11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
Acts 16:11-34 is the longest record of Paul’s mission in any city in what is today’s Europe. In verses 11-15, we have the baptism of Lydia at a Philippian riverside. Philippi was the goal of the Holy Spirit’s hindering and directing Paul’s second mission trip.
16:11
Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,
From the port of Troas, Paul’s team of Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke sailed straight to Samothrace, an island on the Thracian coast, then the next day to Neapolis in Macedonia Greece, a seaport on the Aegean Sea. They housed overnight there. The next day they came to the port of Neapolis Macedonia, about ten miles from Philippi, a predominately Roman city.
16:12
and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
From Neapolis, they walked the Egnatian Way to the Roman colony of Philippi. The team remained for some time. Philippi was the chief city in the province of Macedonia. A Roman colony was exempt from taxation, and its citizens held automatic Roman citizenship. The purpose of a Roman colony was military. The city operated under an autonomous government. It became Roman in 168 BC and was named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, and then became a Roman colony in 42 BC.
The city was famous for its gold mines, strategic commercial location, and school of medicine.
PRINCIPLE:
An unexpected circumstance may amount to a great opportunity.
APPLICATION:
Paul’s brief time in Philippi resulted in an essential base for advancing the gospel worldwide. The Philippian church became a solid support to the mission of the apostle Paul. God may provide a strategic opportunity to minister if we open ourselves to His leading. Philippi was a crucial base in the Roman Empire.
