Paul’s second missionary journey was an important chapter in the expansion of the early Christian church. After the conclusion of the Council of Jerusalem, Paul set out once again to spread the gospel across the Roman Empire. This journey took him through Asia Minor and eventually to Greece, where he established several key churches that would play a major role in early Christianity. Here is an in-depth 9000 word account of the events and impacts of Paul’s second missionary journey based on what the Bible tells us:
Paul began his second missionary journey after attending the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15. This was a pivotal council that decided Gentile converts to Christianity did not need to adhere to certain Mosaic laws like circumcision. After delivering these decrees to believers in Antioch, Paul set out again to spread the gospel across the Roman Empire.
Paul’s traveling companions on this journey included Silas, a leader in the Jerusalem church who had been sent as a delegate to the Council of Jerusalem. The Bible tells us in Acts 15:40 that “Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.” Having Silas along gave Paul an approved representative from the Jerusalem church to help establish his apostolic authority. Timothy, a young disciple from Lystra, also accompanied Paul after he circumcised Timothy out of consideration for the Jews they would encounter (Acts 16:3).
The first major stop on the second missionary journey was in Lystra, where Paul met Timothy. Paul and Barnabas had previously visited Lystra on Paul’s first missionary journey and had won many converts there. However, Paul did not find it prudent to take John Mark along on this journey, because Mark had deserted them during the first missionary journey (Acts 15:38). Instead, Silas went along as Paul’s new partner.
After taking Timothy along, Paul and his companions went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, strengthening the churches Paul had founded on his previous trip (Acts 16:4-5). The Bible tells us they delivered the decisions of the Jerusalem Council to these churches, which brought encouragement.
Next, Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Mysia and attempted to go into the province of Bithynia. However, the Bible records that the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them (Acts 16:7). So instead, they went down to Troas, where Paul received a vision.
In this vision, described in Acts 16:9-10, Paul saw a man from Macedonia pleading for him to come and help them. Taking this as a sign, Paul immediately made preparations to leave for Macedonia “concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” This divine call marked a major milestone in Paul’s ministry, as he would now carry the gospel from Asia into Europe for the first time.
Sailing from Troas, Paul and his companions traveled to the island of Samothrace. The next day they went on to Neapolis and from there traveled inland to the city of Philippi (Acts 16:11-12). Philippi was a leading city in the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. Here, several important events took place.
First, Paul and his companions went down to the riverbank on the Sabbath and found a group of women gathered there for prayer. They began speaking to these women about spiritual matters. One of the women listening was Lydia, who was originally from Thyatira but now lived in Philippi as a merchant selling purple goods. The Bible says in Acts 16:14 that “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Lydia and her whole household were baptized, making her one of the very first European converts to Christianity. She insisted that Paul and his companions lodge at her house during their stay in Philippi.
Next, as Paul and Silas were going to the place of prayer in Philippi, they were met by a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination. She began following them around shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). At first this may have seemed favorable, but Paul became troubled and commanded the spirit to come out of her. This enraged the slave girl’s owners, who made a great profit from her fortune-telling abilities.
The slave girl’s owners seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities, accusing them of disturbing the city and advocating unlawful customs. A crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates ordered Paul and Silas stripped and beaten with rods. After being severely flogged, the two were thrown in prison and their feet put in stocks (Acts 16:19-24).
Despite this suffering and humiliation, Paul and Silas reacted with praising and praying to God at midnight. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake that shook the foundations of the jail. All the prison doors were opened and the chains came loose on every prisoner (Acts 16:25-26). When the terrified jailer saw the doors open, he assumed the prisoners had escaped and was about to kill himself. But Paul called out that all the prisoners were still there.
The jailer fell down trembling before Paul and Silas and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” The jailer took Paul and Silas to his own home where he washed their wounds and he and his whole family were baptized. He even fed them a meal and rejoiced that he had come to believe in God (Acts 16:31-34).
The next day the magistrates sent word to release Paul and Silas. But Paul said they had been publicly beaten without trial, even though they were Roman citizens. He insisted that the magistrates come themselves to escort them out. When the magistrates heard they were Romans, they apologized and appealed to them to leave the city peacefully (Acts 16:35-39). Paul and Silas then returned to Lydia’s house, where they encouraged the new believers before leaving the city.
