in Jesus Acts Unfortunately, Barnabas and Paul faced significant opposition there too. Part of the problem they faced was the jealousy of certain Jews. There were many Gentiles showing up to hear the gospel preached. Some Jews became jealous and started to contradict what Paul had to say. Since the Gentiles were more willing to hear what Paul had to say, he turned and preached to the Gentiles.

The gospel continued to spread amongst Gentiles, but yet again the jealousy of the Jews became a significant issue. The Jews eventually drove Barnabas and Paul out of Antioch. After leaving Antioch in Pisidia, they traveled eastward, further into the Galatian region, arriving at the city of Iconium. There they preached and did miracles in the name of Jesus.

Very similar to what had happened in Antioch, Paul went into the synagogue in Iconium to teach and the result was that many Jews and Greeks believed in Jesus, but the unbelieving Jews there stirred up trouble against Paul, dividing the city Acts Barnabas and Paul left the city when they heard about attempts to stone them Acts They then came to Lystra.

There Paul performed a miracle causing a crippled man to walk again. When this occurred the people of the area assumed Barnabas and Paul were gods. The priest of Zeus brought animals to offer as sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul. When Barnabas and Paul realized what was happening, they tore their clothes in lament and told the people of the one true God Acts The Jewish unbelievers from Antioch and Iconium had come to Lystra too, stirring up trouble.

They convinced the people of Lystra to stone Paul and left him for dead outside the city. He got up walked back into the city Acts It was quite rare for anyone to survive stoning. Barnabas and Paul then continued onto Derbe the next day. When you look at a map, you see that it would have been much faster and likely easier to travel from Derbe directly to Antioch in Syria.

Barnabas and Paul could have traveled eastward through the region of Cilicia. Paul was very familiar with Cilicia and likely had friends throughout the region that could give them safe refuge along the way. But Barnabas and Paul intentionally traveled more than miles in the opposite direction of Antioch in Syria. Even though they had suffered great persecution in Galatia, they wanted to go back through the Galatian cities, before heading home, because they wanted to strengthen the disciples in those cities.

The journey through these cities for a second time gave them the opportunity to teach doctrine, establish elders in the churches, and pray with the believers. After this, Barnabas and Paul then continued back down to Perga in Pamphylia. They preached in that region for a time. They eventually made their way over to the nearby port city of Attalia and sailed from there to Antioch in Syria Acts They had traveled more than miles.

Their first missionary journey had probably lasted between one and two years. When Barnabas and Paul arrived back in Antioch in Syria, they shared with everyone about the many people who had come to faith in Jesus and the churches that were established. After returning, Barnabas and Paul learned about a particular faction from Judea that had been confusing many Christians in the region by preaching a false gospel.

This group had been preaching that, in order to become a Christian, the Gentiles must follow the Old Testament law, including circumcision Acts Barnabas and Paul seem to have spent significant time disputing this false message and debated the Judean paul fourth missionary journey in the bible. Eventually, this debate, about this false gospel, was appealed to the apostles in Jerusalem Acts This led to the Jerusalem Council Actswhich likely took place sometime in 50 A.

While traveling to Jerusalem for the council, Barnabas and Paul made stops along the way throughout Phoenicia and Samaria, encouraging believers wherever they went. At the council, all the apostles concluded that the Gentiles do not need to follow the Jewish laws in order to become Christians. Barnabas and Paul as well as several other men who had been at the council headed back to Antioch to declare the good news.

Not long after the Jerusalem Council, Barnabas and Paul began planning their second missionary journey. They believed it was essential that they go to the Gentile world to proclaim the statements that came from the council. The source of this dispute was John Mark. Barnabas wanted John Mark to come along again, but Paul was against this idea since John Mark had deserted them on their previous missionary trip when they were in Pamphylia.

Paul saw John Mark as a liability. Due to this sharp disagreement, Barnabas and Paul would go on separate missionary journeys. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus. Paul took a young man named Silas and traveled by land Acts Paul likely started his second missionary journey Acts sometime late in 50 A. Paul and Silas started by traveling northwestward by land through the region of Cilicia.

I imagine this would have given Paul the sweet opportunity to reconnect with many old friends. Paul and Silas continued their travels westward into Galatia. They spent significant time in several Galatian cities including Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, connecting with the churches that Paul had planted with Barnabas on this first missionary journey.

Along the way, Paul and Silas meet a young man named Timothy from that region. He had a good reputation. Paul decided to let Timothy accompany them. However, Paul first circumcised Timothy Acts It seems that Paul knew that having an uncircumcised man like Timothy with him could somehow impede the advance of the gospel wherever they preached.

It is far better from the standpoint of historiography to assume that Paul did, in fact, travel to Spain and minister there. Compare also the Acts of Peter and the Muratorian Fragment, both possibly composed toward the end of the second century, and both of which also affirm a journey to Spain by Paul. Perhaps on his return from Spain, Paul sailed to the island of Crete where he engaged in ministry alongside Titus.

