Paul is setting out on his second missionary journey. He and Barnabas argued over whether or not to take Mark along, so Barnabas takes Mark and goes to Syria and Cilicia. Paul asks Silas, a prophet and a well-respected man from the Jerusalem church, to go with him. They return to the cities where Paul and Barnabas previously preached the gospel.
"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." (Acts 16:1) Lystra is the city where Paul was nearly stoned to death. Indeed he was dragged outside the gates and left for dead. Most of us would consider a missionary journey unsuccessful if a number of the residents there tried to kill us, but we learn today that the work Paul did in that city is bearing fruit. There are believers there, and one of them in particular will become a very close and trusted friend of the Apostle Paul.
Timothy is a young man, or at least quite a bit younger than Paul. Paul will refer to him as "my true son in the faith". (1 Timothy 1:2a) Paul has no wife and children, but he loves this young man like he would love his own child. Paul thinks of him as a son because he converted to Christianity under Paul's preaching (in other words, he was born into the faith when he heard Paul sharing the gospel) and because there is enough age difference between the two men that Paul considers himself a father figure to Timothy. Luke refers to Timothy's mother as a believer but to his father as a Greek, so we can assume that his father has not converted to either Judaism or Christianity. This means his biological father can't set a spiritual example for him. This doesn't mean Timothy doesn't love and respect his father, but his father is unable to give him the guidance in the Christian faith that he needs, so Paul takes on that role.
God has a way of placing people in our lives to make up for those who are absent or who are unable to be what they should be to us. Timothy's father can't guide him in the faith, so God sends Paul to be a father figure to him. God graciously sent me a father-in-law and mother-in-law who have treated me like their own daughter, a thing that is precious to me because my father died twenty-nine years ago and my mother died twenty-two years ago. In addition to that, God has placed other believers in my life who are capable of providing me with motherly and fatherly advice.
God can do the same thing for you. Maybe you come from a broken family. Maybe you don't have loving parents and loving brothers and sisters. God is able to place figures like these in your life from among the body of believers. If you aren't a member of a church or a Bible study group I strongly urge you to get involved in these things. Fellow believers in Christ make wonderful friends, parental figures, and brothers and sisters. They will be there for you when you're lonely or discouraged. They will be there to celebrate God's blessings with you. This is what a real family does.
Timothy isn't the only one who came to faith at Lystra. "The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him." (Acts 16:2) Paul wasn't treated all that well at Iconium either, and yet Luke tells us there are believers at both Lystra and Iconium. These believers recommend Timothy to Paul as a godly young man full of faith and good works who can be counted on not to quit when the going gets tough. Because of their recommendations, Paul decides to take Timothy along on the missionary journey.
Before they depart, there is something that needs to be done. "Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." (Acts 16:3) Circumcision and the law of Moses don't save a person, as we discussed over the past several days. You will recall that some of the Jews from Jerusalem came down to Antioch and troubled the Christians there by insisting they had to be circumcised and follow the law to be saved. Paul and all the other apostles and elders refuted this erroneous opinion. So why does Paul circumcise Timothy before taking him along? It's not to complete anything that's lacking in his salvation; it's "because of the Jews who lived in that area". Paul does this so that the Jews can't criticize him for keeping close company with an uncircumcised half-Gentile. If they find fault with Paul they won't allow him to preach. The Gentiles to whom they will be preaching couldn't care less about circumcision because they don't practice it, but Paul wants nothing to stand in the way of his relationship with the Jews because he desperately wants to see his own people come to faith in Christ. (Romans 9:1-5) Timothy doesn't need to be circumcised in order to be saved; he needs to be circumcised to help prevent the Jews in the synagogues from rejecting the gospel message of the missionary team.
"As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey." (Acts 16:4) They share the message of the letter from the Jerusalem council. The council concluded, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that Gentile Christians are not to be compelled to keep the law but must only refrain from certain dietary and immoral practices that they previously engaged in. This will allow the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians to work together for the kingdom of Christ like one big family.
"So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers." (Acts 16:5) The faith of the believers is strengthened because more and more they are gaining a better understanding that they are saved by faith and not by works. Good works will naturally flow from the life of the person who loves the Lord Jesus, but it is faith in the Lord Jesus that saves souls.
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