Ministry of Paul, Lesson 6

PHILLIPI: The First city in Europe to Receive the Gospel

15 October 2012

Bob Kaylor, Saving Grace Lutheran Church

All quotations from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version c 2001

History of the city: In 358 B.C. the Greek orator Callistratus and some colonists from the island of Thasos founded a colony called Krenides in northern Greece near Macedonia and Thrace. In 356 B.C. Philip II of Macedon seized the gold mines near the site, fortified the city, drained the nearby marshes, constructed a theater, increased the size of the city and named it after himself. Alexander the Great (son of Philip II) used Philippi as a base for his conquests. In the second century B.C. Macedonia was captured by the Romans and Philippi became a Roman outpost. The Via Egnatia was built beginning in 145 BC and at its greatest extent connected Byzantium with the Adriatic ports. This route was Rome's primary artery to the east and Philippi was an important outpost along the road. The Egnatian Way made it easier for Rome to move troops throughout the empire and it was the route that Paul traveled on from Neapolis to Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Thessalonica. Two important battles were fought at Philippi in 42 B.C. resulting in the defeat of Cassius and Brutus (conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar) by Octavian and Mark Antony. After these battles, Philippi became a Roman colony encompassing 700 square miles and many Roman military veterans settled there.

Biblical connections: Neither the city of Philippi nor its residents are mentioned in our Old Testament andthey are mentioned only four times in the New Testament. The book of Philippians is an epistle addressed specifically to this congregation. All of the other mentions of the city of Philippi or its residents are in conjunction with the ministry of Paul, and occur twice in Acts and once in 1 Thessalonians.

We catch up with Paul today in about A.D.50 on what we call his second missionary journey. Paul and his assistant, Silas, have recruited Timothy in Lystra and then had their itinerary adjusted.

Ac 16:6And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis…

At Troas they add another recruit, Luke. Then they sail across the Agean Sea, spending the night on the island of Samothrace, and land at the Macedonian seaport of Neapolis. They have now entered the continent of Europe.

Ac16:12…and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

What Luke probably means by “leading city” is not that it’s the largest or a capital, but that it’s the most reknowned. Philippi was “the gateway to the east.”

Ac 16:13And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14One 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. 15And 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.

Since there was no synagogue, the Jews of Philippi gathered at the river just a stone’s throw outside the east gate of the city. Paul and his companions find them there on the Sabbath and at least one (Lydia) was converted and has her household baptized. She then insists on becoming the missionaries’ landlady and/or hosting the congregation. But just when you think things are going great…

Ac 16:16As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. 19But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

The demon recognized Paul and his evangelism team as God’s servants. That shouldn’t be surprising to us. Demons recognized Jesus and talked to him (Matthew 8:28-31, Mark 1:34; 5:7-12, Luke 4:34; 41), and they recognized the 72 disciples Jesus sent out (Luke 10:17). Then, after the Philippiandemon is driven out, the slave’s owners got upset and dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace. In Roman cities it was the norm to have a “forum” or a rectangular podium in or adjacent to the marketplace. The forum served as the city center and was where the Duumviri (pair of military officers assigned to govern the colony) would speak to the public, where elections were held, and where legal hearings were most often held.

Ac 16:20And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

So, Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown in prison. Paul refers to this later in two of his epistles when discussing how evangelism doesn’t stop because of persecution.

1Th 2:2But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Php 1:30…engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul and Silas, despite the harsh treatment, do not despair.

Ac 16:25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them…

Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns, perhaps to keep their own hopes up, but note that Luke is careful to record how it was a witness to the other prisoners. It is quite possible that some of them later joined the church meeting at Lydia’s house.

Ac16:26…and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

The penalty for allowing prisoners to escape under Roman law, was death. The jailer despaired and was ready to end his life rather than suffering the embarrassment of trial and conviction.

Ac 16:28But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Taking Paul and Silas out of the prison was probably the jailor’s way of separating them from the other prisoners so he could ask them in private his very personal question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” His words should not be read as “…what work must I do to be saved?” but rather as a desperate cry for help. The jailer would have known what the demon in the slave girl said about Paul and Silas, and he might have heard them praying and singing. To top that off, they appear to have calmly weathered the earthquake while most of the city was probably in a panic. I imagine him as frantic to find out more about Paul and Silas’ God.

