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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF
Dr. Paul J. Bralsted

PAUL'S COMPANIONS

Paul's Companions

By
David James Burrell. D.D., LL.D.
Author of "Paul's Campaigns," "The Apostles' Creed,"
"We Would See Jesus," "The Old-Time Religion,"
"At the Gate Beautiful," "The Cloister
Book," "The Resurrection and the
Life Beyond," etc.

PPJjfflf

American Tract Society
Park Avenue and 40th Street
New York

FT70 B3-1I

COPYRIGHT, 1021, BY
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY

THE FUMFION PRESS ¦ NORWOOD • UASS • U • S • A

PKEFACE
I have been reading "Pilgrim's Prog
ress" again, and wondering if the Bedford
tinker borrowed his dramatis personce
from the Book of Acts. In any case they
look alike, as we shall see. Of course Paul
leads the way :
"Then I saw that Christian kept on before, who had
no more talk but with himself, and that sometimes
sighingly and sometimes comfortably; also that he
would be often reading in the roll which one of the
Shining Ones gave him."'

CONTENTS
CHAPTER pAGE
I. Barnabas: "A Good Man"  3
II. John Mark: The Youth who Flinched 21
III. Silas: A Singer  37
IV. Timothy: "The Gentle Boy of Lystra" 51
V. Luke: "The Beloved Physician"  63
VI. Lydia: The Purple-Seller  73
VII. Aqutla and Priscilla  85
VIII. Apollos: "Mighty in the Scriptures". . 103
IX. " One Mnason op Cyprus "  117
X. Epaphroditus: Comrade in Arms  127
XII. Sosthenes: "My Brother"  155
XIII. Titus: "My Partner"  167
XIV. Phosbe: The " Deaconess "  177
XV. A Body Guard  187

I
BARNABAS: "A GOOD MAN"

Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over
a very wide field, "Do you see yonder wicket-gate?"
The man said, "No." Then said the other, "Do you
see yonder shining light?" He said, "I think I do."
Then said Evangelist, "Keep that light in your eye."

I
BARNABAS: "A GOOD MAN"
The name means "son of consolation," by
which we are given to understand that this
man had a warm heart and an open hand.
Here are some of the things we know about
him. I. He Was a Communist
The first reference to him is in Acts 4:
32-37: "And the multitude of them that believed were of
one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them
that aught of the things which he possessed was his
own; but they had all things common. And with
great power gave the apostles witness of the resur
rection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon
them all. Neither was there any among them that
lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or
houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things
that were sold and laid them down at the apostles'
feet: and distribution was made unto every man
3

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
according as he had need. And Joses. who by the
apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being in
terpreted, the son of consolation), a Levite, and of
the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and
brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet."
The incident referred to occurred A. D.
30, just after the arrest of Peter and John
for the healing of the cripple at the Gate
Beautiful. The two disciples were tried be
fore the Sanhedrin, where a Scotch verdict
was rendered, "Innocent; but don't repeat
it." On being let go "they went to their
own company," where a praise meeting was
held: and after that the "community" was
organized. It was a f oregleam of Utopia as
it will be realized in the Golden Age.
One of the important members of this
community was Barnabas ; who, it appears,
(1) was a native of Cyprus, (2) whose
former name was Joses, (3) a man of
wealth, possessed of "property," (4) of in
fluence also as a Levite, (5) and a conspicu
ous leader in this movement toward a com
munity of goods.
It would be a serious mistake, however, to
confuse this with what is known as Com-

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
munism in our time. There are some vital
points of difference. (1) To begin with, it
was entirely voluntary. There was no de
nial of the rights of property, no confisca
tion, no attempt to subvert the social order
by insisting that "what's yours is mine and
what's mine's my own," but a cheerful sur
render of the possessions of each for the
benefit of all. (2) Moreover, the distribu
tion of the common fund was not general,
but "unto every man according as he had
need." In other words it was a benevolent
fund. The church members in Jerusalem
were a feeble folk like the conies, and many
of them needed help. (3) Still further, it
was a purely religious affair. The motive
of the disciples was "to do good and to com
municate/' "especially unto them who are
of the household of faith. ' ' They were actu
ated by the Christian principle of steward
ship. They believed that their possessions,
whether much or little, were held in trust
until called for. The time is coming when
all the Lord's talents will thus be placed at
his command : then poverty with its attend
ant miseries will be a nightmare of the past
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
and the earth will be full of the glory of the
Lord as the waters cover the sea.
So then the framing of this community
in the early Church was not a temporary
venture into cloudland, but a prophecy of
the Millennium. It was like a sun-spot on
the mountains, painted by the light shining
through a rift of overhanging clouds, as a
forecast of the splendor of a cloudless day.
It was the setting in motion of great prin
ciples which, murmuring like a subterra
nean river, are destined to reappear and
assert themselves in the ultimate Common
wealth of God.
One of the foremost of these Christian
communists was Barnabas. He practised
"the mind that was in Christ Jesus," who
"came not to be ministered unto but to min
ister" and "emptied himself" for us. He
did not offer a tithe but ten tithes of all that
he possessed, in recognition of the fact that
he held nothing as his own but everything
in trust until called for. It is only when a
Christian thus realizes his stewardship that
he reaches his full recompense in the saying
that is written, "All things are yours;
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
whether . . . the world or life or death or
things present or things to come: all are
yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is
God's." II. A Gentle-man
The next mention of Barnabas is ten years
afterward in connection with Paul's first
visit to Jerusalem after his conversion. The
interval between his conversion (a.d. 37)
and this visit (a.d. 40) had been passed by
Paul in Arabia (Gal. 1 :17,18) where, among
the solitudes, he pursued his theological
course in preparation for his appointed
work. Then he went up to Jerusalem ready
for business; but a cold welcome awaited
him. The Christians there could not forget
how, as Chief Inquisitor of the Sanhedrin,
he had "breathed out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord."
The record is on this wise :
"And when Saul was come to Jerusalem he assayed
to join himself to the disciples: but they were all
afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the
apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and
how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name
of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going
out at Jerusalem." Acts 9: 26-28.
A rare friend was Barnabas, a true "son
of consolation." How many there are who
look with suspicion on sinners converted
from the error of their ways. Paul was
truly like a man who has served his term in
Sing Sing ; but blessed be Barnabas, he was
ready to give him the glad hand and another
chance. He had two things to say for the
reformed man; one was that "he had seen
the Lord in the way, ' ' and the other was that
immediately after his conversion he had
gone into Damascus and "preached boldly
in the name of Jesus" at peril of his life.
This was enough ; Paul was received into the
fellowship of the disciples and thereafter
was with them, "coming in and going out,"
preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ.
It is related that when John Huss of Bo
hemia was on his way to prison, wearing a
yellow cap covered with devils and hooted
at by the jostling crowd, he felt a friendly
hand finding its way to his. Not a word was
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
spoken; but the night before his execution
the martyr wrote, "God bless John of Chlum
for that right hand of his ! " Such kindness
is like a cup of cold water to thirsty lips;
and "it shall in no wise lose its reward."
III. An Evangelist
The next reference to Barnabas is three
years later (a. d. 43). A revival was going
on at Antioch. It originated with certain of
those who, being "scattered abroad upon the
persecution that arose about Stephen"
(a.d. 37), came to Antioch and brought the
Gospel with them: "and a great number be
lieved and turned unto the Lord. " The work
assumed such dimensions that a leader was
required. Who should it be %
"Then tidings of these things came unto the ears
of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent
forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch.
Who, when he came and had seen the grace of God,
was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of
heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a
good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith:
and much people was added unto the Lord." Acts
11:22-24. 9

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
And still the blessed work went on. An
other helper was needed. Barnabas cast
about for the right man. John and Peter
and James and the other apostles were not
available, being engaged in important fields.
It occurred to him that Paul might be the
very one ; but where was he ?
"Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek
Saul, and when he had found him he brought him unto
Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they
assembled themselves with the church and taught
much people. And the disciples were called Chris
tians first in Antioch." Acts 11: 25, 26.
So began the sweet fellowship of these two
yokefellows which (with a single interrup
tion to be noted hereafter) continued for a
period of nearly twenty years. Next to the
friendship of Christ himself there is none
like that of a Christian yokefellow. This is
the order of service : the Seventy were sent
out two by two. For so it is written : "Two
are better than one, . . . for if they fall,
the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to
him that is alone when he f alleth, for he hath
not another to help him up." A pair of
Christian friends, sympathizing with each
10

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
other in their great purpose, are like moun
tain-climbers roped together and urging
their way toward the top.
"I want a warm and constant friend
To soothe my adverse hour,
Who ne'er to flatter will descend,
Nor bow the knee to power;
A friend to chide me when I'm wrong,
My inmost soul to see ;
And that my friendship be as strong
To him as his to me."

IV. A Missionary
It is now three years later (a.d. 46). In
the meantime the work of Paul and Bar
nabas at Antioch had been briefly inter
rupted by news that the members of the
mother church in Jerusalem were suffering
from famine; whereupon a collection was
taken among these Gentile Christians for
their relief and the two evangelists went up
to Jerusalem to deliver it. On returning to
Antioch a meeting was held which marked
the beginning of the great propaganda for
the conversion of the world.
n

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
"Now there were in the church that was at Antioch
certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,
and Manaen which had been brought up with Herod
the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord,
and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barna
bas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called
them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them away."
Acts 13: 1-3.
In this divine call we find the rationale
of an enterprise which was destined to
change the currents and countercurrents of
all history and set them flowing, just in the
measure of Christian faithfulness, toward
the Golden Age.
Observe, first, these men were "separated
to go." All followers of Christ are required
to "go" in like manner, and to keep going
as witnesses and evangelists of Christ ; but
all are not separated for work in "the re
gions beyond" like these men.
Second, they were not only "separated,"
and joined together, but equipped for their
work. They had faith, courage and the
charismata, or special gifts of the Spirit for
the working of "signs and wonders," to but-
12

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
tress their message. Indeed they had every
thing but money. Of this Barnabas had
none, because he had previously given up all
his possessions for the relief of needy
Christians; and as for Paul, he had un
doubtedly been ostracised and stripped of
his birthright when he accepted Christ
(Phil. 4:16-18). Thus they went forth, ac
cording to the Master's injunction, without
scrip or money in their purse, but strong in
faith and in the power of the Spirit of God.
V. A Pacifist
The first missionary journey was over and
the two yokefellows had returned to Antioch
with a good report as to the conquests of
faith. But there was a disturbance in the
church owing to the fact that certain of the
Jewish converts were insisting that the Gen
tiles must not be received into the church
without conforming to the rites and cere
monies of the Levitical law. A Council was
called to meet at Jerusalem for the settle
ment of the question : and Paul and Barna
bas went up. They both addressed the Coun-
13

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
cil in the interests of peace, and an amicable
adjustment was reached, in which, without
offending the Jews, the rights of the Gen
tiles were fully vindicated.
"And they wrote letters by them after this manner:
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting
unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in An
tioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have
heard that certain which went out from us have
troubled you with words, subverting your souls, say
ing, Ye must be circumcised and keep the law; to
whom we gave no such commandment: it seemed
good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to
send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas
and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 15:23-26.
By this we are advised that Barnabas was
not only in hearty accord with Paul as to
the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel but
that he was irenic in disposition and broad-
minded enough to "differ and keep sweet."

VI. A Vachlator
The deliverance of the Council was re
ceived with joy by the Gentile converts of
14

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Antioch. But trouble was brewing. In
Paul's letter to the Galatians, written long
afterward, he refers to it in these words :
"But when Peter was come to Antioch I withstood
him to the face, because he was to be blamed, for
before that certain came from James, he did eat with
the Gentiles; but when they were come, he withdrew
and separated himself, fearing them which were of
the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled like
wise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was
carried away with their dissimulation." Gal. 2:
11-13. The fact is that Peter, with all nis splen
did qualities, was the most unstable of the
apostles. So long as nobody objected he was
quite happy in the society of the Gentile
Christians, but when those members of the
mother church came down from Jerusalem
he was ready to readjust his sails to the
shifting wind. And Barnabas, alas! went
with him. This was more than the brave,
catholic soul of Paul could stand for. He
was no waverer, "driven with the wind and
tossed." It is not said, however, that he
withstood Barnabas to the face, but only
Peter, because of his "dissimulation." Bar-
15

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
nabas was simply "led away," being weak;
but weakness is a sin. A follower of Christ
should be strong enough to brace himself
against his principles and let the crowd
sweep by.
VII. A Man With a Temper
The time had now come (a.d. 51) to re
sume the missionary journeys. The wander
lust was upon Paul; and he proposed to
Barnabas, "Let us go again and visit our
brethren in every city where we have
preached the word of the Lord and see how
they do. " But at this point a serious differ
ence arose between them, for
"Barnabas determined to take with them John,
whose surname was Mark: but Paul thought not good
to take him with them, who departed from them from
Pamphylia and went not with them to the work. And
the contention was so sharp between them that they
departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas
took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus." Acts 15: 37-39.
The "sharpness" of this contention is in
dicated by the Greek word "paroxysm."
When two strong tempers come into col-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
lision there is bound to be something of the
sort unless the grace of God prevents it.
In this case both men were right. The
fact was that on the former journey John
Mark had weakened in the face of danger
and turned back : but it was also a fact that
he had recovered his courage and was pre
pared to resume the work. Paul and Barna
bas, however, were too hot to be reconciled.
The time would come long afterward (Col.
4: 10), but not yet, so they parted company.
Barnabas took his nephew John Mark and
sailed away to Cyprus, his former home,
while Paul set out with a new companion in
another direction, each going his own way.
VIII. "A Good Man"
It is comforting for us to know that Bar
nabas was not perfect. Nobody is. "We're
all John Thomson's bairns." There never
has lived but one in this world of ours of
whom it could be said, "He brought the
bottom of his life up to the top of his life."
He is our Exemplar. We make a grave mis
take when we imitate anybody but Christ.
17

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
The Bible is our copy book in which the
Teacher writes : "If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. ' ' We begin by writing
a line as nearly as possible like him. Then
instead of looking at the Master's line we
are naturally disposed to copy our own and
to keep on doing so. The result is that
whereas our handwriting should constantly
improve in growing more like His, it is
likely to go from bad to worse by the re
peating of our own faults. Where is the
remedy? Get back to the original copy!
That is, "Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus, how he said — ' '
The secret of a happy and useful life is
in keeping our eyes on Him who is the
author and finisher of our faith. So shall
we finally arrive at "the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ."

18

II
JOHN MARK: THE YOUTH
WHO FLINCHED

19

Now I saw that the pilgrims came to a place
where stood an old monument, hard by the highway-
side, at the sight of which they were both concerned
because of the strangeness of the form thereof; for
it seemed to them as if it had been a woman trans
formed into the shape of a pillar. Here they stood
looking and looking upon it, but could not for a time
tell what they should make thereof. At last Hopeful
espied, written above the head thereof, a writing in an
unusual hand; but he, being no scholar, called to
Christian (for he was learned) to see if he could pick
out the meaning: so he came, and after a little lay
ing of letters together, he found the same to be this,
"Remember Lot's wife."

