The Macedonian Call And The History Of The World
Originally published at Shane's Shack. Please leave any comments there.
I arrived at the part of Acts 16 where Paul received a vision of a Macedonian man. It goes like this.
“6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
It struck me this morning how critically important this moment was. Not only for Macedonia, but for the entire world. Two things led Paul to Macedonia:
- Carefully listening to the Holy Spirit
- Obeying immediately
(I’m speculating on some of this and in other parts offering sweeping rationale so forgive me if I err or don’t offer a fully detailed explanation. But it all makes sense in the end.)
Macedonia is Greece. Because the Gospel went to Greece, it lay at the footsteps of Rome. Because the Greeks had considerable cultural and political influence in Roman society, Christianity in Greece would eventually spread into Rome. Although it took time, eventually Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion. Because Rome became Christian (I know that is a debate unto itself) all of Europe became Christian. In Christian Europe, the Reformation occurred. England, empowered by the precedent of the Reformation (and other political reasons), began their own church; the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopal). The English government became oppressive toward those who would not worship in the Church of England, so the Puritans set sail for America. This ultimately led us to the Revolutionary War and the birth of the United States of America, which would ultimately become the greatest, richest, most powerful country the world has ever seen. And you and I have the privilege of living here.
How different would world history have been if Paul had not been listening? What if Paul had not been listening on that Thursday when the Holy Spirit tried to tell him to steer clear of Asia? If Paul had gone to Asia would that have been a bad thing? People would have been saved, churches would have been planted, and all in all it may have been a very successful mission trip. But the Gospel would not have made it to Macedonia. No in all probability, the Gospel going to Asia might have taken root in places as far as India and the rest of the Middle East. But we know that a few centuries later years Islam would begin ravaging the peoples of the Middle East and Asia, forcing people to convert or die. Christianity in that region today is scarce and oppressed.
I think there are three lessons in this. The first is obvious: listen carefully to the Holy Spirit. He is constantly offering direction to us, awaiting us to hear Him. The second is inextricably dependent upon good listening. Doing a good thing will never be as effective as doing the best thing. Like I said before, a mission trip to Asia may well have seen hundreds, even thousands of people saved, and that would have been a good thing. But God had the best thing in mind. Go to Macedonia. And from Macedonia, God ensured that His church would endure through the ages. It could be said that He brought Rome to power for the sole reason of incubating and protecting His church. When you look at it that way, it’s no surprise that after 400-500 years, once the church was firmly established that Rome began to fade, its God given purpose having expired.
The third and last thing I’ll say about this may be the most important. Obedience can change everything. Paul had no idea that the simple act of obeying the vision to go to Macedonia would alter world history forever. He had no concept of the weight which this one obedient act carried. And it’s good that he had no clue. To him it was just another “yes” to what God was asking him to do. And it’s the same for us. That’s why it’s so important to respond quickly to God with “yes” to whatever He asks us to do. I’m not saying that your “yes” has the magnitude of a Macedonian call - but it might. Paul didn’t meet any dignitaries when he arrived in Macedonia. The first people they connected with were a bunch of women. That would get you no where in that culture. You may not know anyone who can make things happen, but neither did Paul. And the world was never the same.
Oh and one more thing. Because Paul carefully listened to the Holy Spirit, he ended up in Troas. This wasn’t only where he had the vision, but it was also where he encountered Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke, and Acts. I’m going to go out on a limb here because if I’m right, it is yet more reason to carefully listen to God and obey quickly. First of all, I know they encountered Luke in Troas because in verse 10 the pronoun “they” changes to “we.” So Luke joined Paul, Silas and Timothy on their journey. This is the first time “we” is used in the narrative. What if this encounter was Luke’s first encounter with the Gospel? What if he received Christ as a result of Paul’s ministry in his short time in Troas? If that is true, then it is entirely possible that the reason we have the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts at all is because Paul listened carefully and obeyed quickly. So not only was the world never the same, but the Bible we have today was never the same either. It adds heightened urgency to the command to pray without ceasing.