Acts - chapter 18

1 After these events gone ^[Paul^] from Athens and came to Corinth.

• [about 88 km west of Athens, capital of the senatorial province of Achaia (v. 27!), seat of the Roman governor (v. 12), at that time the largest city of Greece;
• Your such as „these“ events? After his stay in Athens, a city of intellectuals and spiritual scholars, Paul told them in his speech that God would judge the world through Jesus, and that he had given proof of this to all by raising him from the dead. As soon as they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some He mocked . the others said, „We'll hear you talk about it another time.“ So ⁽from them⁾ Paul left. But some joined him and believed; among them Dionysios Areopagita, a woman named Damaris, and with them still others. (apparently a prominent man and later local bishop).
• How would one evaluate such a mission trip? As a success or as a failure?
• Pavel and his team were certainly not upset - that's just the way the world works. Few and far between is the response to the gospel mass and unequivocal. But there are almost always souls ready to receive salvation.

2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, ⁽who came from⁾of Pontus, and his wife Priscilla. This had recently come from Italy because Claudius had ordered all the Jews out of Rome. Paul came to them, 

• diminutive of Prisca;
• [in r. 49 (see Suetonius, Claudius];
• There are no coincidences. The Supreme is in control. He directs circumstances to bring us together with the right people.
• The world is a rough place to live - if the mayor were to order that he no longer wanted to see any Christians in Ostrava starting next month, it would not be a simple situation. Where would we go? Do you have relatives somewhere? Would we go to Prague, Olomouc or Aš? And what if we had to leave the Czech Republic? Would we find at least unskilled work there?
• Nowadays we can imagine this situation more easily, because we all know a Ukrainian refugee or family (2024).
• Aquila was a Jew. As guests in a foreign country, they found their way to each other easily - when we hear Czech in a foreign country, we immediately react. In South Sudan, you can talk to every white person you meet (only you don't meet any there).
• Sometimes the role of women in the church is discussed¹ - Priscilla is not at all neglected here, she was as important as her husband.

3 And because he had the same trade, he abode with them, and worked; for they were tentmakers.

• How do we imagine these spouses? Like 50-somethings whose children have flown the nest? Or did they have children with them? Did they have children with their grandparents? Were they childless?
• Together they founded the company.
• They made „outdoor“ equipment. Sewing a good tent is no small feat. And quality will take time to establish itself.
• For millennia, Jews had a rule that they would teach their sons a trade or banking, but always insisted that the son learn a trade. The world is an uncertain place to live, but a good plumber or bricklayer will always be in demand.
• Apart from earning a living, Paul moved about in the ordinary world, which is useful. On the one hand, it is great that we have a good community in the church; on the other hand, it remains important that we are scattered like the salt of the earth in our workplaces.
• Christianity is not a Sunday service affair - With the coming of Monday, our Christianity does not end, but begins.
• Our work is our worship. It is by no means the case that the work of a pastor is more spiritual than that of a janitor or anywhere else. A Christian can make a temple out of a „garbage truck.“.
• For example, hairdressers are good at it - not that they have to evangelize every client, but they are close to the people, they know them and their needs.
• Paul, as we know, prided himself on working as a missionary and not relying solely on donors. He thought of it as an extra that he was giving to God.

4 Every Sabbath he used to speak in the synagogue. . persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

• So, for a period of time, maybe a few months, Paul's schedule was as follows: from Sunday to Friday, he sewed tents and on Saturday he went to the synagogue where he told the people that Jesus had been raised and that he, Paul, had met him.
• How the Greeks came to do this is hard to say - perhaps they went to the synagogue on Saturdays for lack of other entertainment? Probably hardly, but in many countries it is still the case that the range of Sunday entertainment is not as wide as in the West² and attending the service is the only way for people to socialize and „have fun“.

