The Macedonian Call - Then and Now
Acts 15:36-16:10
Acts Series Part 28
By Dave Redick
It has been a key verse in many missionary conferences. “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” There was a desperate need for the gospel in Macedonia just as there is a desperate need for the gospel in many modern day regions, from the jungles of New Guinea to the slums of inner city America. While most of us probably won’t see a vision in the night of a man beckoning us to “come over and help us” it doesn’t take a vision today. Everywhere we look there is the need for the gospel. Indeed, the need has never been greater.
Introduction
What is a missionary?
An unknown author once wrote, “A missionary is one who never gets used to the sound of heathen footbeats on their way to a Christless eternity.”
A very famous missionary once said that a missionary is one who is “unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christians rejoicing in their own salvation, while millions are perishing….”
Someone else has said a missionary is one who has discovered that neither his money nor his prayers will ever prove an acceptable substitute for his presence.
A well known preacher of the nineteenth century spoke of a missionary as one who believes that the “Father in heaven would grieve to see [him] shrivel down into a king.”
Each of these expressions is an attempt to capture in words the spirit of those brave souls, ancient and modern, whom we call “missionaries” – people who risk their lives and leave the comfort of home to carry the gospel to strange lands.
The Apostle Paul was that kind of man. He gave the second half of his life to the missionary cause.
In our ongoing verse by verse study of Acts of the Apostles we have been looking at Paul’s missionary journeys. We’ve studied the first journey and now we’ve come to the beginning of the second. Please turn in your Bibles to the 15th chapter of Acts. Today’s message title is Come Over to Macedonia and Help Us. In it we’ll consider Acts 15:36-16:10.
We see Paul the missionary in action in these verses. As we read about him I’ll point out three things he did that made his efforts successful that are important to the missionary cause today as well. Let’s begin reading in verse 36.
36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are."
Two or three years passed between the end of Paul’s first missionary journey and this, the beginning of the second. During that time he worked with Barnabas in the church at Antioch. He couldn’t help, though, but be concerned about the welfare of the new churches that had been planted during the first tour. Though there had probably been some communication with leaders in the new churches during that span of time, nothing beats being present to see things firsthand. So he and Barnabas made their plans to go.
37 And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also.
We met John Mark earlier in Acts. Back in chapter 13, verse 13, on the first missionary trip, Luke mentioned that he left in the midst of the mission and returned to Jerusalem. Here we learn why.
38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.
Mark had dropped out once the first trip began. We don’t know why. Whatever the reason, Luke tells us here that Paul considered it desertion. Mark had backed away from his commitment. Paul didn’t want to run the risk of another such desertion, so he said, “No way” to Barnabas’ suggestion that they give the young man another chance. Luke’s words “Paul kept insisting” in verse 38 seems to indicate that this issue was discussed more than once.
39 And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.
There is no way to whitewash what happened here. Luke says it was a “sharp disagreement.” Strong’s lexicon” calls it a “dispute (in anger).”
It is important for us to realize is that even the early church under the direction of living Apostles wasn’t free of disagreements. Paul and Barnabas, both inspired men, had differing views of this matter of expedience. I say “matter of expedience” in order to set this issue apart from any kind of a Scriptural dispute. It was a difference of human opinion. The Bible didn’t say anything about whether or not they should take John Mark along – or for that matter, give him a second chance. Apparently the Holy Spirit had offered no direct guidance in the matter either.
What we see here is an honest difference of opinion about how the work should be done - Barnabas, the optimistic encourager, wanting to give Mark another chance, and Paul, the determined accomplisher, unwilling to risk the trip on one who had thus far proven himself unfit. So which was right? Who can say? It seems to depend upon one’s perspective.
But doesn’t this kind of dispute sound familiar? How many times do we today have such differences of opinion about the way things should be done? Some think the church funds should be spent this way, some that way. Some think we should be more involved in this project, some in that. And in so many such cases, there is no “right way” or “wrong way.”
But disagreement isn’t the real problem. The problem is what we do about such disputes. Had Paul and Barnabas dealt the way Christians today sometimes deal, this would have been the end of foreign evangelism. One would have denounced the other, marshalling every possible Scripture that might remotely apply. The contention would have deepened, as people around them heard about it and took sides, and a full blown rift would have resulted. Then somebody would have started a new church that had no fellowship with the old one. They would have sniped at each other for years to come. What do you think? Am I fair in my application of this or not?
