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The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 18:1–28 Tentmaker and Apostle at Corinth 18.1 After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. As far as we know after leaving Athens Paul never went back certainly never wrote a letter to any church there. He went on from there to the city of Corinth. 18:2 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 Corinth he became acquainted with a Christian Jew named Aquila a native of Pontus a country in Asia with his wife Priscilla they were refugees from Rome because the Emperor Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave, apparently because they were causing civil unrest. 18:3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade). This is the first time we are told that Paul had a trade as a tentmaker and as Aquila was also one they worked together. Apparently it was a regular custom for those who were well educated for Paul had been taught by Gamaliel to be a lawyer (Acts 22:3), to also learn a professional trade. Was Paul at this time guided by the Holy Spirit to work to support himself because of later trouble with the Christians at Corinth? (1 Corinthians 9:18, 2 Corinthians 11:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:8). As a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ he certainly had the right to expect to be paid for his services (1 Corinthians 9:3 - 12). 18:4 He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them. Every Sabbath day he went to the synagogue speaking to both Jews and Gentiles trying to persuade them that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and Saviour of the world.
18:5 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. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia he was able to fully give himself over to proclaiming the Gospel message. 18:6 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!" When those in the synagogue opposed and insulted him he shook out his clothes as an expression that he would have nothing more to do with them (Matthew 10:14) as they had heard the message and rejected it and therefore Jesus Christ he was guiltless but they would pay the penalty for their guilt in rejecting Christ (Ezekiel 3: 18 - 19). From now on Paul would go and preach the Gospel message to the Gentiles outside the synagogue. 18:7 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. So Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of a Gentile named Titus Justus who lived next door to the synagogue and worshipped God. 18:8 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. After this Crispus the ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord Jesus Christ with all his household and many other Corinthians also heard and believed and were baptized in water. 18:9–10 The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, because I am with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city." The conversion of Crispus with his household and many Corinthians would have stirred up the nonbelieving Jews against Paul so the Lord spoke to him in a vision. He gave him the assurance that he was in the right place and the right time fulfilling His purpose. He was not to be afraid but to continue to speak boldly for no one would assault or harm him for the Lord was with him and because there were many in the city that would hear and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 18:11 So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. With this assurance Paul remained in Corinth for eighteen months teaching the word of God among them.
Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio 18.12–13 Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul together and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, "This man is persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law!"
At the time when Gallio was appointed by the Romans as governor of Achaia (Greece) the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the court accusing him persuading the people to worship God in a way that was contrary to the law. 18:14–16 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, 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!" Then he had them forced away from the judgment seat. Before Paul could open his mouth in self-defence Gallio turned to his accusers stating that if Paul had committed a serious crime of wrongdoing it would have been a sufficient reason for him to hear the case however, as it was a matter of points of disagreement about words and names concerning Jewish law it was not his business to judge they were to settle it among themselves. Then he had them thrown out of the courtroom. 18:17 (NKJV) Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things. When Crispus became a Christian he would have been removed as ruler of the synagogue and Sosthenes appointed in his place. It would have most probably been the Greek bystanders in the court on seeing Gallio’s treatment of the Jews took a hold of Sosthenes and beat him in front of the court but Gallio completely ignored this.
A Brief Visit to Ephesus 18.18 Paul, after 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. After his eighteen months stay in Corinth Paul bade farewell to the believers and sailed to Syria along with Priscilla and Aquila. Commentators are equally divided on whether it is Paul or Aquila that shaved their heads in this verse. The Ethiopic version plays safe and reads that they both did. It would appear that the vow would have been that of the Nazarene (Numbers 6:18) and that the vow having fulfilled the hair was shaved off at Cenchrea. 18:19–21 When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila behind there, but he himself went into the synagogue and addressed the Jews. When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent, 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 Priscilla and Aquila at the port of Ephesus while he went on to the synagogue to preach to the Jews. When invited to stay with them longer he however refused but taking his leave of them promised that he would return again if God so willed. He then went Ephesus. 18:22 and when he arrived at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem and then went down to Antioch. At Caesarea he went up and greeted the church in Jerusalem and then went on to Antioch.
18:23 After he spent some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. He spent some time in Antioch and then went on through the region of Galatia and Phrygia strengthening and encouraging the disciples.
Apollos Begins His Ministry 18.24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures. While Paul was in Galatia and Phrygia and Priscilla and Aquila were in Ephesus a Jew named Apollos a native of Alexandria in Ephesus. He was an eloquent orator and well versed in the scriptures. 18:25 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. Somewhere along the way Apollos must have come into contact with disciples of the Lord who had led him to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour and had taught him in the way of the Lord with the limited knowledge that they had. For although he went around speaking and teaching with accuracy the facts about Jesus with great enthusiasm he only knew about the water baptism of John. This would suggest that he did not know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Communion. Some commentators say that he was limited only to what John the Baptist said about Jesus but this could not be correct for Luke says that he “taught accurately the facts about Jesus”. 18:26 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 accurately. Fearlessly he began to preach in the synagogue but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they realized that he only had a limited knowledge of the teachings of the Christ so they took him aside and taught him more accurately the full truth. He was a good pupil for all his eloquence he was humble enough to be put right and be taught. 18:27 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 had a desire to go over to Achaia (Greece) and the brethren encouraged him to do so. They gave him letters of recommendation to give the believers and asking them to him feel at home. When he arrived there he proved to be a great help to those who by grace had believed. 18:28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously in public debate, demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. In public debates he powerfully refuted with the Jews showing from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2015. Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org