5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself wholly Announcing words and testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

• Silas is mentioned three times in Paul's letters, each time together with Timothy. He mentions him in his first letter as both Silvanus and ap. Peter.
• Their arrival must have been an encouragement to Paul. We can imagine what an encouragement it is to have kindred spirits in a foreign land.
• At the same time, their arrival freed his hands - they probably took over the company and Pavel had more space to talk to people.
• So we see the principle that such division of labour is possible and desirable: Pavel was clearly the best at talking to people on the team, so it was logical that the others tried to create space for him. It was certainly more effective than having everyone working in tents and spending the afternoon together talking.
• We have a good pastor, so it is only right that our financial contributions give him the space to do what he is really good at.
• It does not mean that by tithing we are „done“; that the pastor is now our paid „ministry“ who does everything for us. As we have said, our workplace remains our temple.

6 . rebelled and blasphemed, shook out His and said to them, „Your blood on your head. I I've been away from her clean. Henceforth I will go to the Gentiles/nations.

• The situation eventually came to a standstill - the Jews in the synagogue did not want to be persuaded (they resisted Paul's arguments) and were aggressive.
• Rouhali themselves - so apparently they were speaking of Christ in an indiscriminate way.
• There's nothing we can do about it. If you don't want to, you don't want to. There are limits to when further discussion makes no sense.
• He shook out his dress: it is a symbolic act that says - I want nothing more to do with you. Not even the dust from your synagogue will remind me of you anymore. I'm done with you.
• Nowadays, we might say: I'm wiping you off my phone.
• Your blood on your head. I I've been away from her cleanA: If you go wrong, if you waste your lives and end up in hell, that's your problem. I have not hidden the way to salvation from you. I've tried to show it to you as clearly as I could.
• We are not responsible for the salvation of those around us. We are responsible for showing them the way to salvation, but we cannot control what they do with that information. God will not call us to account for someone not being converted. For not telling Him about the possibility of rescue, we did.
• We are to evaluate our ministry regularly - if we see that we are breaking into a closed door somewhere, it is legitimate to move elsewhere.
• What is the situation in our country and in Ostrava?
  • On the one hand, we are in Paul's situation in the sense that there are many people who have never heard of Christ.
  • On the other side we feed the overeaten. People are well off and don't know that „the ship is sinking“. So they don't appreciate our message of the Savior.

The Titanic of this world has a hole and sooner or later it will go down. We know that and we know the way to the lifeboat. To keep it to ourselves is a great sin - the responsibility for the drowned is then ours. But if we show them the way and they don't use the lifeboat, it is their responsibility. You can't force them into the boat. 

 

• From now on I will go to the Gentiles/nations: Trying to break into a closed door at some point stops making sense. It becomes a waste of time and energy.
• It is important to recognize this moment and redirect your efforts elsewhere. Why break into a door that is kept closed from the inside, when our neighbours' door is open and we are welcome and invited?
• On the other hand, we know that perseverance is important. Sometimes we pray for someone for decades before something happens.
• Recognizing when to try hard again and again and when to move on is not always easy. But most of the time, God will give us the discernment.

7 And he passed from thence, and entered into the house of a certain man. men on behalf of ^[Titus^] Justus, who worshipped God; his house was adjacent to the synagogue.

• Where there is a will, there is a way. God does not leave His children to flounder for long.
• Titus was obviously not a Jew, but that did not prevent him from honored God. To reckon with God in his life, to respect Him and to try to obey and follow Him.
• Ready hearts (some use the term „candidates for salvation„) can be found everywhere. These are people whose hearts have been prepared by the Holy Spirit so that when they encounter the gospel they will accept it.
• Titus was such a man. Not only did he receive the good news, but he immediately invited Paul into his house, which he offered as a suitable gathering place for believers.
• The believing Jews were not far off.

8 Now Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed the Lord with his whole house, and many of the Corinthians who were listening, ⁽coming to faith and being baptized⁾.

• We can see that the situation was not clear-cut: on the one hand, Paul was tired of arguing with the Jews, but on the other hand, it was not that everyone rejected him.
• He even turned synagogue leader.
• Many non-Jews also responded. They were interested in what Paul was saying, and ready souls accepted it.
• The expression of belief was, as always. baptism.
• In any case, it was a dynamic, evolving and largely chaotic situation. That's the way it is with the gospel, and that's the way it must and should be.

