Paul,
Barnabas and John Mark started their missionary Journey from Syrian
Antioch in the
year of 47 AD. They went to harbor town of Seleucia and sailed first to
Salamis in Cyprus
from where Barnabas was originated. They arrived to Salamis ( Acts
13:4-5), one of the great commercial harbors of Cyprus. They proclaimed
the word of God the synagogues of Jews. They passed the island from the
east to west and arrived the city of Paphos, the center of Roman rule and
the cult of Aphrodite. The city of Paphos had an evil reputation for the
laxity of moral of its inhabitants. Paul and companions met the Roman
Proconsul, Sergius Paulos and the sorcerer called Elimas who was blinded
by Paul. Proconsul became one of the believers and from this point on
Saul started using this Roman name, Paul, Paul and friends then sailed
for Pamphilia, south west Anatolia. They possibly arrived to Attalia, the
main port of the region and moved to
Perge, the most
important city of Pamphilia region. Paul didn't stay long time in Perge.
Young John Mark left the party. He was either scared of dangerous trip to
north through the Taurus mountains or irritated by the leadership of Paul
in the group or he was homesick. Paul and Barnabas journeyed towards
Pisidian Antioch,
located 100 miles in the north of Perge. In Pisidian Antioch Paul utters
his historical words:
"Now, we turn to
Gentiles"
After Pisidian
Antioch, Paul and Barnabas moved to
Lystra where
people thought that Paul and Barnabas were Gods. When they learned about
the truth, they tried to persecute Paul and Barnabas. Paul was stoned and
beaten to such an extent that people thought he had died. Next city they
would arrive was
Derbe where the
apostles made a lot of disciples and one of them was Gaius who
accompanied Paul during his last missionary journey. Paul after staying
for a while in Derbe. He starts his return journey by retracing their
initial road. hey returned to Attalia from where they set sail to Antioch
to report the results of his missionary journey. The first journey which
lasted 18 months ended in the fall of 47 AD.
Paul,
Barnabas and John Mark started their missionary Journey from Syrian
