Commentary on Acts of the Apostles · Matthew Henry

060 - Acts 166-15

·36 min·2 clips

A man of Macedonia says, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

1. Commentary on Acts of the Apostles, section 59, covers Acts 16:6-15 and the move from Asia toward Macedonia. 2. Matthew Henry is the named commentator, and the text is presented as a LibriVox public-domain recording of Volume 6, Acts of the Apostles. 3. The episode asks why Paul was forbidden in Asia and Bithynia, then directed to Philippi by a night vision of “a man of Macedonia.” 4. Henry says Paul and Silas went through Phrygia and the region of Galatia before being “forbidden of the Holy Ghost” to preach in Asia. 5. He also says they assayed to go into Bithynia, but “the Spirit suffered them not,” and then passed by Mysia to Troas. 6. The commentary treats the Macedonian vision as a divine call that redirected Paul from places he intended to visit. 7. Henry quotes the plea, “Come over into Macedonia and help us,” and reads it as a request for gospel help, not mere travel advice. 8. He says Paul and his companions “immediately endeavored” to go to Macedonia after receiving the vision. 9. The voyage is described in sequence: Troas, Samothracia, Neapolis, and then Philippi. 10. Philippi is identified as “the chief city” of that part of Macedonia and “a colony,” which Henry treats as strategically important. 11. Henry remarks that the travelers stayed there “abiding certain days,” apparently without any immediate local welcome. 12. He says they had no friend to invite them to a meal until Lydia received them. 13. The Sunday scene is at a riverside “where prayer was wont to be made,” rather than in a synagogue. 14. Henry describes a small gathering of women and says Paul, Silas, and Luke sat down and spoke to them. 15. Lydia is named as “a seller of purple” from Thyatira, and Henry calls attention to her honest trade. 16. He says she worshipped God before conversion, heard Paul, and had “the heart the Lord opened.” 17. Henry explains that the opening of Lydia’s heart led her to attend to Paul’s words, be baptized, and welcome the missionaries into her house. 18. The tone is explanatory and devotional, with long doctrinal digressions on providence, calling, and conversion. 19. Readers interested in Acts, providence, and Lydia’s conversion would get the most from this section. 20. Readers wanting fast narrative action or a brief summary of the passage may skip it.

As heard by us

A patient reading of guidance, obedience, and the first Macedonian opening.

The reading follows Paul from the vision that turns him toward Macedonia to the simple obedience that comes after. It lingers on the line about the Lord calling them to preach there, then moves into Lydia's household, where prayer, blessing, and a desire to know more of the…

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If you want Acts read like a chain of careful proofs, start here.

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