Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia - proceeding in a northwesterly direction, across mount Taurus, and entering Asia Minor,
And the region of Galatia - lying to the north of Phrygia. At this time must have been formed "the churches of Galatia" (Galatians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 16:1), which were founded by our apostle, as he tells us himself in his Epistle to them some years afterward (particularly Acts 4:19), and which were already in existence when he was on his third missionary journey-as we learn from Acts 18:23, where it appears that he was no less successful in Phrygia. Why these proceedings-so interesting, we should think-are not here detailed, it is not easy to say. The reasons which critics have suggested do not appear to us very satisfactory: such as that the historian had not joined the party (so Alford), for he is minute enough on many things which occurred long before he joined the party; that the main stream of the Church's development was from Jerusalem to Rome, and the apostle's labours in Phrygia and Galatia lay quite out of the line of that direction (so Baumgarten), for his labours in regions quite as much out of it on his former journey are minutely detailed; and that the historian was now in haste to bring the apostle to Europe (so Olshausen).
This last reason probably comes the nearest to the true cause of the historian's brevity here. But even this is not quite satisfactory; since long after the principal European churches had been established, when relating the proceedings of the apostle's third and last missionary journey, he begins his narrative with these few words, "And after he had spent some time there (at Antioch), he departed (for the third and last time), and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, confirming the churches" (Acts 18:23) - not only implying that churches had been formed in those regions of which he neither before nor there gives any detailed account, but omitting all particulars of this visit and of those important movements of the Judaizers to which reference is made in the Epistle to the Galatians. We must then just conclude, that as some things behoved to be omitted to bring this book within the required limits, the particulars of the formation of churches in Phrygia and Galatia (possibly communicated to the historian with less fullness) were designedly passed over.
And were forbidden of the Holy Spirit - speaking unmistakeably by some prophet (see the note at Acts 11:27).
To preach the word in Asia - not the great Asiatic continent, of course, nor even the rich peninsula now called Asia Minor (for they had already laboured and had much fruit there), but only that strip of its western coast which constituted the Roman province of Asia, usually termed Proconsular Asia. Nor were they excluded from this region except for the time; for we shall find the apostle afterward labouring here with much success. (See the note at Acts 18:19, etc.)