'Ac 16:1-10

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Across Asia Minor to Troas (Ac 16:1-10)

Upon arriving in Lystra, Paul and Silas were joined by Timothy, a young man whom the elders of the Galatian churches considered suited to the task ahead (1 Tim 1:18; 4:14).

Timothy was half-Jewish, and Paul thought it wise that he be circumcised, apparently hoping that this would gain acceptance for Timothy with the Jewish population wherever the missionaries went. The circumcision of Timothy was for practical, not religious, purposes, in keeping with Paul’s principle that while working with the Jews he would live like the Jews so that he might win them for Christ (Ac 16:1-3; cf. 1 Cor 9:20).

As they passed through the Galatian towns, the missionaries delivered copies of the Jerusalem letter to the churches. This letter added further weight to what Paul had said to them in his own recent letter (Ac 16:4-5).

Leaving Galatia they entered the province of Asia, but God did not allow them to preach there. They headed north towards the province of Bithynia, but again God prevented them from carrying out their plans. So they headed west across the region of Mysia to the town of Troas, from where they prepared to sail to Europe. Their destination was to be the province of Macedonia, the northern part of present-day Greece.

These unexpected changes in Paul’s missionary movements showed that although he knew the importance of planning his work, he knew also the importance of obeying whenever God directed him otherwise (Ac 16:6-10).