Paul at Philippi
The Apostle Paul's visit to Macedonia marked the first time he
set foot on European soil (Acts 16:11). However, this was not
the first time the gospel was proclaimed in Europe (cf. Acts 2:10).
In fact, the "Macedonian call" (Acts 16:9) seems to
imply that there were already believers in Macedonia that needed
help in evangelizing their province.
One writer commented, "Out of Macedonia, Alexander the Great
once went to conquer the Eastern world but later from Macedonia
the power of the gospel went to conquer the Western world of Paul's
day" (Swift 1984:250).
Philippi played an important role in the life and ministry of
the Apostle Paul. He also had an effective and lasting ministry
in the lives of the believers in the Lord Jesus in Philippi.
Historical Overview
The earliest city that occupied the site of Philippi was called
Datos. In 360 BC Greeks from the island of Thasos colonized it.
They changed the name to Krenides, meaning "with many springs"
because of the abundance of springs in the area (Diodorus of Sicily,
Library of History 16:3:7; LCL 7:243). It was also famous
for the fertile plain that stretched out before it as well as
Mt. Pangaion to the southwest. To the east of Philippi was the
Orbelos mountain range.
In the mountains of that area, there were gold and silver mines
(Strabo Geography 7, fr 34; LCL 3:355). It was these mines
that caused friction between the Thracian tribes and the colonists
from Thasos. In 356 BC, the colonists invited Philip II, the
king of Macedonia, to help defend themselves from the Thracian
tribes. Seeing the strategic importance of this city as well
as the gold and silver mines, Philip II was more than happy to
assist them. In the process of helping, he took over the city,
enlarged and refortified its walls and renamed the city Philippi
in his honor.
Diodorus of Sicily, a Greek historian of the first century BC,
writing in his Library of History describes what happened
next. "And then, turning to the gold mines in its territory,
which were very scanty and insignificant, he increased their output
so much by his improvements that they could bring him a revenue
of more than a thousand talents. And because from these mines
he had soon amassed a fortune, with the abundance of money he
raised the Macedonian kingdom higher and higher to a greatly superior
position, for with the gold which he struck [as coins] he organized
a large force of mercenaries, and by using these coins for bribes
induced many Greeks to become betrayers of their native lands"
(Book 16:8:6,7; LCL 7:261). This is a classic example of the
world's Golden Rule. "He who has the gold makes the rules!"
Alexander the Great, the son of Philip II, was able to use the
money to raise an army and pay his troops well. They swiftly
conquered the Persian Empire, just as the Prophet Daniel predicted
(Dan. 8:5-8; 11:3,4a).
The Romans conquered Macedonia in 168 BC and divided it into four
parts. Philippi became the chief city of one of the districts
(cf. Acts 16:12). The Romans also built the via Egnatia,
a military and commercial road that went across northern Greece
between 146 and 120 BC. The Apostle Paul and his team were able
to make effective use of this road for the spread of the gospel
in the 1st century AD.
A pivotal battle in the history of the Roman Empire took place
at Philippi. On the Ides of March (March 15, 44 BC) the tyrannical
Julius Caesar was assassinated in Rome by a conspiracy lead by
two Senators, Brutus and Cassius. They misjudged the mood of
the people of Rome and had to flee to Asia Minor because the people
did not support the assassination. While there, they began to
raise an army in order to reconquer Rome and reestablish it as
a Republic. Brutus had the audacity to mint coins with his portrait
on the obverse and on the reverse two daggers, a liberty cap and
the words "EID MAR" (Eidibus Martiis)! (Molnar
1994:6-10). Mark Antony and Octavian (later to be known as Augusta)
lead an army from Rome to Philippi in order to confront Brutus
and Cassius. The Republican army of Burtus and Cassius had the
clear advantage as far as its defensive position, access to supplies,
finances and military tactics. However, the tired and ill supplied
army of Mark Antony and Octavian defeated them. Upon recognizing
their defeat, Brutus and Cassius committed suicide (cf. Acts 16:27).
