Acts 18
Paul at Corinth
1 After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.
As far as we know, there was never a church planted in Athens. Corinth was fifty miles from Athens. She possessed a population of around 500,000. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, or actually the goddess of sex, fornication, and prostitution, was her central deity. Corinth was the center of immorally in the ancient world. "To corinthianize" meant to live an immoral life. The ancients called this “the Corinthian sickness.” The expression “a Corinthian girl” meant that she was a prostitute. When Paul first visited Corinth, he was in a state of weakness, fear, and trembling (1 Corinthians 2).
2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them,
In 49 B.C., the Roman Emperor Claudius kicked all of the Jews out of Rome. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, the reason for the Jewish deportation was that there was a conflict between the Judaizers and the messianic Christians. This conflict sent Aquila and Priscilla to Corinth, where they met Paul. When Paul met them, they were already Christians, possibly from the Church of Rome. Paul may have received knowledge of the Church of Rome from them, which gave reason for the letter to the Romans.
3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade).
The Greek word for "tentmakers" is σκηνοποιός (skanopoios), meaning leather worker or tent maker. The three not only made tents, but they worked with all kinds of leather.
4 He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them.
As was his custom, Paul always went to the Jews first.
5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming the Word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
Silas and Timothy came down from the Church of Macedonia and gave Paul a good report of the Church of Thessalonica, which gave Paul great comfort. They also brought money from the Philippian church. They told Paul that he was being slandered. They also brought him questions about the Rapture of the Church. This report caused Paul to write his first letter to the Thessalonians. A few weeks later, he wrote his second letter to the same group, explaining that imminency does not mean immediately, but quickly .
The gifts from the Philippians freed Paul from making tents. He could now concentrate on teaching the Word of God on a daily basis, not just on Sabbaths. He continued to teach from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
6 When they opposed him and reviled him, he protested by shaking out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am guiltless! From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
The Greek word for "opposed" is ἀντιτάσσομαι (antpassomai), which is a military term, meaning to line up in formation for battle. The Jews called out "battle stations" against Paul. The shaking of the dust off his clothes was a Jewish symbol of casting off all contact. Paul would not be found guilty of neglecting his duty of teaching the Gospel to the Jews first. There are many today who need to hear the Gospel, but Satan shames Christians into being silent. Paul will take the Gospel to the Gentiles in Corinth.
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
Titius was a Corinthian Gentile "proselyte of the gate", meaning that he was not a proselyte of Judaism, but he was a Gentile seeking God.
8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it believed and were baptized.
Crispus was the elder of the synagogue who became a believer. Many of the Corinthian Gentiles became believers. They were mostly baptized by Silas and Timothy.
9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent,”
The Greek word for "do not be afraid" is φοβέομαι (poobamai), which is where we get the English word phobia, meaning do not be afraid, withdraw, or avoid the Corinthians. Paul was not to be silent.
10 “because I am with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
There were many of God's elect in Corinth. God had chosen Paul to be the human messenger of the Gospel. This was the devil's city and opposition would come against Paul. Paul was immortal until he completed this task.
11 So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Paul taught in Corinth for eighteen months after the vision, plus his time before the vision. He established the Church of Corinth.
Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio
12 Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul together and brought him before the judgment seat,
The existence of Gallio was well established in secular history. His father was a famous Stoic philosopher and the tutor of Emperor Nero. The Greek word for "attacked" is κατεφίστημι (kataphistami), meaning that the Jews rose up, rushed Paul, and assaulted him with hostile intent. The Greek word for "judgment seat" is βῆμα (bama), meaning an official throne of the Roman Empire where a judge handed out either rewards or judgments.
13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law!”
According to Roman Law, each ethnic group could only practice one religion. For the Jews, it was Judaism. The Jews claimed that Paul was teaching a different religion, yet he was actually teaching the same, as grace through faith was taught in the Old Testament as well. Abraham was justified by faith.
14 But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, I would have been justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews,”
Gallio informed the Jews that they had no case against Paul.
15 “but since it concerns points of disagreement about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I will not be a judge of these things!”
Gallio judged that Christianity was a sect of Judaism and he would not settle the issue in a Roman Court of Law. This gave Paul the Roman government protection of teaching the Gospel.
