God’s Word for You
Acts 19:21-22 Plans for Corinth, Rome and beyond
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, November 19, 2020
21 Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul made up his mind to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in Asia for a while longer.
Still in Ephesus, Paul made up his mind to go back to Greece to revisit the churches there. He had previously been to Neapolis (Acts 16:11), Philippi (Acts 16:12-40), Amphipolis and Apollonia (Acts 17:1), Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9), Berea (Acts 17:10-13), Athens (Acts 17:15-34), and Corinth (Acts 18:1-18). It is here in Ephesus that we begin to pick up on some things Paul would later write about in both letters to the Corinthians. He had made one visit, a long one (Acts 18:18). In 2 Corinthians 2:1 he mentions a “painful visit” that he made to Corinth. This could not possibly be the first one, when he founded the church there. It must have happened at about this time while he was just across the Aegean Sea (it would be 930 miles by land but less than 200 by sea). Apart from the passage in 2 Corinthians, there are other references to that second visit to Corinth, since he says “I am ready to visit you for the third time” (2 Corinthians 12:14,21).
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, Paul mentions a letter he had written to the Corinthians in which he warned them not to associate with certain sinful Christians. That letter has not been preserved as part of the New Testament, nor does any copy exist apart from the way Paul summarizes it. But we know that the Corinthians answered that first letter with many questions (“Now for the matters you wrote about…” 1 Corinthians 7:1). Since First and Second Corinthians were written so close together, we can take their statements as a combined body of work. Things Paul says happened in the past in 2 Corinthians happened before he wrote 1 Corinthians as well, except for the writing of 1 Corinthians itself. This gives us a timeline for Paul’s Corinthian letters, by far the largest and longest correspondence he had with any congregation we know of:
1, First visit to Corinth (founding, Acts 18:1-18)
2, Second, “painful” visit (2 Corinthians 2:1)
3, Paul’s first, “lost,” letter (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
4, Corinthian response letter (1 Corinthians 7:1, 8:1, 12:1)
5, Paul writes 1 Corinthians late in his three-year stay at
Ephesus, shortly before Pentecost in 55 AD (summer,
1 Corinthians 16:5-9, Acts 20:31).
6, Paul writes 2 Corinthians in the fall of 55 AD while in
Macedonia on his way down to Corinth (2 Corinthians 2:13, 7:5).
7, Paul’s third visit, spending three months in Corinth over
the winter of 55-56 AD (Acts 20:3).
By sharing his plan to see Rome in verse 21, Paul was beginning to show how far his sights were set regarding the gospel and where he felt he could take it. He would tell the Romans that he wanted to go from there all the way to Spain (Romans 15:24, 15:28). He wanted to take the gospel of Christ crucified to the very ends of the known world, as far as the Roman Empire extended, and beyond.
Paul considered his plans thoroughly and sent two members of his team, Timothy and Erastus, over to Macedonia (northern Greece). Erastus here is probably the same man Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 4:20, but the man in Romans 16:23 must be a different person.
What can we learn from all of these plans Paul made? Perhaps these three are the most important for us: (1) The text of the book of Acts helps us to make sense of Paul’s letters. Without Acts, we would be very confused about Paul’s ministry and about the spread of the gospel from Asia into Europe. (2) Passages like this one help us to understand the confusing issues surrounding the writing of First and Second Corinthians, and any additional clarity the Holy Spirit can add to those important sources for Christian doctrine is a blessing. (3) We can adopt Paul’s practice of planning ahead while allowing the Lord to reign supreme. Solomon said, “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening do not let your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Ecclesiastes 11:6). “Planning and patience” works for the enemies of the gospel (1 Maccabees 8:4), but Jesus wants his people to be shrewd as well (Matthew 10:16), to the glory of God and in the service of his kingdom. Bow to the will of God, but if you are able, plan ahead for the way you will serve him, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.