PAUL THE APOSTLE

then went to Beroea, where they met with much success; but the Thessalonian Jews stirring up trouble there, Paul went on to Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy behind, probably to bring news as to the possibility o( returning to Macedonia. At Athens the Apostle spent much time, and addressed the Court of the Areopagus in a philosophic style; but not many, save Dionysius the Areopagite and Damaris, were converted, Timothy returned to Athens and was sent bacic again to Thessa-lonica; and Silas and Timothy later joined St. Paul at Corinth (1 Th 3"- «, Ac 18'). From Corinth were sent 1 Thessalonians, and,alittlelater,2Thes3alonian3. At Corinth St. Paul changed his method, and preached the Cross, simply, without regard to philosophy (1 Col^ 2'-', 2 Co 4'); here he had great success, chiefly in the lower social ranks (1 Co 1*8). Here also he met Aquila and PriscUla, who had been expelled from Rome; and they all worked as tentmakers. The Jews being deaf to his persuasions, Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of Titus Justus dose by; Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, was converted with all his house, as well as others, among whom was perhaps Sosthenes (Crispus' successor in the synagogue? Ac 18", 1 Co 1'). Encouraged by a vision, St. Paul spent eighteen mouths in Corinth: the Jews opposed him, and brought him before the proconsul Gallio, who, however, dismissed the case. Here we read of the Apostle taking a vow, after the manner of his countrymen, and shaving his head in Cenchreae. He then sailed with Priscilla and Aquila, and, leaving them at Ephesus, landed at Caesarea, Whence he made his fourth visit to Jerusalem [53], and so passed to the Syrian Antioch. It is probable that from Ephesus Timothy was sent to his home at Lystra, and that he met St. Paul again at Antioch, bringing news that the Galatians were under the influ-ence of Judaizers, who taught that circumcision was, if not essential to salvation, at least essential to perfection [see art. Galatians [Ep. to the], § 4]. St. Paul in haste wrote Galatians to expostulate, sending Timothy back with it, and intending himself to follow shortly. [On the N. Galatian theory, this Epistle was written later, from Ephesus or from Macedonia.]

9. Third Missionary Journey, Ac I823-2115 [53 to 57]. — St. Paul, after 'some time' at Antioch, went again, probably by the Cilician Gates, to the 'Galatic Region' and the 'Phrygian Region' (see art. Galatians [Ep. TO the], § 2), and so came to Ephesus by the upper road, not passing along the valley of the Lycus (Ac 19'; see Col 2'). [On the N. Galatian theory another long digression to Galatia proper is here necessary.] At Ephesus he found twelve persons who had known only John's baptism. St. Paul caused them to be ' baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus,' and when he 'had laid his hands upon' them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied.' At Ephesus the Apostle spent 21 years and converted many who had practised magic. Hence he proposed to go to Macedonia, Greece, Jerusalem, Rome (Ac 19", Ro l'<o), and Spain (Ro 15«- ^»); he sent Timothy to Macedonia, with Erastus as a companion so far (Ac 192«), and then on to Corinth (1 Co 4" 16'°), while he kept Sosthenes with him (1'). After Timothy's departure (4>') he sent oft 1 Corinthians, which he wrote after he had heard of divisions at Corinth (l'™), of the success of ApoUos (112 3«f. i6'2), who had gone there from Ephesus (Ac IS^"-), of a case of incest and abuses in respect to litigation and to the Eucharist (1 Co 5. 6. 11). This letter was in answer to one from Corinth asking for directions on marriage, etc. The Apostle announces his intention of going to Corinth himself by way of Macedonia after Pentecost (16"i-), and Lightfoot thinks that he did pay this visit to Corinth from Ephesus (cf. 2 Co 131 'the third time'), but Ramsay puts the visit somewhat later. In 2 Co l'«- " St. Paul says that he had intended to go by way of Corinth to Macedonia, and back to Corinth again, and so to Judsea, but that he had