The description of this battle can be read in the writings of
the ancient historians Appian (Roman History 4:105-138),
Dio Cassius (Roman History 47:35-49; LCL 5:189-217) and
Plutarch (Parallel Lives, Brutus 38-53; LCL 6: 209-247
and Parallel Lives, Antony 22; LCL 9:183,185).
This defeat meant that Rome would have an imperial form of government
and not a republican one. It ensured the worship of the deified
dead emperor and would later be grounds for contention between
the Christians and the Roman government. The Christians would
refuse to worship the imperial cult.
After this battle, Philippi was enlarged and became a Roman colony
and discharged soldiers were given fertile land to farm and settled
in the city (Strabo, Geography 7, fr. 41; LCL 3:363).
Luke was accurate when he said Philippi was a colony (Acts 16:12).
After the Battle of Actium in 30 BC more soldiers were settled
in Philippi. It should be no surprise that Paul used military
terminology when he wrote his epistle to the church of Philippi.
Some of the believers might have had relatives that had been
in the Roman army. Paul called Epaphroditus "my fellow soldier"
(Phil. 2:25).
The Visits of the Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul visited Philippi for the first time on his second
missionary journey in AD 49/50. Following the principle set forth
by the Lord Jesus, he went out "two-by-two" with his
co-worker Silas (also known as Silvanus) and their disciple Timothy
(cf. Matt. 10:2-4; Luke 10:1; Acts 15:40; II Tim. 2:2). Dr. Luke,
the author of the gospel that bears his name and the book of Acts,
escorted them from Alexandria Troas (Acts 16:10,11).
As Paul's custom was, he sought out the Jewish people whenever
he went into a new city (Rom. 1:16). His desire for the Jewish
people was that they might come to faith in the Lord Jesus as
their Messiah (Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1-3).
On Shabbat he found a group of women praying by the riverside
(Acts 16:13). The phrase "where prayer was customarily made"
may indicate there was a synagogue or prayer structure of some
sort near the riverside. Recent excavations of the western necropolis
of Philippi unearthed a Jewish burial inscription from the 2nd
century AD that mentioned a synagogue in Philippi (Koukouli-Chrysantaki
1998:28-35, plate 11). The question is, was there an earlier
one?
The Lord opened the heart of Lydia, a God-fearer from Thyatira.
She and her household were baptized and she offered Paul and
his team hospitality (Acts 16:14,15).
One day, while Paul, Luke and Silas were on their way to prayer,
they were harassed by a slave girl possessed with the "spirit
of divination" ("pythoness"). Apollo, the
god of prophecy and the giver of oracles at his shrine in Delphi
inspired this "spirit". Not wanting an endorsement
from the "enemy", Paul cast the demon out of this girl
(Acts 16:16-18; cf. Luke 4:31-37).
The owners of the slave girl seized Paul and Silas (but not Luke)
and brought them before the magistrates at the Forum. They were
accused of being Jews and causing trouble in Philippi. This anti-Semitism
might stem from the fact that Emperor Claudius had expelled the
Jews from Rome the previous year because they were troublemakers
(Acts 18:2; Suetonius, Deified Claudius 25:4; LCL 2:53).
Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison. While there,
they were "praying and singing hymns to God" (Acts 16:25).
This joyous attitude while being persecuted was already set forth
by James the son of Zebedee (James 1:2-4) and Peter (I Peter 1:5-9;
3:13-4:19).
At midnight, an earthquake struck and the Philippian jailer thought
all the prisoners escaped. Thinking along the lines of Brutus
and Cassius, he decided to commit suicide. Paul stopped him when
he informed the jailer that nobody had escaped. The jailer, realizing
that there was something different about Paul and Silas, asked
them "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" In unison,
they responded, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:25-31).
The magistrates decided to let Paul and Silas go. However, Paul
knowing Roman law asked that the magistrates come and get them
out. They wanted an apology because they were uncondemned Roman
citizens. When the magistrates found out Paul and Silas were
Romans, they were afraid. I suspect that Paul wanted to hold
this over the heads of the magistrates. If they persecuted the
church at Philippi or did not protect them, Paul would tell the
authorities in Rome what had happened. There would be severe
punishment and loss of a job if Rome found out (Acts 16:35-40;
cf. I Thess. 2:2).
