Macedonia

At Troas Paul saw the vision of a Macedonian man at night and then crossed the sea for the first time to bring the good news into Europe; Philippi was the first church he established in Europe, followed by Thessalonica and Berea. The Macedonian churches later gave generously even in deep poverty to support the holy ones in Jerusalem.

Macedonia was a region in the central Balkans, in Roman times a province north of Greece, facing Asia Minor across the Aegean; Paul's second missionary journey first brought the gospel into Europe by entering Macedonia. 1) The Macedonian call. At Troas Paul had a night vision of a Macedonian man standing and entreating him, 'Step over into Macedonia and help us!' (Ac 16:9). Paul at once concluded that Jehovah God had called them to declare the good news and tried to go into Macedonia (Ac 16:10). Passing through Neapolis, they came to Philippi, a leading city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony, where they established the first church in Europe (Ac 16:12). 2) Thessalonica and Berea. Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where the Jews had a synagogue; for three Sabbaths Paul reasoned there, some believed, and fierce persecution arose (Ac 17:1). The churches in Berea and Corinth followed. Near the end of the third journey, after three months in Greece, Paul did not sail directly for Syria because of a Jewish plot, but decided to go back through Macedonia (Ac 20:3). 3) The generosity of the Macedonians. Writing later to the Romans, Paul said that those in Macedonia and Achaia had been pleased to share some of their things with the poor among the holy ones in Jerusalem (Ro 15:26), and in Second Corinthians he praised the Macedonian churches for giving beyond their means even in affliction and poverty. On Paul's voyage to Rome, his fellow traveler Aristarchus was a Macedonian from Thessalonica (Ac 27:2), showing how closely the Macedonian believers worked alongside him.