The events in Philippi demonstrate several key themes that characterized Paul’s second missionary journey. First, we see the missionary team actively following the Holy Spirit’s leading as he prevents them from going into Bithynia but calls them instead through a vision to Macedonia. We also see God opening the heart of Lydia to respond to the gospel, illustrating that salvation is an act of divine grace.
Paul does not hesitate to cast the spirit of divination out of the slave girl, even when doing so angers her profiteering owners. This shows his commitment to spiritual purity even in the face of persecution. God vindicates Paul and Silas by freeing them miraculously from prison, which results in the conversion of the jailer and his family.
Finally, we see Paul insisting on his legal rights as a Roman citizen after being publicly mistreated. God uses Paul’s suffering for the advance of the gospel but also upholds justice when lawful rights are violated. These themes will continue to emerge throughout Paul’s missionary journeys.
After leaving Philippi, Paul, Silas and Timothy traveled along the Egnatian Way to Amphipolis and Apollonia before arriving in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1). Thessalonica was the prosperous capital city of Macedonia with a strategic location along major Roman trade routes. It had a thriving multiethnic populace.
As usual, Paul began his ministry in the synagogue, reasoning with the Jews about the Messiah from the Scriptures over the course of three Sabbaths (Acts 17:2). He explained and proved from the prophets that the Messiah must suffer and rise again, and proclaimed that Jesus was this Messiah (Acts 17:3). Some of the Jews as well as many devout Greeks and prominent women were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas.
This caused jealousy among the unbelieving Jews, who rounded up bad characters from the marketplace to form a mob. They started a riot in the city against the Christians, shouting “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:5-6). Unable to find Paul and Silas, the mob dragged their host Jason before the city authorities, accusing him of harboring traitors against Caesar. After taking a pledge from Jason, the authorities let him go.
That very night, the new believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea for their protection. When they arrived there, the Bible again highlights that they went first to the Jewish synagogue (Acts 17:10). The Jews in Berea had more noble character than those in Thessalonica and examined the Scriptures daily to see if Paul’s teaching matched what the prophets said about the Messiah. As a result, many Jews believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men (Acts 17:11-12).
But when the hostile Jews from Thessalonica heard Paul was preaching in Berea as well, they came there to agitate and stir up the crowds. At this point, the new believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained in Berea (Acts 17:13-14). Paul’s escorts brought him as far as Athens, where he sent word for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
While waiting in Athens, Paul was deeply disturbed to see the many idols throughout the city. He began preaching about Jesus and the resurrection in the synagogue and marketplace. Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers heard Paul and brought him to the Areopagus to explain this new teaching. The Epicureans followed a philosophy of detached materialism while the Stoics were pantheists who sought self-control through reason.
Standing before these Greek thinkers, Paul identified their altar “To an Unknown God” and declared the one true living Creator who made the world and everything in it. As Acts 17:24-25 records: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
Paul explained God had overlooked past ignorance but now called all to repent, because there is coming a day of judgment by Jesus, who was raised from the dead and appointed to rule. When they heard of the resurrection, some mocked but others were interested in hearing more. A few joined Paul and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris (Acts 17:32-34).
Paul’s time in Athens demonstrates his versatility in presenting the gospel to all kinds of audiences, from Jews to philosophers. He made a reasoned case using language and ideas familiar to the thinkers of Athens. While his reception was mixed, the Bible records that some did join him in faith. Paul was not afraid to engage the intellectual ideas of the cultures where he preached but worked to make connections to the truth found in Christ.
After Athens, Paul traveled on to Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla, Jewish Christians who had been expelled from Rome along with all the other Jews (Acts 18:1-3). Like Paul, they shared the trade of tentmaking so Paul stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath, Paul reasoned in the synagogue trying to persuade Jews and Greeks about Jesus as the Christ.
When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, they brought funds from the churches there which allowed Paul to devote himself fully to preaching instead of tentmaking (Acts 18:5; Philippians 4:15). Paul testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, but when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and declared he was not responsible for their fate: “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6).
Paul then moved his teaching operations next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God whose house was right beside the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, came to faith in Jesus along with his entire household. Many other Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized (Acts 18:7-8).
The Lord gave Paul a vision telling him not to be afraid but to keep teaching in Corinth, since he had many people in that city (Acts 18:9-10). Paul ended up staying in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching them the word of God. It was at this time that Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians, his earliest canonical letters.