Paul knew that Roman citizenship had its privileges! However,
he knew that his heavenly citizenship was more important. This
citizenship would entitle him to a place in Heaven and a transformation
of his earthly body, when the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ returned
to earth (Phil. 3:20,21). This was in marked contrast to the
emperors who were called "saviors" but could not do
anything about immortality and eternal life (cf. I Tim. 1:17;
6:15,16; Witherington 1994:99-102).
With this, Paul, Silas and Timothy left Philippi on the Via
Egnatia for Thessalonica (Acts 17:1). While ministering there,
and probably in Corinth, the church at Philippi sent Paul some
money to help with the work (Phil. 4:15,16). Paul thanked them
for the gift, but prayed the Lord would bless them for their efforts
(Phil. 4:17,19).
Paul visited Macedonia after an extended stay at Ephesus on his
third missionary journey. Most likely Philippi was his first
stop (Acts 20:1). After three months of traveling through Greece,
he rejoined Luke at Philippi. Both proceeded to travel to Jerusalem
for Pentecost (Acts 20:3-6).
The epistle of Philippians was written from prison in Rome during
Paul's first imprisonment there (AD 60-62). He thanked the Lord
for their fellowship in the gospel and expressed his desire to
visit with them again (Phil. 1:3-8, 26,27; 2:24). He was also
going to send Timothy to visit on his way to minister in Ephesus
(Phil. 2:19-23; cf. I Tim. 1:3).
After Paul was released from his first imprisonment (II Tim. 4:16),
he went on a fourth missionary journey (Kent 1986:13-15,21,47-50).
His desire was to go to Spain (Rom. 15:28). Church history seems
to indicate that Paul visited this country. He was also on the
island of Crete (Tit. 1:5) and wrote his first epistle to Timothy
from Macedonia (I Tim. 1:3; 3:14,15). There is a good possibility
that he wrote this epistle from Philippi before he went to Asia
Minor.
Was Philippi Dr. Luke's Hometown?
Some scholars have suggested that Dr. Luke's hometown was Philippi.
This is a possibility. When one examines the pronouns in the
book of Acts this observation is borne out. Up until chapter
16, Luke is writing about the work of Peter and Paul. When Paul,
Silas and Timothy get to Alexandria Troas the pronouns change
from "they/them" (Acts 16:7,8) to "us/we"
(Acts 16:9,10). Dr. Luke escorts the group to Philippi (Acts
16:11,12). He is with them when they go to the place of prayer
(Acts 16:13,16,17). When Paul and Silas leave Philippi, Dr. Luke
stayed behind (Acts 17:1). Paul picks him up on his way to Jerusalem
at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:5,6). Luke
appears to have stayed in Philippi for at least six years. More
than likely it was because it was his home.
After Paul cast the demon out of the slave girl, he and Silas
were tried before the magistrates and accused of being Jewish,
but Luke was not (Acts 16:19,20). Dr. Luke was a respected member
of the community so they did not bring him before the magistrate.
But also, Luke was a Gentile (cf. Col. 4:11,14), so the accusation
of being Jewish would not have applied.
This possibility will never know for certain unless an archaeologist
uncovers an inscription in Philippi with Dr. Luke's name on it,
although this is not outside the realm of possibility.
A number of years ago an inscription was found in Corinth with
the name of Erastus on it (Rom. 16:23; Acts 19:22; II Tim. 4:20).
The Book of Philippians
The central theme of the book of Philippians is: "the Philippians'
partnership in the gospel" (cf. Phil. 1:5,6; Swift 1984:237;
Luter and Lee 1996). This theme is the reason Paul wrote to implore
two sisters, Euodia and Syntyche, to be reconciled to one another
and have the same mind in the Lord (Phil. 4:2-3). Apparently
these two sisters were murmuring and disputing and this was hindering
the gospel work (Phil. 2:14). James, the son of Zebedee, addresses
the issue of fighting in the church and states that the root cause
of this problem is pride (James 4:1-12).
