Acts. Acts 18:1-18a Successes and Fears

Acts Acts 18:1-18a Successes and Fears P risca, Aquila said, Where have you been? On the day when I first met Paul in the marketplace after the rain, after the crowds had dispersed, after the man had resumed his felling stitch to waterproof Timothy s tent I said, Can I sit beside you a while? He paused and gazed at me His eyes are the color of polished walnuts. Prisca, he said. I nodded. The wife of Aquila, he continued, leatherworkers from Rome. I nodded again, unable not to look at him. Why do you want to sit by me? He asked, and I answered immediately: Because you named the name of Jesus. I didn t say as well that I was grieving the death of my mother. I didn t name the comfort his previous words had granted me: The dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who are alive He fixed his needle in a stitch and reached and took my right hand in his left and examined the pads of my fingers. With a callous on the edge of his right forefinger, he touched the similar callous on mine, then he brought my hand toward his mouth, causing me to step forward. Sit, he said. We beseech you, he said as he retrieved the needle. Timothy scrambled to moisten his pen in a newly opened ink pot. Paul bent down over his work and began again to dictate what Timothy wrote: We beseech you to respect those who labor among you, who in the Lord s name lead you and admonished you. Esteem them, my friends, and love them because of their work. 1 And to the Uttermost Parts of the Earth IV Paul and the Gospel to the Gentiles Chapters 12:25-28:31 A. Paul s Missionary Journeys Chapters 12:25-21:16 3. Second Missionary Journey: Chapters 15:36-18:22 h. Corinth Verses 1-18a Introduction: Too often we confuse ministry with full-time ministry which means in most minds, paid ministry. There are two misconceptions. First, we are all called to ministry. Ministry is the work of all believers. Second, there is something called part-time ministry. We are all to be in full-time ministry which is not synonymous with paid ministry. But more on this later. The City: First let s take a quick overview of the city. I m not going to talk about much of the history, just what the city was like at the time Paul was there. 1. Topography: The city was one of the most strategically located in the ancient world. It was situated on a plateau overlooking the Isthmus of Corinth about two m. from the Gulf. It lay at the foot of Acrocorinth, an acropolis which rises precipitously to 1,886 ft. and was so easily defended in ancient times that it was called one of the fetters of Greece. So impregnable was the fortress that it was never taken by storm until the invention of gunpowder. It commanded all of the land routes from central Greece into the Peloponnesus along the Isthmus. 1 Wangerin Jr., Walter, Paul a Novel, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 2000, p. 206

There were good harbors on both sides of the Isthmus: Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf to the E and the Lechaeum on the Gulf of Corinth to the W. A coin of the Emperor Hadrian represented the harbors by two nymphs facing in opposite directions with a rudder between them. In ancient times ships were dragged across the isthmus on rollers in order to avoid the long and dangerous passage around Cape Malea at the southern tip of the Peloponnesus. Periander the tyrant (c. 625 585 B.C.) planned to breach the Isthmus and the Emperor Nero actually began the project, but a canal was not completed until 1893. 2 2. History: Located on the southwest end of the isthmus that joined the southern part of the Greek peninsula with the mainland to the north, the city was on an elevated plain at the foot of Acrocorinth, a rugged hill reaching 1,886 feet above sea level. Corinth was a maritime city located between two important seaports: the port of Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth about two miles to the north and the port of Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf about six miles east of Corinth. Corinth was an important city long before becoming a Roman colony in 44 B.C. In addition to the extant works of early writers, modern archaeology has contributed to knowledge of ancient Corinth. Located at the foot of Acrocorinth and at the southwest end of the isthmus, Corinth was relatively easy to defend. The Corinthians controlled the east-west trade across the isthmus as well as trade between Peloponnesus and the area of Greece to the north. The city experienced rapid growth and prosperity, even colonizing Siracuse on Sicily and the Island of Corcyra on the eastern shore of the Adriatic. Pottery and bronze were exported throughout the Mediterranean world. Julius Caesar rebuilt the city in 44 B.C., and it quickly became an important city in the Roman Empire. An overland ship road across the isthmus connected the ports of Lechaion and Cenchreae. Cargo from large ships was unloaded, transported across the isthmus, and reloaded on other ships. Small ships were moved across on a system of rollers. Ships were able, therefore, to avoid 200 miles of stormy travel around the southern part of the Greek peninsula. 3. Paul s Day: When Paul visited Corinth, the rebuilt city was little more than a century old. It had become, however, an important metropolitan center. Except where the city was protected by Acrocorinth, a wall about six miles in circumference surrounded it. The Lechaion road entered the city from the north, connecting it with the port on the Gulf of Corinth. As the road entered the city, it widened to more than 20 feet with walks on either side. From the southern part of the city a road ran southeast to Cenchreae. Approaching the city from the north, the Lechaion road passed through the Propylaea, the beautiful gate marking the entrance into the agora (market). The agora was rectangular and contained many shops. A line of shops divided the agora into a northern and a southern section. Near the center of this dividing line the Bema was located. The Bema consisted of a large elevated speaker s platform and benches on the back and sides. Here is probably the place Paul was brought before Gallio (Acts 18:12-17). 4. Religions: Although the restored city of Paul s day was a Roman city, the inhabitants continued to worship Greek gods. West of the Lechaion road and north of the agora stood the old temple of Apollo. Probably partially destroyed by Mummius in 146 B.C., seven of the original 38 columns still stand. On the east side of the road was the shrine to Apollo. In the city were shrines also to Hermes, Hercules, Athena, and Poseidon. Corinth had a famous temple dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing, and his daughter Hygieia. Several buildings were constructed around the temple for the sick who came for healing. The patients left at the temple terra cotta replicas of the parts of their bodies that had been healed. Some of these replicas have been found in the ruins. The most significant pagan cult in Corinth was the cult of Aphrodite. The worship of Aphrodite had flourished in old Corinth before its destruction in 146 B.C. and was revived in Roman Corinth. A temple for the worship of Aphrodite was located on the top of the Acropolis. 3 2 Tenney, Merrill C., The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, MI, 1976. 3 Brand, Chad, gen. ed., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2003. ) 294 (

