Acts 18:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue.

NIV: Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.

NASB: Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

CSB: So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

NLT: Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue.

KJV: And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

NKJV: And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

Paul shares the message of Jesus' offer of forgiveness to the Jews in the synagogue of Corinth, but not many believe him. He is frustrated because the Messiah is for the Jews. The Jews as a whole people should realize how Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah promised in the Hebrew Scriptures. They should join Paul in presenting Jesus to the whole world: the blessing of Abraham (Genesis 12:3). Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, and his whole family follow the call (Acts 18:8). Paul also cares about the Jews as a whole (Romans 9:1–5). He can't force them, however, and when the synagogue leadership seems on the verge of expelling him , he proclaims he has fulfilled his responsibility and God will hold them accountable for their choice (Acts 18:6).

Titius Justus, as a "worshiper of God," is a Gentile. There are three classes of people who worship the Jewish God. Jews are, obviously, the first. The second is proselytes—Gentiles who fully convert to Judaism, the males accepting circumcision. Third are the "God-fearers" or "God-worshipers"—Gentiles who follow God and go to synagogue but do not fully convert. The book of Galatians is largely about how Gentile Christians do not have to first become Jews.

This is not the last time Paul will find a long-term solution to his expulsion from the synagogue. During his third missionary journey, he will travel to Ephesus and wind up in the hall of Tyrannus for two years (Acts 19:9–10). If God wants us to minister, He will make a way.

Acts 18:5–11 describes Paul in Corinth, making tents with Priscilla and Aquila. He is waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive from Macedonia (Acts 18:1–3). Once they come, Paul can spend more time teaching about Jesus. As usual, the synagogue eventually rejects him, and he moves to the home of a Gentile God-fearer to continue his work. Despite the harassment of the unbelieving Jews, Jesus gives Paul a message that he is to stay in Corinth, which he does for eighteen months. Even when the Jews bring him to court, the proconsul will reject their charges as irrelevant religious squabbles (Acts 18:12–17).

Acts 18 recounts the end of Paul's second missionary journey. He leaves Athens for Corinth, in southern Greece, and works with Priscilla and Aquila as a tentmaker until Silas and Timothy rejoin him. The team stays eighteen months with no significant pressure. Eventually, Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila sail east to Ephesus. Paul leaves a short time later for Judea and Syrian Antioch before returning to Galatia for his third missionary journey. Meanwhile, Priscilla and Aquilla host the church in Ephesus and train a talented speaker named Apollos to be a minister of Christ.

Acts 18 covers the last half of Paul's second missionary journey and the first part of the third. He and his team have traveled down the east coast of Macedonia and Greece to Corinth (Acts 17) where they will spend eighteen months. Paul will stop briefly in Ephesus on their way back to Judea before visiting Jerusalem and Syrian Antioch. From there, Paul will return to Galatia in modern-day Asia Minor before returning to Ephesus for an extended stay (Acts 19). He will revisit the churches in Macedonia and Greece before facing arrest in Jerusalem (Acts 21).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.