16 Then he had them forced away from the judgment seat.
Apparently, the accusing Jews continued to argue against Paul, so Gallio ordered them to be driven out of the Bema court area by force.
17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, and began to beat him in front of the judgment seat. Yet none of these things were of any concern to Gallio.
Once Crispus received the good news and became a believer, he had to give up his post as president of the synagogue. Sosthenes took over and he was beaten in front of the court. It is very possible that this is the same Sosthenes mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:1. If so, he also had become a believer, maybe before, during, or after this public beating in front of the courthouse. This was a Jewish religious matter, so Gallio showed no concern. He did not want the Roman government to get involved.
Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria
18 Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow.
This departure ended Paul's 2nd missionary tour. Paul traveled to Syria, which was in the land of Israel. His new traveling companions were Priscilla and Aquila. Paul may have cut his hair to fulfill the Nazarite vow in Numbers 6:18. This showed that Paul had liberty to keep parts of the Mosaic Law if he desired. The difference between Paul and the Judaizers was that the Judaizers attempted to force the Mosaic Law on the Gentiles. Paul gave both Jews and Gentiles the liberty to either follow or not follow the Mosaic Law.
19 When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila behind there, but he himself went into the synagogue and addressed the Jews.
Ephesus was made a Greek city by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. It became the center of Hellenism. It was one of the top three cities in the east, along with Alexandria of Egypt and Antioch of Syria. Ephesus was an immoral city, similar to Corinth. There was much sorcery and black magic in the area. The city also contained a large Jewish population. Ephesus was known for her worship of Dianna, called the goddess of fertility, but she was actually the goddess of sex and prostitution. The Temple of Diana was four times larger than the Parthenon.
As was his custom of Romans 1:16, Paul left Aquila and Priscilla in the city as he went to the synagogue to address the Jews.
20 When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent,
The Ephesians most likely wanted to research his teachings on Jesus being the Messiah, but Paul would not consent.
21 but said farewell to them and added, “I will come back to you again if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus,
Paul left, but he returned on his third missionary journey.
22 and when he arrived at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the Church at Jerusalem and then went down to Antioch.
Caesarea was a port city in the land of Jerusalem. Paul went up to the Church of Jerusalem, completing his second missionary journey. He then went down to the Church of Antioch. Luke was Jewish, so he knew his geography. Jerusalem was the center of Jewish evangelism and Antioch was the center of Gentile evangelism.
23 After he spent some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Paul was now beginning his third missionary journey. This time he goes alone. Paul leaves Antioch, never to return again. The region of Galatia and Phrygia was a 1500 mile journey by walking, horse, and ship. Paul went from city to city, not evangelizing, but strengthening the churches by building disciples. Many of these churches were established by Paul, but not all of them.
Apollos Begins His Ministry
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures.
Apollos was Jewish. His name was a Greek name, meaning that he came from the diaspora. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. Alexandria was a university town with a large library. One third of the population was Jewish. The Greek Septuagint was translated in this city from Hebrew to Greek. Apollos was an excellent speaker and knew the Scriptures very well, because he had the benefits of the Alexandrian library.
25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John.
The Greek word for "instructed" is κατηχέω (kataicheo), meaning that he was instructed orally by repetition, or memorization.
The Greek word for "great enthusiasm" is ζέω (zeow), meaning boiling hot in spirit. This does not refer to boiling in the Holy Spirit, but boiling hot in human spirit.
Apollos was teaching that John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah and the Messiah was introduced as Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. However, Apollos did not know that Jesus was crucified and resurrected. This good news had not yet traveled into his area. Apollos had received water baptism from John the Baptist, but he had not yet experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
26 He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more adequately.
Priscilla and Aquila filled in the details.
27 When Apollos wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he assisted greatly those who had believed by grace,
Apollos wanted to go to Greece and teach the Gospel. Priscilla and Aquila were well-known and respected in Corinth, so they wrote him a letter of commendation.
28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously in public debate, demonstrating from the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.
Apollos knew the Old Testament prophecies extremely well, since he had been trained in Alexandria. Therefore, he was a powerful witness to the Jews, debating them openly in synagogues. Notice that the written Word of God, not signs and miracles, was used to authenticate the Scriptures.
