Acts 16:1-15

 Acts 16:1-15

Between the calling into ministry and circumcision of Timothy and the Macedonian call, there is a scene that is profoundly important but little noticed. It is the occasion where Jesus is saying “No.”. In verses 6-9 we see that the Lord directs Paul and his companions not to go somewhere and preach. They were traveling from east to west across the middle of what is now Turkey. To the north were cities and regions of unreached people. Nevertheless, God directs Paul and company not to go there. They finally come to the region of Mysia that is located at the northwest edge of Turkey, or what Luke calls Asia. Don’t miss this point: they were “forbidden” by the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel in this region. This seems both strange and emphatic. They come to the end of Turkey to the city of Troas and are apparently waiting for instructions. Ultimately it is here that Paul receives what is known as the “Macedonian call.”.

It must have been confusing for Paul and company to have been on a missionary journey and being told not to preach. Before the vision we can wonder if Paul was frustrated and confused. Paul: “Lord, look at all these lost people. Let me tell them about your salvation.”. The Lord: “No, Paul, don’t preach here.” It is not like the Lord gave Paul the big picture of the mission to northern Greece. All he told Paul was, Don’t preach. Certainly Paul faithfully trusted, but we can wonder if he was also confused.

In hindsight we see two key reasons why the Lord refused to allow Paul to preach in that area. First, the expansion of the gospel into the Greek and Roman world is one of the great moments in all of history. The transition from east to west, from the Orient to Europe, was one of the great expansions of Christianity. Second, we see a change of pronouns between verses 9 and 10. There Luke transitions from “they” to “we”. The fact that we are reading the book of Acts and that we have read the Gospel of Luke is in part due to the fact that the Lord prevented Paul from ministering in northern Galatia. Because we can never see the big picture, we must always trust the one who does.

“Lord, when I don’t understand help me to trust. AMEN.”