Abstract

The Acts of the Apostles can be described as a great missionary story, in the middle of which Luke narrates Paul’s passage from Asia Minor to Macedonia and the conversion of Lydia in Philippi. Through this precise placement, he expresses the special significance of Acts 16:6-15 within the framework of his concept of mission. Acts 16:6-15 represents a missionary narrative in nuce. It exemplifies how mission works and who the decisive agent of the mission is. Paul’s passage from Asia Minor to Macedonia is highlighted by Luke as a decisive event. The journey leads from non-mission in Asia Minor to mission in Macedonia. The conversion of Lydia is Paul’s first missionary success in Philippi. Luke places special emphasis on the fact that the entire journey of the missionaries from the non-mission in Asia Minor to the mission in Philippi is conducted under the guidance of God. For him, God is the motor of the mission. Thus Acts 16:6-15 contains a deeply theological concept of mission