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| Chapter 18 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ After these things, Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth. 2 There he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus and lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome. Paul went unto them, 3 and because he was of the same craft, he lodged with them and worked; for by their occupation they were tent makers. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. 5 And when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 6 But when they began opposing him and blaspheming, he shook his raiment and said unto them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." 7 ¶ And he departed thence and entered into a certain man’s house named Justus, one who worshiped God and whose house was adjoining the synagogue. 8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, with all his house. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. 9 Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night through a vision, saying, "Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace. 10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set upon thee to hurt thee, for I have many people in this city." 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them. 12 ¶ And when Gallio was deputy of Achaia, the Jews with one accord began an insurrection against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, 13 saying, "This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law." 14 And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would have it that I should bear with you. 15 But if it be a question of words and names and your own law, look ye to it; for I will not be judge of such matters." 16 And he drove them from the judgment seat. 17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was concerned about none of those things. 18 ¶ And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head at Cenchrea, for he had made a vow. 19 And he came to Ephesus and left them there, but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they desired him to tarry a longer time with them, he consented not, 21 but bade them farewell, saying, "I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills." And he sailed from Ephesus. 22 And when he had landed at Caesarea and had gone up and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed and went through all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. 24 ¶ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the Way of the Lord; and being fervent in the Spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla had heard him, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the Way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him. And when he had come, he helped them much who had believed through grace; 28 for he mightily refuted the Jews (and that publicly), showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ. |
Paul leaves Athens and moves West to Corinth. The wickedness of this city was known all over the Roman world. The position of the city made it central for trade and travel. It had many religions and strange beliefs, this bringing in much riches for the city people. Corinth was a very important city. Helpers and workers appear. v1-5 God leads Paul to a Jewish couple Aquila and Priscilla, they were in the same work as Paul, a tent maker. It was normal for all Jewish rabbis not to be paid by their students for their teaching, so they all had a trade to support them, Paul made leather tents. 1 Cor 9:6-15; 2 Cor 11:6-10. We are not told if Aquila and Priscilla were believers when they met Paul but it is likely they were. They were to become a very committed couple in serving the Lord, even putting themselves in danger. Rom 16:3,4. During the week Paul and this couple made tents but each Sabbath they entered the synagogue to preach Christ to the Jews and Greeks there. v5 When Silas and Timothy arrived they brought financial support for Paul 2 Cor 11:9 so Paul was able to preach the message full time. v6-8 As the message of salvation spreads the usual opposition appears, the unbelieving Jews rejected the message. Before this had caused Paul to move on but here he feels the Lord’s leading him to turn away from the Jews and go to the Gentiles. Though he never stopped witnessing to the Jews, from now on his main calling was for the Gentiles. "Your blood be upon your own heads; " means that you are to blame for your own decision and judgement. God now brings two more believers into the work, Titus Justus and Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue. The message of salvation spreads and many are saved. v9,10 For the chief ruler of the synagogue to have become a believer must have hit the unbelieving Jews very hard, it is therefore possible, though Luke does not mention it, that there was serious opposition and this is why God gave Paul a message of encouragement. God had already been working, He had "many people in this city." Paul continues the work in Corinth for eighteen months. v12-17 In these verses we can see that God is in full control of any opposition. A new Pro counsel is appointed by Rome and the unbelieving Jews think that they can use this to stop Paul, to make this new "Christian teaching" illegal. The Jews actually broke the law themselves by forcing Paul to attend the court. Paul was prepared to defend himself but God had already prepared the proconsul Gallio for he saw that it was not a Roman Law being broken, but Jewish understanding of their own religion and throws it out. But it does not end their, the Greeks then take the new leader of the synagogue, Sosthenes, and beat him in front of the proconsul, a real anti-Jewish behaviour, but the proconsul ignores their actions. In 1 Cor 1:1 Paul refers to a brother in Christ Sosthenes, did this Jewish ruler become a believer? The Jews tried to make the Christian faith illegal, instead the power of God made it acceptable, by refusing to get involved, Gallio the proconsul, indicated that Rome would not get involved. v18-22 By God’s Will. v18 Paul now leaves Corinth after the eighteen months and sails for Syria, his two co-workers, Aquila and Priscilla go with him. Cenchrea was the seaport of Corinth Rom 16:1 and there was a group of believers there. Paul has his hair cut off during this time in Cenchraea, "he had made a vow." is probably talking about the Nazirite vow mentioned in Numbers 6. This vow was voluntary as a sign of their belief, it was not part of salvation so it was an indication of devotion to God. The hair was allowed to grow for a set time and then cut off to show the end of the vow. We are not told why Paul did this. As part of this vow the person had to present an offering sacrifice in Jerusalem, this may be what Luke was referring to in v21. This does not mean that the early believers felt that they should observe Jewish feasts, Paul taught that salvation did not involve any religious offerings or attending religious observances. Consider Gal 4:1-11; Rom 14:1 - 15:7; 1 Cor 9:19-23. v19 Arriving at Ephesus where he made contact with the Jews in the synagogue, obviously they were very interested in the message as they wanted him to stay longer. v22 Landing at Caesarea he then went overland to Jerusalem, then onto Antioch, giving reports of the work as he went. v23 We are not told how long Paul remained in Antioch before he started out on his third missionary journey. Luke gives very little information on the initial part of the journey except to tell us that Paul was "strengthening all the disciples." Luke wants the reader to get to Ephesus, with its 300,000 people it was the capital city of the Roman area of Asia. It had a large harbour and was very wealthy due to the trade. It also had a large temple to ‘Diana’, 418 feet by 239 feet and 50 feet high. Inside it had the "sacred image" of Diana(Artemis) which was said fell from the sky, probably a meteorite. Acts 19:35, this temple brought in many extra visitors. Diana(Artemis) was the god of fertility, so there were hundreds of "priestesses" available at the temple for visiting men. Paul was to remain here for three years. v23-28 Apollos, a man with only part of the message. Paul had left Priscilla and Aquila behind in Ephesus while he went onto Jerusalem, they continued the spread of the message until Paul returned. It appears that one day they heard a visiting Jew, Apollo, preaching part of the message of salvation. Apollos was from Alexandria, a city of great education, it had a university and a very large library. Apollos was well educated in the Old Testament and was very able at teaching. Unfortunately his message ended at John the Baptist, he knew nothing of Jesus, Calvary and the resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. God had sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ, it included a baptism of repentance in preparation of the coming Messiah. John 1:15-34; Mark 1:1-11. v26 Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos away to their home and added the missing information to his message of God. Apollos now becomes a strong missionary for God, he helped the believers at Ephesus so much they recommend him to other churches. |
Easy English Translation
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