03-CHAPTER 3. ST. PAUL'S FIRST JOURNEY AS A NARRATIVE OF TRAVEL.
CHAPTER 3. ST. PAUL’S FIRST JOURNEY AS A NARRATIVE OF TRAVEL.
AFTER these topographical and historical details, it is proposed, as the next part of our task, to go over the first missionary journey as a plain narrative of travel and adventure, and to show how the references, which St. Paul in his letter to the Galatian churches makes to his experiences when he first preached to them, work in with the narrative in Acts xiii. and xiv. to produce a consistent picture. On the theory (which the present writer is concerned to maintain) that Acts xiii., xiv. are founded on, or even embody, with some slight modifications and additions, a document written under the immediate influence of Paul himself, it is absolutely necessary that the epistle should agree with and complete the narrative in Acts. Herein lies what is generally counted one of the strong points of the North-Galatian view: it is contended that the details of the visit to the Galatians mentioned in the epistle are inconsistent with the account of the journey in South Galatia given in Acts xiii., xiv. If that be the case, I fully acknowledge that the North-Galatian view must be adopted in spite of the numerous difficulties attending it; but then, as I hope to show, it must be admitted that the account of the second journey in Acts xvi. is inaccurate in itself, and written by one who had not access to a trustworthy account of the facts.
Let us try to realize the facts of the journey and the situation of the Apostles. How were they guided on this particular route? At certain points in this and in other journeys we are told what was the guiding impulse; a vision led Paul from Asia into Europe; the Spirit ordered him not to preach in Asia, and not even to enter Bithynia. In the first journey they were sent forth by the Holy Spirit "for the work whereunto I have called them"; and Paul explains in Galatians that the work was to preach among the Gentiles (Galatians 1:16 ff.). There can be no doubt that the expression in Galatians 1:15-16 tallies exactly with that in Acts 13:1, and that it would be appropriate for Paul to address to the churches which he founded on his first missionary journey an elaborate argument in favour of his special call to Gentile work. [Note: I do not argue that it would be less appropriate in writing to other churches. I am only concerned to show that it is appropriate on the South-Galatian theory.]
It is not stated that the Holy Spirit prescribed the details of the route. How then should Paul and Barnabas proceed? To leave Syria they must go first to Seleuceia, the harbour of Antioch, where they would find ships going south to the Syrian coast and Egypt, and west either by way of Cyprus or along the coast of Asia Minor. The western route led towards the Roman world, to which all Paul’s subsequent history proves that he considered himself called by the Spirit. The Apostles embarked in a ship for Cyprus, which was very closely connected by commerce and general intercourse with the Syrian coast. After traversing the island from cast to west, they must go onward. Ships going westward naturally went across to the coast of Pamphylia, and the Apostles, after reaching Paphos, near the west end of Cyprus, sailed in one of these ships, and landed at Attalia in Pamphylia. In the east a man with a day’s journey before him always rises early in the morning; and similarly we may feel fairly confident that in view of this great expedition the Apostles started early in the year, in April, when the season for navigation began. [Note: C. H. adopts this view.] It is not possible to allow less than two months in Cyprus, where they preached in the Jewish synagogues along their route. We must allow a certain time in each of the Jewish settlements to enable the Apostles to test the feeling of the town before they proceeded on their way in search of a favourable opening; and yet, if the document possesses vividness and direct accuracy, it is hardly consistent with the language to suppose that they stayed very long at any place. Nothing of permanent interest occurred until they reached Paphos; and even there the words describing their experience do not suggest any prolonged stay. It seems then a fair and natural interpretation of the document to place their arrival in Pamphylia in the latter part of June. Some slight stay at Perga is implied by the dissension which was caused by the proposal to cross Taurus to the upper country; then they proceeded to the interior without preaching at Perga or in Pamphylia.
We can hardly suppose that this was part of the original scheme, for John Mark was willing to come into Pamphylia with them, but not willing to go on into the country north of Taurus, and therefore he evidently considered that the latter proposal was a departure from the original scheme. Cyprus and Pamphylia were countries of similar situation to Cilicia and Syria, and in the closest possible relations with them, whereas it was a serious and novel step to go into the country north of Taurus. We need not therefore suppose that John Mark was actuated solely or mainly by cowardice; the facts of the situation show that he could advance perfectly plausible arguments against the change of plan, which was to carry their work into a region new in character and not hitherto contemplated by the church. It seems no unwarrantable addition, but a plain inference from the facts, to picture the dissension as proceeding on lines like these; and it relieves John Mark from a serious charge, which is not quite in keeping with his boldness in originally starting on this first of missionary journeys. What then was the motive of Paul and Barnabas in taking this new step? Evidently the Spirit did not order them, for we are precluded from supposing that John Mark actually disobeyed the Divine injunction which he had already obeyed in coming to Cyprus and Pamphylia; and moreover we are not justified in interpolating such Divine action in the narrative without express warrant in its own words. Was it that circumstances independent of their own will dictated this change? To this question Paul himself gives the answer. "Ye know," he says to the Galatians, "that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel to you the first time" (Galatians 4:13).