20

II
JOHN MARK: THE YOUTH
WHO FLINCHED
This young man was the son of the widow
Mary of Jerusalem, who, we are given to un
derstand, was a woman of wealth and influ
ence. At her home the disciples were
accustomed to meet in "a large upper room"
which was set apart for their use.
The first we hear of him is in the year 30,
the memorable year of the crucifixion. It
was on an April night, when Christ was in
the Garden of Gethsemane, that, at the ap
pearance of the Roman guard, the disciples
"all forsook him and fled." The timid boy,
who was with him, would fain have followed
his Master but, on being recognized, he also
took to his heels and left his linen garment
behind him. He tells the story himself,
though for obvious reasons he does not men
tion his name. Mark 14: 51, 52.
21

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
The next time we hear of him is about
fourteen years later : a.d. 44. The disciples
are again assembled in the upper room.
Persecution has broken out; James the be
loved pastor of the Jerusalem church has
been slain with, the sword and Peter 'is lan
guishing in prison. The little band of
believers — a feeble folk like the conies —
have come together to unite their prayers
for his deliverance. The doors are shut and
a maidservant named Rhoda is stationed at
the outer wicket. While they are thus en
gaged there comes a sound of knocking ; and
their hearts are in their throats. Is another
of their number to be haled to judgment?
But fear gives way to amazement when the
portress comes running to say, "It is Peter
that knocks." On being admitted he tells
this wonderful story :
"As I lay sleeping in my cell between two
soldiers a hand was laid upon me ; and open
ing my eyes I found the place filled with
light. A voice said, 'Arise up quickly!' and
straightway my chains fell off. 'Gird thy
self, bind on thy sandals and follow me!' I
obeyed like one in a dream; the great gates
22

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
of the prison opened before me, as if their
bolts were drawn by unseen hands, and pres
ently I stood under the open sky. Then
whither should I go but to this upper room,
where I knew you would be praying for
me?" The widow's son was among those who
listened to that wonderful story; and with
out doubt he was deeply impressed by it.
Possibly this was the beginning of the sin
gular friendship of the most headstrong of
the disciples with this timorous young man.
In any case, since Peter speaks of "Marcus
my son," it is probable that the latter was
converted through him.
The next mention of John Mark is in the
following year, a.d. 45, .when a great enter
prise was on foot. Paul and Barnabas, at
Antioch in Syria, were planning a mission
ary tour. A courier or "minister" was
needed; and John Mark volunteered to ac
company them. The flush of enthusiasm
was upon him. He was at the age when one
builds castles in the air. He dreamed
dreams and saw visions of splendid success.
And thus they sailed for the island of Cy-
23

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
prus, followed by the benediction of the
little band of believers, to preach the un
searchable riches of Christ. On landing at
Salamis they began their work, finding a
ready audience in the synagogue of the
Jews. Thence passing through the island
westward, preaching from village to village,
they came to Paphos, where they delivered
their message under the shadow of the
famous temple of Aphrodite. There were
many conversions; and all went well until
they were opposed by Elymas the sorcerer;
whom Paul, being filled with the Holy Ghost,
rebuked and lo, a sudden blindness fell upon
him. All this was calculated to impress the
young man. For nothing succeeds like suc
cess. No doubt he said within himself, "I
am glad I came on this mission ; it is a won
derful work and the Lord is manifestly with
us!" It was now decided to carry the gospel
over into Asia Minor. A short sail brought
them to the coasts of Pamphylia. It was
an inhospitable country, occupied by semi-
barbarians. The missionaries proposed to
push into the interior and preach the gospel
24

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
"to them that were afar off." John Mark
looked on the high mountains, in whose fast
nesses were unknown possibilities of danger,
and felt his heart sinking within him. A
ship was in the harbor, bound for home. He
bade farewell to Paul and Barnabas, paid
his passage and returned to Jerusalem.
Was this because he was homesick ? If so,
it was "a fault that leaned to virtue's side."
A leaf out of my memory makes me slow to
blame him. I left home at sixteen for Phil
lips Academy at Andover and looked on no
kinsman's face for two dreary years. Night
after night I saw visions of the old home
with the garden of old-fashioned flowers and
the well ("Oh, for a drink of water from the
well beside the gate of Bethlehem!") and
one face, the dearest face in all the world,
bending over me. I wouldn't give a brass
ha'penny for a man who is ashamed of being
led by his mother's apron-strings. The
Duke of Exeter, in the red fury of battle,
came upon Suffolk, his wounded kinsman;
whereupon he says, "All my mother came
into mine eyes and gave me up to tears";
and the king replies, "I blame you not; for
25

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
hearing this I must perforce compound with
mistful eyes, or they will issue too. " There's
no one like the Elect Lady; and there's no
place like home.
"A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which, go through the world, you'll not meet with
elsewhere."
But however we may sympathize with the
homesick youth, there is no pull of the heart
strings to be compared with duty. Duty is
the greatest word in the vocabulary of life.
A man once came to Jesus, saying, "I will
follow thee, but let me first go and bid them
farewell which are at my home": to whom
Jesus replied, "No man having put his hand
to the plow and looking back is fit for the
kingdom of God." Is this a hard saying?
It is a frank statement of the ethical im
perative. The same truth is affirmed with
still greater emphasis in the Master's words,
"He that loveth father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me."
It may not have been homesickness, how
ever, but a disbelief in foreign missions, that
moved John Mark to retire from the field.
26

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
As a Jew he probably entertained the com
mon prejudice against the evangelization of
the Gentiles. Thus far on their journey
Paul and Barnabas had been seeking "the
lost sheep of the house of Israel," but now
they were facing the regions beyond. The
highlands of Pamphylia were peopled by
"dogs of Gentiles"; and the young evan
gelist had no thought of sharing the benefits
of the Gospel with these outcasts.
And again who are we that we should
blame him? Is there not a prejudice in
many quarters to-day against the world
wide view of evangelization? Oh, for an
enlargement of heart, that we might grasp
the universal purpose of Christ ! In follow
ing him shall we pause at the coasts of
Pamphylia ? Then must we needs part com
pany with him; for he ever goes to "the
regions beyond." Had he believed, as some
of his people do, that charity not only "be
gins" but stays at home, he would never
have come on his far mission to this world
of ours, nor would he have put his Church
under commission to go "into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every creature,"
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
that is, to go and keep going, even "to the
uttermost parts of the earth," until the Good
News shall have been proclaimed to the last
man. The probability, however, is that it was
sheer cowardice that made John Mark a
quitter. The timidity of his boyhood had
not left him. The highlands of Pamphylia
were occupied by a dangerous people. This
was the country that Paul referred to in his
account of "perils of waters and perils of
robbers." It was the region of adventure;
the wonderland of those times. There were
rumors of banditti dwelling in the defiles of
yonder cliffs.
I never knew a boy who would not whistle
when he went through a dark wood to keep
his courage up. We are afraid of things
that are and of things that are not and of
things that never will be. We are afraid
of tomorrow, particularly if it happens to
be Friday. We cover up our fear
with such proverbial excuses as "Dis
cretion is the better part of valor," and "A
living dog is better than a dead lion," and
"He who fights and runs away will live to
28

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
fight another day"; but there is no disguis-l
ing it.
But fear cannot excuse cowardice. The
heart must be steeled to meet difficulty and
to confront the dangers of the Christian life.
When Peter says, "Add to your faith vir
tue," the word is virtus; that is, the courage
of a true soldier. In like manner Paul says,
"Quit you like men!"
The story of John Mark thus far is a sad
one; but happily there is a sequel. It was
eight years after his defection at Perga that
Paul and Barnabas were arranging for a
second evangelistic tour ; and Barnabas, who
was the uncle of John Mark, proposed to
take him along: but Paul objected, saying,
"It is not well to take him who departed
from us at Pamphylia." The contention
thereupon was so sharp that the two mis
sionaries "parted asunder." Paul, taking
Silas as his companion, went one way ; and
Barnabas with his nephew went another. Of
the outcome of this latter tour we have no
record; but let us hope the young man
flinched from none of the dangers and hard
ships which confronted him.
29

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
This was probably the case; for seven
years later we hear of him as a companion
of Peter in Babylon (1 Peter 5 : 13). It is
pleasant to see the fearless old apostle and
"Marcus his son" associated in this way.
It means that John Mark had found himself
at last ; for Babylon was full of the threaten-
ings of fierce heathen and fanatical Jews.
Four years later (a.d. 64) , we hear of him
again: and now, significantly, he is with
Paul in the Praetorian camp at Rome. Paul
is a prisoner; and Nero is on the throne!
The man who could link his fortunes with
Paul under such circumstances has surely
gotten the better of his fears.
The last mention of John Mark is two
years after (a.d. 66) . By this time he is a
middle-aged man. He is now an associate
of Timothy in the city of Ephesus. Paul is
still a prisoner at Rome, but has been trans
ferred from the Praetorian camp to the
Mammertine jail. Old and worn, friendless
and lonely, shivering in his dungeon, he
writes to Timothy, "Do thy diligence to
come shortly unto me. Take Mark and bring
him with thee; for he is profitable unto me
30

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
for the ministry." Elsewhere he speaks of
him as "my fellow-laborer in the kingdom
of Christ."
Here the record ends; but tradition says
that John Mark became a foreign mission
ary, going with Peter to distant Rome and
thence to Alexandria, where he suffered
martyrdom by being dragged asunder with
ropes. If he might return and reason with
some of us who stand hesitating on the
borders of Pamphylia, he would surely say,
"Fall into line, O Christians, with the vast
purpose of Christ! He died for all, even
unto the uttermost ; and ye are all fishers of
men. ' '
Now what is the lesson ? There's hope for
a coward, hope for a deserter, hope for a
backslider, if he will only return to Christ.
Many a man can look back through the years
to a day when he entered into a covenant of
faithfulness which was broken at the
borders of Pamphylia. If that means you,
my friend, why not profit by the past ? One
of the secrets of success is to take advantage
of our blunders. "We rise on stepping
stones of our dead selves to nobler things."
31

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Pluck up courage ! The Lord is always giv
ing us another chance : and cowards like us
are the stuff that heroes are made of.
A man on his way to the firing line was
chided by a comrade, "Your knees are shak
ing: you're scared." His answer was, "In
deed I am! If you were half as scared as
I am you'd run." But he didn't run. He
pressed on in spite of fears and won the vic
tory. In the memory of past misadventures
let us face the dangers before us. All is not
lost ! The best is still possible so long as God
stands by us. The fight is on; and we are
called to the thin red line. This means that
we must disencumber ourselves of all that
hinders and face our responsibilities. It is
no easy matter to live well.
There are always lions in the way to the
Celestial City. Christian in the "Pilgrim's
Progress" was frightened when he caught
sight of them and heard their roaring. Bun-
yan says, "The lions were chained, but he
saw not the chains." There's the trouble
with us. "Fear not the lions," the porter
called, "for they are chained and are placed
there for trial of faith. . . . Keep in the
32

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
midst of the path, and no hurt shall come
unto thee."
In one of the battles of the Wilderness
a young man was wounded unto death. His
father was telegraphed for ; and finding him
in the hospital lying on his face with a gap
ing wound between his shoulders, he said
quietly, "My son, that's a bad place to be
hit." The youth turned with a painful ef
fort and, pointing to a wound in his breast,
said, "Father, here's where the ball went
in. ' ' Blessed are those who bear ' ' the marks
of the Lord Jesus" in their breasts; who
fight to win, and die, if need be, facing the
foe. Let us therefore put on the whole armor
of God; and above all forget not "the san
dals of preparation," the spiked sandals of
a soldier who looks for a grapple at close
quarters, that we may be "able to withstand
in the evil day and, having done all, to
stand!" The great promise is to him that
is faithful unto death. "To him that over-
cometh will I give ... a white stone, and
in the stone a new name written which no
man knoweth save he that receiveth it."
33

Ill
SILAS: A SINGER

36

Now as they were going along and talking, they
espied a boy feeding his father's sheep. The boy was
of a fresh and well-favored countenance; and as he
sat by himself he sung.
"Hark," said Mr. Great-Heart, "to what the shep
herd's boy saith."
So they hearkened and he said,
"He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride:
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide."
Then said the guide, "Do you hear him? I will
dare to say this boy lives a merrier life, and wears
more of that herb called heart's-ease in his bosom,
than he that is clad in silk and velvet."

36

Ill
SILAS: A SINGER
In the year 50 a Council was called to
meet in Jerusalem for a final settlement of
the question whether Gentile converts must
submit to the requirement of the Ceremonial
Law on becoming members of the church.
It was maintained by the Gentile converts
that salvation was conditioned solely on per
sonal faith in Christ, while high churchmen
of Jewish birth and training insisted that
compliance with the Levitical law was nec
essary to salvation. So warm had been the
controversy that a serious breach was
threatened; the crux of difference being as
to the fundamental doctrine of Justification
by Faith. The first address in the Council
was made by Peter, who reminded his
hearers of what had happened twenty years
before, on the Day of Pentecost, when the
37

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Gospel door had been opened to all alike in
the words, "The promise is unto you and to
your children and to all that are afar off."
He was followed by Paul and Barnabas,
who, having just returned from their first
missionary journey, related what wonders
of conversion had been wrought by the Holy
Spirit "without respect of persons." Then
James, the pastor of the mother church in
Jerusalem, arose, and, though naturally pre
disposed to the Jewish side of the question,
suggested such mutual concessions as would,
without the sacrifice of any principle, satisfy
both parties and enable them to work to
gether in peace. A resolution was drawn
up accordingly, which is recorded ipsissima
verba in Acts 15 : 23-29.
The first that we hear of Silas, or Sil-
vanus, is in connection with this Council,
where he is mentioned as one of "the chief
men." The Decree of the Council was re
garded as of sufficient importance to war
rant its immediate transmission to all the
churches, an undertaking of no slight diffi
culty in view of the long distances and awk
ward means of communication in those days.
38

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
For this purpose a committee was ap
pointed, consisting of Paul, Barnabas,
Jude and Silas. The appointment of Silas
on a committee charged with duties so deli
cate and far-reaching would indicate that he
was a tactful man of irenic disposition. In
the course of the long and arduous journeys
involved it is quite certain that Paul would
become well enough acquainted with Silas
to pass final judgment upon his character
and efficiency as a fellow-servant of Christ.
The work of the committee ended at An
tioch, which was then about to supplant Je
rusalem as the center of operations of the
Christian Church. In that city the four
commissioners tarried for about two years,
preaching the Gospel with notable results.
But Paul was restless; he was not cut out
for a settled pastorate or for long continu
ance anywhere. The wanderlust returned
to him and he resolved to set out upon an
other missionary journey. "Let us go
again," he said to Barnabas, "and visit our
brethren in every city where we have
preached the word of the Lord and see how
they do." 30

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
A serious difference arose between the two
missionaries then and there. Barnabas
wished his nephew John Mark to accompany
them; but Paul objected, because John
Mark had failed them on their first journey,
turning back at the foot of the Pamphylian
hills. ' ' The contention was sharp, ' ' so sharp
indeed that Paul and Barnabas "parted
asunder," going their several ways.
But Paul must have a yokefellow: he was
the last man in the world to work alone. The
needed yokefellow was at hand, one in whom
he could place full confidence as "a faithful
brother." So it came to pass that Paul
yoked up with Silas for his eventful second
journey. They set out together from An
tioch with their faces toward the northwest,
pausing at Derbe, and then on to Lystra,
where they were joined by Timothy, who
had taken the place of John Mark as courier
and general helper. Then on to Iconium
and Troas, where Paul had his vision of the
man of Macedonia calling, "Come over and
help us."
That meant Europe — the invasion of a
new continent for Christ. A mighty enter-
40

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
prise! The Hellespont was crossed. The
missionary group now consisted of Paul,
Silas, Timothy and Luke. We know that
Luke, "the beloved physician," was with the
company from now on, because he as the
narrator now uses the pronoun "we" in
stead of "they." On landing they at once
pushed up the mountain road to Philippi,
all girded for work.
It is a proverb that wherever Paul goes
you may look for a revival or a riot. At
Philippi they had both. The first convert
was Lydia, "a seller of purple" — who
proved to be the "man of Macedonia" who
had beckoned for help — followed by other
trophies of grace, among whom was a slave-
girl who had been used for divination. And
then the trouble began. Her masters, "see
ing that their hope of gain was gone,"
stirred up a commotion that landed the mis
sionaries in jail after a severe scourging.
It is easy to imagine them in the darkness,
sore and weary, with chains upon their
wrists. " It 's a cold and dreary place, ' ' says
Paul; "do you think a Psalm would help
us ?" Now Silas seems to have been a sing-
41

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
ing evangelist, and like a Scotch precentor
doubtless knew how to "lift the tune."
Strange echoes awoke in that dismal jail.
"At midnight Paul and Silas sang praises
unto God; and the prisoners heard them."
Perhaps they sang the 46th selection in the
Jewish Psalter:
"God is our refuge and our strength,
in straits a present aid;
Therefore, although the earth remove,
we will not be afraid ;
Though mountains in the sea be cast;
though waves a roaring make
And troubled be: yea, though the hills
by swelling seas do shake.
Our God, who is the Lord of hosts,
is still upon our side;
The God of Jacob our refuge
forever will abide."
The hymn was over ; the walls were shak
ing and falling ; an earthquake ! The pris
oners are loosed : and presently the fright
ened and convicted jailer is kneeling before
them with the cry, "Sirs, what must I do
to be saved?" In the sequel you may find
a marvellous demonstration of God's in-
42

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
terest in the welfare of those who love
him. From Philippi Paul and Silas travelled
on to Thessalonica, where for three weeks
they taught and preached, and then again
came a riot and the missionaries were sent
out "by night unto Berea." Here was a
haven of rest for a time, the word being
eagerly received by the Bereans, but the
coming of a deputation of hostile Jews from
Thessalonica brought interruption and Paul
again hurried away, leaving Silas and Tim
othy behind. On reaching Athens he sent
posthaste for his inspiring co-workers. At
Corinth Paul did his best work after Silas
and Timothy rejoined him, and though Silas
is not again mentioned by name in the Acts
we can believe that he was standing by Paul
in his trials and rejoicing with him in his
victories for many a long day.
Some years later, Peter closes his First
General Epistle with the words, "By Sil-
vanus, a faithful brother, I have briefly
written, exhorting and testifying that this
is the true grace of God." (1 Pet. 5: 12.)
It thus appears that Silas was with Peter
43

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
during his closing years in distant Babylon,
sharing persecution with him and ready, as
a faithful brother, to serve as his amanu
ensis and possibly as his postman in convey
ing his inspired message to the saints that
were scattered abroad. So farewell, Silas,
faithful brother and true yokefellow in the
gospel of the grace of God.
His record is a brief one. It is evident
that he did not covet the limelight. Why
should he? "The Master praises, what are
men ? ' ' But his character is clearly outlined
in certain lines.
To begin with he is called "a prophet,"
at that time meaning an efficient and author
itative teacher of the Word. It is safe to
say that he found himself at home among
the Bible-loving people of Berea who "re
ceived the word with all readiness of mind
and searched the Scriptures daily whether
those things were so."
He was also a gleaner. Observe how
often, when Paul left one city for another
further on, Silas is said to have remained
behind "to gather up the loose grain of the
harvest." This indicates that he had the
44

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
necessary qualifications for binding together
the converts and establishing them in the
most holy faith.
But above everything else he was the
Singing Pilgrim. As Sankey to Moody, as
Alexander to Chapman, and as "Rhody" to
Billy Sunday, so was Silas to Paul ; the joy-
giver of the campaign, the singer of songs
in the night. Blessed is the man who, in the
name of the Lord, can give "beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the
garment of praise for the spirit of heavi
ness." Perhaps it was with that dark night in the
Philippian jail in mind that Paul, in his
later years, wrote to the church at Corinth,
"I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing
with the understanding also," and again to
the church at Ephesus, "Be filled with the
spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and mak
ing melody in your heart to the Lord," and
again to the church at Colosse, "Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis
dom, teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs."
45

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
It is difficult to think of Paul himself as
a singer ; but he was wise enough to choose
for his yokefellow one who could lend the
wings of music to his work. Many a time
have I heard Mr. Moody, at the close of a
sermon, say "Now, brother Sankey, give us
a song!" And the truth he had preached
was thus mellowed and deepened and carried
aloft in melody. "Two are better than one,
. . . for if they fall the one will lift up
his fellow."
Two by two we toil in the harvest, two by
two we journey through life. Whom shall
I choose for my yokefellow? Silas, come
hither! I need thee when the shadows of
Philippi gather about me; come, solace me
with one of the songs of Zion. Let us go,
through gloom and gladness, even to
heaven's gate with psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs!
So did Christian and his comrade in Bun-
yan's allegory pass through danger after
danger, singing as they went, until they were
welcomed by angels at the gates of the Ce
lestial City ; and this was their song :

46

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
"Behold how fitly are the stages set
For their relief that pilgrims are become,
And how they us receive without one let
That make the Other Life our mark and home!
What novelties. they have to us they give,
That we, though pilgrims, joyful lives may live:
They do upon us, too, such things bestow
To show we pilgrims are, where'er we go."