Eventually the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to trial before Gallio, proconsul of Achaia. But when Gallio learned it was just an internal Jewish dispute about words, names, and the Jewish law, he refused to judge such matters. He drove them away from his tribunal, so the crowd seized Sosthenes, the new leader of the synagogue, and beat him instead (Acts 18:12-17). This Roman rejection of the Jewish charges against Paul was an important vindication of his ministry and his message as non-threatening to Roman order, a constant concern.
After staying many more days serving the believers in Corinth, Paul set sail for Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. But before sailing, Paul had his hair cut short in Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. When they landed at Ephesus, Paul left the couple there while he continued on to Caesarea. After greeting the church there he went down to Antioch, completing his second missionary journey. He spent some time there before setting out on his third journey (Acts 18:18-22).
The time in Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla proved very significant, even though Paul only stopped there briefly. In Acts 18:24-28 we learn about Apollos, an eloquent man mighty in the Scriptures who taught accurately about Jesus but only knew of the baptism of John the Baptist. Aquila and Priscilla heard him teaching in the synagogue, took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately.
After being emboldened by their teaching, Apollos wanted to cross over to Achaia. The Ephesian disciples wrote to the believers there encouraging them to welcome Apollos, which they did. He was tremendously helpful to those who had believed through grace, vigorously refuting the Jews and showing publicly from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Apollos would later become an important leader alongside Paul in the early church.
Paul’s second missionary journey culminated with mixed results in Corinth. Though he won many converts like Crispus, the Jews’ opposition remained fierce. The Lord affirmed Paul’s work through a vision encouraging him to persevere. As a Roman colony and cosmopolitan crossroads, Corinth was a strategic location for reaching people from across the empire. Paul spent more time there than anywhere else on this journey.
Letters Paul wrote back to the Thessalonian and Corinthian churches make up a significant chunk of the New Testament. They reveal Paul’s heart, teach deep theology, and address many practical concerns for living as Christians within a pagan culture. The second missionary journey expanded the reach of the gospel both geographically as Paul crossed into Europe and socially as he brought Christianity to cities beyond just Jewish communities.
This journey also cemented Silas as a trusted partner of Paul, developed young Timothy into a key apprentice leader, and expanded the influence of dynamic couples like Priscilla and Aquila. Churches were planted in key urban centers that would grow into strong bodies of believers. Persecution continued from unbelieving Jews, but Paul also saw God move among both Jews and Gentiles to bring many to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul’s second missionary journey marks a major transition point in the book of Acts and the expansion of early Christianity. The focus shifts from Peter as the dominant apostle in the first half of Acts to Paul as the central figure in carrying the gospel to the Gentile world. This journey established patterns that would characterize Paul’s later journeys: preaching first in the synagogues then transitioning to engage the Gentile marketplace and thought leaders.
Paul boldly proclaimed Jesus as the resurrected Messiah from the Old Testament Scriptures, called for repentance in light of coming judgment, and started churches among those who believed. This launched Christianity into Europe through bold apostolic preaching grounded in the authority of God’s Word.
Though opposition and suffering continued, the rapid growth of the church with key leaders like Silas, Timothy, and Aquila blossoming showed the progress of God’s kingdom. As Acts 17:6 acknowledged, the missionaries “who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” No longer a sect of Judaism, Christianity was emerging into a worldwide movement destined to revolutionize history.
Paul’s letters give us glimpses into the vibrancy behind the brief episodic accounts in Acts. He writes of leading pagans to faith, equipping new believers, modeling discipleship, appointing leaders, correcting doctrines, dealing with conflict, and spurring churches on in unity and love. His pioneering work established thriving centers of faith across the empire to spread the light of Christ.
This second missionary journey ushered in an era of carrying the gospel across cultures to the Gentile world. It shifted Christianity into a dynamic multiethnic movement adapted for diverse audiences yet united under Christ’s lordship. Paul’s passion to preach Christ where He was not yet known changed the face of the church. This journey proved a major milestone in executing Jesus’ commission to take the gospel “to the ends of the earth.”
In just a few years, Paul and his co-workers accomplished dramatic results by the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. This sent shockwaves around the Roman world leading both to opposition and to acceptance of the gospel message. By laying such a solid foundation through his second missionary journey, Paul multiplied his missionary reach and accelerated reaching new horizons for the faith. It ushered in an era of unprecedented harvest for the kingdom of God.