Paul is on his second missionary journey. His plans are to revisit all the towns where he preached the gospel on his first journey so he can see how the young churches are doing. With him are Silas from Jerusalem and Timothy from Lystra along with various other believers who have accompanied them to assist them in the work. They also intend to preach the gospel in Asia Minor, but the Lord has other plans for them.
"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia." (Acts 16:6) This is not Asia as we think of it today, but Asia Minor. It includes Ephesus, Sardis, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Pergamum, and Thyatira. The gospel certainly does end up going to Asia Minor, and any of you who have studied the book of Revelation will recognize the names of these seven cities as the names of the seven churches in Revelation 1. The Lord by no means wants to keep the gospel from Asia Minor, but He does not want Paul's missionary team entering the region at this specific time. The Bible doesn't provide us with an explanation for this. Like Paul and his companions we must trust the perfect timing of God. Perhaps Asia Minor wasn't ready at this particular moment to receive the gospel. Another region is ready and God is going to send the missionaries there.
Forbidden to enter Asia Minor, the men attempt to go to Bithynia. "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." (Acts 16:7) They turn north to preach the gospel in Bithynia but the Lord blocks this path as well. Luke uses the name of Jesus here interchangeably with the name of the Lord. He says the "Spirit of Jesus" would not allow the men to enter Bithynia. Luke clearly believes in the Holy Trinity, in the three persons of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Paul is prevented from going both west and north by the Holy Spirit. We don't know what method the Holy Spirit uses to close these doors. Perhaps Paul receives a vision or dreams a dream. Perhaps Silas, whom we've been told is a prophet, receives a message from the Lord. Or perhaps, as a number of scholars believe, Paul falls ill near the borders of both these areas. Earlier in our study of the book of Acts we discussed the theory that Paul contracted a recurrent case of malaria on his first missionary journey. It could be that the Lord uses illness to prevent Paul from going into regions that weren't ready to receive the gospel. The reason many scholars believe Paul's plans are overthrown by illness is because in our passage today the author Luke begins telling the story of Acts in the first person. All of a sudden Luke the physician is a part of the group who travels with the missionaries. We can't know for sure whether Paul meets Luke due to an illness, but it's quite possible, and if so then surely this was a divine appointment set up by the Lord. There will come a day when Paul will speak of the faithfulness of Luke's friendship, "Only Luke is with me." (2 Timothy 4:11a) The Lord is going to choose Dr. Luke to be the author of not only the book of Acts but of one of the gospel accounts. If the Lord had never set up a meeting between Luke and Paul then the possibility exists that Luke would never have become a believer or the author of two books of the Bible.
Blocked from going west and north, Luke says of the missionary team, "So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas." (Acts 16:8) It is in Troas that Paul and Luke meet, for in verse 10 we will find Luke leaving Troas with the missionaries. When Paul arrives in Troas he may have been treated by Dr. Luke the Gentile, who after hearing and believing the gospel decides to accompany Paul as his personal physician. Luke uses the gifts the Lord has given him in order to further the gospel. The Lord has given him a talent for medicine, so Luke uses that talent to help the Apostle Paul remain at his physical best while he preaches the good news of Christ. Luke may not know it yet, but he also has the gifts of being a fantastic storyteller and a meticulous historian. He will use these gifts to further the gospel by writing two books of the Holy Bible in some of the most beautiful and classic Greek used in any writings from the first century.
The team spends the night in Troas. "During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'" (Acts 16:9) Now we know why the Lord prevented Paul from going west and north. God intends for the gospel to be taken at this particular time to what is known in modern days as northern and central Greece. We don't know who this "man of Macedonia" is, whether he was an actual citizen of that region or whether he was an angel or whether he merely represented the people of Macedonia as a whole. All we can be sure of is that Macedonia is ready to hear the gospel and Macedonia is where God wants the gospel to go. I think too that God intended all along for Paul to meet Luke in Troas, so it was vital that the mission team be directed to that city. God has great plans for Luke, not only so he can assist Paul with his medical issues, but so he can be used to spread the gospel to the ancient Gentile world and to our world today. As proof of this, you and I are studying the very words of Dr. Luke together right now.
"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." (Acts 16:10) Luke is now on Paul's mission team. He is now on Christ's team. His life is forever changed by hearing the gospel and it is his heart's desire for the Gentile world to hear that same gospel. This should be our heart's desire too, that those who do not know Christ would find in Him the same salvation we ourselves have found.
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