16:1 Paul and Silas probably crossed the Taurus Mountains at a pass called the Cilician Gates (modern Gülek Bogaz). Alexander the Great had marched east through this pass to conquer the vast Persian Empire four centuries earlier.636This route would have led them into the kingdom of Antiochus that was west of Cilicia, to the south of Galatia, and to the east of Pamphylia. They proceeded on into Lycaonian Galatia, to Derbe, and then to Lystra.
At Lystra a young believer named Timothy impressed Paul. Many Bible students have assumed that Timothy was from Lystra and had trusted Christ during Paul's first trip to that town (cf. 1 Cor. 4:17). The text does not state these facts, but they are certainly strong possibilities. Mixed marriages between Jews and Gentiles were more common outside Palestine than within it.637Timothy's mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois were both sincere Jews and had instructed Timothy in the Hebrew Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15).638This young man now filled the place that John Mark had occupied on the first journey, before Mark returned to Jerusalem. Timothy was to become one of Paul's closest friends and most faithful fellow workers.
"He [Paul] was always well aware of the necessity of training a new generation for the work and for the days that lay ahead."639
16:2 "The preoccupation with character in those who assume Christian leadership is a marked feature of the story of the early Church ([verse 2, ] vi. 3, x. 22, xxii. 12)."640
16:3 Paul obviously did not circumcise Timothy because he believed that rite was necessary for his justification or sanctification. He did so because it was necessary for effective evangelistic ministry among Jews (cf. 1 Cor. 9:20-22). Unbelieving Jews would not have given Paul a hearing if he had travelled with an uncircumcised Gentile even though Timothy was half Jewish (cf. 1 Cor. 9:20).
16:4 Part of Paul's ministry included acquainting the churches in Galatia with the directives formulated at the Jerusalem Council.
16:5 This fifth progress report concludes the section on the church's expansion into Asia Minor (12:25-16:5; cf. 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 19:20; 28:31). This part of its history was particularly crucial since in this phase of its expansion the church changed from predominantly Jewish to predominantly Gentile.