Verses 1-3: It seems that Paul intended to stay in Corinth for a while. This seems to be the case because he joined a couple, Priscilla and Aquila, as a tentmaker. They are Jewish and Luke doesn t way whether they were believers at this point, the some argue the absence of a conversion experience makes it likely they were. But we do know if they weren t here, at some point they did become believers. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house (Romans 16:3-5). Priscilla and Aquila had been living in Rome, but had been expelled because the Emperor Claudius had wanted all the Jews out. The EVS Study Bible notes: Claudius s expulsion of the Jews from Rome in A.D. 49 seems to have resulted from a disturbance in the Jewish synagogues created by the Christian message. 4 Verses 4-8: As for Paul he continued his pattern of preaching to the Jew and Gentile in the synagogue on the Sabbath. This probably means these Gentiles were again, God-fearers that is proselytizes to Judaism. Finally Timothy and Silas arrive to be with Paul. Apparently Paul had sent them from Athens to Macedonia and now they were rejoining him. They may have also been the ones who brought a contribution from that church. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so (2 Corinthians 11:9). When Timothy joins Paul, it appears that Paul begins some of his writing. Timothy would have been Paul s secretary. And all the while Paul continued to argue from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. But here the Jews were very hostile and verbally attached Paul, so much so he finally got fed up. He blew them off, telling them the consequences of rejecting his message were on them. He would give up reaching them and permanently move on to the reach out to the Gentiles, though it is clear he still reached out to his own people. Paul was quoting Ezekiel. The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow 4 Dennis, Lane T. and Wayne Grudem, eds., English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible, Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL, 2008 ) 295 (

the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me (Ezekiel 33:1-7). Paul told his audience that God had promised judgment on those who refused to listen to his warning. Paul warned. They didn t listen. He was done with them. But while Paul was legitimately frustrated with a number of the Jews, clearly his ministry at the synagogue had not been without success. Conversely, he also frustrated them because no longer teaching at the synagogue, he moved to the home of Titius Justus, of whom we know nothing other than he was a believer, which was right next door. Adding insult to injury Crispus, the head of the synagogue, and his entire family had become believers. Beyond this many of the citizens of Corinth had also accepted the gospel, and were baptized. I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius (1 Corinthians 1:14). Verses 9-11: In spite of this success Paul was thinking of fleeing. Being chased from town to town, having been beaten, and most recently being continuously ridiculed, he may have been becoming afraid, or depressed. It was a result of his fear that he later wrote For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling (1 Corinthians 2:2 3). For whatever the reason, Paul decided that here in Corinth he would not take an expanded approach on presenting the Gospel as he did in other locals. Here he would restrict it to the fundamental truth of the Gospel, Christ as sacrifice for sin. So in his fear God sent him a vision intended to encourage him. God told Paul that he didn t need to be afraid. God had many followers in Corinth. Accordingly, Paul would be protected from physical harm. So Paul was reassured and stayed for another year and a half. It was most likely during this period he wrote 1 st and 2 nd Thessalonians. Throughout Paul s history God would come to him and reassure him. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome. (Acts 23:11). Verses 12-17: The next event demonstrates the reality of God s encouragement. The Jews once again brought Paul up before the magistrate. This time it s Gallio the local governor. Junio Gallio, was the older brother of the Roman philosopher Seneca (Seneca was a tutor to Emperor Nero). An inscription indicating that he was governor around AD 51 52 helps to date Paul s visit in Corinth to about that time 5 5 New Living Translation Study Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, IL, 2008. ) 296 (

