Having sailed therefore away from Troas, we went in a straight course to Samothracia, and on the morrow to Neapolis,
The call to Macedonia had just come, and this verse is the crossing that answers it. Two days at sea — Troas, a night by Samothrace, then the harbour of Neapolis — brought the message to Europe.
What stands out in this crossing is the speed.
Later in the story we learn that they made a short stay in the Troas region, where there was at least an assembly (Acts 20). But there was no indecision now, and no lingering on the way. The gospel had to be preached at once in Macedonia.
That speed says something about the men themselves.
They were happy servants, free from the affairs of this life. They were free and ready to set out at the Lord's bidding, and they sailed at once, with a fair wind, for the shores on the other side.
The words "a direct voyage" point to a wind behind them. One writer reads God's kindness in that wind.
On this gospel errand they got, so to speak, a fair wind, and covered the distance in a day and a half. When they were coming back it took five days. I suppose they had contrary winds then (see Acts 20:6). God loves to send peace to the anxious, troubled soul. He delights in that, and often gives His evangelists a fair wind, to carry the message of peace to the troubled soul more quickly.
Luke wrote that they "concluded" God had called them. One writer weighs that word.
The word "concluding" shows a precious attitude of humility. Some Christians seem to always know "exactly" what the Lord wants them to do without needing to think it over. But most of us know that we often reach a "conclusion" only after wrestling with it in our souls. Perhaps the Lord leaves us an element of "residual uncertainty" (if I may call it that) to keep us dependent. Sometimes He will confirm the decision afterwards. That seems to be the case here — it did not take them long to get there.
The two places named in the verse can still be located today. Neapolis was where they landed, and the last stretch was on foot.
They set sail from Troas and took a straight course to the island of Samothrace, now called Samothraki. The next day they reached Neapolis, now called Cavallo, which was their destination. They left the ship there and travelled inland on foot to Philippi, some eight to ten miles away.
Up to this verse Luke writes of "they." From here he includes himself.
But it is worth noticing that the language is "we," and not "they" as before. Luke thus modestly but unmistakably lets us see that he joined the apostle's company at Troas. That the inspired writer was a personal witness from this point is no small matter. But no error is more serious in principle than the human notion that his account now takes on a higher character. Not so: inspiration rules out all question of degrees of assurance or of authority.
Kelly points to the evidence in the text itself.
In fact the account is no more detailed while the writer was present. Conversations, differences, journeys and preachings were given when he was away, no less than when he was with the apostle's companions. How comforting this quiet evidence that in the inspired word we have to do, not merely with good men doing their best, but with a God Who cannot err or lie!
The doors into Asia had been shut one after another. This voyage shows why.
Paul intended to go to other parts of Asia, such as Bithynia, to preach the gospel. But the Spirit of God closed all the doors in that land. It was not that the Lord did not care for those in darkness in Bithynia. We know from 1 Peter 1:1 that He sent the gospel to that land by another messenger. But now the time had come when Europe, as well as Asia, was to have the gospel, and the Lord chose His servant Paul to preach it there.
- Called. The call to Macedonia came at Troas, and this verse is Paul acting on it without a day's delay.
- Confirmed. They reached the decision humbly, and the quick crossing confirmed it.
- Carried. A fair wind took them over in a day and a half. The same water later cost them five days.
- Companioned. Luke joined the party at Troas and starts to write "we." Being an eyewitness adds nothing to the authority of what he wrote.
- Continent. The closed doors in Asia were not indifference. God sent another messenger to Bithynia, and He sent Paul to Europe.
and thence to Philippi, which is [the] first city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city certain days.
Luke names the place where the gospel first took root in Europe, and he names it carefully: a leading city of its district, and a Roman colony. Both details matter, and the second shapes much of what follows.
Philippi was not the capital of the whole province. One commentator shows how carefully Luke limits his words, and points to a detail about the city that matters later:
The description is exactly right. It would not have been true to call Philippi the chief city or capital of Macedonia. But of that part, that district, it was. It was a Roman colony too, not a Greek one, and that had an important bearing on the events that follow — events we have in such a vivid account. There Roman armies had fought a deadly battle, not against foreigners, but against one another. There the fate of the dying republic was decided.
Older translations call Philippi "the chief city of that part of Macedonia." Another writer explains how the city began, and what that title does and does not mean:
Philip the Great of Macedon built Philippi as a military post, to hold back the wild Thracians who lived next to the Macedonians. Later Augustus made it a Roman colony, as a memorial of his victory over Brutus and Cassius. It was not a very important city. In Acts 16:12 Philippi is called "the chief city of that part of Macedonia." This does not mean that Philippi was the chief city of all Macedonia — Thessalonica was. It means Philippi was the chief city of that district, and the first city Paul and his companions came to. The record of Paul's visit, and of how the gospel was preached there for the first time on European ground, is found in the book of Acts, chapter 16.
To a modern ear "colony" suggests a distant outpost that pays tribute to a homeland. In the Roman world it meant something close to the opposite:
About 168 years before Christ, the Romans conquered Macedonia. Some years before our Lord lived on this earth, Rome sent large numbers of discharged soldiers to live in Philippi. These soldiers were very loyal to Rome, and very proud of Rome's victories. So the Roman government made Philippi a "Roman Colony." This honour freed the city from the tribute that conquered states usually paid to Rome, and its citizens enjoyed all the rights and privileges of Rome. In fact, it became a miniature "Rome."
Paul later wrote a letter to these believers. The same writer says they had an advantage over us: they lived inside the picture Paul used.
The believers at Philippi would probably understand Paul's meaning better, and more easily, than we can, because Philippi was "a colony" of Rome. The word "colony" did not mean at all what it means to us today. It was a miniature Rome, a copy of Rome planted in the province of Macedonia. Most of its people were former Roman soldiers, and they were all Roman citizens, with the special privileges that came with that. Paul uses this unique position of the city of Philippi as a picture of the heavenly citizenship of the believers there.
Luke records nothing happening in those first days. One writer sees a purpose in the pause:
The verse goes on to say, "We remained in this city some days." Clearly they wanted to get an impression of the city, and to find out how to reach its people with the gospel. When you enter a new area of service, it may help to look and listen before doing anything else. Perhaps Paul was also looking for a synagogue, since he usually spoke to the Jewish community first. But Philippi appears to have had no significant Jewish population — at least not enough men to form a synagogue.
One of the most important days in Europe's history passed in Philippi without anyone noticing:
The people of Philippi had no idea that one of the greatest days in the history of Europe, or indeed of the world, was the day Paul walked into their city — unannounced, quiet, unnoticed. Yet that is what it was. Our hearts rejoice to think of this simple scene, with so much bound up in it. It matters far more than the rise of ancient ruling families.
- Exact. Luke claims only that Philippi led its own district. The chief city of the whole province was Thessalonica, so read the older wording, "chief city of that part," with that limit in mind.
- Roman. A colony was a miniature Rome: settled by former soldiers, free from tribute, holding full citizenship. That Roman character, not Greek, shapes the trouble that follows.
- Pictured. That proud Roman citizenship became Paul's picture, in his later letter, of a citizenship held in heaven.
- Patient. The first days were not wasted. Paul and his friends looked and listened, and found no synagogue where he would normally have started.
- Unnoticed. One of Europe's greatest days came with no announcement at all: a quiet arrival that mattered more than the rise of ancient ruling families.
And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where it was the custom for prayer to be, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.