Acts 18 - Printer Friendly

What does Acts 18 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Paul is in the middle of his second missionary voyage. He and Silas left Syrian Antioch and traveled by foot north and west through central modern-day Turkey. In Lystra, they met Timothy; Paul saw Timothy had the potential to be a leader in the church and brought him along. The Holy Spirit forbade them to spread Jesus' message in the large southwestern province of Asia or the northern province of Bithynia. Instead, the team traveled to the port town of Troas where they picked up Luke and sailed across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. They had great success in Philippi, though Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned overnight. They met strong resistance in Thessalonica, and honest intellectuals in Berea. When Jews from Thessalonica came to Berea to threaten them, Paul escaped to Athens where he debated Stoic and Epicurean philosophers to modest effect (Acts 16—17).

In Acts 18:1–4, Paul travels, still by himself, to Corinth, the major city west of Athens. He quickly meets Aquila and Priscilla who fled their home in Rome due of the emperor Claudius' persecution of the Jews. Because they are also tent-makers, Paul joins them in their trade during the week and spends Sabbaths trying to convince the Jews and Gentile God-fearers that Jesus is the Messiah.

Acts 18:5–11 finds the missions team settling in. Silas and Timothy arrive, Luke having left them in Philippi, providing Paul the opportunity to spend more time preaching. Paul is opposed and reviled in the synagogue and finally leaves there to preach to the Gentiles. He moves to the home of a Gentile believer next door to the synagogue. Crispus—the synagogue ruler—and many others believe Paul's message. Jesus appears to Paul and tells him to stay in Corinth; he and his team will remain safe. They stay in Corinth for a year and a half.

Acts 18:12–17 recounts a story that acts as a foil for Jesus' crucifixion. The Jews who do not follow Jesus try to convince Gallio the proconsul that Paul is an enemy of the state. Unlike Pilate, Gallio has no interest in getting in the middle of a fight between Jewish sects. He refuses to judge against Paul and does nothing when the new ruler of the synagogue is beaten.

In Acts 18:18–23, the team's time in Corinth comes to an end. Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila travel to Cenchreae, Corinth's port, then cross the southern Aegean to Ephesus for a very short time. The Jews in the Ephesian synagogue ask Paul to stay and tell them more, but he leaves Priscilla and Aquilla and sails home. Paul lands in Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Judea, drops by the church in Jerusalem, and returns to Syrian Antioch. After a stay in Antioch, Paul begins his third missionary trip by returning to central Turkey to, again, encourage the churches he'd planted with Barnabas (Acts 13:4—14:23).

Meanwhile, in Acts 18:24–28, Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos, a dynamic Jewish speaker. His knowledge, however, only encompasses the baptism for repentance that John the Baptist taught and some things about Jesus. Priscilla and Aquila explain to him salvation by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and Apollos becomes a great Christian teacher. After receiving the training he needs, he goes to Corinth, building on what Paul established (Acts 19:1) and making such an impression that the church divides into unhealthy sects (1 Corinthians 1:12).

From Galatia, Paul will continue his third missionary voyage by finally reaching Asia, specifically the city of Ephesus, for a significant stay. He'll return to Macedonia and Greece and briefly stop by Ephesus again before returning to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, he will be arrested on trumped-up charges and spend two years under house arrest in Caesarea Maritima. When he appeals to Caesar, he will face a harrowing sea voyage before finally reaching Rome, where he has wanted to go for a long time (Romans 1:9–11). Luke doesn't tell us what happens in Rome, just that Paul is there for two years and then released (Acts 19—28).

Acts 18:1–4 sees Paul arriving in Corinth. He has traveled across modern-day Asia Minor and down the eastern coast of Macedonia and Greece. From Athens, he heads west across the isthmus to the large Greek city. There, he will meet Aquila and Priscilla, refugees from Claudius' persecutions in Rome. The couple will be a great support to him, providing him with a means of living until Silas and Timothy reach him. Priscilla and Aquila will also follow Paul to Ephesus and train Apollos, a passionate speaker who only needs to know the story of Jesus to be a great preacher (Acts 18:24–28).

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 18:12–17 describes the relatively mild resistance Paul meets as he builds the church in Corinth. Paul spends eighteen months in Corinth teaching about Jesus' offer of forgiveness and establishing the church. The Jews who reject his message bring him to court and accuse him of teaching a new religion that isn't authorized by the Roman government. Gallio, the proconsul, doesn't see any socially relevant difference between the Jews and the Jesus-followers. So, he dismisses the charges. A crowd responds by seizing the leader of the synagogue and beating him, but Gallio does not give it any attention.

Acts 18:18–21 starts with a short account of Paul's final days in Corinth. He works there, where he met Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:2–3), for eighteen months (Acts 18:11) before taking the couple with him to Ephesus. He apparently spends only one day in the synagogue before sailing to Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Judea. He stops briefly in Jerusalem before returning home to Syrian Antioch, then travels north and west again into modern-day Turkey. Meanwhile, Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos in Ephesus and teach him the truth about Jesus, thus equipping another powerful witness for the church (Acts 18:24–28).

Acts 18:22–23 quickly records the hiatus after Paul's second journey and the beginning of his third. He sails from Ephesus to Caesarea Maritima and travels to Jerusalem, then his home base of Syrian Antioch. After an extended stay, he returns to the churches he and Barnabas had planted in the district of Galatia in modern-day Turkey. Next, he will go to Ephesus for three years before revisiting the churches in Macedonia and Greece. After very short stops in Troas and Miletus, Paul will go back to Jerusalem. An altercation at the temple will lead to his arrest and eventual voyage to Rome for trial (Acts 19—28).

Acts 18:24–28 records a short interlude featuring Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. Priscilla and Aquila became fast friends with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1–3). When Paul left Corinth, he brought the couple along and stationed them in Ephesus. Apollos is a Jewish teacher from Alexandria who preaches the baptism of repentance that John the Baptist taught (Mark 1:2–8). Apollos knows some about Jesus, but after Priscilla and Aquila explain how He is the Messiah who offers salvation, Apollos becomes a powerful evangelist and continues Paul's work in Corinth.

Chapter Summary:

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.

Chapter Context:

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.

Accessed 5/6/2024 4:05:37 AM