Every one who has traveled in Pamphylia knows how relaxing and enervating the climate is. In these low-lying plains fever is endemic; the land is so moist as to be extraordinarily fertile and most dangerous to strangers. Confined by the vast ridges of Taurus, 5,000 to 9,000 feet high, the atmosphere is like the steam of a kettle, hot, moist, and swept by no strong winds. Coming down in July 1890 from the north side of Taurus for a few days to the coast east of Pamphylia, I seemed to feel my physical and mental powers melting rapidly away. I might spend a page in quoting examples, [Note: The Rev. Mr. Daniell, who traveled with Spratt and Forbes, died of fever at Attalia, a few miles from Perga.] but the following fact bears so closely on our present purpose that it must be mentioned. In August 1890 I met on the Cilician coast an English officer on his way home from three years’ duty in Cyprus: previously he had spent some years in Eastern service. He said that the climate of the Cilician coast (which is very similar to that of Pamphylia, and has not any worse reputation for unhealthiness) reminded him of Singapore or Hong-Kong, while that of Cyprus was infinitely fresher and more invigorating. We suppose then that Paul caught fever on reaching Perga. Here it may be objected by those who have no experience of such a situation that Paul was used to the climate of Cilicia and Syria; why should he suffer in Pamphylia? In the first place, no one can count on immunity from fever, which attacks people in the most capricious way. In the second place, it was precisely after fatigue and hardship, traveling on foot through Cyprus amid great excitement and mental strain, that one was peculiarly liable to be affected by the sudden plunge into the enervating atmosphere of Pamphylia. The circumstances implied in the epistle are therefore in perfect keeping with the narrative in Acts; each of the authorities lends additional emphasis and meaning to the other. A bad attack of malarial fever, such as we suppose to have befallen St. Paul in Pamphylia, could not be described better than in the words in which Lightfoot (an advocate of the North-Galatian theory) sums up the physical infirmity implied in the Epistle Gal. 4:13-15: "A return of his old malady, ’the thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan sent to buffet him,’ some sharp and violent attack it would appear, which humiliated him and prostrated his physical strength." I appeal to all who have experience, whether this is not a singularly apt description of that fever, which has such an annoying and tormenting habit of catching one by the heel just in the most inconvenient moments, in the midst of some great effort, and on the eve of some serious crisis, when all one’s energies are specially needed. [Note: I have not in the slightest word or detail altered my description to suit the case. The sentence in the text has been often in my mouth in describing what I have seen; and the words "catching by the heel" have become with me a stock phrase to describe the behaviour of this fever, when chronic. Lightfoot’s quotation from2 Corinthians 12:7has no certain connection with the present case; but the connection is generally admitted.] The treatment for such an illness would be prescribed by universal consent as either the sea or the high lands of the interior. Thus the remarks which have been made above, page 17, acquire much pertinence, now that we have succeeded in eliciting the probable character of the case. In this way Paul and Barnabas were led to visit the Jewish settlement of Antioch, and the evangelisation of the Galatian churches was due to "an infirmity of the flesh." On the North-Galatian theory, I fail to comprehend what can be the situation. It is a remarkable fact, that the long toilsome journey, involving great physical and mental effort, and yet voluntarily undertaken, should be described as the result of a severe illness; such a result from such a cause is explicable only in certain rare circumstances. We have seen that the result naturally follows from a Pamphylian illness. On the other hand, I cannot see any possible circumstances in which a preaching tour in North Galatia could be due to an illness during the second journey. Let those who advocate that theory suggest some actual facts and details which are in accordance with the situation and the record. But this is a point to which I shall return in Chapter IV., p. 86.
