Acts 18 — Paul in Corinth, Paul Returns to Antioch
Thoughts about serving others
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
It appears that there were confrontations in the Jewish community in Rome, Jewish converts versus Jews who refused the Gospel, so much so “Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome” (Acts 18:2). Paul had great difficulty with the Jews in Corinth, “trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (18:4), to the point that “when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles'” (18:6). His preaching was falling on deaf ears, so “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent'” (18:9). Jesus spoke directly to Paul as an encouragement and Paul stayed for 18 months teaching them.
The Jews that moved from Rome to Corinth not only seem unable to hear the Gospel, but they are zealots for their way of life. They take their case to the proconsul of Achaia, but get rejected by Gallio, “I will not be a judge of such things” (18:15). Not satisfied with his dismissal, “the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him” (18:17). Nice bunch!
These were difficult times, yet the church continued to grow. One of the notable men to appear in this chapter is Apollos. “He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately” (18:25). Even though he was well qualified, Priscilla and Aquila brought him into “their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (18:26). Apollos was humble enough to listen, not too wise to learn. He went on to “vigorously [refute] his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah” (18:28).
Lord may I be bold enough to speak about Jesus, and yet, humble enough to listen to teaching to improve my understanding of your word and your ways.