Acts 18 (Read it here)
Paul left Athens and made his way to the port city of Corinth. (v. 1) Paul quickly became friends with a couple named Aquila and Priscilla who were tentmakers (v. 3, or leather-workers like he was). Aquila and Priscilla were deported from Rome by Claudius Caesar. (v. 2) The Roman historian, Suetonius, explains that, in the year 121 AD, the Jewish people were "continually causing disorders, the catalyst being Christ (Jesus), he expelled them from Rome."
Apparently Jews were causing so much trouble over the preaching of the Christ-followers in Rome that Caesar decided to deport all Jews to get the drama away from him. Can't say I blame him.
As always, Paul was found at the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. (v. 4) Silas and Timothy rejoined Paul as he continually preached that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the Scriptures. (v. 5) However, Paul's teaching and the gospel were not accepted. The Jews insulted him so much so that he left them to their fate and assured them that we would from now on preach to the Gentiles. (v. 6)
Yet even though Paul was poorly received by many Jews, the leaders of the synagogue (Chrispus) came to faith in Christ, along with many others! (v. 8)
God continued to embolden Paul to preach the gospel confidently without ceasing. (v. 9) I can imagine that Paul was assured by this promise from God. God promises that "no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me." (v. 10) So that's what Paul did for the next 18 months; teach, teach, teach. (v. 11)
After a while some Jews grew insistently tired of Paul's teaching and sought to arrest him by bringing him to the new governor, Gallio. (v. 12) The same old accusation of "he's telling us not to obey you and/or the law" was used. (v. 13) Gallio, like Claudius, wanted nothing to do with these pointless Jewish debates so he had the case thrown out. (vs. 14-16)
Here our translation reads that the crowd beat up Sosthenes (the leader who apparently succeeded Chrispus), but other translations say that the Greeks were the ones who were beating up on him. (v. 17) But Gallio's disdain for the Jews meant that he definitely didn't care about Sosthenes' well-being.
When it came time for Paul to leave Corinth, he shaved his head signifying the end of a vow. (v. 18)
What was the vow?
Some have speculated that he was severing his ties with the Pharisees. The Pharisees, including Paul, would've kept their hair long in accordance with Jewish law. And since he had tired of the Jews' rebellion (probably mostly due to Pharisaic tendencies), Paul decided to disavow himself from the sect of the Pharisees.
Others argue that Paul had fulfilled a Nazirite vow (described in Numbers 6:1-21) for an undisclosed period of time. During a Nazirite vow Paul would've promised to:
- Not drink alcohol
- Not eat anything that contained grapes
- Not cut his hair
- And not to touch or be in the presence of a dead body
This sounds possible and right up a Pharisee's alley, however, the end of a Nazirite vow required Paul to make three animal sacrifices. This does not jive with Paul's message about Jesus being the once-for-all sacrifice for all humankind. Therefore, it is implausible to think that Paul was ending a Nazirite vow here in Acts 18:18.
Now, where were we?
Oh yeah, Paul leaves Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila in tow.
By the way, scholars have suggested that Priscilla, the female, is listed first by Luke because she was the speaker and spiritual leader in her marriage with Aquila.
However, after preaching briefly at the synagogue in Cenchrea, Paul leaves everyone and visits Ephesus (where Paul would send the book of Ephesians to in the future), Caesarea, Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia and Phrygia to encourage all the believers of Christ that were part of churches in those areas. (vs. 19-23, the map at the beginning of this post would be helpful right about now)
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Luke shifts his attention back to Ephesus where a Jew named Apollos began preaching the gospel. (v. 24) Apollos is very educated, passionate and enthusiastic while also teaching with accuracy about Jesus. (v. 25) Apollos had taken the example of John the Baptist as his model for reaching the masses for Jesus, however, he was unaware that the apostles were baptizing in Jesus' name now. Priscilla and Aquila shared this new detail with him, making his preaching complete and even more accurate. (v. 26)
Apollos was very influential and won over many Ephesians with his preaching. The church in Ephesians even sponsored his missionary trip to Achaia (across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus) by insisting that the believers there welcome him. He mentored many in Achaia. (v. 27) He, like Paul, constantly debated with Jews and used the Scriptures to prove to them that Jesus was the Messiah. (v. 28) This closing mention of Apollos' preaching is a great indicator of how Priscilla and Aquila had instructed him on how Paul taught and handled the local opposition from the Jews.
1.) Have you, like Paul, ever received a peace from God where you were fearless about sharing your faith? If not, what if you were promised by God for your safety and well-being while you share your faith? Would that make you more bold or not change much? Why?
2.) Paul, who was a Pharisee, keeps butting heads with other Pharisees about Jesus. How do you deal with people who don't want to accept your faith but only go round and round in non-stop debates?
3.) Priscilla and Aquila quickly instruct Apollos regarding his already accurate preaching. Apollos, a man, was being taught by Priscilla, a woman. Apollos showed extraordinary humility to accepting a woman's teaching. Are you willing to accept advise, teaching or criticism from someone who is not as prominent or as influential as you are? Why or why not?
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