Ac 16:35But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed. 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

So, Paul and Silas depart Philippi, but not before pointing out the serious mistake made by the magistrates in having Roman citizens (not only Paul, but evidently Silas was a Roman citizen also) beaten and imprisoned, and not before going to the house of Lydia and encouraging the congregation. Luke stayed behind in Philippi as denoted by his use of "they" in the last line. Paul next returns to the area on his third missionary journey in about A.D. 55. There had been a lotturmoil during his stay in Ephesus and then…

Ac 20:1After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

Luke doesn’t give us much detail here, but it appears that Paul and his companions went through Philippi both on the way out and on the way back. It is about this time that Paul writes his second epistle to the Corinthians. We do have another tidbit of information about what was going on in Macedonia from Paul himself.

2Co 7:5For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more…13Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you.

From this we gather that there are many difficulties but also many rewards. Also, Titus arrives to rejoin Paul’s team, and his presence and the news he brings from Corinth is quite uplifting. But wait, there’s more…

2Co 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

The departure from Macedonia that we read about a couple of passages ago, is the last time that the Philippians will see Paul. Near the end of this missionary journey in about A.D. 57, he was taken into protective custody in Jerusalem and eventually taken to Rome where he would spend the rest of his life and ministry. Though they would not see him again, they would hear from him. He would write his epistle to them several years later from Rome.

Religious roots of the city:The city of Philippi was named after King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. It was a prosperous Roman colony, which meant that the citizens of Philippi were also citizens of the city of Rome itself. They prided themselves on being Romans (Acts 16:21), dressed like Romans and often spoke Latin. No doubt this was the background for Paul’s reference to the believer’s heavenly citizenship (Philippians 3:20–21). Many of the Philippians were retired military men who had been given land in the vicinity and who in turn served as a military presence in this frontier city. There was a temple dedicated to Antonius Plus as part of the imperial cult and it appears to have been surrounded by other smaller temples to various Roman gods. That Philippi was a Roman colony may explain why there were not enough Jews there to encourage the establishment of a synagogue and why Paul does not quote the Old Testament in his Philippian epistle.

Content of the epistle/Summary of Paul’s message: It is evident that Paul wrote the letter from prison (see 1:13–14). Some have argued that this imprisonment took place in Ephesus, perhaps A.D. 53–55; others put it in Caesarea in 57–59. Best evidence, however, favors Rome as the place of origin and the date as A.D. 62. This fits well with the account of Paul’s house arrest in Acts 28:14–31. When he wrote Philippians, he was not in the Mamertine dungeon as he was when he wrote 2 Timothy. He was in his own rented house, where for two years he was free to impart the gospel to all who came to him. Paul’s primary purpose in writing this letter was to thank the Philippians for the gift they had sent him upon learning of his detention at Rome (1:5; 4:10–19). However, he makes use of this occasion to fulfill several other desires: (1) to report on his own circumstances (1:12–26; 4:10–19); (2) to encourage the Philippians to stand firm in the face of persecution and rejoice regardless of circumstances (1:27–30; 4:4); (3) to exhort them to humility and unity (2:1–11; 4:2–5); (4) to commend Timothy and Epaphroditus to the Philippian church (2:19–30); and (5) to warn the Philippians against the Judaizers (legalists) and antinomians (libertines) among them (chapter 3).

  1. Philippians contains no Old Testament quotations but verse 1:19 seems to allude to Job 13:16.
  2. It manifests a particularly vigorous type of Christian living: (1) self-humbling (2:1–4); (2) pressing toward the goal (3:13–14); (3) lack of anxiety (4:6); (4) ability to do all things (4:13).
  3. It is outstanding as the New Testament letter of joy; the word “joy” in its various forms occurs some 16 times.
  4. It contains one of the most profound Christological passages in the New Testament (2:5–11). Yet, profound as it is, Paul includes it mainly for illustrative purposes.

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