The Group You Hang Out With is Part of the Gospel Message
1 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. Acts 20:1–6 ESV Read More
Over 2 years and an almost riot later, Paul finally leaves Ephesus. He traveled through the regions of Macedonia and then into Greece. You can see all of these travels on the maps in the back of a study Bible. This is called “Paul’s 3rd missionary journey.” At this point, they are going around the Aegean Sea. Sailing to Syria would have been a long voyage covering almost half of the Mediterranean Sea, but going through Macedonia would involve a much longer trip over land.
Paul was not some kind of “don’t look back” tough guy. He cared for each of the groups of disciples that he had instructed and visited many of them a second time in his life. Either by his own letters or by sending a messenger, he kept in contact with many of the churches that he was unable to visit very often. Looking at any of the maps of his journeys, you’ll see the path overlap as he passes by cities over and over again.
Also don’t read too fast over his companions. His party is made up of a Berean, Thessalonians, Gaius of Derbe, and a pop band called Timothy and the Asians. Tychicus and Trophimus are thought to be Ephesians. This group was learning from Paul the same way the apostles learned from Jesus. They were learning a way of life more than they were learning doctrine.
Note the funny travel business though. Some of the guys went ahead, some stayed behind. The ones that stayed behind celebrated Passover. You could put together from this that some the Greeks, who would not appreciate Passover, went on while some of the people that were Jewish stayed behind and celebrated together. That may or may not be the case, but if it is, look at how much freedom Paul has with his group. He has confidence in them to send them ahead even though there are enemies out to oppose (or even kill) them. He has freedom to celebrate the Passover even though he’s preached all over the place that Jesus freed us from the law.
The other thing here is how much greater a group of people can preach the Gospel rather than just one person along. By helping and encouraging each other, by waiting for each other and sticking together, the good news was shown among them as well as taught by them.
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