Acts 16:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

NIV: Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.

NASB: Now Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

CSB: Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek.

NLT: Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.

KJV: Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

NKJV: Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.

Paul and Barnabas received confirmation from the church leadership in Jerusalem that Jesus-followers do not have to be circumcised or adhere to the Mosaic law (Acts 15:22–29). The two had intended to take this message to the Gentile churches they'd planted in modern-day Asia Minor. An argument over whether they should take Barnabas' cousin John Mark split the pair. Barnabas takes Mark to Cyprus, and Paul partners with Silas (Acts 15:39–40). Paul and Silas have already visited the churches in Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:41)—on the northeast coasts of the Mediterranean—and now travel overland into Galatia in central Asia Minor.

Paul and Silas likely would have traveled north from Syrian Antioch to Issus, then west to Tarsus, Paul's hometown. A mountain pass called the Cilician Gates connects Tarsus to Derbe. Lystra is west and a bit north of Derbe. The last time Paul visited, the locals first tried to offer sacrifices to him and Barnabas as Hermes and Zeus, then stoned Paul and left him for dead (Acts 14:8–19). This visit is less eventful.

It's unclear if Paul had met Timothy on his first visit. Timothy's mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, trained him well in Christianity and Judaism before this meeting (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14–15). Paul will take him on, training him as his "true child in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2). Despite his youth (1 Timothy 4:12), Timothy will eventually be the pastor of the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). First, however, Paul must make sure the older Jews will accept him as their spiritual authority.

Because Timothy's mother is Jewish, he is Jewish. Because his father is Greek, he is not circumcised. Even as a Jew, Timothy does not have to be circumcised to be saved. But Paul knows it will be easier for Timothy to minister to fellow Jews if they don't get hung up on the traditions of his ancestors. So, though the primary purpose of Paul's trip is to assure Gentiles they don't have to be circumcised to worship God and live life with Jews, Paul does circumcise Timothy (Acts 16:3).

Acts 16:1–5 records Paul doing something we might not have expected. He is with Silas in modern-day Asia Minor, telling the churches he had planted that the leadership in Jerusalem agrees Gentile Christians do not have to be circumcised. In Lystra, Paul meets a young Jewish man named Timothy—and promptly circumcises him. This is not a matter of salvation, but so older Jewish believers don't hassle the young church leader in the future (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul brings Timothy along, and the three continue visiting the churches in Galatia and Phrygia before picking up Luke and heading across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia (Acts 16:6–10).

Acts 16 follows Paul and Silas as they take the letter of Acts 15 into modern-day Asia Minor and Macedonia. They collect Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas. In Philippi, they meet Lydia and baptize her family. After expelling a demon from a fortune-telling girl, city officials illegally beat and imprison Paul and Silas. An earthquake frees them of their chains, but they stay and bring the jailer and his family to Christ. The next morning, Paul and Silas refuse to leave quietly, politely insisting that their civil rights have been violated. The officials apologize, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy go to Thessalonica.

Acts 15 ends with Paul and Silas spreading the news that Gentile Christians don't have to be circumcised. Acts 16 begins with Paul circumcising a Jewish man, Timothy, to prevent difficulties in preaching to older Jews as the boy grows into church leadership. Paul's second missionary trip finds the church growing east, into Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth (Acts 16:11—18:18). On his way back to Syrian Antioch, Paul will stop by Ephesus and soften the Jews for the extended ministry of Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. During his first trip, Paul planted churches and ordained elders; in his second, he commissions more missionaries.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.