Acts 16-18 - Come Over to Macedonia and Help Us

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

The Macedonian Vision

Act 16:6-10 LSB - 

[6] And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 

[7] and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 

[8] and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 

[9] And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 

[10] And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

Act 16:14-15 ESV - 

[14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 

[15] And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

The Philippian Jailer Converted

Act 16:30 LSB - [30] and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Act 16:31 LSB - [31] And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house."

Act 16:32-34 LSB - 

[32] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. 

[33] And he took them that [very] hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his [household]. 

[34] And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with his whole household, because he had believed in God.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

Act 17:5-7 LSB - 

[5] But the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. 

[6] And when they did not find them, they [began] dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also; 

[7] and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."

In Berea

Act 17:11-12 LSB - [11] Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily [to see] whether these things were so. [12] Therefore many of them believed, along with not a few prominent Greek women and men.

In Athens

Act 17:16-17 LSB - [16] Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. [17] So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing [Gentiles], and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present.

Act 17:28 LSB - [28] for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.'

Aratus: Phaenomena

From Zeus let us begin; him do we mortals never leave unnamed; full of Zeus are all the streets and all the market-places of men; full is the sea and the havens thereof; always we all have need of Zeus. For we are also his offspring; and he in his kindness unto men giveth favourable signs and wakeneth the people to work, reminding them of livelihood. 

Act 17:29 LSB - [29] "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the craft and thought of man.

In Corinth

Act 18:6 LSB - [6] But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood [be] on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

Act 18:9-10 LSB - [9] And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; [10] for I am with you, and no man will lay [a hand] on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city."

Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

Act 18:24-26 LSB - [24] Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, arrived at Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. [25] This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; [26] and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.