movement and formulated the world-wide policy of the Christian church
was born in a city of southern Cilicia, which stood midway between the
east and the west. There the influences of the ancient Orient and of
the more active Occident met and mingled. The city of Tarsus lay on a
rich, moist, alluvial plain, ten miles north of the Mediterranean and
only eighty feet above the level of the ocean. Two miles farther north
rose the foot-hills that led up to the lofty, massive peaks of the
Taurus Mountains. These northern heights shut off the cooling winds,
making the climate of Tarsus hot and enervating. In ancient times the
sluggish river Cydnus flowed through the centre of the town on its way
to the sea. The strength of Tarsus consisted in its position at the
southern end of the great Cilician Plain. At this point the main
highway from Antioch to Ephesus and Smyrna touched the Cydnus and
thence turned northward, crossing the Taurus range by the famous
Cilician Gates. Its commercial prestige, however, was not so much the
result of its natural position as of the energy of the early
population. They had drained the marshes about the Cydnus and
transformed the lake immediately south of the town into a large inland
harbor. They also cut the road beside the narrow stream that
penetrated the Taurus range, making Tarsus the seaport of the wide
plains to the north. Tarsus in the days of Paul was a magnificent city
of fully half a million population. Its citizens were supremely proud
of their city--a pride which the great apostle to the Gentiles clearly
shared. The energy which characterized the inhabitants, as a result of
their successful struggle with adverse natural conditions, was also
reflected in the character and work of its most distinguished citizen.
=Influence of His Early Home Upon Paul.= Probably from the days of
Antiochus Epiphanes, Tarsus had been the home of a large and
influential Jewish colony. They were doubtless permitted, as an
independent social and religious group, to share in the citizenship of
the proud Roman city. This Roman citizenship not only delivered Paul
at many crises in his stormy career, but also brought him into
intelligent and sympathetic touch with the great empire to which he
bore the message of the cross. The atmosphere, therefore, of Paul's
early life was distinctly Roman and cosmopolitan. The influence of
this broad environment is traceable in all his work and teachings.
From the port of Tarsus ships ran frequently to Cæsarea and Joppa, the
ports of Jerusalem. Thus the journey was easy and natural for the
young Jew of Tarsus as he went back to the sacred city of his race to
study at the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest Jewish scholar of the age.
His life in Palestine brought him into closest touch with the growing
Christian church. The energy which he had inherited from his native
city found expression at first in active persecution of the members of
the new sect. The open-mindedness which he had acquired from his
youthful environment, and which later led him to appreciate that which
was good in the heathen religions, prepared the way for the supreme
experience which came to him as he was crossing the desert on his way
northward to Damascus.^{(42)}
=Work at Antioch.= The history of the spread of Christianity for the
next decade is chiefly a record of the work of the great apostle to
the Gentiles. The graphic passages in the second half of the book of
Acts present a remarkably vivid picture of his journeys and
experiences. It was natural that Paul, a native of Asia Minor, should
not remain in the narrower atmosphere of Palestine, but should find
instead a congenial environment and field of work in Antioch, the
great and opulent capital of Syria, the third metropolis of the Roman
empire. Here he was able to observe the impression which Christianity
made upon the heathen, and especially upon the Jews of the dispersion.
Antioch was also the natural geographical centre from which to set out
upon his missionary journeys.
=Importance of the Pioneer Work of Paul.= In all his missionary
activity, Paul evidently followed a definite plan. He selected as the
scenes of his work the great cities, situated on the main highways of
communication and commerce. This choice was in part due to the fact
that in the larger cities of this character were found Jewish
communities, with synagogues which opened doors of opportunity to the
pupil of the famous Rabbi Gamaliel. During the two preceding centuries
the Jews of the dispersion had become an exceedingly active
proselyting force. The influential and honorable position which they
had won in many of the Græco-Roman cities, as well as the character of
their faith, commended them to the most worthy of their heathen
neighbors. The result was that many of the Gentiles had accepted the
essentials of the Jewish religion and worshipped with the Jews in
their synagogues. This class is ordinarily described in the narrative
of Acts by the designation "devout Greeks." Thus Judaism had prepared
the way for the spread of Christianity. From the ranks of the devout
Greeks was drawn a large proportion of the converts, who responded to
the early preaching of Paul and of the other Christian apostles.
=Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus.= With these conditions in mind, Paul and
Barnabas planned their first missionary journey. Cilicia belonged
within Antioch's sphere of influence and was indeed a part of the
province of Syria. Paul and Barnabas turned to the immediately
adjacent island of Cyprus and the Roman province of Galatia, lying
respectively to the southwest and northwest. Cyprus possibly attracted
them because Barnabas was a native of that island. Throughout all its
history it had stood in close commercial relations with Syria.
Salamis, its chief eastern city, was first visited. It lay at the
mouth of the River Pediæus on the eastern edge of a fertile plain
which extended far to the west. The Ptolemies, as early as 295 B.C.,
had transported many Jews to Cyprus, and Herod the Great doubtless
sent many more to work the copper mines there which he controlled.
=At Paphos.= From Salamis two Roman highways ran across the island to
Paphos, the chief city on its western shores. The Roman city which
Paul and Barnabas visited was the new Paphos. It was situated on the
sea-coast, being in fact the seaport of the older inland city ten
miles to the southwest. The older city had been famous throughout the
ancient world as the seat of the corrupt worship of the Paphian
goddess, whom the Greeks identified with Aphrodite. At the new city
Paul came into contact both with the Roman ruler and a representative
of the local superstitions.
=Journey to Antioch in Galatia.= From Paphos it was easy to secure a
passage northward to the coast of Pamphylia, for along this course
passed many of the merchant ships from Alexandria to Rome. The
apostles probably landed at Attalia and thence went to Perga, the
chief city of central Pamphylia. It lay five miles from the river, on
a plain at the foot of a bold, extended acropolis. The climate of
these low-lying coast plains was sultry and malarial. The city was
dominated by the worship of a local goddess and there is no evidence
that there was a Jewish synagogue at this point. Because of these
unfavorable conditions, Paul and Barnabas simply passed through this
southern city on their way to the great strategic centres farther
north. The journey thither through the deep valleys and over the rough
heights was exceedingly arduous. Here Paul doubtless experienced many
of those perils of rivers and perils of robbers which he mentions in
II Corinthians 11:26.
=Conditions at Antioch.= It was at the Roman colony of
Antioch,^{(131)} that the apostles found their first great field of
activity in Asia Minor. The town lay about three thousand six hundred
feet above the level of the sea, on an isolated plateau two miles in
circumference, which rose from one to two hundred feet above the
western plain. On the east it was protected by a rocky gorge through
which flowed the River Anthios. The city was, therefore, a natural
fortress, able to resist the frequent attacks of the warlike Pisidian
mountaineers. It had been made a Roman colony by Augustus a little
before the beginning of the Christian era and hence was an outpost of
Rome itself and dominated the southern part of the great Roman
province of Galatia. The worship of the local deity had recently been
abolished, so that the city offered an unusual field for missionary
work. The Jewish colony was apparently large and influential, for many
Gentiles joined with the Jews in worship at their synagogue. From the
first Paul and Barnabas appear to have made a profound impression upon
the people of this important city. It was their success that aroused
certain of the Jews and the Roman magistrates of the city so that the
apostles were forcibly expelled.
=At Iconium.= From Antioch they turned eastward, following the Roman
highway that led to Lystra. Instead, however, of going at once to
Lystra, they turned to Iconium,^{(132)} eighty miles east of Antioch.
This town lay on a level plain three thousand three hundred and
seventy feet above the sea. It was protected on the west by a lofty
mountain range, from which emerged the river, which first irrigated
and then lost itself in the wide, thirsty plain on which Iconium lay.
Unlike Antioch, Iconium had no natural barriers. Great energy and
skill were required to utilize successfully the waters of its main
stream and to protect it from the annual floods. Here grew up a
flourishing commercial city with an active, resourceful population. A
Jewish colony and a synagogue offered an excellent field for the
apostles' work. Here they remained for a long time, preaching,
teaching, and laying the foundations for the strong Christian church
which made Iconium long after an important religious centre. In time,
however, the opposition of the Jews crystallized and the apostles were
driven forth by a mob.