47

IV
TIMOTHY: "THE GENTLE BOY
OF LYSTRA"

49

Now, as Christian went on his way, he came to a
little ascent which was cast up on purpose that pil
grims might see before them. Up there, therefore,
Christian went; and looking forward, he saw Faithful
before him on his journey. Then said Christian aloud,
"Ho, ho! so-ho! stay, and I will be your companion."

50

IV
TIMOTHY: "THE GENTLE BOY
OF LYSTRA"
The ancient town of Lystra, now called
Katyn-serai, lay in a verdant plain among
the mountains of Lycaonia. It was chiefly
famed for its worship of the pagan gods.
Two dusty travellers, so ran the legend,
came to Lystra one evening and sought in
vain for hospitality. The doors of the
wealthy were closed against them. At length
they applied at the humble home of Phile
mon and his wife Baucis, who gave them
welcome and sheltered them for the night.
At daybreak, when the aged couple awoke,
their guests had disappeared: and the
humble cottage had been transformed into a
splendid temple with alabaster floors and
golden pinnacles. Then they knew that their
mysterious guests were Jupiter and Mer
cury, his messenger ; and thenceforth people
came from near and far to see the miracu-
51

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
lous temple and pay their devotions to the
Olympian gods.
In the year 47 two travel-worn men came
to Lystra with the Gospel message. They
were Paul and Barnabas, on their first mis
sionary journey. There being no synagogue
in the town, they preached in the open
streets. Not much attention was given them
until Paul healed a man who had been a
hopeless cripple from his birth. On seeing
this miracle the people concluded that the
gods were again come down to them "in the
likeness of men." Barnabas, imposing in
stature and of benignant presence, was nat
urally identified with Jupiter the Olympian
father; while Paul, "the little Jew," would
of course be taken for Mercury. Garlands
were brought and the priest of Jupiter ap
peared with beasts for sacrifice. Paul and
his companion, who had been slow to recog
nize the frightful meaning of the demonstra
tion, now cried out, "Sirs, why do ye these
things? We also are men of like passions
with you, and preach unto you that ye
should turn from these vanities unto the liv
ing God!" Then came the reaction, as a
52

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
matter of course. On finding that these men,
so far from being gods, were opposing the
worship of their gods, the people presently
dragged Paul out beyond the walls and
stoned him, leaving him for dead.
And here is where we meet with Timothy
for the first time. He was then a youth of
possibly sixteen years, the son of a pagan
father and a Jewish mother who dwelt in
Lystra. The mother Eunice, with "grand
mother Lois" and the young man, had been
converted by the preaching of Paul; and
doubtless they were "the disciples" who as
suaged his wounds and cared for him until
the next morning, when he was able with the
help of Barnabas to resume his journey.
The next we hear of Timothy was four
years later, a.d. 51, when Paul again visited
Lystra. This was on his second missionary
journey. Barnabas had now parted com
pany with him because Paul, for good and
sufficient reasons (Acts 15 : 38, 39) , would
not take John Mark along as their courier.
Silas had taken the place of Barnabas : but
a courier was needed. Why not Timothy?
"The very man," said Paul; and then and
53

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
there began a friendship so loyal, affection
ate and enduring as to furnish an exemplary
illustration of "the tie that binds our hearts
in Christian love." Paul was now forty-
five years of age and Timothy scarcely
twenty-one. They were like father and son ;
indeed the younger is addressed again and
again in the Epistles as "mine own son" and
"my dearly beloved son." But notwith
standing this disparity in age there was no
disparity in service. They were true yoke
fellows and fellow-laborers in the Kingdom
of Christ.
Setting out together from Lystra, they
stayed by one another to the journey's end.
At Troas they took ship together in answer
to the Macedonian call, ' ' Come over and help
us ! " They pushed their way together along
the mountain roads to Philippi, on to Thes
salonica, thence to Berea, where Silas and
Timothy remained while Paul pushed on to
Athens. Again united, they came to gay,
godless Corinth where a fruitful campaign
was carried on. Then homeward bound, with
a halt at Ephesus for "a good while" with
important results. 54

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
This brings us to the year 55, when Tim
othy appears as the "bishop" or minister of
the Ephesian Church. It appears that when
Paul resumed his homeward journey he left
Timothy behind to take charge of the grow
ing body of believers in that city. As to his
faithfulness in that difficult field — under
the shadow of the temple of great Diana —
we have abundant evidence in the letters
which Paul afterward sent him. In the
First Epistle to Timothy, written 64 a.d.
while Paul was a prisoner in the Praetorian
camp at Rome, we have the classical basis
of all pastoral "charges" from then until
now. In the second we have the Apostle's
farewell to his "beloved son."
In the year 66 Paul, having been re
arrested after his first imprisonment (2
Tim. 4:16, 17), was confined in the Mam-
mertine jail. It was a cheerless place.
Alone and friendless but for the companion
ship of faithful Luke, he writes to Timothy,
"Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. Take
Mark and bring him with thee. The cloke that I
left at Troas, when thou comest bring with thee, and
the books and parchments. Do thy diligence to come
before winter. Grace be with you." 2 Tim. 4: 9-22.
55

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
It is safe to say that Timothy was at
Rome in due time, with the "cloke" to com
fort Paul against the chill of the approach
ing winter, and the "books and parchments"
for the alleviation of the old man's weary
hours. It appears certain that Timothy had pa
tiently continued in the pastorate of the
Ephesian Church for the intervening period
of eleven years ; and, for anything to the con
trary, we may assume that he was still in
charge (a.d. 95) when John, the last sur
vivor of the apostles, delivered his message
"to the angel" (literally, messenger or am
bassador) "of the Church at Ephesus."
(Rev. 2:1-7.) We cannot follow him
further; here the record ends.
There is enough, however, to give us a
clear tout ensemble of Timothy's character.
To begin with, he was a quiet man, with a
"gift." What the particular gift was that
Paul exhorts him to "stir up" (2 Tim. 1 : 6)
we are left to surmise. It was probably not
eloquence ; possibly it was tact. The length
of his pastorate in Ephesus would indicate
that he knew how to manage a difficult situ-
56

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
ation and get along with all kinds of people.
In any case he used his gift to the glory of
God, which is the main point. Everybody
has a gift of some sort, which needs not only
to be stirred up but kept stirring. Miss
Havergal knew how to sing ; and when she
became a Christian she resolved to sing her
best for the Lord who had redeemed her.
"Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King!"
The courage of Timothy is also in evi
dence. He did not flinch, like John Mark,
at the foot of the Lycaonian hills. He faced
the danger that confronted him as a com
panion with Paul in the Mammertine jail.
He had counted the cost of being a Chris
tian and faced whatever might befall him
as simply "in the day's work." The Lord
wants such men to serve him.
And then consider his faithfulness. It is
rumored that some ministers are wont to re
gard their parishes as mere stepping-stones
to larger parishes further on. Not so Tim
othy. "Tarry in Ephesus," wrote Paul ; and
tarry he did, resolutely continuing in labor
57

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
of love and patience of hope for a lifetime.
It was to a "likeminded man" (Phil. 2: 19,
20) that Paul wrote his farewell words: "I
have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith."
And this, finally. The groundwork of his
character was fidelity to the Word of God.
He had learned the Scriptures in his old
home at Lystra, where, despite the influence
of a pagan father, he imbibed the unfeigned
faith of his mother Eunice and his grand
mother Lois. "From a child," writes Paul,
"thou hast known the holy Scriptures which
are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All
Scripture," he significantly adds, "given
by inspiration of God, is profitable for doc
trine, for reproof, for correction, for in
struction in righteousness : that the man of
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works." It was because Paul,
the "father superior" of this young man,
was confident of his devotion to the Scrip
tures that he could hopefully exhort him to
preach accordingly: "Study to show thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth
58

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth."
From all of which we conclude that the
best Christian is a Bible Christian, and that
the best minister is one who not only believes
in the inspiration of the Scriptures but can
rightly adjust them to the needs of those
who hear him. The Lord's promise is, "My
word shall not return unto me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent
it."

59

LUKE: "THE BELOVED
PHYSICIAN"

61

This Mr. Standfast was he whom the rest of the
pilgrims found upon his knees in the Enchanted
Ground.

V
LUKE: "THE BELOVED
PHYSICIAN"
It is no easy matter to do good work when
one is handicapped by ill health. Paul was
never a well man: he speaks of his "oft in
firmities," the chief est of which was a mys
terious "thorn in the flesh" that never
ceased to trouble him.
All went well on his first missionary
journey until he reached Galatia, where he
was laid low by an illness that must have de
tained him for a considerable time. (Gal.
4 : 13, 14. ) He then pressed on until he came
to Troas, where he had his vision of the man
of Macedonia beckoning and calling, "Come
over and help us ! "
This meant an adventure into Europe. A
new continent for Christ ! So important an
enterprise could not safely be undertaken in
Paul's precarious condition without the
help of a physician; and here is where we
catch our first glimpse of Luke. He may
63

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
have been a resident of Troas ; if so he must
have given up his local practice in order to
accompany Paul and minister to him.
How do we know that Luke here joined
the missionary group that crossed the
Hellespont into Europe ? By the change of
a pronoun in the narrative. Up to this point
the writer of the Acts of the Apostles —
none other than Luke himself — has used
the pronoun "they," but from henceforth he
speaks in the first person, "we." (Acts 16:
10.) By following the change of pronouns
from "they" to "we" and back again we
shall have no difficulty in tracing the foot
steps of Luke from now on.
He continued with Paul as far as Phil
ippi, where — from the resumption of the
pronoun "they" — we conclude that he was
either constrained to remain behind for a
season or possibly to return to his native
city. In any case he did not rejoin the mis
sionary group until several years later,
when, on the third journey, they came again
to Philippi. (Acts 20: 6.) Here the chron
icler resumes the first personal pronoun and
keeps it to the end. It would appear that
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Paul's failing health now called for the con
stant attendance of a physician; and Luke
never failed him.
He was with Paul on his perilous journey
to Jerusalem (Acts 20: 15, 16), also during
his imprisonment at Caesarea and his voyage
to Rome; and he kept the log of the final
voyage with its driving storm and ship
wreck. (Acts 27: 1.) He shared the hard
ships of Paul's weary confinement in the
Praetorian camp and subsequently in the
Mammertine jail (2 Tim. 4:11), and was
with him no doubt when the executioner
summoned him to die outside the gates of
the city.
No man ever had less to say of himself
than Luke ; yet by reading between the lines
we may form a very distinct outline of his
Christian life and character.
I. Tradition says that he was a painter.
Whether that is correct or not, certain it is
that he portrayed the Apostle Paul in colors
unmistakably bright and clear. This was
because he dipped his inspired pen in
"Siloa's brook that flows fast by the Oracle
of God. " Nor can his self-effacement in be-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
half of the great missionary conceal his own
face and figure as that of a singularly up
right and devoted man.
II. He was a writer of distinction, master
of a style marked by great clarity and pic-
turesquesness. He begins the Acts of' the
Apostles with these words: "The former
treatise have I made, 0 Theophilus, of all
that Jesus began both to do and teach until
the day in which he was taken up." The
Gospel according to Luke is "the former
treatise" referred to. These two books re
main as his enduring memorials. In "the
Gospel according to Luke" we have really
the Gospel according to Paul, the proba
bility being, as Athanasius says, that Paul
"dictated" the substance of it.
III. He was a skillful as well as "be
loved" physician. Of the four evangehsts
who wrote the Life of Jesus he most empha
sizes the miracles of healing and dwells most
particularly on the symptoms of disease and
the mode of treatment. But while thus be
traying his own professional skill he hides
himself with the utmost care behind the fig
ure of Jesus as "the great physician." It
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
is he who tells the touching story of the
woman with an incurable hemorrhage, re
vealing a quiet sense of humor at the ex
pense of his professional brethren in the
statement that she "had spent all her living
upon physicians, neither could be healed of
any." He attributes to Jesus such healing
power that "virtue went out of him"
through the very touch of the hem of his
garment. No other of the sacred writers
gives us so clear a view of the compassion
of Jesus toward the poor, the helpless and
the abandoned. Where in all the world of
literature can be found so vivid a portrayal
as in Luke 15 of Jesus as the incarnation of
God, coming down from heaven to seek and
to save, and seeking the lost" until he find
it"? IV. But in his relation to Paul we know
this man best as a faithful friend. No fair-
weather friend was he; through evil and
good report he stayed by him. This is the
sort of friend we need, one who stands ready
to summer and winter with us. "Do thy
diligence to come shortly unto me," writes
Paul to Timothy in the darkness and chill
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
of his last imprisonment; "only Luke is with
me." Only Luke! But what to this weary
old soldier would the Mammertine jail have
been without Luke?
But there was Another with Paul in those
weary hours, a better Friend than Luke, a
Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
"The Lord," he says, "stood with me." And
this is the Friend whom Luke in all his writ
ings commends as the chiefest among ten
thousand and altogether lovely. Blessed is
the man who confides in Him!
One could wish that we knew more of the
later years of this "beloved" man. As it
is, in parting company with him we cannot
but remark upon his likeness to "Mr. Stand
fast" in "The Pilgrim's Progress," who
was also faithful unto the end. As he came
to the brink of the river, with the glory of
the Celestial City before him, he "talked
with the companions that had waited upon
him thither. And he said, 'This river has
been a terror to many; yea, the thoughts of
it also have often frightened me; but now
methinks I stand easy. . . . The thoughts
of what I am going to, and of the convoy
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
that waits for me on the other side, do He
as a glowing coal at my heart. My toilsome
days are ended. ... I have loved to hear
my Lord spoken of; and wherever I have
seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there
I have coveted to set my foot too. His name
has been to me as a civet-box; yea, sweeter
than all perfumes. His voice to me has been
most sweet, and his countenance I have more
desired than they that have most desired the
fight of the sun. His words I did use to
gather for my food, and for antidotes
against my faintings. He hath held me, and
hath kept me from mine iniquities; yea, my
steps hath he strengthened in his way.'
Now, while he was thus in discourse, his
countenance changed; his strong man bowed
under him; and after he had said, 'Take me,
for I come unto thee,' he ceased to be seen
of them. But glorious it was to see how the
open region was filled with horses and
chariots, with trumpeters and pipers, with
singers and players upon stringed instru
ments, to welcome the pilgrims as they went
up and followed one another in at the beauti
ful gate of the city."