When Paul departed Crete, he left Titus to appoint elders in the cities that held believing communities, some of which were probably planted by Paul and Titus Titus The order of events after this gets increasingly difficult. I would suggest that after Crete, Paul traveled to Ephesus where Timothy was serving. It may be that Paul also followed through on his previously stated intention to visit Philemon in Colossae Philemon On this last point, there is no way to know.

After this, I think everything else may have happened in fairly rapid succession without any long stays anywhere. Paul left Ephesus with the intention of traveling to Macedonia 1 Timothy But before Paul traveled to Macedonia, he wanted to visit Miletus for some reason, and so he walked? The ship would have stopped at Troas, so Paul left some things there with Carpus, including his cloak and books 2 Timothy Paul, as a Roman citizen, requests his case be heard by Caesar in Rome.

Festus agrees to send him to Rome. King Agrippa and his wife arrive in Caesarea and allow Paul to defend himself against the charges laid against him Acts - Not only does Agrippa find that he has done nothing worthy of imprisonment or death Acts - 31 but that Paul might have been freed if he had not appealed his case to Caesar Acts In the Autumn of 60 A.

Paul, along with several other prisoners, boards a boat bound for Rome. His travel to Rome is considered his fourth evangelistic journey.

Pauls fourth missionary journey in the bible: After his acquittal in 62AD,

From Caesarea they set sail and soon arrive at Sidon. From Sidon the ship hugs the coast near Antioch and the Roman provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia before arriving at Myra. In Myra the people board a ship bound for Italy. Because of the wind, however, the ship is unable to sail directly to Italy. Instead, the ship hugs the coast until it arrives near Cnidus, where it turns south toward the island of Crete Acts - 7.

After a difficult journey the ship anchors at the Cretan city of Fair Havens. Although Paul warns Julius not to sail the Mediterranean during this dangerous time of the year September to Octoberthe Centurion disregards his advice and has the ship set sail for the western part of the island and the harbor of Phoenix Acts - The ship soon encounters a fierce storm which drives it out to sea.

Storms, strong winds and overcast skies which hide the sun and moon cause the ship to lose control and be aimlessly tossed at sea for about two weeks Acts - Eventually the ship drifts near the island of Malta where it is run aground. All two hundred and seventy-six people on the boat abandon ship. They grab whatever parts of floating wreckage they can from the shipwreck and make their way to the island Acts - From Paphos, Paul and company set sail for the Roman province of Pamphylia, located in modern day Turkey.

They arrived in the city of Perga, where John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem which, interestingly, was in the opposite direction from where they just came. Together, Paul and Barnabas travelled to Pisidian Antioch, where local synagogue leaders invited them to speak. Initially, the Jewish people were receptive to the gospel, but a week later, the entire city gathered to hear Paul and Barnabas, and the Jewish leaders became jealous.

They resisted the message of the gospel, and so Paul and Barnabas made an important pivot: they began preaching to the Gentiles. Many of the Gentiles believed the gospel, and Luke the traditional author of Acts tells us that:. But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.

Driven out of Pamphylia, Paul and Barnabas travelled to Iconium, an eastern city in the region of Phrygia. Iconium still exists today as the Turkish city of Konya. Once again, Paul and Barnabas spoke in the synagogue, where Jews and Greeks alike accepted the gospel. As support for Paul and Barnabas grew, so did the opposition they faced, and eventually, they became aware of a plot to abuse and stone them.

So they left. Fleeing the threat in Iconium, Paul and Barnabas left Phrygia altogether and travelled to Lystra, a city in the province of Lycaonia. Here, Paul healed a man who was lame. The locals who witnessed this miracle thought Paul and Barnabas were gods in human form, calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes. The priest from the temple of Zeus brought bulls and wreaths to offer sacrifices to them.

Paul and Barnabas attempted to redirect their praise to God, but struggled to keep the crowds from offering sacrifices to them. They riled up the crowds and convinced them to stone Paul. Believing he was dead, they dragged him outside the city. When the disciples gathered around him, Paul got up and went back inside the city. Then Paul and Barnabas went to Derbe, another city in Lycaonia.

In each city, they encouraged the believers there and strengthened their faith, as they would continue doing on their future missionary journeys. They did, however, stop in a new Pamphylian city on the way: Attalia.

Pauls fourth missionary journey in the bible: Included in the journey is

Acts only mentions it in passing, but presumably, they established a community of believers there as well. From there, they skipped a return voyage to the island of Cyprus and went straight back to Antioch the big onewhere they told the church what happened on their journey. But Barnabas wanted to take John Mark—who had left them shortly into their previous journey.

Paul was so opposed to the idea that they parted ways, initiating two separate missionary journeys. Barnabas took John Mark and went with the original plan, making their way back to the island of Cyprus. Paul took a man named Silas and travelled through the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. At this time, Paul and Silas picked up a new companion: Timothy.

The locals spoke highly of Timothy, and Paul wanted to bring him along even though he was half Greek, which meant local Jews would have a harder time accepting their message. See Acts —4.