=At Lystra and Derbe.= From Iconium they turned southward to
Lystra,^{(133)} twenty miles distant. It was a quiet town, situated in
a pleasant valley in the midst of which rose a bold, elongated hill
about one hundred and fifty feet high, which was the acropolis. The
valley was watered by two streams which flowed from the western hills.
While it was a Roman colony and connected with Galatian Antioch, it
was aside from the great highways of commerce. The apostles evidently
turned to it as a refuge. Antioch and Iconium were strong Græco-Roman
towns, but at Lystra Paul and Barnabas came into contact with the
native Lycaonian population. The readiness with which the natives
identified the energetic spokesman, Paul, with Hermes, and the more
reserved and dignified Barnabas with Zeus, reveals the naïveté of the
small provincial town. Again the attack of a mob, incited by Jews who
came from Antioch and Iconium, compelled the apostles to seek refuge
in Derbe, on the southeastern end of the Lycaonian plain. The town was
probably situated on a low hill that stands in the midst of the great
plain about forty-five miles south of Iconium.^{(134)} On the south
the lofty range of the Taurus shuts it off from the sea. Here the
apostles were among the native people, with little Roman, Greek, or
Jewish influence to interfere with their work, which appears to have
been successful and undisturbed by persecution. From this point they
retraced their steps through all the cities where they had recently
labored. Thence going southward they stopped for a short time at Perga
and then sailed from Attalia back to Antioch.
=Decision of the Great Council at Jerusalem.= The successful work of
the apostles, extending probably through two years, raised a great
controversy in the church as to whether the Jewish institution of
circumcision was necessary for salvation. Paul and Barnabas journeyed
southward through Phœnicia and Samaria, telling the Christians on the
way of the results of their work among the heathen. Fortunately the
church met this great crisis wisely and in the spirit of Jesus. The
narrow Jewish bonds were broken and Christianity went forth
comparatively untrammelled on its world conquest.
=Work of Paul and Silas in Asia Minor.= Paul and Barnabas, accompanied
by Judas and Silas, two representatives of the church at Jerusalem,
devoted themselves for a time to the work at Antioch, the Syrian
capital. They soon, however, felt the call to the larger field beyond.
Barnabas, accompanied by Mark, returned to Cyprus, and Paul, taking
Silas, set out on his second great missionary journey. His object was
twofold; first to visit and encourage the churches already
established, and second, to carry the message of the Gospel to
Ephesus, the great commercial, political, and religious centre of
western Asia Minor. They first visited the churches of Syria and of
the sub-province of Cilicia. Thence they followed the great military
road westward, stopping at Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and probably
Antioch.
=Paul's Vision at Troas.= Being prevented from entering the northern
province of Bithynia, Paul and Silas went on through Mysia to Troas,
on the extreme western boundary of Asia Minor. While at this seaport
town, which stood at the end of the great overland route from
Asia,^{(135)} facing the Ægean and the continent of Europe beyond, a
vision came to Paul which marked a new stage in the expansion of
Christianity. The experience was remarkably similar to that which came
to Peter at the port of Joppa. In response to this vision, Paul left
behind his work in Asia Minor and took ship for Neapolis, the port of
Philippi in Macedonia. In so doing he was following the most direct
highways between Asia Minor and Rome (_cf._ p. 82).
=Paul and Silas at Philippi.= The city of Philippi lay about nine
miles northwest of its seaport, Neapolis. It was on the southern side
of a great plain that extended to the north and northwest. Its chief
river flowed along its eastern side into a huge marsh that flanked the
city on the south. Like many of the cities chosen by Paul as the
scenes of his labors, it was a Roman colony. It was probably chosen
because of its strategic value as one of the outposts of the great
empire whose conquest for Christ was already the goal of Paul's
endeavor. Also, as the event proved, Rome's protection was of great
value to the apostle, who could claim citizenship in the imperial
city. Apparently there was only a small Jewish colony at this point
and no synagogue, so that Paul established connection with his
countrymen at the open place of prayer beside the river and beyond the
city walls. The success of their work aroused the inevitable
opposition and led to their imprisonment; but on this occasion they
were sent forth from the city at the request of the magistrates rather
than by force.