9 In the night the Lord said to Paul by a vision: „Fear not, but speak, and be not silent, 

• Paul was obviously going through some kind of crisis - the situation in Corinth was getting worse, there was more hostility, nothing had been „happening" for some time, people were not turning, the ministry was at a standstill.
• Paul needed encouragement - for it is nothing more than encouragement.
• Paul was given encouragement at night and in visionA: If it were a dream, it would probably be explicitly stated, so not in a dream, but in a vision. Something was „projected“ to Paul. We don't really know what, because it is only the words he heard that are in question. The word „hearing“ is not used in this sense, so perhaps Paul heard the voice of God in the night. (Perhaps the words could have been shown to him written).
• What did God want to tell him? Don't be afraid, but speak and don't be silent: So Paul must have been afraid. Circumstances showed him that if he continued as he had been doing, he would be „in trouble“. He was probably considering „taking a break,“ not talking so much and so urgently about Christ that he would stifle discussion with his opponents.
• He had had more than enough „troubles“ at this point; let us recall, for example, that he was almost stoned to death in Lystra some time ago. No wonder, then, that he was carefully considering his next steps.
• However, God's instruction was clear - fear must be suppressed and the ministry must continue as before, that is, talking about Christ and debating with opponents.

10 for I am with you, and no one will touch you to harm you. For I have many people in this city.“

• God promises Paul supernatural protection, „impunity.“ God has the power to „organize“ things in the city in a way that ensures that no one will harm Paul.
• How can he do that? We don't know - the circumstances are so many and so complex that we are far from knowing how the Supreme does it. God is „pulling the strings“ behind the scenes, „bending the hearts of rulers like streams of water“ to accomplish His purposes (Prov. 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord like streams of water; He bends it wherever He pleases.)
• The justification for Paul's protection is amazing: God has in Corinth many people
• What kind of people? Candidates for salvation, people in spiritual need, with hearts ready to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. People who, when they hear Paul, their hearts race and they say: That's it! This is what we have been waiting for. Finally, the answer! Now I know why I live.
• And they're not two, they're not a couple, they're many - certainly enough to start a church/church.
• We can get a glimpse of the Corinthian church through two of Paul's letters - it wasn't easy, but it was throbbing with life.

11 Settled down Call for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

• What was Paul's reaction? Uncompromising - settled there. He stayed there.
• He started a church/church and talked about how Christians should live.
• We learn this in the church as well. It is one of the functions of the Church.
• And by the way: single people have that flexibility. If Paul had been married, had a wife and children, he would not have been able to use his time and life so freely.

12 Now when Gallio was governor in Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul, and brought him to judgment.

• [brother of the philosopher Seneca, admired for his exceptional kindness] 
• [r. 51-52 (according to an inscription found at Delphi)];
• r.: unanimously;
• R.: to the judgment seat; 
• God's protection has stopped working? We'll see that it hasn't yet.
• We can see that latent tensions against Paul and the church were present all along - and when the political situation allowed it, they surfaced immediately.
• Those of the Jews who were to be converted were converted. The other Jews remained strictly opposed.
• They dragged Paul to court. In this respect, good governance, including independent courts, is a good thing. If there had been a Jewish religious court in Corinth, things would not have gone well with Paul. This is how he was brought before the Roman court.
• In South Sudan, I witnessed how an unpopular leader wanted to settle accounts with another church leader through the secular authorities, i.e. the police. Fortunately, the latter, as in Corinth, had the good sense to refuse to deal with such cases, saying that the church should settle such matters among itself.

13 and they said, „This person persuades people to worship God contrary to the law.“

• Is that what the indictment said? Roman law dealt with religious matters to some extent.
• To some extent, perhaps, it was true.
• We are about to see how crucial an independent and fair judiciary is.

14 While Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, „If speech, there was any injustice or crime, Jews, I would have dealt with you properly. 15 But when speech, there are disputes about doctrine and names and your Law, ⁽deal with⁾ speech, themselves among themselves. I don't want to be a judge in that.“ 16 And he drove them away from the court.