VI
LYDIA: THE PURPLE-SELLER

71

Then the porter rang his bell, as at such times he
was wont, and there came to the door one of the
damsels, whose name was Humble-mind; and to her
the porter said, "Go tell it within that Christiana the
wife of Christian and her children are come hither
on pilgrimage." She went in therefore and told it.
But oh, what noise for gladness was there within
when the damsel did but drop that out of her mouth 1

72

VI
LYDIA: THE PURPLE-SELLER
The story begins with a voyage — a mem
orable voyage.
On the deck of a vessel crossing the
Hellespont are three men searching for an
other man. One of them had a dream last
night at Troas, in which he saw a dim figure,
known by his peculiar garb and dialect to be
a Macedonian, stretching out his hands and
calling, "Come over and help us!" Paul
was the last person in the world to be unre
sponsive to such a call. Summoning his
friend Silas and Luke, his attendant physi
cian, he "immediately" set sail.
The two epic heroes of ancient Rome and
Greece had also sailed from Troas ; but the
iEneid and the Odyssey dwindle into insig
nificance when compared with the adventure
of these men. It means a new continent for
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Christ ! Somewhere in those distant hills of
Europe the pursuivant of a mighty cause
awaits these men. But will they find him?
The next day was the Sabbath. But Phi
lippi was a pagan city and cared nothing for
the Lord or for his holy day. Three
strangers sought a synagogue in vain. Out
side the gates there was a proseuche, or
"place where prayer was wont to be made,"
and a company of devout women, Jewesses
and "proselytes" of Jewish faith, were
there engaged in worship when — no doubt
to their amazement and perhaps embar
rassment — the three strangers appeared in
their midst. In accordance with the custom
of the synagogue they were invited to speak
on the lesson of the day: "If ye have any
word of exhortation for us, say on." (See
Luke 4: 16; Acts 13: 15, etc.) We have no
report of Paul's sermon, but it goes without
saying that he preached on "This Jesus is
the Christ."
And then and there they found the "man
of Macedonia." The forerunner of all
Christian converts on the continent of Eu
rope proved to be a woman ; as it is written:
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
"A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple,
of the city of Thyatira, heard us; whose heart the
Lord opened that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized and
her household she besought us saying, If ye have
judged me to be faithful to the Lord come into my
house and abide there." Acts 16:14, 15.
This is not much of a biography, but we
must make the most of it; since — except
for a few brief and somewhat vague allu
sions — this is substantially all we know of
her. But there is a good deal here for one
who is able to read between the lines.
First, she was a native of Thyatira. Now
Thyatira was in Mysia, a pagan country
which Paul had greatly desired to enter with
the Gospel message, but when he "assayed
to go" with his companions "the Spirit suf
fered them not. ' ' (Acts 16 : 7, 8. ) It would
appear, however, that the desired end was
accomplished through the conversion of
Lydia; the probability being that she was
the means of establishing the church which
afterward flourished in that city. (Rev. 2 :
18-29.) Second, she was a "devout" woman, that
is a "proselyte" or convert from paganism
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
to the Jewish religion. As a worshiper of
the true God she was in the way of discover
ing God revealed in his only begotten Son.
There are many "devout" people who are
not Christians but, in so far as they are
earnest seekers after truth, they are certain
to accept Christ when they behold him.
Third, her heart was open. The Lord had
so opened it that on hearing that Jesus was
the prophesied and long-looked-f or Messiah
she "attended" to the message and received
him. This is salvation ; this is ' ' justification
by faith"; this is what it means to be a
Christian, no more and no less.
Fourth, she was "baptized"; that is, she
made an open confession of her faith. The
Church has only two sacraments : one is bap
tism, which as an initiatory rite commits the
initiate to the open and avowed service of
Christ; the other is the Lord's Supper, in
which the church-member at stated times re
news his covenant. When Lydia was bap
tized with her household she gave it to be
understood that she and her children were
prepared to stand up and be counted for
Christ. 76

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Fifth, she opened her house to Paul and
his companions. This meant more than the
customary hospitality of the Orient : it was
an expression of gratitude for the great
service they had rendered her, and also a
recognition of the new and wonderful bond
of fellowship which every believer finds in
the company of Christian friends. "Birds
of a feather flock together." "Blest be the
tie that binds our hearts in Christian love !"
There is a sequel. It was not long before
the campaign in Philippi came to a sudden
end. The healing of the demoniacal malady
of a slave girl, whom her masters had used
as a pythoness with much profit to them
selves, led to a riot and the arrest of Paul
and Silas as disturbers of the peace. They
were scourged and cast into prison. That
night there was an earthquake which shook
the prison walls and released the prisoners.
Their jailer, whose life under the Roman
law was forfeit in case of their escape, threw
himself upon their mercy, crying, "Men and
brethren, what shall I do?" Never was a
better chance to preach the Gospel, and Paul
immediately took advantage of it, saying,
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved and thy house." And behold
the man believed and "was baptized and all
his straightway."
A strange conversion and how different
from Lydia 's! Her heart was gently
"opened" by the Spirit, while it took an
earthquake to convert him. But so it is
written: "There are diversities of opera
tions, but it is the same God which worketh
all in all. " (1 Cor. 12 : 6.) Not all are born
into the Kingdom in the same way. Some
Christians can remember the very day and
hour when, after long conviction, they were
gloriously blinded for a season, like Saul of
Tarsus, by a light above the brightness of
the sun; others remember their conversion
as the quiet falling of the dew or the break
ing of a new day; while others still cannot
at all remember the beginning of their Chris
tian life. God works as he will. The New
Jerusalem has twelve gates and every gate
is of pearl; let no one insist that another
shall pass through the same gate by which
he entered into the Celestial City.
The story of Lydia ends with a scene in
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
the church at Philippi. Eleven years have
passed. The minister, possibly Epaphro-
ditus, is reading to the congregation a letter
just received from Paul, a prisoner at
Rome. In view of the relations of Lydia
with Paul and with the Philippian church
it is strange that the letter makes no mention
of her. Perhaps she was dead, or had re
moved to some other city. Or possibly we
may discover her in the modest company re
ferred to in these words: "I entreat thee,
true yokefellow, help those women which
labored with me in the Gospel, whose names
are in the book of life." (Phil. 4:3.) In
any case Lydia is worthy to be named among
those who "labored together" with Paul.
She journeyed with him in spirit and shared
with him the hardships of his ministry.
"Let her works praise her in the gates."
It is sometimes said by way of criticising
the Church that "the women keep it up."
In large measure this is true. It is also true
that the women are the main support of our
domestic life. If it were not for the gra
cious influence of our mothers and wives and
daughters what sort of homes would our
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
homes be? And the women stand back of
our schools and hospitals and all institutions
that make for the betterment of the com
munity. Moreover of late their leaven has
so beneficently leavened the lump of national
affairs that I doubt if the crustiest bachelor
in America would suggest a return to the
good old times when not infrequently our
ballots were cast in dramshops to an accom
paniment of ribald profanity. It is just oc
casion for regret that so many Christian
women, like Lois, are yoked up with pagan
Greeks who, cumbered with much service in
the marketplace, can find neither time nor
inclination to serve God. To utter a gibe at
the Church because Lois is there with her
boy Timothy is to show a singular ignorance
of analogy and the eternal fitness of things.
All hail to the Lydias of the Church, the
ministering women whose hearts are open
to truth and in whose lips is the law of kind
ness ! By the memory of the mother of our
Lord and of the mothers that bore us, of the
sisters that guided our early feet and the
wives who fill and furnish our homes with
labor of love, we take shame to ourselves
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
that ever a man presumes to cast a slur on
woman's devotion to Christ.
All hail to our elect ladies! If ever we
get to heaven we shall find them there be
fore us — and not alone. It is written of
Christian that, fleeing from the City of De
struction, he left his household behind him ;
but Christiana would not go without her
children. At heaven's gate we shall meet
them, mothers like Hannah and Christiana,
mothers like yours and mine; and as they
enter with the sunlight of blessing in their
faces, we shall hear them saying, "Here,
Lord, am I and they whom thou hast given
me!"

81

VII
AQULLA AND PRISCILLA

83

I will sing you first this song:
"When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither
And hear how these two pilgrims talk together;
Yea, let them learn of them in any wise,
Thus to keep ope their drowsy, slumb'ring eyes."

84

VII
AQULLA AND PRISCILLA
In 54 a.d., this man and his wife were pur
suing their trade as tentmakers at Corinth,
whither they had come in pursuance of a
recent edict of the Emperor against the
Jews. (Acts 18:1-3.) It chanced that at
that time Paul was carrying on an evan
gelistic campaign in the same city, and,
being a tent-maker by trade and needing
work, he found his way to Aquila's shop.
As he plied the needle he related to his fel
low-workmen the wonderful story of his con
version and explained the Good News. They
welcomed it gladly and were known thence
forth as followers of Christ.
Of all Paul's helpers none were to prove
themselves more helpful than these two. A
lonely man, he was in constant need of the
comfort which such a home-making couple
could provide for him.
A few years later Paul went to Ephesus
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
and they with him. He soon departed for
Jerusalem however to attend one of the an
nual feasts, and his work was left in their
hands. Meanwhile a learned Jew of Alexan
dria, named Apollos, had come to the city
and, being eloquent and mighty in the Scrip
tures, was teaching "diligently the things
of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of
John." In other words, he perceived that
the times were out of joint and anticipated
the coming of the kingdom; but the larger
truths of the Gospel were as yet unknown
to him. In some manner he came under the
influence of Aquila and Priscilla, and "they
expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly." (Acts 18:24-26.) This appears
to have been the first Theological Seminary
of the Christian Church : primitive, indeed,
yet it may be doubted whether in all the
world there was another institution of learn
ing where the truth was more sincerely or
comprehensively taught. Not Zeno's
Painted Porch, nor Plato's Academy, nor
Gamaliel's school at Jerusalem could have
so well equipped Apollos for his work as an
evangelist.

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
In Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians
(1 Cor. 16 : 19) mention is made of Aquila
and Priscilla and "the church that is in their
house." This probably means no more
than that, at stated times, the followers of
Christ met and worshiped together at their
family altar: nevertheless the domestic
circle is thus invested with a peculiar sanc
tity as the germ of that great organism
which we call the Church of God.
Later they were at Rome as Paul's
helpers. It would appear that they had been
involved in some sort of persecution, from
which they had rescued Paul at the peril of
their lives. (Rom. 16:3-5.) And again
mention is made of "the church that is in
their house." A strange contrast this to St.
Peter's in the Rome of to-day ! That humble
church in the tentmakers' home had no
tiaraed Pope, no imposing College of Car
dinals, no elaborate paraphernalia of wor
ship; yet great was God's blessing upon it.
The last mention of Aquila and Priscilla
finds them back at Ephesus in the year 66.
(2 Tim. 4: 19.) There is a tradition that on
the 8th of July — the day set apart for them
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
in the martyrology of the Romish Church
— the faithful couple were led out beyond
the walls and beheaded. It is easy to fill in
the details of the pathetic picture; each
looked at the other with eyes full of love, as
if to say, ' ' Farewell ; fear not ! " There was
a flash of the blade, and they were at home
with God.
The story of Aquila and Priscilla is a
beautiful idyl of home-life. The religion of
Christ is singular in the emphasis which it
puts upon the privileges and responsibilities
of the domestic sphere. It is written that
when Sayka-Muni had discovered "the
Great Truth," and had determined to devote
himself to its propagation, he came to his
home in the night-time and, finding his wife
asleep, with her infant beside her, he softly
kissed her, said farewell and went his way.
This was Mahdbanish kramana, "the Great
Renunciation." He saw his home thence
forth no more, but, sitting under the sacred
Bo-tree, gave himself to meditation, losing
himself in contemplation of the Ineffable
One. How striking the contrast between
this and the life of Jesus ! At the home in

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Nazareth he was "subject unto his par
ents" ; at the home in Bethany he found rest
and comfort during the troubled years of
his ministry; at the home in Cana he laid
his benediction upon the delights of social
life ; and when he would portray the glories
of heaven, he spoke not of a city, nor of a
better country, nor of a garden of delights,
but of home, sweet home. "In my Father's
house are many mansions ; if it were not so
I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you. "
Here is a pleasant picture also of wedded
love. Aquila and Priscilla are always named
together, as if they were inseparable; but,
singularly, the order varies, suggesting that
there was no strife for the pre-eminence. It
reminds us of what Jeremy Taylor said:
"When God created woman, he made her
not of Adam's head, as if she were to rule
over him ; nor out of his feet, as if he were
to rule over her ; but from his side, close by
his heart, because he should ever love and
honor and protect her."
In these days of loose thinking and looser
living in these premises, it is well to empha-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
size the fact that wedlock is a divine ordi
nance. It is not a sacrament; wherever so
regarded, as among all the Latin nations,
immorality prevails. But this union was
ordained of God in the time of man's inno-
cency. "It is not good," he said, "for man
to be alone"; wherefore he made woman to
be his helpmeet. The generic man, the so
cial unit, is not one but two in one ; as it is
written, "Male and female created he them,
and blessed them, and called their name
Adam." (Gen. 5:2.)
This union is, further, pronounced to be
"honorable in all." A Scotch girl to whom
her minister had said, "Janet, it is a very
serious thing to be married," answered with
out hesitation, "Aye, minister, I ken it is a
serious thing to be married, but it is more
serious no ' to be. ' ' The humor of the canny
lass was quite eclipsed by her philosophy.
There is such a thing as "single blessed
ness"; but it stands as the exception and not
the rule. Blessedness is a path for two. It
has been truly said of wedlock, "It halves
our sorrows and doubles our joys."
But there are two conditions affixed to an
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
ideal marriage. One is mutual love. There
is no place in the divine economy for a
"marriage of convenience." It is a per
version of the order of nature and a trav
esty on the ordinance of God. You may
carpet your floors with softest velvet, cover
your walls with richest tapestries, fill the at
mosphere with music of harp and dulcimer,
and spread your table with all rare and deli
cate viands; but if love be wanting your
home will be no better than a lodge in a
garden of cucumbers. On the other hand,
the nearest approach to heaven is "love in a
cottage." The hail may rattle on the roof,
the snows sift under the eaves, the grate be
cold and the larder empty; the wolf may
howl at the door, the King of Terrors him
self may stand beckoning at the threshold,
but if love abides within, all's well.
A man in public life, well-known and dis
tinguished among our law-makers, whose
domestic establishment is a proverb for hos
pitality and whose wife is a recognized
leader in society, recently said, ' ' Our hearts
go back longingly to the days when we lived
in a home of two rooms, practising petty
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
economies to make both ends meet ; when we
were apart from the world and alone with
each other; those were our happiest days."
Love is better than beauty or wit;
Love is better than gold;
Love is not found in the marketplace;
Love is not bought and sold.
The other condition of ideal happiness is
to be joined in the Lord. It has been wisely
said, "Be not unequally yoked together."
(2 Cor. 6 : 14.) This is an old-fashioned pre
cept ; but its wisdom is certified by the sor
row of many lives. It is obvious that when
husband and wife are at odds concerning
the fundamental facts of religion they are
not "united as one." A Christian thinks
more of his religion than of anything else;
it is his meat and drink ; it is the very air he
breathes. The name of his Saviour is as
ointment poured forth ; he lives for Christ,
and is willing to die for him. How, under
such circumstances, can one be happily
joined to another who is averse to such con
siderations or quite indifferent to them?
The advice of Paul to couples who are thus
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
matched but not mated is found in 1 Cor
inthians 7 : 12-17 : but an ounce of preven
tion is worth a pound of cure. A duet of
musical instruments is impossible except as
they are keyed to the same pitch. There
are many who, failing to remember this,
have married in haste to repent at leisure.
The family altar is the heart of the Chris
tian home. It is as true now as in the days
of Obed-edom that God prospers the home
where the ark abides. In the morning, when
each member of the household sets forth
upon a day of unknown duties and dangers,
is it not well to kneel together and offer
prayer like that of the Breton mariner, "O
Lord, keep me ; my boat is so little and the
ocean so wide"? At eventide is it not well
to invoke the protecting care of God? In
the hour of sorrow, when sickness invades
the home or when there is a crape on the
door, there are strength and comfort and
hope in clasping hands at the doorway of the
Holiest of All. It is a grave responsibility
which a father takes who allows his children
to grow up to maturity and pass out into the
responsibilities of life without having heard
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
his voice lifted in their behalf at the throne
of the heavenly grace.
We glory in our American homes ; but be
fore the foundations of this Republic were
laid the Christian home had its place among
the Scottish hills. "The church in the
house" was kept up at peril of life and con
fiscation of goods by those who were pledged
to Christ's crown and covenant ! Very many
of our lyrics of domestic life are of Scottish
birth. One of them is "The Cotter's Satur
day Night. ' ' The steps of the weary worker
are quickened as he catches sight of the light
in the window:
His wee bit ingle, blinkin' bonnilie,
His clean hearthstane, his thriftie wifie's smile.
The lisping infant prattling on his knee,
Does a' his weary carking cares beguile,
And makes him quite forget his labor and his toil.
* * * »
The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face
They, round the ingle, form a circle wide ;
The sire turns o'er, wi' patriarchal grace,
The big ha'-Bible, ance his father's pride;
His bonnet reverently is laid aside,
His lyart haffets wearing thin an' bare:
Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide,
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
He wales a portion with judicious care;
And "Let us worship God!" he says with solemn air.

