Spread of Christianity Outside Judea. The stoning of Stephen, which was outside the city and probably in the deserted quarries immediately to the north of the temple, marked a new epoch in the life of the early Christian community, for it was the beginning of a bitter persecution at the hands of the Jewish authorities, which soon drove the disciples in all directions from secluded Judah and transformed them into a world-conquering missionary force. In this early dispersion the apostles naturally followed the great highways, which led northward, southward, and westward from Jerusalem. Philip the Evangelist preached with great success at Samaria. Here he was building on an older Hebrew basis, for the Bible of the Samaritans contained the first five books of the Old Testament with portions of the book of Joshua. The mixed Samaritan population, however, ever open by virtue of their geographical position to the diverse influences that surged up and down the eastern Mediterranean, never proved a stable element in the early Christian church.

Philip's Work in the South and West. Leaving the Samaritans, Philip set out for the coast city of Gaza. He probably took the central highway from Jerusalem southward by way of Hebron. A late tradition places the spring where he baptized the Ethiopian official on the tortuous road, practically impassable for chariots, which leads southwestward from Jerusalem, but the older and more probable tradition identifies it with that beside the main road southward, a little north of Bethzur. Thence Philip turned westward, preaching and teaching with success at the old Philistine town of Ashdod, which lay three miles from the Mediterranean, on the border line between the fertile plain and the drifting sands, at the point where the main coast highway divided into its eastern and western branches.

Extension and Expansion of Christianity During the First Decade. Peter, likewise, turned westward, and at the flourishing city of Lydda, which stood where the main highway from Jerusalem to Joppa crossed the great northern coast road, found a well-established Christian community. Joppa[(130)] stood on a bold hill looking out over the western sea. It was fitting that here Peter, the natural leader of the rapidly growing Christian church, should have a clear vision of the great and needy Gentile world that lay beyond the narrow bounds of Judea. Joppa was indeed the gateway between Jerusalem, which represented Judaism, and Rome, which stood as the embodiment of regnant heathenism. From Joppa, with its small, rocky harbor, the apostle followed the messengers of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, along the road which closely skirted the shore to Cæsarea, the new door which Herod the Great had opened between Palestine and the Gentile world along the shores of the Mediterranean. Here Peter was far beyond Jewish atmosphere and civilization. The population, the public buildings, and the language of this busy seaport were either Greek or Roman. Thus, before Herod Agrippa in 41 A.D. entered upon his brief but brilliant reign of three years, Christianity had swept over the borders of Judea into the great strategic cities of the western coast plains and even to Damascus, far in the north. It was also breaking the narrow Jewish bonds and following the great western highways that were guiding it on to the conquest of the empire.

Situation and History of Tarsus. The man who led this forward movement and formulated the world-wide policy of the Christian church was born in a city of southern Cilicia, which stood midway between the east and the west. There the influences of the ancient Orient and of the more active Occident met and mingled. The city of Tarsus lay on a rich, moist, alluvial plain, ten miles north of the Mediterranean and only eighty feet above the level of the ocean. Two miles farther north rose the foot-hills that led up to the lofty, massive peaks of the Taurus Mountains. These northern heights shut off the cooling winds, making the climate of Tarsus hot and enervating. In ancient times the sluggish river Cydnus flowed through the centre of the town on its way to the sea. The strength of Tarsus consisted in its position at the southern end of the great Cilician Plain. At this point the main highway from Antioch to Ephesus and Smyrna touched the Cydnus and thence turned northward, crossing the Taurus range by the famous Cilician Gates. Its commercial prestige, however, was not so much the result of its natural position as of the energy of the early population. They had drained the marshes about the Cydnus and transformed the lake immediately south of the town into a large inland harbor. They also cut the road beside the narrow stream that penetrated the Taurus range, making Tarsus the seaport of the wide plains to the north. Tarsus in the days of Paul was a magnificent city of fully half a million population. Its citizens were supremely proud of their city—a pride which the great apostle to the Gentiles clearly shared. The energy which characterized the inhabitants, as a result of their successful struggle with adverse natural conditions, was also reflected in the character and work of its most distinguished citizen.

