REFLECTIONS ON PAUL MISSIONARY'S JOURNEYS

PAUL MISSIONARY'S JOURNEY

Who is a missionary?

A missionary is someone who is sent on a mission especially a religious or charitable mission to a foreign land either homeland or foreign land.

Journey simply means the act of traveling from one place to another.

From the above definition, the missionary journey could then be defined as a religious journey embarked upon purposely because of preaching the gospel to the gentile. (Matt.28:19-20).

Who is Paul?

In Chapter 9 of Acts, we come into close contact with Paul. Hebrew name was Saul while he was called in Greek Paul. He was a Jew, Greek and Roman. He was a persecutor of the gospel, going about killing Apostles. He gave approval to the martyr of Stephen. God appeared to him on his way to Damascus in a pathetic way and called him to mission work.

Paul’s Background:

He was born near the beginning of the first century in the city of Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, which is now a part of Turkey. Tarsus was a busy Greco-Roman city at the northeast corner of the Mediterranean which was noted as a trading center and for its university. This environment provided Paul with his knowledge of the Greek language, philosophy, and culture. Secondly, he was born a Roman citizen. Thirdly, having been born into a devout Jewish family, he was educated in the traditions and scriptures of Judaism. At age 13, he was sent to Jerusalem to study under the famous teacher Gamaliel, where he proved himself to be a superior and zealous lawyer.

Paul’s Conversion

When Paul first appeared in Acts at the stoning of Stephen, he was probably about thirty years old and had already become an acknowledged leader in Judaism. He saw Christianity as a heresy and a major threat to Judaism, which brought about his persecution to the church. He went to the Priest to get approval for persecution to Synagogues of Damascus where he met his waterloo. God revealed Himself to him and commission him to serve Him for the rest of his life. He was helped by Barnabas to introduced him to the Apostles before they accepted him.

Paul returned to Jerusalem in about 40 A.D. But was unable to stay because of further threats to his life. He then returned to his home town of Tarsus for several years, but we do not have any definite information concerning this period.

Paul’s First Missionary Journey:

The first missionary journey began in about 46-48AD. Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by the Apostles as revealed by the Holy Spirit. They covered about 1,400 miles. John Mark was taken along. Although he forsook them in the middle of their journey. They covered six (6) big towns which are- Salamis and Paphos in the island of Cyprus, Antioch and Iconium in Pisidia, Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia. At Derbe, the last city visited, they were quite near Antioch, from which they had set forth. But instead of returning home, the visited the churches they have founded. This was a great follow-up. They appointed elders according to the plan of the synagogue. Certainly, the journey of Barnabas and Paul was richly blessed with a bumper harvest of souls. Then they returned to Syria, arriving back in Antioch after a journey lasting about two years. They gave an account of all their experiences, causing great joy among the disciples there.

Reflections:

   1. Perseverance and patience: we are not allowed to fight back the antagonist of the gospels (persecutors) with the physical weapon but Jesus told us in Matt. 28:19-20 when he commissioned us to go a-fishing. He has it at the latter part of verse 20 that “I will be with you to the very end of the age”. God also stated in the book of Isaiah 43:2 that “when we pass through the waters he will be with us, when passing through the river, it will not overflow us……”. All we need is to pray unto God whenever persecution arises, god knows what to do. This can be seen in the life of the Apostles when Saul was persecuting. God himself handled the case and turn him to be a viable instrument in his hand.

      2.  Forgiveness and love: More so, as minister of the gospel, we need the spirit of love to persevere and to accommodate people. We see this in the life of Apostles when Barnabas brought Saul to them, though fear gripped them and was unbelievable, with the explanation of Barnabas and Holy Spirit, they accepted him. We could see that unlike contemporary ministers who will have the mind of retaliating since he was involved in the martyrdom of Stephen. Who among contemporary ministers will accept a Boko-Haram to join their ministry? But the disciples possessed heavenly spirit not minding atrocities he has committed, this eventually helps his ministry.

     3.  Passion for the Gospel: When God calls a person to a full-time ministry like Paul it is better not to yield the call than to yield partially. Partial obedience is total disobedience. Paul put all his effort and life into a ministry that for complete two years, he did not look back but ensure bumper harvest from 6 big towns. This is God’s expectation to us ministers.

     4. Thorough Follow-up: The spirit of Church planting is learned from Apostle Paul. He was able to follow-up on the church he has planted. Though it is demanding, it the mission work. It is a strong lesson for us ministers of the gospel that any mission work started without proper follow-up will surely die or may be contaminated by the false prophet.

     5.   Administration and Delegation of Authority: A leader who cannot delegate power and assign duty is a failure. He will not have a good successor. Paul nominated trained Elders to be in charge of the churches. This is a role model that should be followed by ministers of the gospel.

