What happened on Paul’s first missionary journey?

Answer

The apostle Paul embarked on three groundbreaking missionary journeys, culminating in a voyage to Rome. His initial missionary expedition, believed to have taken place between AD 47 and 48, commenced in Syria and led him to Cyprus and Asia Minor.

Following Paul’s observation of the stoning of Stephen “and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.”, (Acts 7:58), he encountered Jesus (Acts 9), underwent a conversion, and visited Jerusalem (Acts 9:26-30). Subsequently, when the church authorities in Jerusalem perceived the escalating persecution, they relocated him to his hometown of Tarsus on the southeastern coast of present-day Turkey. Concurrently, as persecution intensified in Jerusalem, believers dispersed to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Syrian Antioch, which was in close proximity to Tarsus (Acts 11:19-30). These scattered Christians carried the gospel with them, prompting the leaders in Jerusalem to dispatch Barnabas to Antioch to investigate the burgeoning church.

Upon confirming the gospel’s expansion and recognizing the divine nature of the church in Syrian Antioch “Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”, (Acts 11:23), Barnabas journeyed to Tarsus to retrieve Paul, whom he had previously mentored in Jerusalem. Together, they returned to Antioch to provide guidance for the emerging church. Approximately a year later, the prophet Agabus predicted a severe famine. The Antioch believers raised funds for the Judean church and dispatched Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem (Acts 11:19-30). After delivering the gift, Barnabas and Paul traveled back to Antioch with John Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (verse 25). While the church in Antioch was worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to a special work in spreading the gospel “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”, (Acts 13:2). After more fasting and prayer, the church laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off with John Mark (verse 3). Thus began the first missionary journey, led by the Holy Spirit (verse 4).

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark walked to Seleucia on the coast, then sailed southwest to Salamis on the island of Cyprus, where Barnabas was from. They preached in the synagogue there and traveled the whole island, apparently without seeing much fruit, until they arrived at the city of Paphos in the southwest. The island’s Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, summoned the missionaries to listen to their message. Unfortunately, the proconsul’s associate, Bar-Jesus (aka Elymas), was a magician and Jewish false prophet who contradicted the gospel message and tried to keep Sergius Paulus from converting. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Paul made Bar-Jesus go blind, and Sergius Paulus believed in Christ (Acts 13:4-12).

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark sailed from Paphos to Perga in the region of Pamphylia in south-central Asia Minor. For reasons the Bible does not detail, John Mark left the other two missionaries and returned to Jerusalem “Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.”, (Acts 13:13).

It doesn’t appear that Paul and Barnabas spent much time in Perga but headed north to Pisidian Antioch and preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath. In his sermon, Paul, a credentialed Pharisee, provided an overview of the Israelites’ exile in Egypt, the judges, Kings Saul and David, and John the Baptist. He demonstrated to the Jews in Antioch how only Jesus, who died and rose again, fulfilled the Jewish prophecies. Many believed, and they requested Paul and Barnabas to return the following Sabbath. The subsequent week, nearly the entire city showed up, but the Jewish leadership was envious of the crowds and attempted to silence their message with abusive language. Paul and Barnabas highlighted that the Jews had their opportunity and had turned down Jesus, so Jesus’ message would now be taken to the Gentiles. The gospel spread throughout the entire region, but, eventually, despite the new converts’ enthusiasm, the Jews in Pisidian Antioch incited persecution against the missionaries, and Paul and Barnabas journeyed east to Iconium in Galatia (Acts 13:14-52).

Paul and Barnabas remained in the city of Iconium for a considerable period, preaching boldly and performing miracles. Many Jews and Greeks believed, but many did not. The missionaries heard that the unbelieving Jews, Gentiles, and city leadership were planning to stone them, so they escaped to the nearby cities of Lystra and Derbe in Lycia (Acts 14:1-7).

While Paul was preaching at the gates of Lystra, he noticed a lame man listening attentively. He healed the man, and the crowd proclaimed that Barnabas must be Zeus and Paul Hermes, as Hermes was the messenger and chief spokesman of the gods. The priests of the temple of Zeus joined the crowds and tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas—sacrifices that were narrowly prevented by Paul and Barnabas’s insistence that they were mere men. As a contrast, the unbelieving Jews from Antioch and I

Conium arrived at Lystra and incited the crowds against the gospel. The ensuing mob stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city. When the disciples gathered around his lifeless body, Paul stood up, completely healed, and returned to the city (Acts 14:8-20).

The following day, Paul and Barnabas traveled east to Derbe, located across the mountain range from Tarsus, and made many disciples. It was in the region of Lystra and Derbe that young Timothy heard the gospel from Paul and was saved. From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps through Asia Minor, visiting Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch, strengthening the fledgling churches, and appointing elders (Acts 14:21-23).

Paul and Barnabas revisited the seaport city of Perga to preach, then traveled to Attalia, a few miles to the west, where they also preached (Acts 14:24-26). They later sailed back to Syrian Antioch. “Upon their arrival, they gathered the church together and recounted all that God had accomplished through them, opening a door of faith to the Gentiles” (verse 27).

During his second missionary journey, Paul passed through Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch again on his way to Troas. He revisited these cities once more on his third missionary journey en route to Ephesus. Sometime between Paul’s initial and subsequent missionary journeys (and following the Jerusalem Council), Paul wrote the epistle of Galatians to the cities of southern Galatia.