The life and work of St. Paul

402 THE LIFE A.ND WORK OF ST. PAUL.
ing was now successful, and "a door was opened for him in the Lord," 1 he
"
could not stay there from extreme anxiety. He had no rest for his spirit,
because he found not Titus his brother." Titus had been told to rejoin him
at Troas but ; perhaps the precipitation of St. Paul's departure from Ephesus
had brought him to that town earlier than Titus had expected, and, in the
uncertain navigation of those days, delays may easily have occurred. At any
rate, he did not come, and Paul grew more and more uneasy, until in that
intolerable oppression
of spirit he felt that he could no longer continue his
work, and left Troas for Macedonia. There, at last, he met Titus, who
relieved his painful tension of mind by intelligence from Corinth, which,
although chequered, was yet on the main point favourable. From Titus he
learnt that his change of plan about the visit had given ground for tin-
favourable criticism, 2 and that many injurious remarks on his character and
mode of action had been industriously disseminated, especially by one Jewish
teacher. 3
Still, the effect of the first Epistle had been satisfactory. It had
caused grief, but the grief had been salutary, and had issued in an outburst of
yearning affection, lamentation, and zeal. 4
Titus himself had been received
cordially, yet with fear and trembling. 5 The offender denounced in his letter
had been promptly and even severely dealt with, 6 and all that St. Paul had
said to Titus in praise of the Church had been justified by what he saw. 7
Accordingly, he again sent Titus to them, 8 to finish the good work which he
had begun, and with him he sent the tried and faithful brother " whose praise
is in the Gospel through all the Churches ;" 8 and this time Titus was not
only ready but even anxious to go. 10
In what town of Macedonia St. Paul had met with Titus, and also with
Timothy, we do not know. Great uncertainty hangs over the details of their
movements, and indeed all the events of tliis part of the journey are left in
it St. Paul had even travelled
obscurity : we can only conjecture that during
11
as far as Illyricum. At some point in the journey, but probably not at
Philippi, as the subscription to the Epistle says because, as is evident from
the Epistle itself, he had visited most of the Churches of Macedonia, 12 he
wrote his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. From it we learn that, whatever
may have been in this region the special nature of his affliction whether
grievous sickness, or external persecutions, or inward anxieties, or apparently
all of these combined his stay in Macedonia had suffered from the same
overwhelming distress which had marked the close of his residence in Ephesus,
1 The use of this expression by St. Luke is one of the many interesting traces of Ma
personal intercourse with St. Paul. (See 1 Cor. xvi. 9.)
2 2 Cor. i. 17. ii- 510.
iii. 1 ; v. 11 ; vii. 2, 3 ; r. 10 ; xi. 1820. 7 vii. 14.
4 yii. 611. 8 viii. 6.
* vii. 13, 15. viii. 18, 23.
10 viii. 17. That there was a slight unwillingness the first time seems to be shown by
the way in which St. Paul felt himself obliged to encourage him in his mission.
11 Rom. rv. 19.
12 2 Cor. viii. 1 ; ix. 2. Philippi, on the other hand, would be the first city which he
vould reach.