     6.  Report: Paul returned with a full report to the Apostles. As a steward, we must report back to God and to our leader. We must have an attitude of a steward. A proper account must be given, this will enhance the progress of the gospel and form history in the future.

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey:

Paul’s second journey took place in the years 49-53AD and covered some 2,400 miles. Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing’” (15:36). However, there was a disagreement between the two when Barnabas decided he wanted to take John Mark because he had returned home before completing the first journey. Hence, Paul refused and went with Silas and Timothy. They visited several important Creco-Roman cities on this journey, such as Thessalonica, Philippi, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus and Rhodes. Six cities were visited with the gospel.

In Galatia, a man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’” (Acts 16:9). After a voyage of about a hundred and twenty miles, which led them to Philippi, where the first known Christian convert was made in Europe: “Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira” (16:14). Paul and Silas were whipped and imprisoned at Philippi after Paul cast a fortune-telling demon out of a slave girl, who, as already noted, had made much money for her master. However, Acts tells us that the Holy Spirit miraculously opened the doors of the prison in the night, and as a result, the jailer and his family were converted.

Paul and his people returned to Syrian Antioch, after about over three thousand miles’ journey, an incredibly large distance in those days.

Reflection:

1. Follow-up: Constant in follow-up and encouragement is the key to physical and spiritual growth in church planting, else, it will be a labor lost.

2. Patience and Tolerance: However, with the spirituality of Paul, he could not bear with Mark. It is certain to have quarrels and disagreement but we should learn and develop a level of tolerance, bearing with one another. We cannot be on the same level and with the same gift. This can hinder the gospel at times and may lead to backsliding of others.

3. Courage: despite John Mark was not accepted, Barnabas still encourage him to also embark on another journey. This was highly encouraging. In our Christian journey, we should not be discouraged with the attitude of others.

4. Listen to the Holy Spirit: Holy Spirit directed Paul to Macedonia and led him to Philippi which led to the conversion of Lydia and the jailers’ family. We should be sensitive in spirit and not be rigid.

5. Discerning Spirit: Evil spirit was also testifying to the gospel in the life of Paul. If care was not taking, people may think they were for the same purpose and after they left the evil spirit will work against all that they have planted. We should be sensitive in spirit and should not be afraid.

6. Endurance in Persecution resulted in Joy and soul-winning: with much endurance and faith in God. Paul and Silas' imprisonment turned to testimony. Ministers of the gospel should not be afraid of persecution; God is in control. Sometimes he uses persecution to glorify His name.

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey:

The third missionary journey took place in the years 54-58 and covered some 2,700 miles. Paul, Timothy, Luke, and others visited churches that Paul had established in Asia Minor and Europe, headquarters in Ephesus, where he stayed for almost three years. At, the end of his journey Paul returned to Jerusalem with money he had collected from his churches for the Jewish Christian community who lived in Jerusalem. Paul finally left Greece after discovering a plot by the Jewish leaders to kill him.

Paul returned to the province of Asia, where he sojourned in the city of Troas. He stunned everybody there when he miraculously raised a young man named Eutychus back to life. Eutychus had fallen from a third-storey window while listening to Paul preach.

From Troas, he traveled overland to nearby Assos, where he boarded a ship bound for Jerusalem. He had a lot of storm and shipwreck but God was with him.

He and Luke sailed to Rome where according to tradition, he was acquitted and released, but later re-arrested and martyred in the mid-60sAD.

Reflection:

1. Unity: Unity among these disciples gave them huge success. Contemporary ministers should learn from this.  We should avoid the spirit of I. that is what makes people to start their church separately because of ego and boss-spirit attitude.

2. Accountability: he remitted all money collected from churches he established and took it to Jerusalem. Ministers should be accountable and should not be in haste to get rich. It decreases integrity.

3. Healing Miracle; there is no ministry called Deliverance ministry or healing ministry. It is during teaching and preaching of the gospel that this miracle will be manifesting. God backed up his ministry with miracles.

4. Obedience: when God says, live an environment, don’t prove too spiritual and powerful. You cannot be more powerful than he who sent you. Some ministers terminate their lives untimely without fulfilling the mandate of god because they do not listen.

5. Do not be afraid of death: Death is the end of everything. When Paul has exhausted all his potential God deposited in him, God allowed death to come. Physical death leads to eternal gain.

Others:

-          A minister must ready to work with full potential as Paul established many flourishing churches.

-          It is good to be sound academically knowledgeable. Education of Paul with various languages he knew helped his ministry. Ministers should upgrade and update themselves.

References:

      https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikiversity.org/            wiki/Biblical_Studies_(NT)/II._the_ministry_of_paul&ved=2ahukewiay8tr8bblah              wjtcakhymadioqfjawegqicrab&usg=aovvaw3lt5jv4parpp2ncyargoy1

       Babalola, D. O., (CTH 105) Church History 1 Course Material, National Open University of Nigeria, 2006.