The Questor

The Wild Gospel..… …..To an Unknown God

At the peak of the Roman Empire, the total distance that the roads covered was around 250,000 miles. With the help of this network, the Romans were able to transport reinforcements, supplies, and trade goods to even the most distant and secluded parts of their empire. These roads were crucial for the foundation and development of many cities. They were also a major means of spreading the Message of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire

One such famous road that brought prosperity to a whole region, built in the second century BC, was called Via Egnatia. It connected Rome with the Eastern provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace. It was on this road that Paul and his companions travelled when they left Philippi. They went west, stopping off at Amphipolis and Apollonia and arrived in Thessalonica, one of the principal cities in Macedonia.

Here, the familiar pattern of events took place: Paul went to the synagogue and, starting from the old testament scriptures, explained how Jesus had fulfilled them; some of the Jews and a large number of God fearing Greeks believed him; the rest of the Jews became jealous and got some guys to make false accusations against Paul and Silas to the local authorities. So that night the believers helped Paul, Silas and Timothy get out of the city safely and sent them west to Berea.

The people of Berea were much more hospitable and eager to understand the truth of the Message of Jesus. They studied the scriptures diligently every day to see if what Paul said was true and many of them believed. Then guess what: some Jews from Thessalonica showed up and started causing trouble. So the believers sent Paul with an escort to the coast and Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea to help establish the new church.

The people who escorted Paul went with him all the way to Athens. So Paul had made it to Greece, the home of philosophical thinking. The favourite occupation of the Greeks was debate and they loved to go to the meeting houses and the marketplace and discuss whatever issue was raised. This was potentially fertile ground for Paul.

While he was waiting for Silas and Timothy to catch him up, Paul wandered around the city and was distressed to see so many idols, dedicated to the various gods that the Greeks worshipped. So, day after day, Paul went to the Synagogue and the marketplace and engaged in debate. He told them the good news of