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of their obedience, and would indicate whether it was the maturing of their own plans or the ready following of
the Lord's leading that was uppermost in their hearts. There can hardly be a greater test for whole-heartedness than
to have all one's ardour apparently rejected, to be ready to offer one's self upon the sacrifice and service of the
gospel, only to be met with unexplained prohibitions. Yet all along there have been these seasons of trial. Paul
himself had withdrawn earlier into Arabia; Moses before him had spent forty years in the desert. Let us remember
that a closed door may be the unexpected answer to our prayers. The writer himself can say without exaggeration
that some of the things for which he cannot be too thankful have been closed doors, even though they were bitterly
disappointing at the time. If rightly accepted, the closed door urges us forward as it did the apostle
and his company. Being forbidden to `speak the Word in Asia', we can well understand that there could be no
thought of turning back.
Striking northward until they came `over against' (kata) Mysia, they `assayed'. to go into Bithynia. The word
`assayed' is, in the original, peirazo, from peiro, `to pierce' or `perforate' and so `to test' or `make trial'. In the Acts
we find the word translated `tempt' in 5:9 and 15:10, and the noun form peirasmos occurs in 20:19 as `temptation'.
In Acts 9:26 we read that the apostle `assayed' to join himself with the disciples at Jerusalem, the idea being that he
naturally felt somewhat diffident about his reception, but made the attempt. It is right, therefore, for the believer,
when faced with an apparently shut door, to try the latch, in case it merely needs a touch to open it, but there must be
no forcing of the lock.
Failing to receive permission to enter Bithynia, these three devoted men went on their way once more, arriving
in due course at Troas. We must not, of course, allow our imagination to invest these three way-worn travellers with
a classical scholar's interest in ancient Troy, but, on the other hand, it seems almost impossible for a man like Paul,
brought up in the Cilician University City of Tarsus, famous for its philosophy and learning, not to have had some
interest in the scene of Homer's famous poem. And further, Troy was not only famous because of its legendary
past, but on several memorable occasions it had been visited by men of world-wide renown. Here Xerxes had
passed on his way to the attempted conquest of Greece; here also Alexander the Great, at the tomb of Achilles, had
conceived his idea of world conquest. In Suetonius, also, we read:
`A report was very current, that he (Julius Cæsar) had a design of withdrawing to Alexandria or Ilium (Troy),
whither he proposed to transfer the imperial power, to drain Italy by new levies, and to leave the government of
the city to be administered by his friends' (Suetonius J.C. lxxix).
Where the conquerors of earthly territory had gathered inspiration or had cast their approving gaze, there the
apostle of the Gentiles, harbouring the vast design of traversing the length of the Roman empire in the cause of
Christ, received his call to cross the sea, and plant the standard of the cross on European soil.
We can well believe that, having arrived at the sea coast, the apostle and his companions would feel that they
had reached a crisis. Either they must receive instructions to enter some specific territory, or there would seem
nothing left but to return from whence they came. Earnest prayer would ascend to heaven before they retired to rest;
and with what relief and thanksgiving they must have listened the next morning to the apostle's account of his
vision. During the night he had seen a vision of a man of Macedonia, and the man had cried, `Come over and help
us'. Not only would they be grateful for the fact that Asia and Bithynia had been closed to them, seeing that it had
led to this fuller venture for the faith, but they would also realize that, had they stayed in either Asia or Bithynia, the
apostle might never have met that `beloved physician' who not only ministered to the apostle's needs, but wrote the
treatise we are at the moment studying .
Paul makes two references to Troas in his epistles:
`When I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord' (2 Cor. 2:12).
`The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the
parchments' (2 Tim. 4:13).
There is also a visit to Troas on the return to Jerusalem recorded in Acts 20:5,6.
Having heard the account of Paul's vision, we read that they `gathered assuredly' that the Lord had called them
to preach the gospel in Macedonia. Sumbibazo, `to gather assuredly' is an interesting word, made up of sum `with',