It may be suggested in objection to our theory, that if so much importance attaches to this illness, a document composed under St. Paul’s influence would make some reference to it. In answer, it might be sufficient to ask whether St. Paul’s character would make us expect from him a formal reference to his illness. [Note: Compare the experiences which become known to us only incidentally through the passage2 Corinthians 11:23ff.] But suppose the reference made, what is the result? It would be hardly possible in such a brief account to speak of the illness without giving a worse tone to the action of Mark than it fairly deserved; and the silence preserved in regard to it is perhaps not unconnected with this fact. The attack described in the letter to the Galatians need not be understood as lasting long; that is not the character of such attacks. But the journey to Antioch could not be made rapidly. At the ordinary rate of twenty miles per day it would need eight days; but we must allow a slower progress in this case. The latter part of July, on the conception we have formed of the journey, is the earliest date when the Apostle can have reached Antioch; and the beginning of August is more probable. About that time the journey to the upper country would be most imperatively required for a fever-struck patient; whereas after the middle of September a journey to the plateau would no longer be recommended. The motives which might lead the Jewish strangers to select Antioch have been already described. (See p. 19.) We suppose Paul and Barnabas to have arrived there. After some days’ stay they turned from the Jews to the Gentiles. Among them it is clear from Acts 13:48-49, and Galatians 4:13-15, that Paul was welcomed gladly, was treated with extraordinary affection, with kindly solicitude as an invalid, and with admiration as a teacher. These two passages fit into each other perfectly. It may also be noticed that the hospitality with which Onesiphorus went out to meet and invite Paul to his house, in the romance of St. Thekla, [Note: See above, p. 31.] may be treated as implying some tradition with regard to the hearty welcome extended to the Apostles in the whole of this region. They resided in Antioch for some time. A certain interval is required for the recorded effect,--"the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout all the region" Two months is the minimum that can be allowed for such widespread effect. On the other hand, the stay in Antioch is not said to be "long," as is that in Iconium. We may estimate a "long time" (Ŷκανὸν χρόνον) by comparison with Paul’s later journeys. He stayed "a long time" (Ŷκανὰς ὴμέρας, Acts 18:18) at Corinth after the trial before Gallio, and as we know that the whole duration of his residence there was eighteen months, this phrase must denote some period like six to ten months. We may fairly suppose a similar time to have been spent at Iconium, let us say eight months; whereas at Antioch he resided less than six months, and not less than two. Moreover if we may assume that the new magistrates at Antioch came into office, according to the general Asian fashion, [Note: It is, however, quite possible that the Roman year was used in the colony, and that the magistrates entered on office, according to the Roman fashion, on January 1st.] on September 23rd, it is probable that any machinations against the Apostles, would be directed to influence not the retiring, but the incoming, magistrates. After entering on office, the new magistrates would be occupied with pressing official duties in their first days; and the middle or end of October is likely to have been the earliest time at which they could attend to the complaints made by the influential classes against Paul. All this leads us to the conclusion that the three or four days’ journey to Iconium falls in the latter part of October, or in November, and that the whole winter was spent in Iconium. A point which illustrates and is illustrated by the state of society in Asia Minor, is the influence exerted on the Apostles’ fortunes in Antioch by the women. The honours and influence which belonged to women in the cities of Asia Minor form one of the most remarkable features in the history of the country. In all periods the evidence runs on the same lines. On the border between fable and history we find the Amazons. The best authenticated cases of Mutterrecht belong to Asia Minor. Under the Roman Empire we find women magistrates, presidents at games, and loaded with honours. [Note: Examples have been collected with much diligence by M. Paris in his treatise, Quatenus femina in Asia Minore res publicas attigerint; but the conclusions which he draws appear to me unsatisfactory, and the tone of the writer is rather flippant and unpleasant.] The custom of the country influenced even the Jews, who in at least one case appointed a woman at Smyrna to the position of archi-synagogos. [Note: See Neubauer in Studia Biblica, i., p. 70; Reinach in Revue des Études Juives, vii., p. 161.] It would be strange if the women had not exercised some influence over St. Paul’s fortunes. The journey to Iconium was probably performed in greater ease and comfort, perhaps in a carriage. The Apostles had now many friends, and Paul lays special stress on their extraordinary anxiety to give him anything in their power that could be of service to him [Note: Mere attention to Paul in sickness is not enough to explain the words inGalatians 4:15; the actual giving or offering of their own valued possessions is necessarily included.] (Galatians 4:15); this implies a liberal and overflowing hospitality, and quite naturally includes help in his actual journey, recommendations to residents at Neapolis, Misthia, and other towns on the way, and the use of horses for the journey. The hurried flight from Iconium to Lystra, according to our reckoning, took place about June. It is difficult to find an indication of time in the following part of the narrative. It seems to be implied (Galatians 4:6) that the Apostles’ residence in this district was not confined to a certain time in Lystra, and then a certain time in Derbe, but that they made some excursions, and remained in the district engaged in missionary work. I must, however, confess that the language here is vague, and I do not comprehend it clearly. [Note: In the country round about, among the Isaurian hills, it is highly improbable that the Apostles could speak to the rustic population, who were, it is practically certain, ignorant of Greek till a far later date.] During the heat of summer this country district would be much cooler and pleasanter than the city of Iconium, though even there the heat is not excessive, and the suburban gardens are agreeable.