Paul uses an interesting word picture when he described the women
as those who had "labored with me in the gospel" (Phil.
4:3 NKJV). This word comes from the gladiatorial arena of two
gladiators that fought side by side against the beasts (Hawthorne
1983: 180; Witherington 1994: 105,106). In the second and third
centuries AD (after the time of Paul), the theater of Philip II
was converted into an arena for spectacles between gladiators
and beasts (Koukouli-Chrysanthaki and Bakirtzis 1995:23,24).
Imagine the gladiators going into the arena to fight the beasts
and then turn on each other. The lion would turn to the bear
in bewilderment and say, "Aren't they suppose to be fighting
us?" The bear would growl, "Who cares, once they finish
each other off, we'll have them both for lunch!" The apostle
Paul would say, "Hey ladies, what's wrong with this picture?
You're supposed to be fighting the "beasts", not each
other!" (cf. Eph. 6:10-17).
Paul brilliantly lays the theological foundation and solution
to the problem before he addresses the women. This was the same
pattern used by Nathan when he confronted David about his sin
with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite.
After Nathan told a parable about a rich man taking a poor man's
lamb, he asked David what should be done. David correctly responded,
"The man ought to die". Nathan pointed to David and
said, "You are the man!" (II Sam. 12:1-12).
The fighting was caused by pride. Apostle Paul addressed the
subject of the mind of Christ that entailed humility in chapter
2. In that chapter, Paul gives four examples of humility; the
Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:5-15), himself (Phil. 2:17,18), Timothy
(Phil. 2:19-24), and Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25-30). In chapter
three, Paul addresses the issue of trusting the flesh.
One can imagine the first time this epistle was read in the church
at Philippi. Euodia is sitting on one side of the room listening
and thinking to herself, "Amen, preach it Paul, we need to
be more humble." On the other side of the room Syntyche
is saying, "That's right Paul, we should not trust the arm
of the flesh." When chapter 4 was read, Paul in essence
said, "Euodia and Syntyche, you need to kiss and make up!"
That must have been a tense, yet powerful, moment in the meeting.
A plausible background / setting for Philippians 2:1-10 might
be a prominent building on the north side of the Via Egnatia
on the edge of the Forum (marketplace). This building was
the Haroon for the cult of dead king Philip II (Koukouli-Chrysantaki
1998:19). People worshiped him, believing him to be a god (Fredricksmeyer
1979).
Philip II was, in many ways, like King Uzziah of Judah. Both
had material possessions (gold and silver) and a strong military,
and because of that, both had hearts that were lifted up with
pride (II Chron. 26; Isa. 2). In the spring of 336 BC, Philip
II celebrated the wedding of his daughter Kleopatra to Alexandros,
king of Molossia, in the theater at Aigai. Diodorus describes
the wedding procession and Philip's arrogance. "Philip included
in the procession statues of the Twelve Gods wrought with great
artistry and adorned with a dazzling show of wealth to strike
awe in the beholder, and along with these was conducted a thirteenth
statue, suitable for a god, that of Philip himself, so that the
king established himself enthroned among the Twelve Gods"
(Library of History 16:92:5; LCL 8:95). Moments later
he was assassinated by one of his bodyguards. Truly "pride
goes before destruction and the haughty spirit before the fall"
(Prov. 16:18)! Another example of a king struck down in a theater
because he thought he was a god was Herod Agrippa I at Caesarea
(Acts 12:20-24; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 19:343-350;
LCL 9:377-381).
Diodorus of Sicily goes on to summarize the life of Philip in
these terms: "Such was the end of Philip, who had made himself
the greatest of the kings in Europe in his time, and because of
the extent of his kingdom had made himself a throned companion
of the Twelve Gods (Book 16:95:1; LCL 8:101).
I believe the Apostle Paul was thinking about the Haroon of Philip
II when he penned the words, "Let this mind be in you
which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God,
did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but he made
Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming
in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death,
even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8 NKJV). With
these verses, he set forth the ultimate example of humility, the
death of the Lord Jesus, for the two sisters to follow.