But what did happen? Well, they made two trips as a result! Barnabas took Mark and headed southwest for Cypress. Paul picked Silas and headed north through Syria and Cilicia. Why should they fight about it? The world was big enough for two missionary teams! As a result they doubled their effectiveness! The cause of world evangelism was far more important to them than a relatively petty disagreement about personalities and methods.
Did the “sharp disagreement” we read about in verse 39 continue, with bad blood separating the two missionaries on future occasions? Not at all. Later in Paul’s life Barnabas is spoken of with affection and praise and we see also that the issue was resolved with John Mark.
There was no grudge. There was no animosity that went on for years. Both Paul and Barnabas were gracious enough to let the issue go for the sake of the greater cause of winning the world to Christ! So we see here something that Paul did that made his work successful, and it suggests a great need for our day - the need to:
1. Handle Disagreements So They Don’t Hinder the Work.
You and I will never see eye to eye on everything this side of eternity. It is foolish for us to expect it. But we can “agree to disagree agreeably” on issues of human opinion so that the work of Christ can continue. Our work is so much bigger than the little things that come between us!
In the book of Nehemiah we have the story of the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem in a time when Israel’s enemies were on every side. These enemies tried to sidetrack Nehemiah five times by getting him come down to them and get involved in a dispute. I love his response to them, recorded in Nehemiah 6:3:
“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
Why not adopt this attitude for yourself and your family right now? “We’re doing a great work and cannot come down to squabble over minor things.” The church today needs people who handle disagreements so they don’t hinder the work.
Luke’s narrative in Acts now continues to follow Paul and not Barnabas. We have no inspired account of Barnabas’ travels from here on. One tradition says he continued to work in Cypress until his death, but there is really no way for us to know for sure. Following Paul’s journey then, Luke writes:
41 And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
And then a very important event took place...
16:1 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
William Barclay in his DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES writes of these verses,
“It was five years since Paul had preached in Derbe and Lystra but when he returned his heart must have been gladdened for there had emerged a young man who was to be very dear to him. It was only natural that Paul should be looking for someone to take Mark’s place. He was always well aware of the necessity of training a new generation for the work that lay ahead. He found just the kind of man he wanted in young Timothy...”
In that day there were no formal colleges for training leaders in the church. Young men were invited to go with older leaders to learn the ropes first hand in the school of experience – a practice largely forgotten today, probably to our detriment. We refer to such a practice today as mentoring. A mentor is one who is older who takes a younger person and trains him by having him go with him. In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the subject of mentoring.
Ron Lee Davis, in his book, MENTORING: THE STRATEGY OF THE MASTER, writes these words:
“Mentoring is not a new idea. In fact, mentoring used to be the only means of transmitting values, skills, and character qualities from one generation to the next. In past centuries craftsmen of every calling - from carpenters to metal smiths to lawyers to the great painters and composers of the Renaissance - employed young apprentices. These apprentices learned not only the skills and craft of their trade, but such intangible dimensions of their calling as pride of craftsmanship, integrity, honesty, diligence, and commitment to excellence.
“The mentoring process has produced many, if not most of the people who have profoundly influenced the ages. Over half of all Nobel prize winners were once apprenticed to other Nobel laureates. From the age of thirteen until his early manhood, painter and sculptor Michelangelo was mentored by the painter Ghirlandaio. The Russian writer Boris Pasternak, author of Doctor Zhivago, was mentored early in life by the novelist Leo Tolstoy and the poet Reiner Maria Rilke. Ludwig van Beethoven spent three years under the mentorship of the Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn.
“What did Beethoven learn from Haydn? Techniques of composition and counterpoint, certainly. But more importantly, he learned the kind of character one needs to create great music amid tremendous obstacles.
“In Haydn, Beethoven found a man who had overcome the childhood pain of repeated physical and psychological abuse from his parents. Beethoven also saw Haydn endure the opposition of a wife who was bitter, quarrelsome, and contemptuous of his music - a wife who often stole Haydn’s original manuscripts and used them to line her baking pans! Despite these hardships, Haydn remained cheerful and contented.
“In later years, as Beethoven struggled to produce his own art despite his handicap of total deafness, it was not only the technical artistry but the courageous heart and optimistic spirit of his mentor that inspired him to persevere.”
Davis writes some more, then he quotes an old Chinese proverb:
“If you are planting for a year, plant grain.
If you are planting for a decade, plant trees.
