Acts 16:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

NIV: After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

NASB: When he had seen the vision, we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

CSB: After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

NLT: So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

KJV: And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

NKJV: Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

During Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey, they traveled to the island of Cyprus. After this, they went up into central modern-day Asia Minor in the province of Galatia. On Paul's second journey, this time with Silas, they go overland from Syrian Antioch to visit the same churches in Galatia. In Lystra, they pick up Timothy, a young Jewish Christian who quickly becomes Paul's "true child in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2).

From Galatia, the team has several options. They can go west into the province of Asia, home to several large cities. Or they can move north to Bithynia where their evangelism would reach those who sail the Black Sea. But the Holy Spirit pulls them even farther west. They reach the port city of Troas on the westernmost point of Asia Minor where Paul has a vision of a man asking him to come to Macedonia, on the northern section of the Greek peninsula, to "help" the people there (Acts 16:9). Paul's team immediately knows that "help" means sharing Jesus' offer of reconciliation with God.

This verse includes a small change that is easy to overlook. For the first time in the book of Acts, the pronoun changes from "they" to "we." Luke, the "beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14), has finally joined the group. He stays until Paul, Silas, and Timothy leave Philippi for Berea (Acts 16:40) and eventually meets up with Paul again in Macedonia when Paul is on the return trip from his third missionary journey (Acts 20:5). Luke stays either with or near Paul during his arrest in Jerusalem, imprisonment in Caesarea Maritima, sea voyage to Rome, and Paul's house-arrest there (2 Timothy 4:11). He is the only known Gentile writer of the New Testament, and his letters to Theophilus—the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts—comprise over a quarter of the New Testament.

Acts 16:6–10 records Paul, Silas, and Timothy striking out into new territory. They have visited the churches Paul and Barnabas planted in Galatia and given them the letter from the church in Jerusalem affirming Gentiles do not need to convert to Judaism to follow Jesus. Now they head farther west. The Holy Spirit tells them to bypass Asia and Bithynia—the districts in the far west and far north of modern-day Asia Minor—and cross the Aegean Sea. Jesus' offer of salvation is coming to Macedonia and Greece. They also meet the author of both this book and the gospel which bears his name: Luke.

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.