Acts 20:1-2

Through Macedonia and Achaia (20:1-2)

As seen in paragraph 8 of the above summary, at the end of Paul’s three years in Ephesus he travelled north to Troas and then across to Macedonia (20:1). After meeting Titus and writing 2 Corinthians, Paul moved around other parts of the region and then headed south towards Achaia (2). Possibly one place he visited was Illyricum, a region that in New Testament times included the Roman province of Dalmatia and in modern times includes the country of Albania (Romans 15:19; cf. 2 Timothy 4:10).

Paul writes to the Romans

In due course Paul arrived in the south of Greece and stayed there three months (see 20:3). No doubt he spent much of this time with the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 13:1), for he wanted to be assured that it was stable and strong before he expanded his work to the west (2 Corinthians 10:15-16). From Corinth the next base in his planned move westward was Rome (Acts 19:21).

A church already existed in Rome. Paul had not planted it, as he had not yet been to Rome (Romans 1:13; Romans 15:22). Most likely those who planted it were Christians from other parts of the Empire who travelled to Rome or went there to live (cf. Acts 2:10; Romans 16:3-16). Paul saw Rome as a key centre from which to spread the gospel farther to the west, perhaps even as far as Spain (Romans 15:23-24,Romans 15:28-29). More than that he saw that if Christianity had a strong base in the heart of the Empire, it would readily spread throughout the Empire. He therefore wrote to the church in Rome to make sure that the Roman Christians themselves had a clear understanding of the gospel and that they shared his vision for worldwide evangelism (Romans 1:10-15; Romans 10:12-17; Romans 15:14-16).

At the time of writing, Paul was staying in Corinth with Gaius, one of the earliest Corinthian converts and probably a respected leader in the church (Romans 16:23; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:14). Another local Christian, Phoebe, was going to Rome and took the letter on Paul’s behalf. She was a deacon in the church at Cenchreae, one of the port areas of Corinth (Romans 16:1-2).