But Gallio decides the whole problem is one over religious issues, worshiping God contrary to Jewish law. He doesn t see Paul as a threat to Roman law and consequently releases him. The language makes it clear that the message Gallio sent to the Jews was to quit wasting the court s time. He through the complainants out. The next few verses are a bit confusing. A minor riot breaks out in the court room. The crowd attacks Sosthenes who is described as the ruler of the synagogue. First, Cripus had been described as the leader, but maybe because he had become a believer, this was the individual who had replaced him. Second, why did the crowd attack Sosthenes anyway? Could it be they were furious because he had lost the case and Paul had escaped their hands? Or, depending on how one translates the passage it may be the Greeks attacked him because of hostility toward the Jewish community. Longnecker expands on this view when he states: Taking their cue from the snub Gallio gave the leaders of the Jewish community, the crowd at the forum (to bema ) in an outbreak of the anti-semitism always near the surface in the Greco-Roman world took Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler, and beat him in the marketplace before the forum. Gallio, however, turned a blind eye to what was going on, evidently because he wanted to teach those who would waste his time with such trivialities a lesson. 6 Or then again, maybe the Jews were mad at Sosthenes because he himself had was in danger of becoming a believer. Paul later states Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes (1 Corinthians 1:1). So after an expended stay with many ups and downs, with discouragement and God s direct encouragement, Paul leaves Corinth. Conclusion: There are a number of lessons we can talk from this passage. First, it isn t a failure of faith to be fearful, or at least not always. Like a number of emotions, fear isn t sin per se it is what s done with sin that is the issue. Paul s response to fear was a decision to his approach to evangelism. And we know that his fear wasn t sin because God encouraged him. He didn t charge him. There are times when we are tempted to judge others failure. The problem is we can see in how God deals with them that the doesn t say they failed Him. He encourages them. This should remind us of two truths. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, 6 Longnecker, Richard N., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Acts, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 ) 297 (

first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother s eye (Luke 6:42). This also should be an encouragement because it should reassure us that while sometimes we struggle and question where we are, if it is okay for Paul to struggle, it is also okay for us. The issue isn t that we struggle, it is what we do in the struggle Second, another point is, ministry is carried on, not just by those called to full-time ministry but by all of us. Consider, Priscilla and Aquila are examples of early Christians who, in the course of their daily work, were bold in bearing witness to Christ and active in ministering to his people in this case, as a married couple dedicated to the service of Christ. The fact that Priscilla s name often occurs first (unusual for the time) might say something about the strong role she played in the couple s witness and ministry. 7 The point here is, we are all called to ministry. The example here is that we minister within the context of our lives. In this sense it is fair to say we are all to be in full time ministry. Since the call to make disciples is a call for all believers. Now there are a number of ways we are to minister, caring for the sick, calling on widows and orphans, etc. But in this context the call is to evangelize, a call to all of us. And like Priscilla and Aquila, we are to minister within the context of our lives. Fortunately we are part of a body that equips us to service and our responsibility is to serve. We have sound teaching. We are encouraging healthy fellowship, an area on which we are working. Aldridge notes: Sound teaching and healthy fellowship set the stage for worship. The healthy church is a responding community in which God inhabits the praise of His people. Growing in love with him, captivated by His grace, His people respond in obedience and service. God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Such worship leads to commitment and service. Worship expresses itself in witness; witness fulfills itself in worship. The unifying theme is the glory of God and of His Christ, and there is a great need for this to be the Supreme incentive of our modern evangelism. Worship that is pleasing to God will inevitably send us out to bear witness of the Name we have sought to honor. 8 So let worship and witness be the nature of our walk. Let us never forget we, like Priscilla and Aquila, are in full time service. Let the Spirit continually improve the depth of our worship, the quality of our witness, and the maturity of our service. 7 New Living Translation Study Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, IL, 2008. 8 Aldrich, Joseph C., Life-Style Evangelism, Multnomah Press, Portland, OR, 1981, p.120-121. ) 298 (

Acts Acts 18:1-18a Successes and Fears And to the Uttermost Parts of the Earth IV Paul and the Gospel to the Gentiles Chapters 12:25-28:31 A. Paul s Missionary Journeys Chapters 12:25-21:16 3. Second Missionary Journey: Chapters 15:36-18:22 h. Corinth Verses 1-18a Introduction: The City: 1. Topography: 2. History: 3. Paul s Day: 4. Religions: Verses 1-3: (Romans 16:3-5) Verses 4-8: (2 Corinthians 11:9; Ezekiel 33:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:14)

Verses 9-11: (1 Corinthians 2:2 3; Acts 23:11) Verses 12-17: (1 Corinthians 1:1) Conclusion: (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 6:42) Personal Application: Look for an opportunity to reach out with God s truth to someone living in darkness. There are those who are open to hearing of Christ and Him crucified. Prayer for the Week: Lord, thank You for the Cross. Help me to point those in need towards it. Amen.