Produce a chronology together with exegetical comments of the

missionary journeys of Paul and his companions.

In AD 30, shortly after the death of Jesus, the Church was founded and established
by the Apostles and they converted many people to Christianity on the day of
Pentecost. Between the years AD 32 - 35, Saul was converted on the road to
Damascus by a vision of Jesus, and was then renamed to be known as 'Paul'. Then
around AD 46 or 47, Paul and Barnabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit and sent
out on their first missionary journey, starting from the church in Antioch, Syria.

First Missionary Journey:

AD 46/47

Acts 13 - 14

Antioch - Acts 13:4:

Paul and Barnabas are sent out by the appointment and choosing of the Holy Spirit
from the church of Antioch in Syria. The church fasted and prayed and the Spirit gave
them direction.

Seleucia - Acts 13:4:

Paul and Barnabas sailed from here to Salamis, Cyprus. Nothing is said about
Seleucia as a place or the people there in Acts, suggesting that Luke 'probably knew
the Pauline theological principle, 'To the Jew first, and also to the Greek''1

Salamis - Acts 13:5:

Here on their journey, they were joined by John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas, as an
assistant. From here they preached all across the island in the synagogues until they
arrived at Paphos.

1
C. K. Barrett, Acts, a shorter commentary, pp.193

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Paphos - Acts 13:6-12:

On arriving at Paphos, they met a Jewish false prophet who tries to interfere with
their evangelism to the Proconsul, but Paul makes him blind by the power of the
Spirit which leads to the Proconsuls conversion.

Perge, Pamphylia - Acts 13:13:

John Mark leaves the duo here at the port town of Perge, and Paul and Barnabas
continue inland to Pisidian Antioch where they preached to the Jews and Gentiles,
but were then drove out of the city by jealous Jews.

Iconium - Acts 14: 1-4:

After escaping to Iconium from Perge, Paul and Barnabas preached to the people for
a long time and performed signs, but the city was divided in their opinions of them. A
mob formed and wanted to stone them, so they fled to the region of Lycadonia.

Lystra and Derbe - Acts 14: 5-19:

The people in this region thought that Paul and Barnabas were the Greek gods after
they healed a lame man. Soon after, some Jews arrived from Iconium and turned the
crowds against Paul and they stoned him and left him for dead outside the city. The
Disciples of the area came to his aid and he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

After preaching in Derbe, they returned back the way they had come and preached
and set up elders in the churches they planted until they finally arrived back in
Antioch of Syria, where they stayed for a long time.

Not long after this journey, Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to refute some bad
teachings from Jewish-Christian people who had gone there after Paul.

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Second Missionary Journey:

AD 48 - 51

Acts 15:36 - 18:22

Antioch - Acts 15: 36-41:

Paul and Barnabas separate because of a disagreement over John Mark because he
deserted them earlier and did not help. Barnabas took John Mark to Cyprus and Paul
took Silas to Derbe.

Derbe to Lystra to Iconium - Acts 16: 1-7:

Paul and Silas travelled through Derbe to Lystra where they met Timothy who joined
them on their travels. From there they went to Iconium and preached in the towns.

Troas to Neapolis to Philippi - Acts 16: 8-40:

In Troas, it would appear that Luke has joined them on the journey as the writing of
Acts suddenly changes from "they went" to "we went". From here they sailed out to
Neapolis for a day and then moved on to Philippi.

In Philippi, they met a woman who converted and let them be guests in her house. A
demon-possessed girl came to the group and Paul delivered her which resulted in
their arrest. Somewhere around this time, Luke seems to have left them as the
writing style changes yet again to a 3rd person narrative. After being released, they
made their way via Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica.

Thessalonica - Acts 17: 1-9:

Once in Thessalonica, Paul preached three weeks in a row, but after a while the
Jews got jealous and got a mob to try and attack Paul and his followers. The
believers in the town got Paul out and sent him off to Berea.

Berea - Acts 17: 10-15:

Paul teaches in the synagogues and the people there are more willing to accept the
message, but Jews from Thessalonica come to stir up trouble. The believers there
escorted Paul to the coast while Silas and Timothy stayed behind.

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Athens - Acts 17: 16-34:

Paul preached to the philosophers of Athens while he waited for Timothy and Silas,
and some believed the message while others laughed. Afterwards Paul moved onto
Corinth.

Corinth - Acts 18: 1-18:

Timothy and Silas rejoin Paul (18:5) After the Jews insult Paul and his teachings, he
moves on to preaching just to the Gentiles at Titus Justis' home. The Jews tried to
have Paul arrested but their plan failed so Paul left to go back to Syria taking Priscilla
and Aquila with him. It was around this time that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians and
then a few months later he wrote 2 Thessalonians.

