Part II. Missionary Journeys as Enacted Theology
Antioch: The New Center of Mission
After his conversion and a period in Arabia and Damascus (Gal 1:17), Saul eventually found a new home in Antioch, where Jewish and Gentile disciples lived and worshiped together. Acts 11:26 records that “it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.” This new designation reflected a shift: no longer merely a sect within Judea, the Jesus movement was becoming a trans-local community with a distinct identity.
The commissioning of Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13:2–3 is described in prophetic language: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” The phrasing echoes Isaiah 49:6, where the Servant is made “a light to the nations.” Paul’s self-understanding as an emissary to Gentiles was not a break with Israel’s Scriptures but their fulfillment in a new key. His missionary trajectory, beginning from Antioch, enacted Israel’s covenantal vocation outward.⁶
First Journey: The Davidic Promise Expanded
Paul’s first journey (Acts 13–14) carried him through Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. His synagogue sermon in Pisidian Antioch is programmatic: he retells Israel’s history, culminating in God’s promise to David, and proclaims, “From this man’s seed God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus” (Acts 13:23). He cites Isaiah 55:3 — “the holy and sure blessings of David” — to interpret Jesus’ resurrection as the ratification of God’s covenant promises.
Exegetically, this is striking. Saul the persecutor once saw Jesus’ Davidic claim as a political threat. Paul the missionary now heralds the Davidic promise as God’s covenant extended beyond Israel. What once evoked fear of rebellion now becomes the ground for universal good news. In Lystra, when the locals hailed him and Barnabas as Hermes and Zeus, Paul rebuked them by pointing to the Creator who gives rain and crops (Acts 14:15–17). Here his argument is Noahide in character: appealing to universal creation rather than Israel’s covenant. This dual register — Davidic covenant for Jews, creation covenant for Gentiles — became Paul’s hallmark.⁷
The Jerusalem Council: Covenant Boundaries Reframed
The influx of Gentiles raised the sharp question: Must they be circumcised? The council at Jerusalem (Acts 15; Gal 2) answered with a resounding no. Gentiles were to abstain from idolatry, blood, strangled meat, and sexual immorality — essentially Noahide prohibitions. James framed this as continuity with Moses: “For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who proclaim him” (Acts 15:21).
Exegetically, this decision was revolutionary. It meant Gentiles could be included in God’s covenant people not by becoming Jews but by embracing faith in Israel’s Messiah and living within a basic covenantal ethic. Paul defended this fiercely in Galatians: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but a new creation” (Gal 6:15). His exegesis of Genesis 15 — Abraham’s righteousness by faith before circumcision — became the cornerstone of his theology of inclusion.⁸
Second Journey: From Asia to Europe
Paul’s second journey (Acts 16–18) took him through Asia Minor and into Macedonia and Greece. A vision of a man from Macedonia pleading, “Come over and help us” (Acts 16:9), marked a decisive crossing into Europe. In Philippi, Lydia, a “God-fearer,” became the first convert, a sign of Gentile households entering the covenant.
At Athens, Paul’s Areopagus speech (Acts 17:22–31) provides a window into his method. He acknowledges Greek religiosity, quotes their poets (“In him we live and move and have our being”), and points to the Creator as universal Lord. But the climax is the resurrection: God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world by a man whom he has appointed, giving assurance by raising him from the dead.” Paul’s rhetoric here bridges creation theology (Genesis 1), prophetic monotheism (Isaiah 45), and covenantal hope (Psalm 2). It is apologetic and evangelistic, but also profoundly exegetical: interpreting Gentile yearning in the light of Israel’s Scriptures.⁹
Third Journey: Ephesus and the Powers
Paul’s third journey (Acts 19–21) centered on Ephesus, a city dominated by the Artemis cult. The riot sparked by silversmiths (Acts 19:23–41) shows that Paul’s gospel threatened not only religious allegiance but also economic systems. His theology of the “principalities and powers” (Eph 6:12) must be read against this backdrop: idols are not inert but represent spiritual strongholds. His mission thus becomes both pastoral and cosmic, confronting false worship at every level.
At Troas, Paul raised Eutychus (Acts 20:7–12), a story echoing Elijah and Elisha. Such episodes underscored that Paul’s ministry was not merely verbal but prophetic, re-enacting the covenantal power of Israel’s God.
Journey to Rome: Witness in Chains
Paul’s final journey (Acts 21–28) is framed by prophecy. Agabus foretells his arrest (Acts 21:10–11), echoing Jeremiah’s symbolic acts. Arrested in Jerusalem, Paul testifies before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, consistently framing his gospel as “hope in the promise made by God to our fathers” (Acts 26:6). Even in chains, he insists that his message is the fulfillment of Israel’s ancestral hope.
The storm at sea (Acts 27) becomes a parable of Paul’s role: like Jonah, he is a reluctant prophet sent to Gentiles; like Joseph, his presence preserves others in disaster. The final scene in Rome portrays Paul preaching the kingdom of God “unhindered” (Acts 28:31). Luke ends not with closure but with open horizon: the gospel has reached the heart of empire, carried by the man who once sought to extinguish it.
Theological Trajectory of the Journeys
Paul’s travels are more than logistics; they are embodied exegesis of Israel’s Scriptures:
1. Davidic Hope Transformed: Jesus is proclaimed as the risen son of David, not in militant Shammaite terms but as covenantal fulfillment for all nations.
2. Synagogue to Nations: In each city Paul begins with Jews and turns to Gentiles, dramatizing Romans 1:16.
3. Exile Reversed: Israel’s scattering is inverted; the nations are gathered into Israel’s story.
4. Zeal Redirected: The same fervor that once destroyed now builds communities of faith.
The journeys, in short, enact Isaiah’s vision: Israel’s Servant carrying salvation to the ends of the earth.
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Endnotes
6. Richard Bauckham, Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003), 31–47.
6. Richard Bauckham, Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003), 31–47.
7. N.T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 1382–1395.
8. James D.G. Dunn, The New Perspective on Paul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 112–130.
9. C.K. Barrett, Paul: An Introduction to His Thought (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994), 68–74.
8. James D.G. Dunn, The New Perspective on Paul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 112–130.
9. C.K. Barrett, Paul: An Introduction to His Thought (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994), 68–74.
