Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 19:20

"So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed." — Acts 19:20 (ASV)

The advances of the Gospel into Macedonia, Achaia, and Asia did not come about without great difficulty and repeated discouragements. At times, in fact, matters looked very bleak (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:3). But God also gave Paul an open door and a successful ministry in places such as Corinth and Ephesus.

Paul’s second and third missionary journeys read like a slice of life. Having shown in his earlier panels the gradual widening of the Gospel to new groups of people and the establishment of a new missionary policy to the Gentiles, Luke in Panel 5 presents for his readers a graphic account of the Gospel’s entrance into entirely new regions. It is the story of the church’s dedicated service under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit in proclaiming the Good News to those who desperately needed to hear it. Through both the hardships and the blessings, God was at work. In looking back on those days, Luke simply says, “In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” Panel 6—To Jerusalem and Thence to Rome (19:21–28:31) The last panel in Acts presents Paul’s somewhat circuitous journey to Jerusalem, his arrest and defenses, his imprisonment and defenses in Caesarea, his voyage to Rome, and his ministry at Rome. The panel is introduced by the programmatic statement of 19:21–22 and concludes with the summary statement of 28:31. Three features immediately strike the reader in this sixth panel: (1) the disproportionate length of the panel, including one-third of the total material of Acts; (2) the prominence given the speeches of Paul in his defense; and (3) the dominance of the “we” sections in the narrative portions (cf. 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16). The length seems to be related to Luke’s apologetic purpose, particularly in Paul’s five defenses, and to the eyewitness character of the narrative (i.e., a predominance of “we” sections) with its inevitable elaboration of details (see introductory comment on 16:11–40). The events narrated here span the time from approximately 56 through 62.