9 WITNESSING TWO TWO ACTS APOSTLES BY IN THE OF THE protagonists of the narration (Peter — John and Stephen — Philip respectively), here he chooses the first, Barnabas and the last, Saul, and not the second as he had done before. That outsider, Saul-Paul, at first works together with Barnabas and participates with others in the apostolic assembly in Jerusalem, but later (from Acts 15,40), he remains on the stage until the last verse of the book as the only protagonist 12. In other words, while the second names of the pre- ceding lists were also second in importance, here instead of the second, the fifth person of the list is chosen and in the course of the events he supersedes and even overshadows the first one. In the second list the inversion of roles was due to the tragic death of Stephen ; in this last list it is Luke’s decision to focus all the atten- tion on Paul which causes Barnabas to fall into oblivion. Whereas the Twelve and the Seven of Jerusalem limited their activity to Samaria, the Five of Antioch, in accordance with the Antiochian policy of openness, begin to move towards wider hori- zons : the islands of the Mediterranean and Anatolia, with its many Roman provinces and diverse peoples. The story unfolds rapidly, both for the apostolic witnesses and in relation to the territorial expansion embraced by the proclamation of the Gospel. 4. Of the Pauline Churches, only Trophimus and Aristarcus In addition to the lists of the Twelve in Acts 1,13, of the Seven of Jerusalem in Acts 6,5 and of the Five of Antioch in Acts 13,1, Luke inserts a further list of names, that of the Seven who are at Paul’s side when, at the conclusion of his third missionary journey, he is about to leave Corinth and return to Jerusalem. Luke narrates: “He stayed for three months [at Corinth]. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, and so he decided to return through Macedonia”. The seven names then follow right away: “He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia” (20,3-4). This fourth list is usually given less significance, but by analogy it is evident The few verses of Acts 18,24-28, referring to Apollos, are the only pas- 12 sage were Paul is not the protagonist in Acts 15–28.