=At Thessalonica.= From Philippi they proceeded westward along the
well-travelled Egnatian Way to Thessalonica, the capital and chief
commercial city of Macedonia. It lay at the northeastern end of the
Thermaic Gulf, the present Gulf of Salonica, in a great ampitheatre
formed by the surrounding hills, which were crowned by a strong
citadel. Vast plains lay behind the city and it commanded the trade of
the northern Ægean. Because of its loyalty to the cause of Octavius
and Antony it had been made a free city, ruled by its own assembly and
magistrates, called Politarchs. Here, as at Philippi, Paul succeeded
in laying the foundations of a strong Christian church, composed
largely of the Greek converts to Judaism. The hostile Jews soon
charged Paul and Silas with stirring up sedition and rebellion, a
charge to which the rulers of a free city like Thessalonica were
especially ready to listen. Much to his regret, Paul was therefore
obliged suddenly to leave the city.
=Paul at Berœa.= As in his flight from Iconium, he now found refuge at
a quiet, retired town. Berœa lay fifty miles southwest of
Thessalonica, in the midst of groves of trees and flowing streams. It
was flanked by a bold mountain range on the west and faced toward the
Ægean, with a broad expanse of plain lying in the foreground. Here
Paul found a nobler type of Jews, probably untouched by the mercenary
spirit of those who had been attracted to the great commercial centres
like Thessalonica and Philippi. His work among both the Jews and
Greeks was very successful until emissaries came from Thessalonica.
Paul's heart was evidently set upon returning to take up his work at
the Macedonian metropolis, but events had proved that this was
impossible.
=At Athens.= Accompanied by the Christians of Berœa, Paul next went
southward along the Ægean to the home of that civilization which had
surrounded him in his boyhood days at Tarsus and profoundly influenced
the fields in which he had done his work. Landing at the port of
Piræus, he proceeded along the new road to Athens, beside which stood
the altars to the unknown gods. On entering the city he naturally went
to the Agora, on the south of which Mars Hill^{(136)} rose abruptly.
East of this was the Acropolis, crowned by that most peerless product
of Greek art, the Parthenon. Athens was still at the height of its
artistic splendor, but it had already ceased to be the political and
intellectual capital of the Greek world. Superficial philosophy and
sophistry had taken the place of real intellectual leadership. Athens,
being aside from the world's commerce, had little attraction for the
Jewish colonists. The city, therefore, lacked the religious background
which Paul had found helpful in all his previous work. The critical,
speculative atmosphere of the city was uncongenial. Paul was
accustomed to addressing himself to the vital, crying needs of
humanity. He made a strong effort to adapt himself to the new
conditions, not without some success, but there is no record of a
church at Athens, and he soon left to find a more promising field.
=Importance of Corinth.= Corinth, to which Paul next went, marks an
important epoch in his ministry. The city was called by the ancients
the "Bridge of the Sea."^{(137)} It lay on the narrow neck of land
which connected the Corinthian with the Saronic Gulf. It was on one of
the three great highways from the east to the west, and here all
cargoes had to be trans-shipped. It was also the bridge that connected
the Peloponnesus with northern Greece. By nature, therefore, it was
destined to become a great and influential city. It was built on a
broad terrace at the end of a gently sloping plain, with an almost
impregnable acropolis rising one thousand eight hundred feet above the
sea-level. When Paul visited the city it was the metropolis and Roman
capital of the province of Achaia. From the days of Julius Cæsar it
had been a Roman colony. Because of its commercial importance its
population was cosmopolitan, including many Jews. Like most cities
thus situated, it was exceedingly prosperous and profligate.
=Paul's Work at Corinth.= To this needy and important field Paul
addressed himself with superlative devotion. Anxious regarding the
results of his work in Thessalonica, harassed by poverty and weakened
by sickness, he nevertheless devoted himself to teaching both Jews and
Gentiles, at the same time plying his trade as a tent-maker. Finding
the Jews hostile, he devoted his time almost entirely to the Gentiles,
making his home with Titus Justus, whose name suggests Roman origin.
