The Book of Acts Chapter 18
Originally posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008
General Comment: Luke has
provided several important historical markers which will give us an accurate
time context for the events he reports so briefly. With regard to Aquila and
his wife Priscilla (Prisca), Luke writes that they were among the Jews expelled
by the Emperor Claudius in 49/50 CE. The Roman writer Suetonius tells us that
"all the Jews" were expelled because of riots "instigated by one
Chrestus (Christ). Of course not all Jews were expelled - there were
approximately forty thousand in Rome at the time. Only those who participated
in the disturbances were expelled and among them were Jewish Christians such as
Aquila and Priscilla. As far as Rome was concerned, Jewish Christians were a
sect indistinguishable from the Synagogue Jews - after all they were all
Jewish. When Paul reached Corinth he was met by two mature Christians who would
become if invaluable assistance during his mission.
Another marker is
the mention of the Proconsul, Gallio, who served the Senatorial Province
ofAchaea, in which Corinth was located. It was the principle Roman province in
Greece, attesting to Gallio's family connections and social status. Gallio
served during the year 52/53. His attitude toward the charges brought
against Paul by the Synagogue Jews demonstrates the Roman impartiality toward
early Christians, showing no particular favoritism toward the Jewish concerns.
For those interested
in Gallio's lineage, he was the elder brother of the great Stoic philosopher
Seneca the Younger. Both were born in Cordova, Spain and both committed
suicide, "encouraged" by the Emperor Nero.
Acts Chapter 18:1-17 Paul in Corinth
After leaving Athens
in the hands of a small band of believers, Paul traveled the approximately
fifty miles west southwest to the city of Corinth (50 CE). His first
visit to Corinth would last eighteen months (51/52) which Luke
compressed into this single passage. Luke implies that Paul knew or heard from
others that Aquila and Priscilla who were among the Jewish Christians
expelled by Claudius were in Corinth, for he sought them out. They were
workers in canvas as tentmakers, a trade familiar to Paul who worked with the
sturdy goat hair material. Later, in Paul's letters, we will learn that Paul
continued to support his missionary efforts by working at his trade. We have no
doubt Aquila and Priscilla offered Paul the hospitality of their home as well
as their assistance as teachers and evangelists (multi-floor tenement
apartment dwellings were typical for tradesmen in Rome and other large cities).
As usual, Paul made
his first approach to the Jews on the Sabbath where he would "try to
convince Jews and Greeks (God worshippers)." Silas and Timothy finally
caught up with him and found him "proclaiming the word" that the Messiah
was Jesus. As a sign that he was thoroughly disheartened by the consistent
Jewish rejection of his preaching, he demonstrated his distain by shaking
"their" dust from his clothing. He had tried his best and from now
own their "blood" was on their own heads. As for Paul, he would no
longer make any direct efforts to preach in Synagogues but
would devote his attention to the more receptive Gentiles.
Following his
parabolic act in the Synagogue Paul was offered hospitality by Titius (Titus)
Justus, a God worshipper, whose home was next to the Synagogue. Although Luke
is not clear at this point the text indicates Paul stayed there for some time
during which Crispus, the leader of the Synagogue that had rejected Paul's
message, became a believer in Jesus. He and his entire family were baptized,
along with "many of the [Gentile Greek] Corinthians who had
heard Paul preach.
As if in
anticipation of the approaching events, Paul experiences a nighttime
Spirit vision. In "the Spirit" Jesus encourages Paul to
keep on preaching without fear that he (the Spirit of Jesus) will be with him
to protect him through the assistance of other "Jesus people" who
are in the city. As a result Paul will remain in Corinth for eighteen
months. Toward the end of that time, during Gallio's Consulship, the Synagogue
Jews "rose up with one accord," and brought Paul before the
Judgment Seat (the Bema: the word used for the raised pulpit or dais in modern
Synagogues). Their charge was religious, that Paul was trying to persuade
others to worship God in a way not in keeping with Jewish law. Gallio knows
enough about Judaism to understand this is not a matter of Roman law. The
Jews were arguing their cause in an attempt to have Gallio support their
law, perhaps thinking he would favor them as a long established presence
in the Empire. But he was a Roman sworn to uphold Roman justice and this was
not a matter of Roman law. He dismissed their case and told them to see to it
themselves. He would not be the judge over their religious matters and "he
drove them from the Judgment Seat."
The matter did not
end there. In full view of a disinterested Gallio, a number of the Greeks
seized the leader of Synagogue and beat him. Some writers suggest it was the
Jews who seized Sothenes out of anger for his inept pressing of their cause or
that he was a recent convert as was his immediate predecessor, Crispus. A
number of manuscripts read "all the Greeks," indicating the anger of
the more open-minded Greeks toward the Jews for having brought such a charge
which was, in effect, a violation of the freedom of religious expression, a
right held dear by the Greeks.
Acts Chapter 18:18-23 Paul's Continued Travels
When the
eighteen months of his mission were finished, Paul bade farewell to the
well established Corinthian Church. He sailed for Ephesus (western coast of
Turkey), accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla. In a bit of unusual detail, Luke
notes that Paul had his hair cut. Apparently he has been under a Nazarite vow
made to God, a vow which was usually part of a pledge to accomplish some great
task with God's blessing and assistance (as with Samson). During the term of
the pledge the Nazarite would not cut his hair or drink wine.
As if he could not
resist the possibilities that the Jews of Ephesus would be more receptive than
those of Corinth, Paul went to the Synagogue to have a discussion with the
members. They were receptive, at least to the degree that they wanted to hear
more of what Paul had to say. He was anxious to be on his way to Jerusalem and
back to Antioch so he promised them he would return if God willed. As soon as
the ship was ready Paul sailed for Caesarea Maritima leaving Aquila and
Priscilla in Ephesus to carry on a mission.
After greeting the
Church in Jerusalem, Paul returned to Antioch in Syria, staying long enough to
refresh himself for the next mission. When he was ready he set off again. He
traveled through the Galatia region and Phrygia, visiting and encouraging the
disciples of the several churches of the area.
Acts Chapter 18:24-28 The Ministry of Apollos
Luke introduces us
to a new person, Apollos, a Jewish Christian from Alexandria, Egypt. From the
descriptive information we can conclude that Apollos was part of the very large
Jewish community in Alexandrian, a city only second to Rome in importance. He
was educated in the Greek tradition and well steeped in the Greek Old
Testament. He had been baptized in water by John but not by the Holy
Sprit. We know nothing of the source or place of his conversion as a believer.
His eloquence and enthusiasm made him an excellent teacher but the
content of his teaching was apparently limited to the events related to
Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection which he taught accurately.
When he came to
Ephesus he first tried his hand at convincing the Synagogue Jews of what he had
learned about Jesus. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him they recognized the
inadequacies of his knowledge. They "took him aside and explained the Way
of God more accurately," which means the Way according to Paul's
preaching. Although Luke does not mention Apollos' receiving of the Holy
Spirit, his later work in Corinth (vs.
28) where he "powerfully" refutes the Jews by his preaching of
Jesus as the Messiah, we can conclude as much. As something of a tribute to
Apollos, Paul will mention him in First Corinthians as a major and successful
evangelist in that city.
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