• r.: open your mouth;
• The trial was quick - the moment Gallo discovered that it was a religious dispute between Jews, he immediately ended the trial.
• The Word he drove away shows that he's probably upset or disgusted by this discovery.
• He was a good judge.
• That the Jews wanted to bring their religious dispute with Paul (is Jesus the Messiah or not?) to a secular court is embarrassing.
• Later, something similar happened to the Corinthian Christians themselves: later, in his first letter to Corinth, Paul writes: 6:1n  Why dare any of you, when he has a matter against another, to judge himself before unbelievers instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you judge the world, are you not worthy to judge trifles? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much rather the affairs of this life! 
• Gallio was obviously a good judge. More like that.

17 Here everyone ^[The Greeks^] seized the synagogue leader Sosthenes and beat . in court, but Gallio took no notice. 

• This seems to have happened in the context of the „moving away“ from the court. The Greeks understood Gallio's instruction in their own way and gave vent to their „anti-Semitism“.
• Such anarchy in court was certainly not right, but Gallio let it run its course nonetheless. This would indicate that he was disgusted with the actions of the Jewish leaders who had brought Paul there.
• Incidentally, Sosthenes replaced Crispus in the leadership of the synagogue, who believed.
• We see that God's promise of protection still „worked.“.

18 When Call Paul stayed still ⁽some time⁾, said goodbye to his brothers and sailed to Syria, and with him . Priscilla and Aquila. He had his head shaved in the Kenchreys because he made a vow. 

• r.: many days;
• [port on the eastern part of the peninsula, 11 km from Corinth];
• Paul felt that his mission in Corinth was over and that it was time to move on. He knew that his mission was still to plant churches, not to „pastor“ churches already planted.
• At some point, a child must be „let go,“ allowed to stand on his own two feet, allowed to make his own mistakes (and there were plenty of them in Corinth).
• Some time can mean a lot of things. With a total stay in Corinth of eighteen months, it could have been weeks or months.
• But probably the „exhaustion of the portfolio of candidates for salvation“ had already occurred: those who wanted to, whose hearts were ready, had the opportunity to believe.
• And the church was established, so other people no longer „needed“ Paul - they had somewhere to go.
• Our already known husbands went with him.
• He was heading for Jerusalem, albeit with stops. What drew him there is rather unknown:
  • He wanted to bring alms there, as he and the Jerusalemites had previously agreed
  • The vow he took required a visit to the temple
  • He wanted to bring the Jerusalem church up to date on the results of his ministry, etc.
• The fact that Paul³ made a promise, is interesting. What was the promise? There is a promise Nazirite, as we read about it in 4M 6. It was a period of intense searching for the face of God. It was a time when man wanted to draw closer to God than usual.
• The outward signs of the Nazir were three:
  • He didn't cut his hair - probably that's why Paul had his hair cut (maybe all the way off), to make it clear that everything that would grow from now on was already „Nazirite“.
  • Nazir did not drink any alcohol (wine) during his vow
  • He wasn't allowed near the corpse
  • At the conclusion of his vow, the Nazirite burned the hair grown during the Nazirite period with the sacrifice in the temple
• Why did Paul (the „champion“ of salvation by grace) take the Nazirite vow?
• The usual explanation is that he wanted to accommodate the Jewish Christians - to make it as clear as possible that Christianity was the culmination of the Jewish Law, not an abandonment of it.
• For Paul often made similar accommodating moves toward his hearers (1K9:19n For though I am free from all, I have made myself the slave of all, that I may gain as many as possible. And I have become as a Jew to the Jews, that I might win the Jews. To those who are under the Law, I have been as it were under the Law - though I myself am not under the Law - in order to win those who are under the Law. To those who are without the Law, I was as it were without the Law, to win those who are without the Law, though I am not without the Law of God, but am subject to the Law of Christ. To the weak I have become as it were weak, that I might win the weak; to all I am all, that I might save some at least. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may be partaker of it.
• Paul didn't want to be a stumbling block to anyone (1Co 10:32 Do not be a stumbling block to the Jews or the Greeks or the Church of God)
• But I wouldn't rule out that he wanted to take the Nazirite vow for the sake of the cause (not for the sake of the people around him) - maybe he felt he needed to focus more on seeking God's face, finding another direction for his ministry, or something like that.
• Setting aside a special time when one seeks God in fasting or other self-denial was not only helpful to Old Testament believers, but it is helpful to Christians as well.

