Pauline Epistles Roll Table – "Roads of the Apostle, Part 1"

About the Road: The Via Appia, built in 312 BC, was Rome's first great highway, stretching from the capital to the port of Brindisi. Known as "Regina Viarum" (Queen of Roads), this stone-paved marvel connected Rome to the Mediterranean world. Paul likely traveled this very road on his journey to Rome as a prisoner. The Via Appia represents the gospel's unstoppable advance toward the center of earthly power, carrying the message that would outlast the empire itself.

About the Road: The Via Egnatia stretched from the Adriatic to the Aegean, connecting Rome's eastern provinces. This crucial trade route passed through Philippi and Thessalonica before reaching the sea near Corinth. Built for military conquest, it became the highway of commerce—and gospel. Like Corinth itself, this road represents the intersection of cultures, the marketplace of ideas, and the challenge of living faithfully in a cosmopolitan world.

About the Road: The Via Sebaste wound through the rugged mountains of Asia Minor, connecting Antioch to the coast. This difficult route required endurance through treacherous terrain, sudden weather changes, and bandits. Paul knew such roads well from his missionary journeys. The Via Sebaste represents the hard path of ministry—the suffering that authenticates apostolic authority and the weakness through which God's strength is perfected.

About the Road: The Via Maris was the ancient world's most important trade route, connecting Egypt to Mesopotamia along the Mediterranean coast. For millennia, armies and merchants traveled this highway, bringing both commerce and conquest. Paul's letter to the Galatians addresses communities along similar crossroads, places where cultures and religions intersected. The Via Maris represents the universal scope of the gospel and the freedom that transcends ethnic and religious boundaries.

About the Road: The Via Traiana, built by Emperor Trajan, improved upon the older Appian Way with gentler grades and better engineering. This masterpiece of Roman road-building connected distant provinces in unprecedented unity. Like the church Paul describes in Ephesians, the Via Traiana represents the bringing together of diverse peoples under one authority, the breaking down of barriers, and the creation of something greater than the sum of its parts.

About the Road: The eastern section of the Via Egnatia connected Philippi to Neapolis, the port where Paul first landed in Europe. This stretch of road represents new beginnings, the joy of gospel partnership, and the advance of the kingdom. Just as this road carried Paul to his first European converts, it symbolizes the joy found in gospel fellowship and the contentment that comes from Christ's sufficient grace.