Bible 101 - Acts 18:12-20:6

Presented September 18, 2006 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: On his second missionary journey (49-52 A.D.) Paul and Silas, Timothy and Luke, have been traveling through Macedonia and Greece; on this trip, Paul has taken the gospel to Europe, after evangelizing Asia Minor and its environs. After having revisited Lystra (where he added Timothy to the group), Derbe, Iconium and other churches he'd founded on his first trip, Paul had then gone to Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, Paul has to run for his life and arrives in Rome. Meanwhile, Silas and Timothy waited for instructions in Berea. It's been an eventful trip, full of narrow escapes, preaching, oppostion, arrest, even imprisonment, but through it all, believers come to faith, and Paul leaves behind small groups of converts. It's now about 51 A.D., and Paul and his companions have been on the road for two years. Finally, Paul arrives in Corinth (Acts 18) where he meets Aquila and Priscilla, tent-makers, whose business he joins. Corinth is home for 18 months, as Paul preaches and teaches a disparate group of Corinthians - Jews, Greeks, pagans and God-fearing alike. The city, as you recall, was on vital trade routes, was devoted to the worship of Aphrodite, and was filled with transient sailors and traders most of the time. Paul's goal was a firmly established church whose faith was firmly grounded before he moved on. And recall that God appeared to him in a dream telling him not to be afraid because, as usual, Paul faced opposition that at times could be violent.

Acts 18:12: Luke the historian begins this section with another name: Gallio was proconsul of Achaia (the area now known as Greece). In this capacity of governor for Rome, Gallio, brother of Seneca (Nero's tutor and a noted philosopher), heard an appeal from Jews who charged Paul with unlawful behavior. For the Jews, of course, the "unlawful behavior" was preaching to Gentiles and preaching that those who trusted Jesus as messiah and savior no longer needed to trust the law for their salvation. Gallio perceived that the Jews' charges were strictly religious and threw them out of his court, saying he had no interest in such cases. Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and no doubt, part of the group who'd made the charges against Paul, received the brunt of the Jews' frustration, and they beat him. Gallio ignored this breach of civil law, but apparently Paul did not. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes. . ." (1:1), suggesting that Sosthenes became a convert and traveled on with Paul. This was the second synagogue ruler in Corinth who became a believer; the first was Crispus (Acts 18:8).

Acts 18:18: Paul remains in Corinth for a while longer, and then, with Aquila and Priscilla, travels to Cenchrea, not far from Corinth, where he cuts his hair. Undoubtedly, this was the end of a Nazirite vow which he may have made in response to God's assurance in the dream that he would be safe in Corinth. In Num. 6, the requirements are listed for those who voluntarily promised God that they'd follow a strict regime in order to draw closer to him. The Nazirite was to abstain from wine, grapes, grape skins - even touching grapes - and to let his hair grow. He had to be particularly careful about avoiding dead bodies, too. Paul's vow ended and he followed the law's requirements for cutting his hair and making it a sacrifice at the end of the period he'd set himself apart for God under these rules. Once his vow was completed, Paul sailed on to Ephesus where apparently Aquila and Priscilla had decided to set up their business. Paul went to the synagogue, as usual, and "reasoned with the Jews," who asked him to spend more time there. But Paul said he'd have to come back another time, and sailed for Antioch. He lands at Caesarea, "went up and greeted the church" meaning he probably went to Jerusalem to report to the elders there, and then he "went down to Antioch" to spend a little time at his home church before the third journey begins. (Geographically, Jerusalem is south of Caesarea and Antioch, but one always "goes up to Jerusalem" because it is 2500 feet above sea level.)

Acts 18:23: You could almost miss its beginning, but Paul's third trip starts with another circuit to the churches in Phrygia and Galatia he'd established on his first trip, and then, as promised (Acts 18:21) he returns to Ephesus where he spends two years and three months teaching. In all, this third trip lasts from 53-57 A.D., by far the longest of the three trips.