Paul went on to say, "Therefore God also has highly exalted
Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and
of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father" (2:9-11 NKJV). With one sentence
from Paul's pen, he has set the Lord Jesus, God manifest in human
flesh, apart from every god or goddess in Philippi, even Philip
II, for whom the city was named and the people worshiped!
Paul had admonished the believers to "esteem others better
than themselves" and to "look out for the interests
of others" (Phil. 2:3,4). A Biblical example from the life
of the Lord Jesus that Paul might have had in mind was when the
Lord Jesus paid the Temple tax for Himself and Peter. This is
a great example of humility and esteeming Peter better than Himself
(Matt. 17:24-27; Franz 1997:81-87).
In chapter three, Paul writes about having confidence in the flesh
(Phil. 3:4). In essence, he is saying, "If anybody could
gain God's righteousness by works, it would be me. I was circumcised
on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning
zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which
is in the law, blameless" (Phil. 3:5,6). Yet Paul realized
all theses things were "rubbish" (NKJV) when it comes
to gaining God's righteousness
Paul used the vulgar term skybala to describe his utter
revulsion of the qualifications he thought would merit his salvation.
Today we would use a four-letter word for excrement! Shocking?
Yes, but in so doing, Paul was following the example of the prophet
Isaiah who describes all our righteousnesses as "filthy rags"
(64:6). In today's vernacular, that would translate to menstrual
rags! (cf. also Zech. 3:3-5).
There is absolutely nothing we can do to gain God's righteousness.
If we try to work for our salvation it would be an affront to
God because He abhors anything we do to merit salvation because
it detracts from the finished work of His Son on the Cross.
To the west of Basilica B of the excavations at Philippi, there
are remains of a public toilet (Koukouli-Chrysanthaki and Bakirtzis
1995: 45,46). This structure was built in the 2nd century AD
(after the time of Paul), yet it should reminds us of the skybala.
Paul realized that the only way to gain salvation was to be "found
in Christ". Only He could give us His righteousness whereby
we could stand before a Holy God. This righteousness was freely
given by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus and not by keeping
the Law (3:9).
The Glory in Philippi
Paul describes the Thessalonian believers as "our glory and
joy" (I Thess. 2:20). He would have said the same thing
of those in Philippi, but he also calls them his "joy, crown
and beloved" (Phil. 4:1). When we read the account in Acts
16, we see the Lord opening the hearts of Lydia and her household
(16:14,15). Also, the demon-possessed girl was delivered from
Satan's hold (16:19). The Philippian jailer and his household
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (16:31,33).
In his letter to the Philippian church he mentions the Praetorian
guards ("palace guards" NKJV, 1:13) who had heard the
gospel while Paul was in chains in Rome. This would have been
significant for the people at Philippi. Some of the coins of
Philippi from the reign of Claudius-Nero were minted with the
Latin inscription COHOR PRAE PHIL. This commemorated the "settlement
of veterans from the Praetorian cohort at Philippi" (Burnett,
et. al. 1992: 208; coin 1651). Perhaps some of the believers
in Philippi knew Praetorian guards in Rome and would be interested
in Paul's outreach there. This would help them to pray more effectively
for their former colleagues and friends (Phil. 1:12).
The Peace of God
Philippi was the scene of a terrible battle in 42 BC and peace
in the region was shattered. Emperors Claudius and Nero seemed
to have brought a measure of peace to the region. However, neither
of them could bring peace to the hearts of men and women.
The Apostle Paul had written to the church at Rome and stated
how they could have "peace with God" through faith alone
in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). To the church at Philippi
he will write about the "peace of God" which will surpass
all understanding (Phil. 4:7). This peace would come by meditating
on the God of Peace and the things that are true, noble, just,
pure, lovely, a good report, virtuous and praiseworthy (Phil.
4:8,9).
Oh sinner, do you have "peace with God" (Rom. 5:1)?
Oh saint, do you have the "peace of God" (Phil. 4:7-9)
and know "the power of His resurrection" even while
suffering (Phil. 3:10)?
Bibliography
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3/5/03