3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

century.
What was this trip? The above map sketches out the geography involved in this missionary activity. These
travels occupied some five years of Paul’s life. Two distinct pictures of the trip in terms of dominant emphasis
emerge inside the pages of the New Testament. Luke portraits the trip as a combination of strengthening already
existing churches, especially those established on the first two journeys, and of establishing new churches. The
former is dominant in Luke’s narrative in Acts 18 to 21 but some emphasis on his evangelizing work surfaces as
well.
But in Paul’s own reflections of ministry during this period of time, much emphasis centers on pastoral
concern for the Jewish Christians in Judea and the need for these churches in the northeastern Mediterranean
region to reach out in substantial help to assist them through these times of intense struggle and difficulty.
Second Corinthians chapters eight and nine contain detailed accounting of this ministry.
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294 Pastoral ministry to
the churches he established looms large in the picture with First and Second Corinthians as well as in Romans
written during this era of ministry. 295 Out of these major compositions of the apostle have come much of the
theological understanding of Protestant Christianity over the past four centuries. Yet foundational to all that Paul
communicated in his letters of this period is the central role of proclaiming the Gospel to the non-Christian world
of his day, as is reflected in 1 Cor. 9:16-18:
16 ἐὰν γὰρ εὐαγγελίζωμαι, οὐκ ἔστιν μοι καύχημα· ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ἐπίκειται· οὐαὶ γάρ μοί ἐστιν ἐὰν μὴ
εὐαγγελίσωμαι. 17 εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, μισθὸν ἔχω· εἰ δὲ ἄκων, οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι· 18 τίς οὖν μού
ἐστιν ὁ μισθός; ἵνα εὐαγγελιζόμενος ἀδάπανον θήσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον εἰς τὸ μὴ καταχρήσασθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ μου ἐν τῷ
εὐαγγελίῳ.
16 If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to
me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am
entrusted with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel
free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
Although some of the modern Pauline scholarship see irreconcilable differences in these two perspectives, careful
analysis of the two sets of texts exposes this as modern basis more than anything else, as the above analysis
has sought to demonstrate.
Was the itinerary for this trip carefully planned out in advance? Absolutely not! Paul seems to have had a
general idea of where to go and what he intended to do, but the details remained fluid continuously throughout
the trip. What he told the Ephesians in the brief visit at the end of the second missionary journey characterized
the entire third journey: πάλιν ἀνακάμψω πρὸς ὑμᾶς τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντος, “I will return to you, if God wills,” (Acts
18:21). Just as had been true on the two previous missionary trips, the details of just how ministry would unfold
in the various places he traveled to lay solely in the hands of God, not in Paul’s travel plans. Those plans would
change from time to time. For example, his intention to travel directly from Corinth to Jerusalem was changed
dramatically because of a plot to kill Paul. Consequently, he ended up retracing steps through Macedonia before
heading to Jerusalem (Acts 20:3). The apostle took each day at a time and sought to use it effectively in ministry.
A huge variety of experiences came his way as the lengthy Ephesian ministry illustrates: baptizing the disciples
of John (20:1-7); forceful presentation of the Gospel in the Jewish synagogue (20:8); a dramatic shift to focus
on Gentiles in the lecture hall of Tyrannus (20:9-10); confrontation with the demon possessed sons of Sceva
(20:11-16); supervision of a book burning of pagan materials in the city (20:17-20); directing the work of associates
(20:21-22); facing the riot in the city created by Demetrius (20:23-41). In no way could Paul have planned
out in advance how to handle each of these situations as they arose. Far more importantly, his commitment was
to serve God and then to let God lead him in handling every situation that came along.
One major objective for this third trip was to strengthen the already established churches, as is reflected
in Acts 18:23 [Καὶ ποιήσας χρόνον τινὰ ἐξῆλθεν διερχόμενος καθεξῆς τὴν Γαλατικὴν χώραν καὶ Φρυγίαν,
ἐπιστηρίζων πάντας τοὺς μαθητάς, After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through
the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.]. In Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian leaders
at Miletus he underscores this objective repeatedly: ὡς οὐδὲν ὑπεστειλάμην τῶν συμφερόντων τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι
ὑμῖν καὶ διδάξαι ὑμᾶς δημοσίᾳ καὶ κατʼ οἴκους, I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to
you and teaching you publicly and from house to house (Acts 20:20); οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι πᾶσαν
294The primary scripture texts are 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9; Rom. 15:25-26.
295Some scholars would add Galatians to this list as well, although I am convinced it came on the second missionary journey
along with First and Second Thessalonians. Also, a much smaller number of scholars will insert into this period the writing of Colossians
and Philemon, and possibility Philippians, based on the assumption of their composition during an imprisonment period at the end of
his lengthy Ephesian ministry.