Acts 18:24: And now we meet Apollos, a man referred to in Paul's letters (I Corinthians and Titus). Luke tells us he was a Jew, a native of Alexandria, Egypt, and he arrived in Ephesus after Paul had left for Antioch (at the end of his 2nd journey). He'd been brought up as an observant Jew, and when he arrived in Ephesus, he went to the synagogue and there met Aquila and Priscilla. He, too, preached about Christ, but Aquila and Priscilla saw there were gaps in his knowledge. For example, he "knew only the baptism of John" but not about Jesus' death or his resurrection, or about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, Apollos, an eloquent speaker and a man who loved God, preached what he knew. Paul's friends took him home and privately filled in the blanks. This was a loving thing to do; if they'd confronted him in the synagogue, they might have insulted him and caused more division among the Jews. At home, they could go over all he knew and then give him the information he needed to form the complete picture of Jesus' work of redemption. Apollos, like Paul, spoke from his heart, and wanted to spread his love for God, and now for the gospel, further. Disciples at Ephesus encouraged him, and he went to Corinth where he ministered to the believers, and "vigorously debated" those who clung to the Old Testament scriptures as pointing to a Messiah yet to come. Incidentally, Apollos is a good example of a believer who cannot be quiet about what he's learned about Jesus and the gift of salvation Jesus offers. He reminds us of Peter and John who told the Sanhedrin "we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). In this way, the gospel spread all through the Roman Empire: people heard about and believed in Jesus' sacrifice of himself, his resurrection, and his promise of eternal life; they told others and the word spread.

Acts 19: Paul has been traveling west for a few months and arrives at Ephesus over the land route, coming from the churches he'd founded on his first trip: Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, Antioch of Pisidia; now he gets to the coastal city of Ephesus once again. And except for Rome (where he's under arrest for parts of at least five years), he will spend more time here than in any other city in which he ministers.

A note about Ephesus: This was another important port city in the Roman Empire. Its temple to Diana (Roman)/Artemis (Greek) was considered one of the "seven wonders of the world," and apparently the entire city was devoted to worshiping this goddess (as in Corinth, the population was devoted to Aprodite). The likeness of Diana or Artemis was quite erotic; she was given many breasts, so her role as a fertility goddess was obvious. The worship of Artemis involved, as that of Aprodite, temple prostitutes. In addition, a thriving industry involved making silver statues of Artemis for home shrines. For obvious reasons, this industry will oppose Paul's ministry.

Acts 19:1: We're told that while Apollos is in Corinth (having left Ephesus), Paul returns to Ephesus and meets disciples there (we're told in v. 7 there were only 12). He asked them if they'd "received the Holy Spirit" when they believed in Christ, and they answered in such a way that Paul understood their knowledge to be incomplete. And because their faith was built on a partial knowledge, just as Apollos' was, it's probable that Apollos had preached to them and had been the means by which they'd believed in Jesus. Now Paul completes their knowledge, telling them that John's baptism (which they had received) was only for repentance (Mark 1:4) and pointed to the coming of the Messiah when forgiveness and remission of sins would be complete. Paul baptizes them into Christ, and then when he puts his hands on them, they receive the Holy Spirit just as other converts had, God confirming their faith and giving them power to grow and witness. In Romans, Paul explains the symbolic nature of baptism to Christians: "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was rasied from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection" (Rom. 6:3-5).

Acts 19:8: As we have seen Paul do many times on his missionary journeys, he enters the synagogue in Ephesus and there teaches for three months, he "boldly" and "persuasively" argues about Jesus' work and how faith in it prepares us for the kingdom of God. But as before, some of the Jews got their backs up and refused to believe, and further, "maligned the Way," or spoke against Paul and belief in Christ as Messiah and Savior. Paul left them, took disciples with him, and found a home at a lecture hall. Where this hall of Tyrannus was located in Ephesus is unknown, but it was probably a school where philosophy was taught in the cooler hours of the morning, and later, was free for other uses. Paul took advantage of its "off hours" to teach The Way, the means of salvation through belief in Jesus' redemptive work on the cross and resurrection. For two years Paul taught there, and we're told "all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord." Converts like Apollos traveled and spoke; others simply told their neighbors; trading caravans came through and heard the gospel and took the word with them. God used the common language, Greek, and the roads Rome had built to facilitate the spread of the Good News.

Acts 19:11: Signs and miracles followed Paul's preaching, evidence God was working through him. We read that even handkerchiefs and other garments which Paul had touched carried healing to those who were ill. There was no "magic" in the cloth; God was working through Paul to heal those who were ill physically and spiritually, and God used several means by which to do this. Remember in Acts 5, we read that Peter's shadow passing over sick folks brought healing. It was their faith in God - not in Peter's shadow or Paul's handkerchiefs that brought healing. Nevertheless, the "signs and wonders" that followed the gospel were confirmation of God's work. And those signs and wonders often were the means of attracting others to the meetings where they heard the message.