19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, and went into the synagogue himself, and talked with the Jews. 

• [an influential coastal city of Asia Minor, about 400 km by boat from Corinth];
• At the local synagogue, they may have said: Behold, a Nazir, a pious and obviously educated, zealous Jew. Let's hear what he brings us.

20 Although . they asked him to stay longer, he didn't choose to this, 

• Apparently, he did not upset the Jews in the local synagogue, but rather intrigued them.

21 But he took his leave, and said: „I certainly must spend the coming feast in Jerusalem. I will come back to you again if God wills.“ Then sailed from Ephesus.

• This time, however, Pavel was not so flexible - this time he had a clear idea of his next programme.
• We do not know exactly why he wanted to spend the feast in Jerusalem - perhaps he wanted to inform the „leadership“ of his activities again, perhaps the visit was related to his Nazirite vow (which ended with a sacrifice in the temple, which was connected with the burning of the hair grown during the vow).
• He did not rule out a return visit, but he knew full well that there were so many circumstances at play that his return was entirely dependent on God.

22 And he came to Caesarea, From here He got off to Jerusalem, greeted church and descended down to Antioch.

• i.e. in the sense of a short visit;
• Paul's next programme was busy and is described only in points.

23 When Call stayed for a while, left From there. Gradually he passed through the Galatian countryside and Phrygia . he strengthened all the disciples. 

• r.: came out 
• [the same cities as at the beginning of the second journey, but in reverse order];
•  Acts 16:6 ^b Acts 15:41; Ř 1:11

• 24A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus,^. originally from Alexandria,^v23 an eloquent man,^t24 proficient^t25 in the Scriptures. ^v23 Acts 6:9; [the second most important city of the Roman Empire with a large Jewish population] ^t24 n.: educated; HL ^t25 ř.: mighty; cf. Acts 7:22; L 24:19 ^. Acts 19:1; 1K 1:12; Titus 3:13
• 25He was ^ptaught the way of the Lord,^. he spoke with a fervent ^cin spirit and taught accurately^b about Jesus, they only knew the baptism of John.^c . Acts 18:26; Acts 9:2 ^b Acts 22:3; Matthew 2:8cf; L 1:3 ^c L 7:29; L 19:3
• 26Started by ^sboldly^t26 sto speak in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him, ^sthey took him ^sby ^sto themselves and still more accurately interpreted to him^. cGod's way. ^t26 n.: openly; Acts 9:27m&mbsp;^. Acts 8:31
• 27A ^sand ^she wanted to go through to Achaia,^. Brothers him in that Encouraged by^b and wrote to the disciples, ^sto make him ^saccepted.^c . Call he came, he was very helpful^d those, ^pwho have believed through grace God's, ^. Acts 18:1p; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:21; Ř 15:26; 1K 16:15; 2K 1:1; 2K 9:2; 2K 11:10; 1 Thess 1:7m&mbsp;^b Acts 11:23 ^c Acts 15:4; Acts 21:17; Acts 28:30; J 13:20v; Ko 4:10; 3J 1:9 ^d 1K 3:6~
• 28for he firmly^. in public to refute arguments Hebrews and pointed out the Scriptures,^b sthat Jesus ^sis the Messiah.^c . L 23:10 ^b Acts 8:35 ^c Acts 17:3

1. My view on the ordination of women in the church is that women are not to have authority over men. If this is observed, they should not be restricted in ministry .in any way. ↩︎
2. Go to the cinema, the theatre, a festival, football, a trip, cycling, water, skiing, a café, shopping. The choice is endless. ↩︎
3. In purely grammatical terms, the promise could also refer to Aquila, but in reality it is unlikely ↩︎