The Truth About The Church
The Vastness of the Village
The Volition of the Village
Aristarchus was a native of Thessalonica and a faithful companion of the apostle Paul. He became a companion of the apostle Paul on his third missionary journey. He accompanied him to Ephesus. He was captured and almost killed by the mob in the riot raised by Demetrius and the silversmiths (Acts 19:29). He accompanied Paul to Greece and from there back to Asia Minor (Acts 20:4). He accompanied Paul to Rome (Acts 27:2), sharing in the dangers of the voyage and in the shipwreck.
Some years earlier, John Mark had disappointed Paul badly. Shortly afterward, Paul and his best friend, Barnabas, had disagreed so hotly over Mark that they had parted company. Paul had gone his way and Barnabas, taking Mark with him, had gone another way. The story evidently was well known, and a stigma had become attached to Mark’s name although Paul had long since forgiven Mark.
Paul was not a well man. He had been beaten and battered times without number. He had been arrested and imprisoned in various places, sometimes treated harshly. He had been shipwrecked more than once. He carried with him some kind of handicap that he called his “thorn in the flesh.” By the time Paul wrote Colossians, he seems to have needed the constant services of a physician.
Luke remained with Paul through thick and thin. He followed him all over the Roman Empire. He chronicled his missionary activities. Paul was Luke’s hero. There was nothing that he would not do to help. He remained with Paul when all other helpers were gone (2 Tim. 4:11).
Archippus seems to have been the son of the slave owner Philemon