PAUL THE APOSTLE

changed his plan. At Ephesus there were many persecu-tions (2 Co 18; cf. 4' 6"), and Onesiphorus was very useful to him there (2 Ti V^). The stay at Ephesus was suddenly brought to an end by a riot instigated by Demetrius, a maker of silver shrines of Artemis. St. Paul went to Macedonia by Troas, where he had expected to meet Titus coming from Corinth, though he was disappointed in this. At Troas he preached with success; 'a door was opened' (2 Co 2"). From Macedonia he wrote 2 Corinthians urging the forgiveness of the incestuous Corinthian. [Some modification of the above is required if this Epistle, as many think, is an amalgamation of two or more separate ones. Some think that the person referred to in 2 Cor. is not the offender of 1 Co 5 at all.] Titus joined St. Paul in Macedonia, and gave a good account of Corinth (2 Co 7™ ) , but troubles arose in Macedonia itself (7»). Titus was sent back to Corinth with two others (8«- "'■ 22), taking the letter and announcing St. Paul's own coming (2 Co 131). All this time the Apostle was developing his great scheme of a collection for the poor Christians of Judaea, which was responded to so liberally in Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia (1 Co IC"-, 2 Co 8'-' 92, Ro IS^"), and which prompted that journey to Jerusalem which is the last recorded In Acts (Ac 24"). He claimed the right to live of the gospel himself (1 Co 9™ ); yet he would not usually do so, but instead asked offerings for the ' poor saints.' From Macedonia he went to ' Greece ' (Ac 20'), i.e. to Corinth, for three months, and here wrote Romans [57] , which he sent by Phoebe, a deaconess at Cenchreie, the port of Corinth (Ro 16'). At Corinth he heard of a plot against his life; he had intended to sail direct to Syria, and the plot seems to have been to murder him on the ship; he therefore took the land journey by way of Macedonia, but sent on several friends to join him at Troas: Sopater of Bercea, Aris-tarchus and Secundus (both of Thessalonica), Timothy, Tychicus and Trophimus (both probably of Ephesus), and Gains of Derbe, who was perhaps his host at Corinth (Ro 1&", 1 Co 1" ; if so he must have come to Corinth to stay. The Macedonian Gaius of Ac 19^' was probably a different man). St. Paul spent the Passover at Philippi, and then, with Luke (Ac 20"-). set sail for Troas. Here, at an all-night service which ends with the Eucharist, occurs the incident of the young man Eutychus, who being asleep falls down from the third storey and is taken up dead; but the Apostle restores him alive to his friends. From Troas the party sail along the west coast of Asia Minor, calling at Miletus. Here St. Paul has a visit from the presbyters of Ephesus, for whom he had sent, and bids them farewell, saying that they would see his face no more (see above i. 4 (d)). At Caesarea (in Palestine) they land, and stay with Philip the evangelist: and here Agabus, taking Paul's girdle and binding his own feet and hands, prophesies that the Jews will do the same to the owner of the girdle, and will deliver him to the Gentiles.

10. Fifth visit to Jerusalem, Ac 2l"-23s» [57].— St. Paul is received at an apparently formal council by James, the Jerusalem presbyters being present; and he tells them of the success of his ministry to the Gentiles. They advise him to conciliate the Christians of Jerusalem, who thought that he persuaded Jews not to keep the Law, and to undertake the Temple charges for four men who were under a vow, and to 'purify' himself with them. This he does, showing, as in many other instances, that he is still a Jew (Ac 18" 20"- " 27»). But his presence in the Temple is the occasion of a riot, the Jews believing that he had brought within the precincts Trophimus, the Gentile of Ephesus, whom they had seen with him in the city. He is saved only by the intervention of the Roman soldiers, who take him to tlie 'Castle.' He is allowed to address the people, on the way, in Aramaic; but when he speaks of his mission to the Gentiles, they are greatly incensed