Unable to visit the church at Thessalonica, Paul wrote to the
Christian community there the two letters known as I and II
Thessalonians. At about the same time he appears to have written his
famous epistle to the Galatian churches. These letters mark the
beginning of that remarkable correspondence which is recorded in the
epistles of the New Testament. During this period or at a later visit
Paul wrote from Corinth the letter known as the Epistle to the Romans,
which contains the fullest and noblest résumé of his doctrines.
Corinth was one of the few places which Paul was not compelled to
leave under pressure of persecution. After a sojourn of about two
years he departed for Syria, stopping for a short time at Ephesus, and
finally landing at Cæsarea.
=His Third Journey.= After visiting the churches at Jerusalem and
Antioch, Paul set out, probably early in the spring, on this third
great missionary tour. As in his second journey, his aim was to visit
the churches which he had established and to proclaim the Gospel in
the city of Ephesus. He first revisited the region of Galatia and
Phrygia, and thence, following westward the great caravan route, he
apparently went on directly to Ephesus by the higher and more northern
road. Ephesus, for the next year or two, became the head-quarters from
which he made journeys to the churches in Macedonia and Achaia.
Apparently at certain points, as for example at Illyria on the
Adriatic, he extended still farther the sphere of his influence.
=Situation and Importance of Ephesus.= Ephesus was at this time the
chief commercial city of eastern Asia Minor. Here converged the great
highways from the east and north. The town lay opposite the island of
Samos, on the bank of the Cayster River. Like most Greek cities, it
was built on and about an imposing hill and was enclosed by a great
wall. It was a characteristic Roman city, with a huge theatre,^{(138)}
a beautiful agora, a stadium seating over six thousand, a forum, and
streets lined with colonnades; but its dominant life and ideas were
Greek. This western culture was deeply influenced by that of the
Orient, for Ephesus, by virtue of its position, was pre-eminently the
place where the East and West met and blended. The population of the
city was as cosmopolitan as its civilization. Here also Roman, Greek,
Alexandrian, and oriental thought met and mingled. Next to Delphi, its
temple was the most important religious force in the Greek world, but
its influence, on the whole, was immoral and debasing. Here, in the
face of active persecution, Paul and the Christian workers whom he
gathered about him established what later proved to be the most
influential church in Asia Minor. Paul did not leave the Ægean until
he had established a Christian community at Troas, which he had
visited on his second journey, and at the important cities of Colossæ
and Laodicea, east of Ephesus, on the great caravan road from Syria
and the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. The latter churches appear to have
been established by his co-workers, for in his letter to the
Colossians Paul implies that he had never personally visited their
city.
=Return to Palestine.= Having planted the Christian faith in all the
great strategic centres along the main thoroughfares which led to
Rome, Paul set out by boat from Miletus^{(139)} to return to
Jerusalem. Following the usual course along the southern shore of Asia
Minor, he landed at Tyre. Thence he went by land to Jerusalem,
stopping at Ptolemais and Cæsarea. The bitter persecution which he
experienced at the Jewish capital and his long, wearisome confinement
at Cæsarea are familiar chapters in the life of the apostle.^{(115)}
They only intensified his oft-expressed desire to visit the capital of
the great empire, whose strength and weakness he fully appreciated.
Again his Roman citizenship enabled him to escape his persistent
persecutors and to reach Rome, although as a prisoner.
=Journey to Rome.= In this last long journey his courage and faith, as
well as his wide experience as a traveller, were dramatically
illustrated. Sailing from Cæsarea, he, with his Roman guard,
trans-shipped at Myra, a city of southern Lycia, on an Alexandrian
merchant ship. Thence the usual sea route was followed along the
southern shore of Crete until the storm drove them south of their
course, past Sicily, to the island of Melita, the modern Malta. There
the ship was wrecked and they were obliged to remain through the
winter. Then by another Alexandrian merchantman they sailed northward,
landing at Puteoli, and thence proceeded by land to Rome along the
Appian Way.^{(140)} At last at this goal of all his missionary
journeying, Paul was able to extend widely the bounds of the church,
already established in the capital, and through the medium of letters
and messengers keep in close touch with the churches which he had
founded.