Influence of His Early Home Upon Paul. Probably from the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, Tarsus had been the home of a large and influential Jewish colony. They were doubtless permitted, as an independent social and religious group, to share in the citizenship of the proud Roman city. This Roman citizenship not only delivered Paul at many crises in his stormy career, but also brought him into intelligent and sympathetic touch with the great empire to which he bore the message of the cross. The atmosphere, therefore, of Paul's early life was distinctly Roman and cosmopolitan. The influence of this broad environment is traceable in all his work and teachings. From the port of Tarsus ships ran frequently to Cæsarea and Joppa, the ports of Jerusalem. Thus the journey was easy and natural for the young Jew of Tarsus as he went back to the sacred city of his race to study at the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest Jewish scholar of the age. His life in Palestine brought him into closest touch with the growing Christian church. The energy which he had inherited from his native city found expression at first in active persecution of the members of the new sect. The open-mindedness which he had acquired from his youthful environment, and which later led him to appreciate that which was good in the heathen religions, prepared the way for the supreme experience which came to him as he was crossing the desert on his way northward to Damascus.[(42)]

Work at Antioch. The history of the spread of Christianity for the next decade is chiefly a record of the work of the great apostle to the Gentiles. The graphic passages in the second half of the book of Acts present a remarkably vivid picture of his journeys and experiences. It was natural that Paul, a native of Asia Minor, should not remain in the narrower atmosphere of Palestine, but should find instead a congenial environment and field of work in Antioch, the great and opulent capital of Syria, the third metropolis of the Roman empire. Here he was able to observe the impression which Christianity made upon the heathen, and especially upon the Jews of the dispersion. Antioch was also the natural geographical centre from which to set out upon his missionary journeys.

Importance of the Pioneer Work of Paul. In all his missionary activity, Paul evidently followed a definite plan. He selected as the scenes of his work the great cities, situated on the main highways of communication and commerce. This choice was in part due to the fact that in the larger cities of this character were found Jewish communities, with synagogues which opened doors of opportunity to the pupil of the famous Rabbi Gamaliel. During the two preceding centuries the Jews of the dispersion had become an exceedingly active proselyting force. The influential and honorable position which they had won in many of the Græco-Roman cities, as well as the character of their faith, commended them to the most worthy of their heathen neighbors. The result was that many of the Gentiles had accepted the essentials of the Jewish religion and worshipped with the Jews in their synagogues. This class is ordinarily described in the narrative of Acts by the designation "devout Greeks." Thus Judaism had prepared the way for the spread of Christianity. From the ranks of the devout Greeks was drawn a large proportion of the converts, who responded to the early preaching of Paul and of the other Christian apostles.

Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus. With these conditions in mind, Paul and Barnabas planned their first missionary journey. Cilicia belonged within Antioch's sphere of influence and was indeed a part of the province of Syria. Paul and Barnabas turned to the immediately adjacent island of Cyprus and the Roman province of Galatia, lying respectively to the southwest and northwest. Cyprus possibly attracted them because Barnabas was a native of that island. Throughout all its history it had stood in close commercial relations with Syria. Salamis, its chief eastern city, was first visited. It lay at the mouth of the River Pediæus on the eastern edge of a fertile plain which extended far to the west. The Ptolemies, as early as 295 B.C., had transported many Jews to Cyprus, and Herod the Great doubtless sent many more to work the copper mines there which he controlled.

At Paphos. From Salamis two Roman highways ran across the island to Paphos, the chief city on its western shores. The Roman city which Paul and Barnabas visited was the new Paphos. It was situated on the sea-coast, being in fact the seaport of the older inland city ten miles to the southwest. The older city had been famous throughout the ancient world as the seat of the corrupt worship of the Paphian goddess, whom the Greeks identified with Aphrodite. At the new city Paul came into contact both with the Roman ruler and a representative of the local superstitions.

Journey to Antioch in Galatia. From Paphos it was easy to secure a passage northward to the coast of Pamphylia, for along this course passed many of the merchant ships from Alexandria to Rome. The apostles probably landed at Attalia and thence went to Perga, the chief city of central Pamphylia. It lay five miles from the river, on a plain at the foot of a bold, extended acropolis. The climate of these low-lying coast plains was sultry and malarial. The city was dominated by the worship of a local goddess and there is no evidence that there was a Jewish synagogue at this point. Because of these unfavorable conditions, Paul and Barnabas simply passed through this southern city on their way to the great strategic centres farther north. The journey thither through the deep valleys and over the rough heights was exceedingly arduous. Here Paul doubtless experienced many of those perils of rivers and perils of robbers which he mentions in II Corinthians 11:26.