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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadGreater Men and Women of the Bible by James Hastings: 639. The Companion of St. Paul
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The Companion of St. Paul
Silas was apparently a Hebrew by birth, but a Roman citizen, like Paul, and this Roman side of him rendered him one who might be useful to the great Apostle in his further travels and mission work.
I was travelling on a ship the other evening. I was strolling on the port side of the deck; I noticed another minister strolling on the starboard side. Here we were-one and one. Presently we introduced ourselves to each other, and spent the evening in delightful comradeship. Some of the thoughts suggested by our chat that night will cling to me to my dying day. Inspirations visited the two of us together that could never have come to either of us singly. In his Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne, too, Henry James makes the casual remark that “every man works better when he has companions.”2 [Note: F. W. Boreham, The Golden Milestone, 163.]
2. Silas remained in Antioch, although his co-deputy went back to Jerusalem; and the attraction of Paul-the great mass of that star-drew this lesser light into becoming a satellite, moving round the greater orb. So, when the unfortunate quarrel broke out between Paul and Barnabas, and the latter went away by himself with John Mark, Paul chose Silas and set out upon his second missionary tour.
It is in his association with Paul that Silas is seen to best advantage. Though chosen by the Apostle for the arduous task of the second missionary journey, it must not be understood that he consented blindly and impulsively. His response was rather that of his own quiet and deep conviction, and it was perfectly voluntary. And when they set out together, their purpose was one that lay near to his heart. They desired to confirm the churches and gain new trophies for the cross. And as they journeyed and laboured, the range of the work so grew that they set aside their earlier plans and, in obedience to the will of God, carried the gospel into Europe. The rapid movements of Act_15:40-41; Act_16:1-12 make it impossible for the reader to grasp the greatness of this undertaking unless the places mentioned are closely followed by the aid of a map. That tour through Asia Minor which is dismissed in a verse or two was no easy matter. What patience and endurance and devotion to the will of God are hinted at in the swiftly moving record! Had it pleased St. Luke to be more explicit, what revealings might we not have had of that eventful journey! But he is eager to get the feet of Paul upon European soil, and in his haste he contents himself with the simple statement that “as they went on their way through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, which had been ordained of the apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.” But even in this, however impatient he may be, St. Luke does not overlook the significant thing in all that journeying-the edification of the churches.
Man must go. It is not a question of whether we will go or not go, that is determined for us-we must go. Every man is accomplishing a journey, going through a process. No man is standing still. The infant is going on towards youth; youth is advancing towards the stature and strength of manhood; and man, in the summer of his prosperity and honour, is going on towards the sere leaf, and towards a land of darkness as darkness itself. Men must go on, then. The only question is-How? Man may go either with God or without Him.1 [Note: Joseph Parker.]
3. Silas was Paul's companion when the first European antagonism to the gospel showed itself. They had incurred the anger of the magistrates of Philippi. They had roused to hostility the masters of a certain damsel who possessed a spirit of divination; these in turn stirred up the multitude, and the multitude dragged the Apostles to the judgment-seat. There seems to have been no trial and little investigation. The charge indeed was not very definite: “These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.” But it was enough for the magistrates. They “rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” It was not a case of ordinary imprisonment. They were treated as criminals of no common kind. Mere thieves or ruffians would have enjoyed the comparative freedom of the outer jail; but Paul and Silas had offended the prejudices of a whole city, and must be kept like murderers in the dark recesses of the inner cell.
During the night, while the Apostles were singing hymns, an earthquake shook the prison; the doors flew open, and the chains which were stapled into the walls fell down. For these birds could sing in a darkened cage. The jailor's treatment of them after his conversion shows what he had neglected to do at first. They had no food; their bloody backs were unsponged; they were thrust into a filthy hole, and put in a posture of torture. No wonder that they could not sleep! But what hindered sleep would, with most men, have sorely dimmed trust and checked praise. Not so with them. God gave them “songs in the night.” We can hear the strains through all the centuries; and they bid us be cheerful and trustful, whatever befalls. Surely Christian faith is never more noble than when it triumphs over circumstances, and brings praises from lips which, if sense had its way, would wail and groan. “This is the victory that overcometh the world.” The true anæsthetic is trust in God. No wonder that the baser sort of prisoners-and base enough they probably were-“were listening to them,” for such sounds had never been heard there before.
