Ep. #12 "2nd Missionary Journey Part 1" [Series: Acts]

Characters: Paul, Barnabas, Silas

Primary Scriptures: Acts 15-17

Story Summary: The first part of the Second Missionary Journey: Antioch to Berea

Location: Roman Empire; Galacia, Macedonia

Time: AD 30 Jesus crucified and resurrected; Pentecost; Holy Spirit arrives AD 46 Paul’s “famine visit” to Jerusalem; First Missionary Journey starts AD 48 Council at Jerusalem; Start of Second Missionary Journey AD 51 End of Second Missionary Journey


After the Council at Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas continued to be concerned about the continuing discipleship of the Gentiles they had converted, as well as being enthusiastic about spreading the Gospel further, so they decided to return to many of the places they went on their First Missionary Journey. They had a specific goal of sharing the letter from the Christian leaders proving that new converts to Christianity did not have to follow the laws of Moses.

Their trip did not get started as they had hoped. Paul and Barnabas had an argument over John Mark joining them again. Paul was adamantly against that because John Mark had abandoned them on the First Missionary Journey. Consequently, Paul took Silas and continued with the original plan, while Barnabas took John Mark and went to Cyprus. Their dedication to spread the Gospel was more important than their personal differences.

This is the last mention of Barnabas in Acts. It is possible that God wanted Paul and Barnabas to part for at least two reasons. By splitting, they could present the Gospel to twice as many people. Also, John Mark very likely needed a tremendous amount of training before he could reach his full potential. John Mark’s successful missional life indicates that Barnabas provided that training. The mention of Barnabas in 1 Corinthians 9:4-6 indicates Barnabas was still active as a preacher into the mid-50’s AD.

There are two parts in this video episode that need special attention. First, the Bible says very little about Silas, but this video episode is written to give Silas a very definitive personality that may conflict with many people’s preconceived notions.

Second, the video shows Luke first meeting Paul at Troas, at which time and place he is converted to Christianity. Acts 16:10 is the very subtle passage that provides the basis for the storyline, the first of the “we” passages, where Luke’s narrative goes from “they” to “we”. The Bible does not specify whether this is the first time Luke met Paul, whether Luke was already a Christian, or if this is the time Luke became a Christian.

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