Acts 19:13: Jews who witnessed these healings and exorcisms demanded evil spirits come out of other possessed folks, saying "In the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches" in an attempt to perform exorcisms as Paul had. It's not clear whether they were successful; Luke says "they tried" this, and from the following incident, it was not always successful. We have to infer that those who actually believed in Jesus could drive out demons; those who merely wanted the "magic" could not. This is illustrated in the "seven sons of Sceva" event. Identified as the sons of a Jewish chief priest (priests couldn't offer sacrifices outside of Jerusalem, so it's unclear just what this title meant), were using the command "In the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches" in their attempts to drive out demonic spirits. One day, an evil spirit spoke to them, asking who they were, and the possessed man, given supernatural strength, beat up all seven of the sons to the extent that they were bleeding and naked when they emerged from the man's house. Perhaps Paul came along later and did drive out the evil spirits; Luke doesn't tell us. But he does say that this incident brought fear to Ephesus, not only fear of these mighty acts, but also the name of Jesus was respected and honored. Ephesus was a city of sorcerers, so there might have been some envy in this fear as well. However, God used this event to bring others to himself; many confessed their sins openly and gave Paul their scrolls in which incantations were found. These were burned, and we're told the value of the scrolls was 50,000 drachmas (a drachma equal to a day's wage). "In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power," Luke concludes. "In this way" refers to the drama of the signs and wonders, instruments God used to bring those who were pagans to himself.

Acts 19:21: Paul, after two years and three months, makes plans to leave Ephesus for Jerusalem. But then we'e told that he sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia so that he could stay in Ephesus for a little while longer. It's safe to conclude that Paul planned to go himself to Macedonia and Achaia, but because the Holy Spirit was working powerfully (see previous verses), he elects to stay in Ephesus. In I Cor. 16, he tells the church at Corinth that he wants to visit them, but "not in passing"; rather he wants to stay with them for a while, even spending the winter with them before returning to Jerusalem by Pentecost. He stays in Ephesus, he tells the Corinthians, "because a great door for effective work has opened to me and there are many who oppose me." The opposition is described in Acts 19:23-41. So while Paul remains in Ephesus, his apprentice Timothy, and convert Erastus, along with Apollos (I Cor. 16) do go to Corinth and Macedonia.

Acts 19:23: Remember the little statues of Diana/Artemis? Demetrius, a silversmith whose income derived from the sale of such statues, stirs up the rest of the guild of silversmiths, saying "Paul is disrupting our business with his preaching." Demetrius is especially incensed because Paul has been bold enough to say that "manmade gods are no gods at all!" The silversmiths are convinced that not only will their income be lost if this trend toward belief in Jesus Christ continues, but that Artemis herself will be discredited, and their whole city will collapse. A riot ensues. "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians" becomes their battle cry and this band of silversmiths gets the whole city worked up. Paul and two of his companions are seized, apparently in an attempt to arrest them and haul them into court. The rioting mob moves toward an amphitheatre still chanting "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians," but not everyone is on the same page. Luke says there was confusion, and tells us that "most of the people didn't even know why they were there." Paul, as he had in Athens, wants to speak to the crowd about the true God, but a variety of voices (disciples and city officials alike) insist that he not do so, and keep him out of the amphitheatre. Alexander, a leader of the Jews, is pushed to the stage, and he tries to silence the crowd, but seeing that he was a Jew, the mob only shouted louder and Luke says the chant about Artemis went on for two hours. You can only imagine the din and the sore throats! Finally, the city clerk got the crowd's attention and as an important official, restored quiet and order. He then spoke in a reasonable way about Artemis, saying that since the whole world knew about her having arrived in the city from heaven, there was no point yelling her praises. They were "undeniable," and in a speech reminiscent of Gideon's father in Judges 6:31 that if Baal really were a god he could defend himself against blasphemy in speech and actions (Gideon had torn down Baal's altar and the Asherah pole the night before and the people wanted Gideon's head), the clerk says a goddess can defend herself. The official also points out that Paul and the disciples "have not robbed temples or blasphemed the goddess," but if Demetrius and the silvermiths have a legitimate case against Paul, they can take him to court. And he adds: "we are in danger of being charged with rioting," presumably by the Roman officials who would come down hard if the peace were threatened. And so the people disperse; Paul and his companions are let go, and peace returns to Ephesus.

Acts 20: In the aftermath of the riot, Paul meets with the disciples, encourages them to remain faithful to Jesus Christ even in the face of opposition, and sets sail for Macedonia. Now his plans, previewed in 19:21, are realized. He returns to Macdeonia where the churches at Thessalonica and Berea were, encouraging them, and eventually heads south to Athens, and then west to Corinth. He's in Greece for three months (probably spends the winter in Corinth), intending to sail when the threat of winter storms is past. However, there's a plot against him, so instead of sailing, he goes north again to Macedonia, accompanied by a large traveling party whom Luke names. Some went on to Troas, and others stayed in Philippi, before the group unites at Troas.

Next week: We'll conclude the third journey and get Paul back to Jerusalem.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.