During this residence in the Isaurian hill country, certain Jews came to Lystra from Antioch and Iconium. If we may judge from modern experience these Jews were traders of the class of brokers or middle-men, who were speculating in the approaching harvest, and came to look after their business. Greeks and Armenians play among the primitive natives at the present day exactly the part which I attribute to the Jews in the first century, buying up the grain and other produce from the agricultural population, and exporting it to harbours on the south coast, or selling it in retail trade in the cities. [Note: The tithes were no doubt also farmed by speculators, as at present in some districts. Some of these visitors might be agents of the company of speculators.] If this supposition is correct, August is a very likely month for their coming to Lystra, and the stoning of Paul would come some weeks later. The two days’ journey to Derbe [Note: The distance is about ten or eleven hours, and might be done in one day with an early start.] would then fall perhaps as late as September. Three months is no exaggerated allowance for the effect produced at Derbe, "making many disciples." That brings us at least to the end of November. After that season the passes over Taurus are liable to be blocked by snow, and are at best very trying and difficult to cross. What, then, were the Apostles to do? The journey across Taurus was described to them as impossible. They were at the extremest limit of Roman territory, and could not go further forward to preach, except by entering the kingdom of Antiochus. Now it is not a too fanciful idea that St. Paul may already have begun to realize the great conception (which he certainly realized afterwards) of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire, and was already confirmed in his preference for centres of Roman life and influence. In this situation the Apostles resolved to return by the way they had come, and to take the opportunity of organizing the administration of the newly founded communities, all of which they had been obliged to leave quite
suddenly. The Apostles had been expelled, or had fled in danger of their lives, from Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra; and it is clear that the riotous action of the populace had been connived at, or even encouraged, by the magistrates. How then could they venture to re-enter the cities against the authority of the magistrates? The question touches on a branch of ancient law--viz., the powers and rights of the magistrates in such provincial cities--which is so obscure that we cannot answer it with certainty or confidence, but can only indicate some probabilities. It is worth notice that the magistrates of Antioch seem to have taken a more decided action than those of Iconium or Lystra. Antioch was a Roman colony and an administrative centre; and it is quite natural that its magistrates should be of higher rank, and should venture on bolder action.
We may take it for granted that Roman law and custom prevailed in the Roman colonies, Antioch and Lystra; and in all probability they exercised great influence even in Iconium. We may then understand that the magistrates could not permanently banish any person from the city; but that, in the exercise of their powers for the preservation of peace and order, they could go to very great lengths in the way of summary punishment against any individuals whose action or presence was inconsistent with peace and order. They could turn them out of the city (though not permanently exile them), they could tear their clothes, inflict personal indignities on them, or beat them (unless they were Roman citizens). But the punishments which they inflicted caused no permanent disability, except in so far as the mere physical effect might be indelible; they could not pass sentence of death or of exile. The person who was turned out of the city might return after a little; but of course he would be wise not to return so long as the magistrate who ejected him remained in office. But though the magistrates could not punish a culprit with death, "a regrettable incident," such as a popular riot, might occasionally occur, leading to the death of an ob- noxious individual, and mildly blamed in public by the magistrates, who privately rejoiced at it. Hence in Iconium and Lystra we may be pretty sure that the magistrates connived at the stoning intended in the one case, and effected in the other; but it was only by such irregular proceedings that the death of the missionaries could be compassed. The magistrates could take no overt action. It would appear then that Paul and Barnabas had been brought before the magistrates of Antioch, but not of Iconium or of Lystra. But even in Antioch the orders of the magistrates inflicted on them no permanent disability, and in Lystra they had been the victims of illegal conduct so extreme that they had acquired a strong legal position. They were legally free also to return to Iconium and Antioch, but in common prudence they would hardly return until new magistrates came into office. Now, according to the account of the journey which has just been given, it appears that new magistrates had already been appointed in all three towns. [Note: Unless the magistrates in the colony of Lystra entered office on January 1st. But Lystra was the town in which St. Paul’s legal position was strongest. A Roman citizen, violently assaulted by the populace, had a very strong case.] The rest of the winter then was spent in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. The magistrates and the Jews are not again referred to; it is probable that the Apostles’ freedom from interference was gained by their refraining from such open preaching as before, while they devoted themselves to organizing some kind of self-government in the congregations. Some years later, we know that Paul could direct the Galatian churches to make weekly contributions for the benefit of the poor at Jerusalem; and this implies officials and a system of administration. It was not before the middle of May in the following year that the Apostles could venture to cross the Pisidian Mountains. They perhaps spent June in Perga, and in July, after an absence of two years and four months, they may have reached the Syrian Antioch once more.
It will strike every reader that the estimates of time given in the preceding sketch of the Apostle’s journeys are the lowest possible in view of the effects produced. A certain amount of time is necessary in order that two unknown strangers should first gain a hearing, and then make many converts and establish a permanent congregation in a city where the established religion was so opposite in character to that which they preached. Many may think that our estimates err by being too short; and it is quite possible that they ought to be lengthened. Probably hardly any one will consider that they are too long.