From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs,
That makes her loved at home, revered abroad.
And another is "John Anderson, My Jo."
The faithful wife, on whose cheeks the rose
has faded, in whose eyes the light is dim,
looks up into the face of her gray-haired
companion and sings with quavering voice :
"John Anderson my jo, John,
When we were first acquent,
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonnie brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson my jo!
"John Anderson my jo, John,
We clamb the hill thegither;
And mony a canty day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither.
Now we maun totter down, John,
But hand in hand we'll go;
And sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson my jo."
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
And another of these home-songs tells of the
Reconciliation. The husband has quarreled
with his gude-wif e and speaks entreatingly :
"Thou hast sworn by thy God, my Jeanie,
By that pretty white hand o' thine,
And by a' the lowing stars o' heaven
That thou wad aye be mine.
"And I hae sworn by my God, my Jeanie,
And by that kind heart o' thine,
By a' the stars sown thick o'er heaven,
That thou shalt aye be mine.
"Then foul fa' the hands that wad loose sic bands
And the heart that wad part sic love;
But there is nae hand can lose my band
But the finger o' Him above.
"Come here to me, thou lass o' my love,
Come here and kneel wi' me:
The morn is fu' o' the presence o' God,
And I canna pray without thee.
"The Book maun be ta'en when the carle comes hame
Wi' the holy psalmodie;
And thou maun speak o' me to thy God,
And I will speak o' thee."
But Aquila and Priscilla, husband and
wife, were also partners in faithful service.
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It would appear that they shared the duties
of their workshop. It is much to say that
they were not ashamed of manual toil, since
in those days it was regarded as the business
of slaves. The life of Jesus as the Carpenter
of Nazareth has done much to reverse that
judgment, although there are still some who
deem it more honorable to live by the sweat
of their fathers' faces than of their own.
But these tentmakers of Pontus were not
ashamed of their craft. It is safe to say
moreover that the product of their labor was
known for its excellent quality. Their tents
were made of honest goat's-hair, sewn with
honest seams and disposed of at an honest
price. The trade-mark "A. & P." would
mean much among the dwellers in tents of
those days.
But Aquila and Priscilla did not confine
their attention to handicraft; they were in
the higher service of the kingdom of Christ.
Though not in holy orders, they were faith
ful in the preaching of the Gospel and
showed its excellency in their walk and con
versation. The supreme need of our time is
not more preachers but more consecrated
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
laymen ; more men and women ready to ex
emplify their religion in the common duties
of life.
It was a goodly sight when the Crusader
rode forth from his walled castle, clad in
chain armor, his plume waving, banner fly
ing, lance poised, in quest of valorous deeds.
The world looked on while he strove in the
tourney or championed the weak and help
less or fought for the conquest of the Holy
Sepulchre. But it is a grander sight before
God when a man, with no blazonry of pomp
or circumstance, addresses himself day by
day to labor of love and patience of hope.
Such an one was Charles Kingsley of gra
cious memory, of whom his wife wrote:
"The outside world must judge him as an
author, a preacher, a member of society, but
those only who lived with him in the inti
macy of every-day life at home can tell what
he was as a man. Over the real romance of
his life and over the tenderest, loveliest pas
sages in his private letters a veil must be
thrown, but it will not be lifting it too far
to say that if in the highest, closest of
earthly relationships a love that never failed

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
— pure, patient, passionate — for six-and-
thirty years, a love which never stooped
from its own lofty level to a hasty word, an
impatient gesture or a selfish act, in sickness
or in health, in sunshine or in storm, by day
or by night, could prove that the age of chiv
alry has not passed away forever, then
Charles Kingsley fulfilled the ideal of a
'most true and perfect knight' to the one
woman blest with that love in time and to
eternity. To eternity, for such love is
eternal, and he is not dead. He himself, the
man, the lover, husband, father, friend — he
still lives in God, who is not the God of the
dead, but of the living."
Are such lives unnoticed? Nay, they are
"compassed about with witnesses." The
galleries are filled! The Master himself
looks on; and every word that his diffident
follower speaks in the interest of truth and
righteousness, every stretching forth of the
helping hand, every denial of self, is re
corded in heaven. It is said that the vibra
tion of the atmosphere produced by speech
is so rapidly diffused that within twenty
hours the entire aerial envelope of the earth

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
is affected by it. Our life puts on a serious
aspect when we pause to consider that the
very air into which we are speaking is a vast
auditorium, wherein our utterances are pre
served forever. This puts an emphasis upon
the precept, "Do ye nexte thynge." Let us
not complain of the narrowness of our
sphere, but rather seek earnestly to fill it.
"Go down to thy house," said Jesus to the
man of Gadara, who, in gratitude for heal
ing, desired to follow Christ as a disciple —
"Return to thine house and show how great
things God hath done unto thee."
In memory of the quiet but useful lives
of the many Aquilas and Priscillas whom
we have known, let us do with our might
whatsoever our hands find to do, at home, in
the marketplace, in the fellowship of the
evangel; and may the God whose eyes run
to and fro through all the earth take knowl
edge of the work of our hands and establish
it upon us.

100

VIII
APOLLOS: "MIGHTY IN THE
SCRIPTURES"

101

Then said the Interpreter, "The Comforter be
always with thee, good Christian, to guide thee in
the way that leads to the city." So Christian went
on his way, saying,
"Here I have seen things rare and profitable,
Things pleasant, dreadful, things to make me stable
In what I have begun to take in hand:
Then let me think on them, and understand
Wherefore they showed me were, and let me be
Thankful, 0 good Interpreter, to thee."

102

VIII
APOLLOS: "MIGHTY IN THE
SCRIPTURES"
All that we know of Apollos is gathered
from a single paragraph in the Acts of the
Apostles with a few casual references in the
Epistles. As we put together these scat
tered items of information we shall find our
selves reading A Tale of Four Cities.
The paragraph referred to is as follows:
A certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria,
an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came
to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of
the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit he spake
and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing
only the baptism of John. And he began to speak
boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and
Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and
expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia the
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brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him:
who, when he was come, helped them much which
had believed through grace: for he mightily convinced
the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scrip
tures that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 18: 24-28.

I. Alexandria
The early life of Apollos was spent in this
wonderful city, which was the meeting-place
of Eastern and Western civilization in the
early centuries of the Christian era. Here
was the forum where Paganism, Judaism
and Christianity met for what proved to be
a conclusive discussion of their respective
claims. The learning of the world was cen
tered there. Greek philosophers touched
elbows with Jewish rabbis and Christian
fathers. The lines of controversy by degrees
converged upon the Old Testament ; for the
better understanding of which a translation
was made out of the Hebrew into the Greek
language : and that translation, the Septua-
gint, remains as a monument of erudition to
this day.
The name of Apollos would indicate that
he was a Jew by adoption only. His par-
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ents would scarcely have named him after
Apollo had they not been worshipers of the
pagan gods; though, like multitudes of
others in Alexandria, they had probably be
come "proselytes," that is, worshipers of
the true God.
In any case it is certain that Apollos was
"instructed in the way of the Lord." In
his study of the Old Testament he had dis
covered the golden thread of Messianic
prophecy running through all its pages from
the protevangel of Paradise, respecting the
Seed of woman who was to come in the ful
ness of time to "bruise the serpent's head,"
down to Malachi's glowing vision of the Sun
of Righteousness who should "arise with
healing in his wings."
Then came the news from a far country
that John the Baptist was heralding the
near approach of the Messiah and calling
upon the people to repent and prepare the
way before him. To this the young student
of the Scriptures responded with a ready
heart. So far he was able to go and no
farther. He knew only "the baptism of
John," that is, the baptism unto repentance
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and preparation for the coming of Christ.
He lived up to his light and was prepared to
welcome more light whenever it should come
to him. What more does the good God ask
of any man?
This is the secret of "growing in grace
and in the knowledge of Christ." An
earnest seeker after truth — with no hood
wink over his eyes and an open door for rev
elations from above — will always find it.
And his path will surely lead him into the
presence of him who said "I am the Truth."
For so it is written, "To him that hath shall
be given." There is always more light ahead
for those who walk as children of the day.
II. Ephesus
So it happened that Apollos "came to
Ephesus." Though no reason is given for
his coming to that city of blind Jews and
pleasure-loving pagans, it may be surmised
from the fact that on his arrival he immedi
ately "spake and taught accurately the
things concerning Jesus" up to the full
measure of his light. His information was
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limited to what he had been able to learn of
the Messiah from his acquaintance with the
Old Testament plus the teaching of John
the Baptist: but this was enough to move
him with an earnest desire to propagate the
truth. It was like a fire in his bones ; for as
a man of fervent spirit he could not rest
until he had told these benighted people the
Good News.
What a man have we here! He did not,
like Jonah, have to be told twice to go with
his message of hope to a people who needed
it, nor did he fall asleep in the hold of
a vessel on his way. Here he is, "speaking
boldly in the synagogue. " Great things are
to be expected of such a man.
It chanced that among his hearers in the
synagogue were two people who had been
converted through the ministry of Paul on
his previous visit to this city : the tent-maker
Aquila and his wife Priscilla. (Acts 18:
1-3.) They were humble folk, by no means
on a level with Apollos in education or so
cial life; but their hearts went out to him
as one feeling his way through the twilight
toward the Truth. They ventured to ap-
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proach him, talked with him, "took him
unto them, and expounded unto him the
Way of God more accurately." (The name
by which the followers of Christ were called
at that time was "people of that Way.")
Let us get this picture before us : A tent-
maker's shop; a man and his wife busy at
their trade; before them an Alexandrian
scholar drinking in their words. Was ever
a Theological Seminary like that ? But what
if our Theological Seminaries were to make
a note of it ? What if Aquila and Priscilla
chairs were established for the "more ac
curate exposition of the Way " ? Why not ?
Theology is good but religion is better. The
Way is everything. Doctors of Divinity are
mere lay figures unless they are evangelists
over and above all.

III. Corinth
Now turn to First Corinthians 3 : 1-6 :
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in
Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat:
for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet
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now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas
there is among you envying and strife and divisions,
are ye not carnal and walk as men? For while one
saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are
ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos,
but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord
gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered;
but God gave the increase.
It thus appears that Apollos had found
his way to Corinth. (Acts 19 : 1.) Here was
a larger parish for him. The city swarmed
with tradesmen and pleasure-seekers from
everywhere. What a field for a preacher
equipped as Apollos now was with the pan
oply of the Gospel ! By reason of his learn
ing and eloquence he forged to the front.
It was not long before the members of the
Corinthian Church began to contrast his up
standing figure and commanding oratory
with the "mean presence" and modest
speech of Paul their former pastor. Then
came a division into parties. Some said, "I
am of Paul," others, "I am of Apollos," and
they were pulling apart. Alas, that there
should be such divisions in the body of
Christ! 109

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Up to this time, so far as we know, Paul
and Apollos had never met. News of the
sad state of affairs in the Corinthian Church
reached Paul as he was off somewhere in
Macedonia, on his second missionary
journey; and he immediately sat down and
wrote to Corinth about it. (1 Cor. 3: 1-9.)
His reference to the trouble gives us a clear
sidelight into the character of Paul. He be
trays not a sign of envy or jealousy toward
this unknown man who had apparently un
dermined him in the affections of his former
parishioners, but sinks all personal con
siderations in fraternal magnanimity and
loyalty to Christ. (1 Cor. 4:6.)
Not long after this Paul met Apollos and
a friendship began which continued during
the remainder of their lives. It was in
Ephesus, about a.d. 57. (1 Cor. 16: 12.) The
probability is that Apollos had left Corinth
on account of the feeling of partisanship
that developed among the Christians there.
Paul wanted him to go back but he would
not. "I besought him much," he says, "but
it was not at all his will. ' ' Here was a strife
between two brethren, neither of whom was
no

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
willing to win glory at the cost of the other :
a blessed exhibit of "the mind that was in
Christ Jesus," who said, "Whosoever would
be first among you shall be servant of all."
IV. Nicopolis
Eight years have passed. Paul, after his
imprisonment in the Praetorian camp at
Rome, has "escaped from the mouth of the
Hon." * Old, half blind and worn out, he
straightway plans another missionary
journey. It reminds one of the old couplet
"Tumble me down, and I will sit
Exultant on my ruins yet."
He takes ship with a group of helpers
and, leaving Titus on the island of Crete to
minister in that difficult field, sails on to
Macedonia where he pauses to rest and
preach in the ancient city of Nicopolis.
While there he writes a letter to Titus for
his encouragement and sends it by the hand
of Apollos, who is accompanied by a
"lawyer" named Zenas, of whom we know
* Nero, for obvious reasons, was familiarly known as "The
Lion." ill

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
no more. (Titus 3: 13.) Not long after the
writing of this letter Paul was re-arrested
and carried back to Rome to his execution.
This ends the story of Paul and his friend.
The story of Apollos, though so brief and
fragmentary, gives us the portrait of a man
remarkable first as a scholar, second as an
orator of unusual ability; third as an en
thusiast, "fervent in spirit"; and fourth,
as "one mighty in the Scriptures." This
last characteristic was the secret of his
power. And this power is within the reach of
every Christian who will take it. There is
many a humble mother in Israel, unfamiliar
with the wisdom of the schools, who will re
ceive titular honors in heaven because, to
quote the words of Cowper, she "just knew,
and knew no more, her Bible true."
In Froude's life of John Bunyan he says
that while writing "Pilgrim's Progress" in
Bedford jail, he had only two books; but
"one of these," he adds, "was the Bible,
which of itself alone is a liberal education."
Many a man has found it so.
The best people in the world are those
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
who know the Bible and live up to it. The
most efficient preachers are those whose
preaching is in line with the promise, "My
word shall not return unto me void ; but it
shall accomplish that which I please and it
shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. "
The best course of study ever marked out
for those who would fit themselves for use
fulness in the Christian life is that which
Paul prescribed for a young friend : "Study
to show thyself approved unto God, a work
man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth. ' ' (2 Tim. 2 : 15.)

113

IX
"ONE MNASON OF CYPRUS"

115

So thither they came; and he called at the door,
and the old man within knew his tongue as soon as
ever he heard it; so he opened the door, and they
all came in. Then said Mnason their host, "How
far have ye come to-day?" So they said, "From the
house of Gaius our friend." "I promise you," said
he, "you have gone a good stitch. You may well be
weary: sit down." So they sat down.

116

IX
"ONE MNASON OF CYPRUS"
It was when Paul was on the closing lap
of his third missionary journey that he first
met this man. He was then going up to
Jerusalem at peril of his life. His Ephesian
friends came over to Miletus, where his ship
was swinging at anchor, to give him fare
well. In vain did they endeavor to dissuade
him from his purpose : he was under orders
and must go. Whereupon a number of them,
among whom was Mnason, volunteered to
accompany him. Here is Luke's account of
it: "There went with us also certain of the disciples
of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of
Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge."
This is all the information we have re
specting this man: but a good deal can be
made of it by a proper use of the imagina
tion. There are people who seem to think
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that the only use of the imagination is in
drawing the long bow : on the contrary it is
impossible to tell the truth without it. A
mere statement of fact is not the whole truth,
any more than a man is a man until he have
flesh on his bones. If one would read the
sum total of anything he must always read
between the lines.
Otherwise, for example, how are we going
to read the story of the Prodigal Son? I
say, "The father of the Prodigal used to
come down to his gate day after day and look
away beyond the hills and wonder and hope
and" — "Not at all," says the literalist;
"there is nothing like that in the story."
Quite right ; nevertheless, the story wouldn't
be wholly true without it.
I say, "When the boy came back his
father was so glad to see him that he not
only 'went out to meet him while he was yet
a great way off' but threw his arms around
his neck and drowned his voice with kisses."
"That's pure invention," says Simon Pure.
But let us see. You remember the speech
the penitent boy composed when he was sit
ting on the trough in the swine-field : "I will
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
arise and go unto my father and say,
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and
in thy sight and am no more worthy to be
called thy son : make me as one of thy hired
servants' ": and you remember how he ar
rived with his carefully prepared speech on
the tip of his tongue but only delivered a
part of it. Just as he was about to apply for
a situation as hired servant there came an
mterruption; that was when "his father fell
upon his neck and kissed him." Now put
two and two together and you can under
stand why the speech of the prodigal ended
with a dash. So I say it is impossible to get
the whole truth without using one's imagina
tion in reading between the lines.
I. A moment ago it was observed that
Paul's first meeting with Mnason was on the
seashore at Miletus. Of course the story
does not say so ; but why should it say "one
Mnason"? If Paul and he had been previ
ously acquainted is it likely that he would
have been referred to in that way ?
II. We are informed that Mnason was
"of Cyprus," an island in the Mediterra
nean which played no unimportant part in
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
history. Cato, Cicero, Alexander and no
end of other celebrities were in one way or
another associated with it. To have a home
in Cyprus was to be a man of some import
ance in those days.
III. He had also a home in Jerusalem;
from which we infer that he was a man of
substance. Not every one can afford, even
in these prosperous times, to have a summer
home in the mountains and a winter home
by the sea. Moreover the house in Jerusa
lem was commodious enough to afford en
tertainment for the proprietor's friends.
Thus everything seems to intimate that
Mnason was a prosperous man. And, in his
prosperity, it would appear that he regarded
himself as a steward, using aright what the
Lord had entrusted to him.
IV. He was ' ' a disciple. ' ' It was not the
common fashion as yet to speak of the fol
lowers of Christ as "Christians"; but to be
called disciples, or pupils of Christ, was a
great honor. To sit at his feet, learning of
him, is to be growing in wisdom every day.
This was why he said of Mary of Bethany
that she had "chosen the good part which
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should not be taken away from her. ' ' (Luke
10:42.) V. He was "an old disciple." In the
year 46 Paul had visited Cyprus, on his first
missionary journey; but, apart from the
conversion of Sergius Paulus, the Gov
ernor of the island, there was little to show
for his ministry there. (Acts 13 : 4-12. ) The
probability is that Mnason was somewhere
else at the time ; but on his return he would
be likely to hear all about the apostle's mes
sage : and possibly this was when he accepted
Christ. If so he was now fifteen years "old"
in the Christian life.
VI. But the better rendering is " an early
disciple." (R. V.) As such he may have
heard the preaching of Christ himself and
been converted by it. Or perhaps he was
among those Cretans (Acts 2 :11) who, in the
open court at Jerusalem, under the power
of the Holy Ghost, were "pricked in their
heart," crying, "Men and brethren, what
shall we do?" If so, he may then have
heeded the call of Peter, "Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ. ' ' This would make him thirty
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
years "old" in the Christian life. A "dis
ciple" for thirty years and still going to
school. This is as it should be: for in the
University of Truth one is never too old to
learn. And think what a fund of helpful
experience this faithful pupil must have ac
quired in the meantime ; how he must have
grown in the knowledge of Christ and of the
great verities and practicalities that center
in him !
VII. He was a broad-minded Christian.
How do we know that ? From the fact that
he was in accord with Paul's missionary
work. If Paul were to present his plans in
some of our modern churches there are pro
fessing Christians who would say, "Why go
to the regions beyond when there are so
many of the unconverted here in Jerusalem ?
'Charity begins at home.' " But Mnason 's
charity, while it began at home, was not so
wizened as to stay there. He may have heard
the Master say, "Go ye into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every creature";
and he knew that followers of Christ could
only fulfill that commission by going, and

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keeping on going, until they should have
carried the Gospel to the last man.
VIII. And, finally, Mnason was a hospit
able man. His entertainment of Paul was,
however, more than mere compliance with
a custom which was universal in the Orient
of those days: it was a happy recognition
of the fellowship of saints. "Be not forget
ful to entertain strangers," says one of the
inspired writers, "for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews
13 : 2 ; cf Gen. 19 : 1-3.) The sojourn of Paul
in Mnason 's home in Jerusalem must, in
deed, have been like an angel's visit. What
an interchange of rich experience there
would be between these veterans, the old
missionary and his genial host!
Here we shall have to leave them. Paul's
"patient continuance" was drawing to a
close. While a guest in that home in Jeru
salem he was arrested and placed in the
Castle of Antonia; thence to prison in
Caesarea; thence to Rome and a martyr's
death. But old Mnason may have lingered
on. "Old Mnason?" What is finer than a
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Lapland winter? In the rare atmosphere
of a life maturing under the shadow of the
Cross one can look so far both ways! As
one's vessel leaves her moorings the skipper
toasts "The friends astern!" and farther
out, ' ' The friends ahead ! " A mother in Is
rael, much given to gazing upward, said, "I
always see the letter W yonder, as plain as
if it were written across the sky." It stood
for "Welcome." The Lord be praised for
such an outlook ! But, if we live to grow old,
may we never be so engaged with either the
retrospect or the prospect as not to be able
to address ourselves with holy zeal and pur
pose to the business immediately in hand;
which is to make each passing moment of
our lives endear us more and more to the
Father's heart by loyalty to his beloved Son.