Ephesus to Caesarea to Jerusalem to Antioch - Acts 18: 19-22:

At Ephesus, Paul left the group behind and went to the synagogue. The Jews wanted
him to stay but Paul left because, according to some manuscripts, he wanted to get
to a festival in Jerusalem. Passing through Caesarea and Jerusalem, Paul finally
arrived back in Antioch where he stayed for a while.

Third Missionary Journey:

AD 53 - 58

Acts 18: 23 - 21: 16

Antioch - Acts 18:23:

Paul visited Galatia and Phrygia to encourage the believers there, after being in
Antioch, Syria for a while.

Ephesus - Acts 19 - 20:1:

After travelling through the interior provinces, Paul arrived at Ephesus and ministered
for two years to Jews and Greeks. He did unusual miracles here where cloth that had
touched his skin was used to heal the sick. C. K. Barrett's Acts commentary makes
note of the fact that skin contact is always a common feature in healing miracles, or
any miracle for that matter.2 A riot also broke out because of Paul's teaching here, of
which afterwards he left for Macedonia, visiting all the towns along the way. It was

2
C. K. Barrett, Acts, a shorter commentary, pp.292

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also here in Ephesus that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians around AD 54 and then at some
point around AD 56, in his travels to one of these Macedonian towns, Paul wrote the
second letter to the Corinthians.

Greece - Acts 20: 2-6:

On arriving in Greece, Paul stayed for three months and then planned to go back to
Syria. Around the year AD 57, whilst Paul was in this area, he was likely to have
written the letter to the Romans. A Jewish plot against his life was made so he
decided to return through Macedonia instead. Several men join the journey at this
point and it appears Luke is back with Paul again as the writing has changed back to
the 1st person: 'They went ahead and waited for us at Troas.' (Acts 20:5, emphasis
added) They then boarded at Philippi and sailed to Troas.

Troas - Acts 20: 7-16:

Paul preached here for a week, and during that time, someone fell from a window
and died, who Paul then raised and sent home. Paul travelled by foot to Assos and
met Luke and the others again. They then sailed to Miletus via Mitylene avoiding
Ephesus.

Miletus - Acts 20: 17-38:

Whilst in Miletus, Paul sends a message to the elders at the Ephesus church, inviting
them to come and see him. When they arrive, Paul teaches and encourages them.

Paul then leaves and goes to the province of Phoenicia via Cos, Rhodes and Patara.
(Acts 21: 1-2)

Tyre - Acts 21: 3-6:

The group go ashore here and meet some other believers, many of whom
prophesied not to go to Jerusalem. They then leave and go to Ptolemais for a day
and then carry on to Caesarea.

Caesarea - Acts 21: 7-16:

Here they stayed for several days. A man named Agabus arrives to prophecy that
Paul will be captured in Jerusalem if he goes. Paul is not persuaded by his friends to
leave Jerusalem out of his travels and he goes there anyway - despite all the

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warnings from the Holy Spirit. So was Paul going against the will of God here, or was
he actually inadvertently following God's will by continuing to Jerusalem?

It would appear that by looking at Acts 23: 11, that it was God's will all along for Paul
to be there as the Lord appeared to him in a dream telling Paul to be encouraged
because he is now to go and evangelise in Rome.

Once Paul got to Jerusalem, he was attacked by a mob and arrested. The Roman
officials took hold of Paul and beat him. He was released and later the Jews planned
to kill him again, which was found out about and avoided. Paul was then taken to see
other Roman officials and eventually arrived at Rome where he continued to preach
under guard. All these events after the third missionary journey are sometimes known
as 'Paul's fourth missionary journey'.

As for the rest of the Pauline Epistles in the New Testament that are not mentioned
above at any time, they were all written whilst Paul was in prison at different stages.
Although the exact dates for some of the epistles are unknown and debatable, like
with Philippians for example because it could have been written while under house
arrest in the early 60's AD, but it could also possibly have been written in Caesarea,
or maybe even at a time not recorded in Acts.3

3
Lion Handbook to the Bible, pp.720

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 Bibliography

Alexander, P., Alexander, D. (eds.) Lion Handbook to the Bible, The, Third Edition,
(Lion Hudson Plc; 1st edn, 1973, 2nd edn. 1983, 3rd edn. Hbk. 1999, Pbk. 2002)

Barrett, C. K., Acts, A Shorter Commentary, (Scotland, T&T Clark Ltd.; 2002)

Bruce, F. F., The Pauline Circle, (Australia, Bookhouse Australia Ltd.; 1985)

McGee, M., Chronology of Apostle Paul's Journeys and Epistles,

(http://www.matthewmcgee.org/paultime.html; 1998)

E-Sword, The American Bible Society Maps, (www.americanbible.org; 2004)

New Revised Standard Version, New Testament, (The Division of Education and
Ministry; 1990)

The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Illinois, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc;
1996)

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