PAUL THE APOSTLE
with Silas, form one of the most graphic episodes in the
ment here alon most stirring an Acts.
St. Paul’s campaign in Macedonia was one of atvere conflict, but signal success. The mission- a.ies entered Thessalonica (now Saloniki), the capital of Macedonia, full of vigour and hope (1 Th 1° 22), Next to Syrian Antioch, this city was the most important which Paul had so far reached, being the chief emporium of the Thracian peninsula and the seat of Roman administration, containing also a large and influential synagogue. Once planted at Thessalonica, ‘the word of the Lord sounded out’ far and wide; the gospel was adver- tised through the whole of Macedonia and Achaia (1 Th 1*). St. Paul’s experience here resembled that at Pisidian Antioch (Ac 17"). At this loyal imperial capital, however, the attack on Chris- tianity takes a new form, reminding us of the charge against Jesus before Pilate. The preachers are accused of sedition, of ‘setting up another king, Jesus.’ The emphasis which Paul laid at this time upon the doctrines of ‘the kingdom of God’ and the parousia lent colour to this dangerous impeachment. Paul left Thessalonica for Berea with his work unfinished, and firmly resolved to return soon (1 Th 2!7-38 310). he had a peculiar affection for his converts here (as at Philippi), and a strong sense of the importance of the position won in this city. But he had to be content with sending Timothy from Athens in his pare and it was only on Timothy’s return (who ound the apostle removed to Corinth, Ac 18°) that his anxiety was relieved. St. Luke’s account throws at this point a further light on St. Paul’s method of argument with Jews: ‘He discoursed to them from the Scriptures, expounding and explaining [1] that the Christ should suffer, and [2] should rise from the dead, and [3] that this is the Christ, this Jesus whom I proclaim to you.’ Up to the last point (reached on the third Sabbath?) the Jews listened with tolerance—to the general doctrine of a suffering and rising Messiah; the critical moment came when this Christ was identified with the crucified Nazarene.
‘The synagogue of Bercea received the gospel with rare candour ; a Church was quickly formed, including ‘many’ Jews; everything went well, until Jews from Thessalonica arrived to stir up the heathen multitude against the apostles. The danger to St. Paul’s life must have been great, for he was sent by sea right out of the count: and escorted all the way to Athens (175), This deadly persecution by the Thessalonian Jews justi- fies the anger he expresses in 1 Th 2-18,
_ At Athens, the city of philosophers but ‘full of idols,’ things take a different course. Paul is hailed as a wandering lecturer upon some curious form of religious speculation, and is brought by ‘certain of the Stoics and Epicureans’ before the court (not up on the Aid/) of the Areopagus, which was charged with the oversight of public teaching in the city. The profound and earnest discourse reported in Ac 17*_which leads up from the general truth, then widely accepted, of God’s spiritual nature and fatherly relation to men, to the proclamation of Christ’s coming in judgment and the resur- rection of the dead—made no decided impression on this audience. A single Areopagite accepted the faith, with a few other persons (17%), but no considerable Church could be gathered; and Paul went on to Corinth (on ‘Paul at Athens,’ see ie seem Ramsay’s St. Paul the Trav. xi. 1-3). Silas’ movements at this time cannot be traced with certainty: probably he followed Paul to Athens, along with Timothy (Ac 17"), and was separately, and a little later (1 Th 3'?, ‘we sent Timothy’), despatched from that place—se. to
PAUL THE APOSTLE
Philippi or Bera, journeying with Timothy back from Macedonia to rejoin the apostle (Ac 18°).
Paul reached Corinth alone, ‘in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling’ (1 Co 2*)—a condition due partly to sickness, but partly, one thinks, te his small success at Athens and his distress about the Thessalonians. The elation of his Macedonian mission was followed ey a period of dejection. He gained, however, at the outset a couple of fast friends in Aquila and Priscilla, recently driven from Rome through the emperor Claudius’ decree of expulsion against the Jews. Their acquaintance turned his thougais more definitely to that city, which at Corinth came into Paul’s nearer view. St. Paul’s opening addresses in this synagogue were received with favour both by ‘Jews and Greeks’ (Ac 18'*), until after some weeks, on the arrival of Silas and Timothy with cheering news from Mace- donia, he proclaimed in its full scope, and with renewed energy, the Messiahship of Jesus and ‘ the word of the cross’ (Ac 18°8, 1 Co 18-52), At this the Jews were scandalized, and an angry separation ensued. Paul occupied the house of a converted proselyte, Titius Justus—judging from his name, a Roman citizen of the colonia—close to the syna- gogue ; the ruler of the synagogue followed him When he tells the Corinthian brethren that there were ‘not many wise, mighty, highborn’ amongst them, it is evident that some persons of distinction and culture attached themselves to this Church (cf. Ro 16%).
The Corinthian Church shone by its intellectual pits and variety of talent. Its constituency was