124

EPAPHRODITUS: COMRADE
IN ARMS

125

Now Mr. Great-heart was a strong man, so he was
not afraid of a lion. But yet when they were come
up to the place where the lions were, the boys that
went before were now glad to cringe behind, for they
were afraid of the lions; so they stepped back and
went behind. At this their guide smiled and said,
"How now, my boys; do you love to go before when
no danger doth approach, and love to come behind
so soon as the lions appear?"

126

EPAPHRODITUS: COMRADE
IN ARMS
The story is of a journey made by a kind-
hearted man to relieve the need of an old
minister who had worn himself out in the
service of Christ. It is told in a nutshell.
See Philippians 2 : 25-30 and 4: 18.
The most important parish Paul ever had
was in the Praetorian camp at Rome. He
was a prisoner, to be sure, chained to a sol
dier day and night : but he "dwelt in his own
hired house and received all that came in
unto him." (Acts 28:30, 31.) He began
his ministry there a.d. 63, and for two years
continued to teach "those things which con
cern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confi
dence, no man forbidding him."
In giving an account of his circumstances
at this time he says, "I suffer trouble as an
evil-doer even unto bonds : but the word of
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
God is not bound." (2 Tim. 2: 9.) He could
always count on one hearer at least, namely,
the soldier chained to his wrist : and we may
be sure he preached the Gospel to him.
There were other soldiers, too, who would
be talking with one another over what Paul
had to say. These men of the Roman army
were recruited from all nations and liable
to be sent at any moment to a remote part
of the world ; and certainly they would carry
the Gospel with them. Besides, there were
"members of Caesar's household," that is,
influential persons attached to the imperial
service, who would naturally desire to hear
Paul: and we are definitely informed that
some of these were converted to Christ.
(Phil. 4: 22.) It is probable also that other
citizens of Rome would be curious to inter
view a prisoner whose extraordinary learn
ing was everywhere spoken of.
So Paul had no lack of an audience. And
if there were any spare moments he knew
how to fill them. Four of his weightiest
Epistles were written during this imprison
ment, being dictated to some friendly aman
uensis and signed with a chained hand.
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Those letters, like leaves of the tree of life,
went fluttering out to the scattered churches
and down the ages even to us.
A busy parish, indeed, but a wearing one.
Paul was now an old man, weary with a life
time of unremitting toil and burdened with
"oft infirmities." A sick old man! And
poor; for being unable to longer support
himself by his trade as a tent-maker, he was,
like Elijah by the brook Cherith, wholly de
pendent on the ravens of God. And the
ravens did not fail him.
In the city of Philippi, away in Mace
donia, the Christians heard that their old
friend and minister was in need. What was
to be done ? A " donation party, ' ' of course.
They made up a purse and chose a trust
worthy man to carry it to him. Here is
where Epaphroditus comes in. He was the
messenger. In acknowledging the gift Paul
says: "I have all and abound: I am full, having received
of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you,
an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well
pleasing to God."

129

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
On reaching Rome the messenger at once
betook himself to the Praetorian camp. The
last time he had seen Paul was probably five
or six years before in Philippi, where the
Christians kept the Passover with him.
(Acts 20 : 6.) It is safe to say that Epaphro
ditus was greatly moved by the change
which the intervening years of toil and suf
fering had wrought upon his old friend. But
no time was lost in condolences; the ques
tion was, how could he help him? It was
not enough to relieve his physical wants ; he
needed some one to stand by him in his min
istry ; and this Epaphroditus resolved to do.
He must have been a man of independent
means : else how could he afford to make the
long journey from Philippi to Rome and
prolong his absence for an indefinite time?
He must have remained with Paul for some
months, probably more than a year — a long
vacation for a man who was far from home
and travelling at his own charges. But what
a vacation it must have been for him ; listen
ing to Paul's "breathing thoughts in words
that burn" and helping him in a hundred
ways! 130

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
As the time drew near for his return a
letter was written for him to carry back to
the Philippian Church. In the beginning
of this letter Paul says :
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all making
request with joy, for your fellowship in the Gospel
from the first day until now."
And further on :
"I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphrodi
tus, my brother and companion in labor and fellow-
soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to
my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of
heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been
sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but
God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but
on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I
sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see
him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less
sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with
all gladness; and hold such in reputation: because
for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not
regarding his life, to supply your lack of service
toward me."
By this we are given to understand (1)
that Epaphroditus while at Rome was taken
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
desperately ill, being "nigh unto death";
(2) that his sickness was the result of his
earnest devotion to "the work of Christ";
(3) that he was homesick, "longing after
you all"; (4) that somehow his friends at
Philippi were advised of his illness and
were "sorrowful" on that account; (5) that
when Epaphroditus heard of their sorrow
he was "full of heaviness"; (6) that his re
covery was due to a special "mercy"; and
(7) that as he was now returning to Phi
lippi, he and Paul with all his other friends
would unite in thanksgiving to God.
Now above all this, observe the threefold
tribute which Paul pays to this man.
I. He calls him "my brother."
On a gravestone in a churchyard in Eng
land is a name followed by this brief inscrip
tion : ' ' The Friend of Milton. ' ' What honor
in those simple words ; but how much more
to have been a brother of Paul ! We are all
sons of God by creation ; but alas ! alienated
through sin. Were it not for the interposi
tion of Christ we should be hopelessly dis
inherited; but through him we receive "the
spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba,
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Father"; and so, being sons, we are also
heirs, "heirs of God and joint-heirs with
Christ to an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and that fadeth not away."
Not only so, we are thus brought into a
new relation with each other by virtue of
which we rightly call ourselves "brethren."
All this through him who, by his sacrificial
interest in our welfare, became the "First
born among many brethren," that is to say,
the Elder Brother of all who believe in him.
But Paul meant even more than this. For,
as Christ himself had a special place in his
heart for John, Peter and James, "the
chosen three," so we naturally come closer
to some of our friends than to others. It is
obvious that Epaphroditus, whose name
means "lovable," had made for himself a
singular place in Paul's affection. How
indeed could it have been otherwise, consid
ering that year of intimacy and mutual min
istry on the Palatine Hill ?
II. He also calls him "my companion in
labor." This must mean that he made himself use
ful in his ministry. Every pastor knows
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
what a gracious and blessed thing it is to
have the support and co-operation of the lay
men and lay-women of the parish. There
are all sorts of people on the formal roll of
every church; some of them recalcitrant.
more of them smilingly indifferent, but
others "companions in labor."
In looking back over the fifty years of my
ministry I pay tribute gratefully not only
to my Elders and Deacons, but to many
"ministering women" and oftentimes
humble men who, like Aaron and Hur, have
held up my hands in the heat and burden of
the day. How could I ever have gone on
without them?
In the gallery of the London Tabernacle
a lone old woman used to sit, Sunday after
Sunday, picking out a score of strange faces
in the congregation for whom to pray during
the week. Any one would have said she was
past her usefulness: but when Spurgeon
officiated at her funeral he gratefully re
ferred to her as his "best helper." Who
knows how many souls she had prayed into
the kingdom of God?
III. Paul's last word as to Epaphroditus
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
is his best one: he calls him "my fellow-
soldier." There is something pathetic in Paul's fre
quent references to military service. He
was himself the last man to be chosen as
a soldier; but how ambitious he was to put
on the whole armor of Christ and serve him
in the high places of the field! And was
ever a more gallant knight than he, or ever
a more puissant defender of the faith ?
But they say, "The faith needs no de
fence; it can defend itself." It is slackers
who speak that way. Christians who make
their influence tell are such as hold them
selves in readiness to maintain the truth
with a kindly but uncompromising front
against all comers. "Here I stand," said
Luther; "I cannot otherwise; God help
me"; and with his hammer on the Chapel
door at Wittenberg he sent the thunders of
the Reformation rolling around the world.
Such a man was Paul; and in Epaphro
ditus he found a kindred spirit. In Rome
they were under the shadow of the pagan
gods. When God was blasphemed or the
Cross reviled or the Scriptures assailed
135

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
could these two co-workers in arms keep si
lence, think you ? Nay, as ' ' fellow-soldiers ' '
they stood with shields overlapped and
lances poised for the defence of truth and
righteousness. O God, to us may grace be given
To follow in their train!

136

XI
ONESIMUS: A SLAVE

137

Now a little before it was day good Christian, as
one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech:
"What a fool," quoth he, "am I, thus to lie in a dun
geon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a
key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am
persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle." Then
said Hopeful, "That is good news ; good brother, pluck
it out of thy bosom and try."

138

XI
ONESIMUS: A SLAVE
The story of Onesimus is a melodrama in
five scenes.
Scene I. In the house of Philemon at
Colosse, a.d. 56.
For two years Paul had been preaching
in Ephesus and the adjacent towns. One of
these nearby towns was Colosse, where Paul
made the acquaintance of Philemon, a
weaver of prominence. It is quite possible
that Paul, who made his living by the kin
dred trade of tentmaking, had applied to
Philemon for work. In due time, almost as
a matter of course, this weaver was con
verted to Christ. His wife Apphia and his
son Archippus were baptized with him : and
presently we hear of "the church in the
house of Philemon," which was destined to
play an important part in subsequent events.
In this house Paul was accustomed to hold
divine service, with the family and neigh-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
bors gathered about him. The slaves of
Philemon were also present, of whom he
probably had a considerable number en
gaged in his shop and warehouses.
Get the picture in mind : Paul preaching
in an open court ; before him Philemon with
his wife Apphia and his son Archippus;
friends, neighbors and many slaves among
whom was Onesimus, his face troubled and
resentful. He was probably a captive of
war, the Roman custom being to reduce all
such to slavery. If so, his bitter heart was
poor soil for Gospel seed. The injustice of
his bonds rankled within him. He was at
odds with fate, with his master and with
God. Scene II. In the Praetorian camp at
Rome. a.d. 64.
Eight years have passed. In the mean
time many things have happened. Paul had
gone hither and yon on his missionary jour
neys, crossing deserts and climbing moun
tains to preach the Gospel of Christ. He
had endured "perils of robbers, perils by his
own countrymen, perils by the heathen,
perils in the city, perils in the wilderness,
140

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
perils in the sea." He had known "weari
ness and painfulness, hunger and thirst,
fastings often, cold and nakedness." He
had been stoned more than once and had suf
fered shipwreck. Five times he had "re
ceived forty stripes save one." He had
tasted prison fare in many cities. He had
spent two dreary years in the Castle at
Caesarea; after which, falling back on his
rights as a Roman citizen, he had made his
appeal to Caesar. He had now reached
Rome. Though a prisoner in the barracks
he was allowed a certain measure of free
dom, being permitted to dwell in "his own
hired house" and to receive his friends.
One day a wretched man in rags and
tatters came to visit him. He was worn and
emaciated, with a hunted look in his eyes.
It was the slave Onesimus, who had heard
the Gospel in the house of Philemon so long
ago. Paul received him, won his confidence
and brought him to the saving knowledge of
Christ. Then came his confession: he had
escaped from his master and had made his
way through danger and difficulty to Rome,
a thousand miles away. It sounds like the
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
stories we used to hear of negroes fleeing
through the Dismal Swamp with blood
hounds baying behind them. The runaway
had hoped, no doubt, to lose himself among
the throngs of Rome ; for there is no wilder
ness like a great city: but conscience pur
sued him. He confessed to Paul that he was
not only a fugitive but a thief. He had
robbed his master. How could he become
a Christian with that frightful shadow over
him ? The advice of Paul was that he should
at once return to his master and give him
self up.
Scene III. On shipboard, somewhere on
the Adriatic.
The slave, in pursuance of Paul's advice,
has taken passage for Colosse. He carries
with him a precious scroll, a letter addressed
by Paul to his old master. He takes it from
beneath the lapel of his cloak and reads it.
Here it is.*
"Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our
brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker,
and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow-
soldier, and to the church in thy house: Grace to you
* The Epistle to Philemon.
142

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. I thank my God always, making mention of thee in
my prayers, hearing of thy love and of the faith which
thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the
saints; that the fellowship of thy faith may become
effectual in the knowledge of every good thing which
is in you, unto Christ. For I had much joy and com
fort in thy love; because the hearts of the saints
have been refreshed through thee, brother.
Wherefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to
enjoin thee that which is befitting, yet for love's sake
I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul the aged,
and now a prisoner also of Christ Jesus. I beseech
thee for my child whom I have begotten in my bonds,
Onesimus, who once was unprofitable to thee, but now
is profitable to thee and to me: whom I have sent
back to thee in his own person, that is, my very
heart: whom I would fain have kept with me, that
in my behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds
of the Gospel: but without thy mind I would do
nothing: that thy goodness should not be as of neces
sity but of free will. For perhaps he was therefore
parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have
him for ever: no longer as a servant, but more than a
servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how
much rather to thee, both in the flesh and in the
Lord. If then thou countest me a partner, receive
him as myself. But if he hath wronged thee at all,
or oweth thee aught, put that to mine account: I
143

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Paul write it with mine own hand; I will repay it:
that I say not unto thee that thou owest to me even
thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have
joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.
Having confidence in thine obedience I write unto
thee, knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what I
say. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I
hope that through your prayers I shall be granted
unto you.
Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus,
saluteth thee: and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas,
Luke, my fellow-workers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your
spirit. Amen.
This is, in some ways, the mosi remark
able of all Paul's letters. (1) Observe its
brevity: only twenty-five verses. (2) Its
courtesy: it has been called "the polite
Epistle." (3) Its rhetorical finish. Most
of Paul's letters are distinguished for
strength and directness; this betrays the
scholarly culture of a man who had gradu
ated from the University of Jerusalem.
(4) It is the only one of his letters addressed
to a layman. The others are either general,
parochial or pastoral. (5) It was written
with Paul's own hand. In other cases he
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
made use of an amanuensis ; which was nec
essary not only by reason of his age and in
firmities but because he was a prisoner in
bonds. Here, however, the writing is his
very own ; and his friendship for Philemon
is emphasized by that fact. It is safe to say
the lines were uncertain and the characters
rude ; but what would we not give to see that
tremulous autograph, "I, Paul, with mine
own hand"; "The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with your spirit. ' '
In this letter Philemon is enjoined to re
ceive his former slave and forgive all. Not
even the theft must be remembered against
him. "If he hath wronged thee at all,"
writes Paul, "or oweth thee aught, put that
to mine account. I, Paul, write it with mine
own hand; I will repay it." This sounds
like a promissory note ; but considering the
financial status of Paul it could scarcely be
expected that he would ever pay it. He re
minds Philemon, however, that he has a run
ning account with him which he proposes to
draw on: "That I say not unto thee that
thou owest to me even thine own self be
sides. ' ' But he engages that Onesimus shall
145

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
make all possible restitution, saying, "He
who was in time past unprofitable shall now
be profitable unto thee." Further still he
enjoins Philemon to receive his slave no
longer as a slave but as a fellow-Christian,
saying, "If then thou countest me a partner,
receive him as myself." Onesimus had for
merly been a shiftless bondman ; but hence
forth he was to be not only a "brother be
loved" but a profit-sharer in the service of
Christ. Here verily is the Christian spirit ;
for in this fellowship there is neither Jew
nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free, but Christ is all in all.
So runs the philosophy of the Gospel.
Down go the artificial walls of caste ! How
hard it is for us to realize it ! We are slow
to admit that blood is thicker than water;
and that in the atoning blood of Christ a kin
ship is created which bridges the gulf be
tween prince and peasant, between master
and man, between the stately housewife and
Cinderella at her kitchen fire.
Scene IV. At the doorway of Philemon's
house in Colosse.
The critical moment of the runaway's life
146

