11 - Paul's Second Itinerary -The Itineraries Of Paul
Paul’s Second Itinerary Now, after the Jerusalem council, Paul and Barnabas have returned to Antioch in Syria which is the second headquarters of the church. Silas and Judas went back with them but Judas returned to Jerusalem and Silas stayed there with Paul and Barnabas and there are a number of other people there too. Titus had gone down to Jerusalem with them. We had read that in Galatians. I imagine he came back and some of the others. Acts 15:35-36: Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. “the word” – that phrase is so strange to so many people. Have you ever run into this when you talk to people? “The word; what do you mean the word? Oh, you’re talking about the Bible?” Look at how many times it’s used in here. It’s maybe only once or twice referred to as a biblos. For the most part it calls it the Word; the word of the Lord, the word of God. Twice now we’ve read it in these verses. Acts 15:37: And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. Do you remember John Mark? It was his mother’s house that they had been praying in when Peter was in prison. John Mark was the one who had accompanied Paul and Barnabas on the first leg of their first itinerary but when they got to Perga, he went the other way. When they got there, he went to Jerusalem. He split off instead of staying with his commitment that he had made. He decided, “Well, I’m going to go back to mother’s house.” I don’t know why. Maybe he couldn’t stand the pressure. Maybe something else looked too good back in Jerusalem. I don’t know but he copped out on his commitment while he was out there and went back to Jerusalem. Acts 15:38: But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the
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Troas. God said don’t go into Asia and don’t go into Bithynia, so they just kept going till they got way over by the sea to Troas. Acts 16:9: And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. That’s where Paul got what we call the Macedonian call. In a vision, God told him to go to Macedonia because people were crying for the help of God’s Word there. 124