If you are planting for a century, plant people.”
Paul, in choosing Timothy, was “planting for a century.” Actually, he was planting for several thousands of years because that is the legacy this man, Timothy, would leave.
We see then, something else Paul did that made his work successful. He saw the need to:
2. Commit the Gospel to the Next Generation.
That is really all mentoring is. It is one person, usually a younger one, being with another, usually older, to such an extent that they learn not only their trade or belief, but something of their character and conviction as well – things that cannot easily be put into a book.
Have you ever had a mentor? Is there someone in your life who spent time with you to such an extent that it molded your life? Have you ever mentored someone? Could you? Would you?
The church needs people who handle their disagreements so they don’t hinder the work. It also needs people who will accept the responsibility of committing the gospel to the next generation.
What else can we find in this passage about how Paul did things to make his mission successful?
4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.
The “decrees” mentioned here were contained in the letter written by the leaders at the Jerusalem conference described in the first three-quarters of chapter 15.
5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. 6 And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
We aren’t told how the Holy Spirit forbade them to go into Asia. Both Paul and Silas were prophets, so it is possible that He spoke to them directly. It is also possible that circumstances they attributed to providence prevented them from going into that area.
7 and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
So, they continued on their way, not knowing exactly what God was doing with them. (Sometimes in the midst of God leading us, we to don’t know exactly what is going on either.)
8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Ah, at last they figured out what God wanted them to do, at least where he wanted them to go. Notice the immediacy of their response to the vision: “Immediately we sought to go into Macedonia.” We see then a third thing Paul did that made his mission successful. He saw, as we should, the need to:
3. Respond Decisively to the Call of the Lost.
There are a lot of things that could be said about verse 9. The passage is a classic. Bible students usually refer to it as “The Macedonian Call.” It has been a key verse in many missionary conferences. “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” There was a desperate need for the gospel in Macedonia just as there is a desperate need for the gospel in many modern day regions, from the jungles of New Guinea to the slums of inner city America. While most of us probably won’t see a vision in the night of a man beckoning us to “come over and help us” it doesn’t take a vision today. Everywhere we look there is the need for the gospel. Indeed, the need has never been greater!
A little periodical I receive had this anecdote:
“QUESTION: What is 750,000 miles long, reaches around the earth 30 times, and grows 20 miles longer each day? ANSWER: The line of people who don’t know Christ.”
May I ask you a personal question? What are you doing about that? Obviously none of us that I know of is preparing to be a missionary abroad. But if you are not going, are you helping support a missionary somewhere who is? Some of you are doing so and I commend you. For some of you, your missionary support is rather automatic. As a church we send a portion of our income to causes outside of our local area. If you give to this church you are a part of that. But I suspect that some of us may have never been concerned about the issue and that is why I mention it here. Let me appeal to you about this matter through a poem.
If you had been to heathen lands,
Where weary souls stretch out their hands
To plead, yet no one understands
Would you do more for Missions...?
Would you?
If you had seen their women bear
Their heavy loads with none to share;
Had heard them weep, with none to care
Would you do more for Missions...?
Would you?
If you had seen them in despair,
To beat their breasts and pull their hair
While demon powers filled the air
Would you do more for Missions...?
Would you?
If you had seen the glorious sight,
When heathen people, in their night,
Were brought from darkness into Light
Would you do more for Missions...?
Would you?
If you had seen the Christians die
With n’er a fear tho’ death was nigh
Had seen them smile and say goodbye
Would you do more for Missions...?
Would you?
Yet still they wait, a weary throng;
They’ve waited, some so very long!
When shall despair be turned to song?
hen you give more to Missions.
Will you?
(Author Unknown)
The Macedonian call to “come over and help us” isn’t dead. It’s more alive today than ever. There are hundreds of “Macedonias” in our world. Why not make a decision to do something personally about one of them?
Conclusion
Let me leave you with three suggestions on how this message might apply to you and me:
1. Compare the satisfaction you get by pursuing petty grievances with the importance of the mission. Could those grievances possibly be more important than the saving of souls? Maybe you should consider setting them aside, especially the trivial ones.
2. Consider mentoring someone younger or less advanced than you. There must be someone you could reach out and help. Take a young person under your wing and be a “big brother” or “big sister.”
3. Come to grips with the “Macedonian Call” in your own life. Someone somewhere is beckoning you to “come over here and help us.” If you cannot go yourself, consider supporting someone who can.
Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.
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