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
has come. He has been sustained thus far
by a Power above his own ; shall that Power
now fail him ? His heart is in his throat as
he approaches Philemon's house. He
knocks; the door opens; he stands face to
face with his old master. Of what is Phile
mon thinking, with that masterful look in
his eyes ? Of the bastinado ? He takes the
scroll and opens it. As he reads he changes
countenance: the angry wrinkles are
smoothed out; a warm hand is extended,
"Welcome, Onesimus, my brother in
Christ!" So ends the story, like the "Mystery of
Edwin Drood." But tradition furnishes a
sequel ; it says that Onesimus became a faith
ful toiler in the shop of Philemon ; that he
hved a consistent Christian life ; that in later
years he became pastor of the Colossian
Church, and that he finally sealed his faith
fulness with martyrdom, going up to heaven
in a chariot of fire.
Scene V. At Heaven's Gate.
What a meeting between Master and
slave ! They have been together in glory for
nineteen hundred years. How little now
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
must seem all differences of birth, of culture
and adventitious circumstance, such as once
so widely separated them.
There are two concluding thoughts that
press upon us. One is, Progress is a fact.
The slave-market in Rome was the indus
trial center of the world at the beginning of
the Christian era. The imperial armies went
forth to conquest and returned with long
processions of captives who were then ex
posed for sale. There were only two thou
sand patricians or independent men in the
city of Rome and half a million slaves. The
auction block furnished the shops with
toilers, the arena with gladiators and the
brothels with inmates. These slaves lived
like cattle in stalls or ergastulce; and when
they died they were thrown to the fishes or
cast into pits. All this was horrible beyond
words. God knew it ; and he proposed to do
away with it. But his ways are not our ways.
Christ came into the world to break every
chain and bid the oppressed go free. The
Gospel is full of abolitionism; but not like
that of John Brown of Osawatomie. There
is more of patient love and less of battle in
it. 148

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to
leaven which works noiselessly but in due
time leavens the lump. Our Lord set certain
great principles in motion which were des
tined to bring about the desired result. He
gave the world his Golden Rule: "Do unto
others as ye would be done by. ' ' How glori
ously that principle has been at work! We
are told by scientists that leaven is a mass
of living cells; that fermentation is not
death and decay but a manifestation of life.
So is God's love in the world. God is love,
and love is life. God has manifested himself
in Christ, who said, "I am come that ye
might have life and that ye might have it
more abundantly." His Gospel is love
alive. Its influence is transforming the
world. Men and nations are drawing closer
together and seeing face to face and eye to
eye. We may not precipitate the Golden
Age ; but we can lend a hand to bring it in.
We can fall in with those who follow the
conquering Christ and, by interpreting di
vine love in terms of practical life, we may
hasten the coming of the time when all alike
shall enter into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. 149

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
The world has been drawing nearer and
nearer to the brotherhood of man as it has
learned more and more of the Fatherhood
of God. All civilization is to-day embraced
within the charmed circle which we call
Christendom ; and of the nations within its
bounds there is not one which tolerates
slavery. "He that believeth shall not make
haste." The other concluding thought is of the
transforming power of the Gospel.
In Luther's exposition of this Scripture
he says "We are all Onesimi"; by which I
suppose he means that we are all fugitives
from justice; "for there is no difference;
all have sinned and come short of the glory
of God. ' ' We are runaways from truth and
duty, from conscience and from God: and
by the mediation of Christ we are brought
back and reconciled. Christ stands for us
at the bar of offended Justice ; and the plea
which he there makes is the very same that
Paul made for Onesimus; to wit, "If this
man hath wronged thee or oweth thee aught,
put that to mine account. I, Christ, with
mine own hand: I will repay it."
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Nor is that all. He proposes to recon
struct us ; so that whereas we have been un
profitable servants we may now be profitable
unto God. He turns us right about face.
He regenerates us by his Spirit ; so that "old
things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new." He who truly submits
himself to the power of Christ gets a new
mind, a new heart, a new conscience and a
new will. Is there any power on earth ex
cept the Gospel which can do that? We
speak of the mystery of regeneration; but
however mysterious it may be there is no
denying it. The miracle is constantly going
on. How often have we seen a drunkard
taken out of the gutter and set upon his feet
by the grace of God! How often have we
seen a forlorn woman taken out of her shame
and restored to character and self-respect
by the Gospel ! We may not be able to ex
plain it; but there it is.
Blessed vbe God for his unspeakable gift!

151

XII
SOSTHENES: "MY BROTHER'

153

After this it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant-
for-truth was taken with a summons by the same post
as the other, and had this for a token that the sum
mons was true; that his "pitcher was broken at the
fountain." When he understood it he called for his
friends and told them of it. Then said he, "I am
going to my Father's; and though with great diffi
culty I have got hither, yet now I do not repent me of
all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am.
My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my
pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can
get it."

154

XII
SOSTHENES: "MY BROTHER"
We have only two passing references to
this man. But we remember that it was a
pair of faint footprints in the sand that gave
Robinson Crusoe a companion in his lone
liness and changed the desolate island of
Juan Fernandez into a Republic.
The first reference to Sosthenes is in the
year 54, in connection with Paul's second
missionary journey. On reaching Corinth
the apostle settled down to an evangelistic
campaign which lasted a year and a half.
He began preaching in the synagogue, per
suading the Jews that "this Jesus is the
Christ." The master of the synagogue, by
name Crispus, was converted and — losing
his position, of course — was succeeded by
Sosthenes, who appears to have been a de
voted Jew. 155

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
This was the beginning of trouble. Paul
was driven out of the synagogue and made
his headquarters "hard by" in the house of
one Justus, where many Gentiles were con
verted during eighteen months of Paul's
"teaching the word of God among them."
This led to the arrest of Paul on a
trumped-up charge; and, inasmuch as Sos
thenes was in court and conspicuous there
as the ruler of the synagogue, there is good
ground for assuming that he was the com
plainant in the case. The proceedings are
recorded thus :
"And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the
Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul,
and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, This
fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to
the law. And when Paul was now about to open his
mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter
of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would
that I should bear with you: but if it be a question
of words and names and of your law, look ye to it;
for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave
them from the judgment seat."
This afforded the Gentiles an occasion for
venting their spleen against the despised
Jews, of which they took immediate advan-
156

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
tage by beating Sosthenes "before the judg
ment seat."
It is safe to say that Sosthenes crept away
from that disorderly court with a bitter
heart that day: but possibly the beating
which he there received was the best thing
that could have happened to him. It may
have turned his thoughts toward Paul as a
fellow-sufferer and moved him toward a
more reasonable view of the Gospel. This
is one of the important uses of adversity.
Simon of Cyrene might never have become a
Christian but for the fact that the mob on
Via Dolorosa seized upon him and "com
pelled him to bear the cross." Luther was
converted by the sudden and violent death
of a companion. Many a prodigal has been
brought to his senses by a famine in the
land. "Blest be the sorrow, kind the storm
That drives us nearer home."
In any case, something must have oc
curred to reverse the attitude of Sosthenes
toward Christ; for the next and only time
we hear of him is five years later, a.d. 59,
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
where he appears as a companion of Paul.
The First Epistle to the Corinthians, which
was written at Philippi in that year, begins
thus: Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through
the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the
church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with
all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto
you, and peace from God our Father and from the
Lord Jesus Christ.
If this was the same Sosthenes — and I
see no reason for thinking otherwise — he
had followed many of his coreligionists into
the conclusion that "this Jesus is the
Christ." The man whom Paul could call
his "brother" must have been very near to
him. Could it possibly mean that Paul, so
strenuous in maintaining his own dignity as
an apostle, was prepared to receive this man
into the fraternity of "the Apostolic succes
sion"? If to be an apostle is to be "a sent
one," then all who go in pursuance of the
Great Commission are apostles by divine
right. 158

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
However that may be, it certainly means
that Sosthenes was a yoke-fellow of Paul's
in the service of Christ; else how could he
yoke up with him in a greeting "to them that
are called and sanctified in Christ Jesus"!
For to what are we "called" but to his serv
ice; and unto what are we "sanctified" but
the holiness that expresses itself in loyalty
to him?
But "my brother" means more even than
that ; it designates the closest tie of personal
friendship. No man ever craved friendship
more than Paul ; his letters are heavy with
loneliness whenever no comrade is beside
him. The handclasp was everything to him.
If a single lesson only is to be drawn from
the brief monograph of this man, let it be
The Importance of Friendship in the Chris
tian Life. "Two are better than one: . . .
for if they fall, the one will lift up his fel
low: but woe to him that is alone when he
falleth, for he hath not another to help him
up." A youth on coming to the city is naturally
disposed to clasp hands with almost anybody
who greets him in a friendly way. It is so
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
lonely in this populous wilderness that the
first comer is likely to be first served. Yet
what immeasurable possibilities of good or
evil influences are in that first handclasp!
Character, usefulness, happiness, even eter
nal destiny may be wrapped up in it.
A man once bought a parrot of a sea-
captain and found to his horror that it had
contracted the habit of swearing. In the
hope of reforming it he borrowed from a
pious neighbor another parrot that had been
taught to say its prayers. The natural thing
came to pass; both parrots were presently
engaged in a vigorous competition of pro
fanity. It is scarcely necessary to say that the
friend who is to be "my brother" must be in
sympathy with me in the important plans
and purposes of my life. "Can two walk
together except they be agreed ? ' ' My friend
must have tastes and ambitions like mine;
else he cannot be truly responsive to me. We
must be agreed as to the underlying prin
ciples of life. Sympathy suggests the mag
net ; antipathy, the repulsion of the negative
pole. Two persons who are antipathetic
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
may get on comfortably as long as they keep
their distance ; but they are mutually repel-
lant at close quarters.
This is the reason why no Christian can
wisely strike hands in a covenant of friend
ship with one who denies the truth of the
Gospel, which is the very heart and center
of his life. To the one Christ is all in all ;
to the other He hath no form nor comeliness
and there is no beauty that he should desire
Him. It is recorded in the biography of John
Angell James that at the age of thirteen he
was taken out of school and apprenticed to
a linen-draper. On the first night, on being
assigned to a dormitory with other appren
tices, he waited anxiously as they were re
tiring to see whether there were any Chris
tians among them. He seemed to be the only
one. All went to bed without saying their
prayers; and he, lacking the courage that
makes heroes, followed the fashion. This
continued for a fortnight, when an incident
occurred that changed the whole tenor of his
fife. A new apprentice came who, on retir
ing, knelt down beside his bed; and little
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
John did likewise. That was the beginning
of a lifelong friendship. "I shall always
bless God," he wrote, "for the friendship
of Charley B." Happy is the Christian
youth who, in like manner, finds a kindred
spirit and "grapples him to his soul with
hooks of steel."
One Friend there is who stands the test of
all ordeals and is faithful unto death — aye,
and beyond it. He is a Friend ' ' that sticketh
closer than a brother." The proof of his
fidelity has been put to the utmost strain
and endured it.
The friendship of Jonathan for his rustic
friend David was effectively tried and ap
proved when he left the palace and went
out after David, then an exile hunted like a
partridge among the hills, and "sought him
in the wood." This is precisely what Christ
did for us in our extremity ; when there was
no eye to pity and no arm to help, He
"sought us in the wood." He made bare
His arm in our behalf, befriended us, took
our burden upon Him, died to save us. He
is a friend in all sorts of weather. His prom
ise is, "I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee." 162

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Blest friendship of Jesus! It stands all
tests, endures all trials, triumphs over death
itself and lasts forever. He is the "first
born among many brethren," the Elder
Brother of us all. A friend so true has
reason to expect fidelity in us.

163

XIII
TITUS: "MY PARTNER"

165

"Come a little way with me, and I will teach thee
about the way thou must go. Look before thee ; dost
thou see this narrow way? It was cast up by the
patriarchs, prophets, Christ and the apostles, and it
is as straight as a rule can make it. This is the way
thou must go."

166

XIII
TITUS: "MY PARTNER"
Paul had a warm place in his heart for
earnest youth. Three of his most faithful
helpers were young men. There was John
Mark, son of the widow Mary of Jerusalem ;
who set out with Paul on his first missionary
journey and, after flinching in the face of
danger, recovered himself and became as
unswervingly true as steel. Then Timothy,
"the gentle youth of Lystra," who was
chosen to be Paul's courier on his second
journey, his successor in the pastorate of
the Ephesian Church and his "true yoke
fellow" to the very end. And now comes
Titus, who by reason of his singular tact,
good judgment and unfailing courage was
selected for many difficult tasks.
John Mark was a Jew by lineage; Tim
othy was of mixed blood, his father a Greek,
and his mother a Jewess ; but Titus was an
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
unadulterated pagan (Gal. 2:3), brought up
to worship the Olympian gods.
He was one of Paul's converts. This is
indicated by the words "mine own son"
i( Titus 1:4). Paul was foster-father to all
the young men referred to : and there is no
tie of consanguinity so close and tender as
that which binds the brought soul to the
bringer. There is an anticipation of the
very joy of heaven in it.
I. The first mention of Titus is in con
nection with the Council at Jerusalem in
the year 52.
This was just after the first missionary
journey; when the mother church at Jeru
salem was insisting that Gentile converts
must become proselytes to Judaism and sub
mit to the requirements of the Levitical law,
as a sort of half-way house on the way to a
Christian profession. Paul, as the apostle
to the Gentiles, felt called upon to champion
their rights. It was this that took him to the
Council at Jerusalem. He was accompanied
by Barnabas his colleague and Titus (Gal.
2:1-5). There was a special reason for
taking Titus with him, as we shall see.
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
At this far distance it is scarcely possible
to realize the vital issues that were involved
in the conclusions of that early Council. A
candle was lighted there which was destined
to throw its beams along all the succeeding
ages. The question under discussion was
centered on Titus; who, as it appears, de
manded admission to the Church on the sole
condition of faith. He stood on his two
feet as the original Non-conformist, declin
ing to yield an inch to the Judaizers who as
Paul says "sought to bring us into bond
age." All praise to the courage of this
young man! Let him line up with Luther
in the great protest, "Here I stand; I can
not otherwise ; God help me!" For the note
that rang out in that Council was the very
same that fifteen centuries later was des
tined to await the dormant religious world ;
namely, the doctrine of Justification by
Faith, which was then characterized as "the
article of a standing or a falling church."
II. The next appearance of Titus was
eight years later, a.d. 60. A year before this
Paul had written his First Epistle to the
Corinthians; which is the severest of his let-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
ters. In his absence' the members of the Cor
inthian Church had fallen into evil ways.
They had separated into parties, saying "I
am of Paul," and "I of Apollos" and "I of
Cephas." Moreover, many had been led
away by false teachers into all manner of
fantastic heresies: while still others had
drifted back into complicity with the wor
ship of false gods. One man in particular,
evidently an influential member of the
church, was known to be living in shameless
sin and yet nothing had been done. No won
der Paul's letter was filled with burning
words of reproof. No wonder, either,
that it stirred up a great commotion in
the Corinthian Church. So hot was the
indignation of the people there against Paul
that it really looked as if they would have
nothing more to do with him.
What was to be done? It was useless for
Paul to think of going to Corinth in his own
behalf, since no welcome would await him.
He might send some one to represent him,
if only a man of sufficient tact, firmness and
sound judgment could be found. Titus
proved to be that man. He went to Corinth
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
and remained long enough to restore faith,
harmony and discipline among the church
members there.
Meanwhile Paul was carrying on an evan
gelistic campaign in Ephesus. He had ar
ranged to meet Titus at Troas on his return
from Corinth, and took pains to be there
at the appointed time: but there were no
signs of Titus. He improved the time, how
ever, by preaching and with signal success.
"A great and effectual door" was open be
fore him (2 Cor. 2: 12, 13), but so anxious
was he to hear from Corinth that he had "no
rest in his spirit." He set out accordingly
to find Titus. This is the only occasion, so
far as the record goes, when Paul ever failed
to enter an open door.
A happy surprise awaited him. On meet
ing with Titus he learned that all the diffi
culties in Corinth had been satisfactorily ar
ranged, and that the Christians there had
settled down to fraternal co-operation in
service. The news was so far beyond what
Paul had expected or hoped for ("What
sorrow of a godly sort, what earnest care,
yea, what clearing of yourselves, what fear,
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
what indignation, what longing, what zeal,
what avenging!") that he immediately sat
down and wrote another letter, the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians, which is as loving
and congratulatory as the former Epistle
was reproachful and severe.
The credit for this happy adjustment of
affairs at Corinth was, under God, most
largely due to Titus, who as Paul's inter
mediary had shown himself a diplomatist of
singular ability. The way was now clear for
the apostle to carry on his evangelistic work
without let or hindrance. "I am filled with
comfort," he writes, "I am exceeding joy
ful. God hath greatly comforted me by the
coming of Titus." Elsewhere he speaks in
more enthusiastic terms; "Thanks be unto
God who always causeth us to triumph in
Christ!" Old, weary and burdened with
oft infirmities, he deems himself, in this new
evidence of sustaining grace, a very con-
querer, bringing new conquests to the glory
of God.
But this was not all that Titus had accom
plished at Corinth. While Paul was jour
neying hither and yon among the Gentiles,
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
his fellow-countrymen at Jerusalem were
suffering from famine; and wherever he
went he besought the Gentile Christians to
honor the broad-minded fellowship of the
Gospel by contributing to their need. The
Corinthians had thus far made an inade
quate response to his appeal ; but the report
of Titus encouraged Paul to renew that ap
peal with greater urgency. "Now he that
ministereth seed to the sower increase the
fruits of your righteousness." Whether
they complied or not is another matter ; but
certainly Titus had opened the way for an
enlargement of their hearts. One thing is
clear; he believed, as all Christians should,
that "social service," while not the primary
function of the Church, must ever go hand
in hand with the winning of souls.
III. The next we hear of Titus is five years
later (a.d. 65) in the island of Crete. Mean
while Paul had been arrested and confined as
a prisoner in the Praetorian camp at Rome.
On being brought to trial before Nero he
was "delivered out of the mouth of the
lion." (2 Tim. 4:16, 17.) When released he
at once prepared for another missionary
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
journey. The ship on which he and his com
panions sailed touched at the island of Crete,
where a few unorganized believers were
making a brave struggle to maintain their
Christian life. The people there were no
torious for lying, indolence and sensuality:
which was all the more reason why the Chris
tians among them must be cared for. But
who, in that little group of missionaries,
could be trusted with so difficult a field?
Who but Titus ? No doubt the parting cost
a wrench; but he was left behind, and the
ship sailed on.
On reaching Nicopolis the old apostle was
constrained to rest a while ; and he took the
occasion to write a letter of instruction and
encouragement to the young minister in his
hard parish (the Epistle to Titus). Here
ends the record of Paul. It was probably in
Nicopolis that he was rearrested and carried
back to Rome where, after a brief confine
ment in the Mammertine jail, he was led
forth to his execution under the walls.
IV. But we have one more reference to
Titus, though brief and incidental. While
Paul was in the Mammertine awaiting his
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
second trial he wrote a letter to Timothy in
which he begged him to come. Listen to
the lonely old man: "Do thy diligence to
come shortly unto me. Only Luke (the ever
faithful physician) is with me. Demas hath
forsaken me; having loved this present
world. (Poor Demas; this is all we know
about him.) Crescens is gone to Galatia (on
a necessary errand, no doubt, and Titus
unto Dalmatia." (2 Tim. 4:9, 10.)
To Dalmatia — a pagan country up among
the dangerous hills on the border of the
Adriatic Sea ! Why there ? Had the wan
derlust of Paul taken possession of him?
Was he gone upon a mission of salvation to
souls in the regions beyond? If so, all the
blessings of the Lord go with him ! So shall
he best perpetuate the influence of his worn-
out captain.
One word more before we part company
with this young man. The word in Greek
is koinonos, which our translators have aptly
rendered "partner"; that is a yokefellow
and profit-sharer in one's business. Now
listen to Paul: "If any do inquire of Titus,
he is my partner." (2 Cor. 8: 23.) Great
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
credentials ! Of no other of his companions
does he speak in that way.
And it meant more than to be partner with
Paul; for to join hands with Christ's work
men is to be partner with Christ himself in
labor of love and patience of hope. The
time may come when we shall hear further
of Titus' mission to Dalmatia: in the mean
time let us give heed to the injunction, "In
the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thy hand ; for thou knowest not
whether shall prosper, either this or that";
and let us rest in the promise, "He that
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoic
ing, bringing his sheaves with him."

