My wife and I just returned from retracing some of the steps of Paul in his missionary journeys of the 
1st century. Our itinerary included Thessaloniki, Philippi, Neapolis, Berea, Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, and Rome. We also visited Patmos – the island that John was exiled to and where he received the vision of Revelation. It was quite a trip and we are still processing our experiences.
Here are some of the big ideas or items that stood out from the trip:
- Greece is a beautiful country – I really wasn’t prepared for the mountainous and scenic beauty of the Greek countryside (Greece is the third most mountainous country in Europe!) While the Roman roads made travel possible, the mountains made it more of a challenge for Paul and his companions.
- Paul was strategic in his travels – The cities that Paul visited were often the leading Roman cities of the region. The ruins, especially of Ephesus, showed the splendor of these cities that Paul visited, declaring the gospel and the emptiness of the worldview of the cities’ inhabitants.
- Better teaching isn’t the only answer – For the first time, I connected the dots of Paul’s, Timothy’s, and John’s time in Ephesus. These guys were certainly some of the best in the teaching crew of the day, yet the church in Ephesus lost her first love by the end of the 1st Don’t get me wrong. Teaching is critical, but it is not an end in itself.
- God used the Romans to spread the gospel – There are three things that the Romans did that really aided in the spread of the gospel in the 1st The first – the roads made travel much more possible. The second – the peace Rome brought (Pax Romana) to a large part of the world made safe travel possible. Third – the common language made for easier communication during those safe travels. I found this very encouraging as I was confronted in Rome with some of the atrocities of the Roman empire against Christians (for example in learning more about the Coliseum) before the 4th century. God uses even corrupt empires to accomplish his purposes – something I find especially important today as I look around at the political landscape of our world.
I sure God will give us more in the days to come. I will continue to share those thoughts as they distill out.