Blest is the man who with the sound of song
Can charm away the heartache, and forget
The frost of Penury, and the stings of Wrong,
And drown the fatal whisper of Regret!
Darker are the abodes
Of Kings, tho' his be poor,
While Fancies, like the Gods,
Pass thro' his door.
Singing thou scalest Heaven upon thy wings,
Thou liftest a glad heart into the skies;
He maketh his own sunrise, while he sings,
And turns the dusty Earth to Paradise;
I see thee sail along
Far up the sunny streams,
Unseen, I hear his song,
I see his dreams.1 [Note: Frederick Tennyson.]
4. The First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written shortly after the arrival of Timothy and Sylvanus in Corinth, under the stimulus of the good news which Timothy brought back from Macedonia.
In the first division we have a review of the founding of the Church by the preaching of the writers, Paul and Sylvanus and Timothy, and of everything which, since their departure from Thessalonica, had manifested their loving interest in the growth of the Church and in the continuance of its pleasant relations with its founders. In this review a prominent place is given to statements about the persecutions which the readers had endured at the beginning, and in the face of which they had since maintained their faith.
A young Christian Hindoo, who, when up on the hills for a time, joined my Bible class, had undergone most cruel treatment as a lad, for expressing a desire to become a Christian. His heathen parents tied him fast by ropes for five days in a room, from which he could not escape, and starved him all the time. They then put pepper in his eyes, and tried by every means to induce him to renounce his Christianity.
All the devices, however, proved fruitless, and they at last released him from his torture; soon afterwards he managed to escape to the Mission House. There he was instructed carefully, and after a time, finding him truly sincere, he was baptized.
Some time afterwards, going with the missionary to preach in his native village, a tumult was made, the missionary's cart was surrounded by roughs, and the lad was captured. It was with much difficulty and some danger, that he was at last rescued, the missionary refusing to return without him. He is now studying with other lads at the High School at Palamcottah, and we trust that a useful career is before him. He is a true Christian, and the persecutions he has endured seem to have strengthened his character, and given him a stability and a firmness of purpose which otherwise he might have lacked. He is a bright, good-looking lad, but is slightly built and delicate in appearance. We hope he may be spared to be a blessing to his people.1 [Note: H. S. Streatfeild, Glimpses of Indian Life, 146.]
5. The rest, so far as Silas is concerned, is soon told. From Philippi they pass to Thessalonica, where a riot brings their labours prematurely to a close. They go on to Berœa, where a threatening of further trouble necessitates the departure of Paul; but Silas remains in the company of Timothy until after Paul's experience at Athens, when they both join him at Corinth. From that point Silas disappears from the Acts.
A great genius, a wise philosopher, an eloquent preacher, a statesman, a warrior, poet, painter? No! “A faithful brother.” He may have been a commonplace one. We do not know anything about his intellectual capacity. He may have had very narrow limitations and very few powers, or he may have been a man of large faculty and acquirements. But these things drop out of sight; and this remains-that he was faithful. No doubt the eulogium is meant in both senses of the word. The one of these is the root of the other; for a man that is full of faith is a man who may be trusted, is reliable, and will be sure to fulfil all the obligations of his position, and to do all the duties that are laid upon him.
“Surely the Captain may depend on me” may not be the best thing to say before others, but, rightly meant, it is a noble self-commitment. Dependable people!-their price is above rubies. The world would be a dreary place if there were not some Christians who need no prodding or watching; who can be told, and then trusted.2 [Note: M. D. Babcock, Thoughts for Every-Day Living, 5.]