176

XIV
PHOEBE: THE "DEACONESS"

177

Then they told him of Mercy, and how she had
left her town and her kindred to come along with
Christiana and with her sons. At that the old honest
man said, "Mercy is thy name: by mercy shalt thou
be sustained and carried through all those difficulties
that shall assault thee in thy way."

178

xrv
PHOEBE: THE "DEACONESS"
It will be remembered that Paul on his
second missionary journey stopped at Cor
inth for an evangelistic campaign of a year
and a half. There were many converts to
show for it ; among them such notable ones
as Aquila and Priscilla, Crispus the ruler of
the synagogue and Sosthenes his successor,
Justus in whose house Paul preached after
being driven out of the synagogue and Gaius
"mine host," evidently an influential man.
Just across the narrow isthmus, not ten
miles from Corinth, lay the busy seaport
town of Cenchrea, where Paul probably
preached as in other suburban places. Pres
ently (a.d. 55) a church was organized
there, and Phoebe became a member of it.
Five years later Paul was again in Cor
inth and while there wrote his Epistle to
the Romans; an inspired masterpiece of
logic which struck the keynote of orthodoxy
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
for the universal church through all the suc
ceeding ages. It chanced that Phoebe was
just then meditating a journey to Rome and
the conveying of this Epistle was entrusted
to her.
The last chapter of the Epistle is devoted
to salutations: it begins thus:
"I commend unto you Phcebe our sister, who is a
servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: that ye
receive her in the Lord as becometh saints, and that
ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of
you: for she hath been a succorer of many, and of
myself also."
By this it would appear, first, that Phoebe
was a woman of some consequence, since she
had planned a long journey on business of
her own : second, that she was prominent as
"a servant" in the affairs of the Cenchrean
church. Third, that she held an official po
sition of some sort connected with the relief
of the poor. The Greek word here rendered
"succorer" is prostatis, literally, one who
stands by in case of need. In classical Greek
the word was used of the trainer in the
Olympic games, who stood by the athletes to
see that they were properly trained and not
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
overtrained and rightly girded when they
lined up for the signal.
In my first parish I had a Board of Dea
cons who were willing but comparatively in
efficient, owing to the fact that their access
to the mothers and children who needed
assistance was greatly limited in the neces
sity of the case. We solved the difficulty by
appointing two women to supplement their
work ; with the result not only that the inner
most places of needy homes were made
accessible, but that the Deacons themselves
were greatly helped and encouraged, and
that the Diaconate was no longer "a fifth
wheel," but a most efficient arm of the
church service. That was forty years ago;
and the plan continues in that parish to this
day. By this brief reference to Phcebe we are
moved to a consideration of the position of
women generally in the Christian Church.
It is a singular fact — and unaccountable
without a due regard to the divine origin of
Christianity — that the only countries where
womanhood is duly honored are those em
braced within the charmed circle known as
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Paul's Companions
"Christendom," that is, such as are under
the luminous shadow of the Cross.
The first of the Messianic prophecies,
uttered at the gateway of Paradise imme
diately after the fall, announced that the
coming Christ was to be "the seed of wo
man"; and in the fulness of time "the Lord
of all good Christians was of a woman
born." By that supernatural birth all wo
manhood was honored.
"And Mary said, 'My soul doth magnify the Lord,
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour; for
he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall
call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to
me great things; and holy is his name!'"
In the ministry of Jesus he constantly and
consistently honored the "ministering wo
men" who attended upon him and served
him in manifold ways. Compare his atti
tude with that of Mohammed, whose Surah
on womanhood in the Koran is entitled,
"The Cow," and whose heaven is peopled
with harems of houris for men. Or compare
it with the treatment of women in India,
where a woman's only hope of heaven is in
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
the remote contingency that some time, in
the endless circle of transmigrations, she
may chance to be born a man !
The attitude of the apostles in this partic
ular was like that of their Master. Read
again the story of John's foster-care of the
bereaved mother of Jesus, in John 19 : 25-27.
Read of the many services rendered by wo
men to Paul in his missionary work and his
grateful tributes to them.
At this point it is likely that some one is
thinking of what Paul said to the women of
Corinth and Ephesus about the shame of
worshipping "with their heads unveiled"
(1 Cor. 11: 5) and about "keeping silence"
in the churches. (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:
11, 12.) Let it be remembered, however,
that in Ephesus there were thousands of so-
called "priestesses" whose persons were con
secrated to the licentious worship of the
Olympian gods, that thousands of women of
like character were devoted to "great Diana
of the Ephesians," and that their abomina
ble calling was advertised by their uncov
ered heads and their vociferous part in the
temple rites; and Paul's words will appear
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
in a more reasonable light. The veil of mod
esty is the peculiar adornment of a Christian
woman. In the Gospel she has a blessed opportu
nity of serving in three distinct coigns of
vantage. The first is the home. God be praised for
the Christian home! What a realm for a
queen! "Wife," "mother," "daughter,"
"sister" — what sacred memories gather
around those words in Christian lands ! It
is so everywhere. An American tourist and
his Turkish dragoman were once passing
through Cairo when an old woman spoke to
the dragoman, who immediately turned
and spat in her face. In answer to the
American's remonstrance he said, "Pooh,
what should I do? She's my mother!"
Would that be possible;, think you, in any
country where the Gospel holds sway?
The second of the peculiar spheres of use
fulness open to women in Christian lands is
Charity. Who shall do justice to their "la
bor of love and patience of hope"? There
was a woman, back in the time of the Cri
mean war, who used to make her way at
184

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
night among the wounded with a lamp in
hand, administering "first aid" to suffering
bodies and souls. I can remember seeing her
picture and under it the familiar name by
which the grateful soldiers knew her, "The
Lady with the Lamp." How many such
ministering women there have been; how
many under the blessed shadow of the Red
Cross in these last days!
The third and most important sphere of
woman's work is in the Church: sometimes
as deaconesses; more frequently as "proph
etesses" or Biblical teachers, like the
daughters of Philip (Acts 21 : 9) . The Sun
day Schools of Christendom are (strange
word!) manned by women. And what shall
be said of their efficiency in the great mis
sionary propaganda at home and abroad?
The mothers and daughters in the zenanas
of the Orient are accessible to their devoted
"succorers"; many have been their con
quests for Christ. "Give them of the fruit
of their hands, and let their own works
praise them in the gates!"
Now, behold, I show unto you a great mys
tery. In view of all the foregoing how is it
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
that any thoughtful woman in this land of
light can refrain from loving and serving
Christ! The most seemly tributes she can
pay in return for his benefactions are
neither tears of remembrance nor spices for
his anointing, but the gold and myrrh and
frankincense of grateful love and devotion.
So let all the women of Israel, like Mary of
Magdala, fall down before him with the cry
"Babboni! my Master!"

186

XV
A BODY GUARD

187

"This book will make a traveler of thee,
If by its counsel thou wilt ruled be."
John Bunyan

188

XV
A BODY GUARD
Paul set out on his third missionary jour
ney in the year 53. On reaching Ephesus he
found, a field ripe for the sickle and re
mained three years. He then pushed on by
easy stages to Corinth, where he spent three
fruitful months. He was now forty-seven
years of age and physically a worn man.
This was perhaps the reason for his assem
bling a group of trusty friends to accompany
him from then on. (Acts 20: 1-4.)
To begin with, there was faithful Tim
othy, his spiritual son. The next was So-
pater, a native of Berea and therefore
probably a Biblical expert. Then Secundus
of Thessalonica, of whom we know nothing
more. The next, Tychicus, was destined to
prove himself a faithful companion and
efficient servitor in many ways. (Eph.
6:21; Col. 4 : 7 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 12. ) Trophimus
was soon obliged to drop out of the company,
being left behind at Miletus sick. (2 Tim.
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
4:20.) Old Gaius of Derb had been bap
tized by Paul (1 Cor. 1 : 14) and never for
got it. He showed his gratitude not only by
entertaining Paul but by suffering with and
for him. (Acts 19:29). And finally there
was Aristarchus of Thessalonica, a fellow-
sufferer (Acts 19 : 29) : who was with Paul
on his last eventful voyage (Acts 27 : 2) and
shared the hardships of his weary imprison
ment at Rome. (Col. 4: 10; Philemon 24.)
I. Observe that these seven were nobodies,
that is, their achievements were not in the
lime-light. Practically all that we know of
them is that they were associated with Paul
in missionary work. But that is enough.
Their virtues and accomplishments are re
corded in heaven. "The Master praises:
what are men?"
II. Observe how Paul, in gathering this
group of helpers about him, anticipated one
of the most important conclusions of our
modern Missionary Boards, namely, the
Value of the Phalanx.
Time was when men, and occasionally wo
men, went out all alone with their message
to the regions beyond ; but never now. Ex-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
perience has taught the importance of (to
use a good old word now obsolete) "opitu-
lation." Little wonder that Paul's heart sank
within him when, standing alone in the mar
ket-place of Athens, he beheld on every side
the evidences of "a city wholly given to idol
atry": little wonder that he longed "for
Silas and Timotheus to come to him with all
speed." By the time he was ready to pur
sue his third missionary journey he had
come to fully realize the importance of hav
ing a competent staff of helpers. They ad
vanced to their work like a Spartan phalanx,
shoulder to shoulder, with shields over
lapped: and their co-operation yielded a
harvest which could never have been gath
ered from the seed-sowing of a lone man.
A group of young Christians at Oxford
got together at the flood-tide of infidelity
two hundred years ago for mutual prayer
and conference. They were dubbed "The
Holy Club"; but in spite of the jeering op
position of their fellow-students they went
right on. And how far that little candle
threw its beams! At graduation they
191

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
parted for their several ways; but the tie
that bound George Whitefield and the Wes
ley brothers and four ofjher members of the
Holy Club was never broken. Out of that
little group issued radiating lines of sanc
tified power that eventuated in the organiza
tion of the great Methodist Church, whose
lines have since gone forth into all the
world !
In the middle of the last century a few
students in one of our Theological Semi
naries, hearing of the desperate need of the
Gospel on our Western frontiers, organized
what they called "The Dakota Band,"
pledging themselves to home missions. On
graduating they turned their faces toward
the destitute fields of the Dakotas, keeping
up a round-robin of mutual prayer; and
to-day hundreds of cross-tipped spires pay
tribute to their joint faithfulness. The
Dutch have a true saying, Fen dracht maakt
macht: "in union there is strength."
III. But after all observe how the con
straint of duty rests on the lone man. Each
for himself must determine how far and how
faithfully he will meet the behest of the
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
Master, "Go, evangelize!" It is the busi
ness of all businesses for those who are in
covenant with him. Not ministers only, but
Christians all and several, are bound to heed
it. "I'm going to China," said a young girl in
my congregation fifteen years ago. "But,"
said I, "wouldn't it be better to wait a while
and prepare yourself?" She answered, "I
can't wait, because they can't wait. For
want of the Gospel they are going out into
the dark! I know I'm not educated; but I
know what they don't know, that Christ died
for them ; and I must go and tell them about
it. " I had my doubts then ; but I have none
now. On my study table is a picture of a
woman worker in the China Inland Mis
sion with a group of young converts gath
ered about her. "The end crowns the
work." I know now that Miss Jennie Wil
liams did better to follow the Lord's counsel
than mine. His way is always the right way.
In one of my classes at Princeton Semi
nary was a young man with a consuming
zeal for missions. He enlisted to go to In
dia. The day before his graduation he said
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
to his classmates, "If it be the Lord's will I
should like to spend forty years in giving
the Gospel to the heathen; and then if he
wants me I'll be ready to go." He sailed
with his young wife and reached his desti
nation just as a native insurrection broke
out. The next day he fled with other mis
sionaries to a near-by cave, where three days
afterward they were overtaken by the mob
and all cruelly slain. He had asked for
forty years of service: only a scant four
days were given him ! But who shall meas
ure the outcome of those four days ? When
his story was told in the Seminary a dozen
students were ready to take his place. ' ' The
worker dies, but the work goes on." Let us
rather say that because the work goes on
the worker never dies. His influence sur
vives him, like the song of the reaper that
Wordsworth heard at evening:
"I listened till I had my fill;
And as I struggled up the hill
The music in my soul I bore
Long after it was heard no more."
The lesson that we get from the little
group of untrumpeted ones who accompa-
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PAUL'S COMPANIONS
nied Paul on his third journey is the blessed
ness and imperativeness of the Great Com
mission. It may be that some inconspicuous
Sopater or Secundus now reading these lines
is asking "What can I do?" If so let him
(or her) frame that question a little differ
ently and send it upward instead of inward,
as Paul did, "Lord, what wilt thou have me
to do?" And the answer will surely be
forthcoming. The way to the foreign field
is not open to all ; but no one is exempt from
the obligation of missions. A missionary
is literally "a sent one." Jesus said to his
disciples, "As the Father hath sent me, even
so send I you." What for? "To seek and
to save. ' ' So then as followers of Christ we
all belong to the Life-saving Service ; and if
we have hitherto been indolently content
with the assurance of a personal salvation,
it behooves us now to get busy for our Lord.
"Hark! the voice of Jesus calling,
'Who will go and work to-day?
Fields are white, and harvest waiting;
Who will bear the sheaves away?'

"If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
195

PAUL'S COMPANIONS
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say, 'He died for all.'
"Take the task He gives you gladly,
Let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calleth,
'Here am I! Send me, send me!'"
The veterans of the G. A. R. meet fre
quently around their camp-fires to ex
change reminiscences of the Civil War. At
such times I have seen their faces flush and
their old eyes kindle as if with a replenish
ment of youth. Are there such camp-fires
in heaven ? If so what tales have Paul and
his Body Guard to tell — of perils oft by
land and sea, of prison-damp and loneliness,
of hairbreadth escapes, of victories won, of
hoping for the service chevron, of visions of
cloudy pillars in the air which were not
clouds but fluttering garments of the White
Christ leading on! And what greetings
must be theirs as they pass along the golden
streets: "I from Berea and I from Philippi
and I from Troas and I from Ephesus,
thank you ! ' ' These are stars in their crown
of rejoicing. God grant there may be such
stars for us ! 196

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