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Day 339: Priscilla and Aquila
Agape Bible Study Acts 18
Chapter 18: The End of the Second Missionary Journey and the Beginning of the Third
Acts 18:1-17 ~ Paul in Corinth
A major city of antiquity since the fifth millennium BC, Corinth was rebuilt as a Roman city by Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. Situated on the isthmus between the Greek mainland to the north and the Peloponnese to the south, Corinth controlled traffic and trade between the two regions. It was the commercial and political center of Greece in the first century AD and the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. The city had a well-earned reputation for its wealth and for all kinds of immoral behavior and great wickedness. A famous Temple of Aphrodite was located on a hill behind the city. There "worshippers" brought gifts to the goddess and engaged in all sorts of immoral acts with both male and female prostitutes. Establishing a Christian community in the midst of such immorality will be a challenge for St. Paul. It is either the fall of 51 or the spring of 52 when Paul begins his missionary effort in Corinth.
Acts 18:2 ~ There he met 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 leave Rome.
Aquila and Priscilla are Jewish-Christians from Pontus, a province in Asia Minor stretching along the south shore of the Black Sea from Bithynia to Armenia. Jews from Pontus were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost in 30 AD and witnessed the Holy Spirit filled Apostles and disciples of Jesus preaching the Gospel of salvation in all the different languages of the pilgrims in the crowd (Acts 2:9). St. Peter will address his letter to the Christians of Pontus in 1 Peter 1:1. Church tradition attributes the conversion of Pontus to St. Peter and St. Andrew.
Question: What brought Aquila and his wife to Corinth?
Answer: They were originally living in Rome but had been expelled from Rome along with other Jews by the Roman emperor Claudius.
This historical reference is confirmed. The Emperor Claudius ruled from 41-54 AD. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that the Jews were expelled because of the disturbances caused "at the instigation of Chrestos" (Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 25:4).(5) This is probably a reference to the disputes between Jews and Christians concerning the messiahship of Jesus. The Romans in this early period thought of Jews and Christians as two sects of the same religion. Most historians believe the expulsion order took place in c. 49/50 AD. The home of Aquila and Priscilla will become a meeting place for the Christians of Corinth (1 Cor 16:19).
Question: What is the profession that Aquila and Paul share?
Answer: They both learned the trade of tent-making.
It was a tradition that every Jewish boy learned a trade so he always had a skill by which to support himself. Even though Paul was trained as a scribe, he still learned the trade of tent-making. The Greek word can also be applied to one who knew how to produce leather goods in general. Tents were made by cutting and sewing the woven cloth of goats' hair into tents. Paul evidently used this skill to support himself on his travels, and Paul mentions "working with his hands" in some of his letters (1 Cor 4:12 9:6; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:6-8). Aquila and Pricilla became Paul's dearest friends.
Acts 18:4-5 Every Sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus.
It was Paul's established custom to go to the synagogue every Sabbath to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The arrival of Silas and Timothy freed Paul to be able to completely devote himself to preaching. They probably took over the duty of instructing the recent converts.
Acts 18:6 ~ When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
The text is unclear what the Jews did to so offend Paul. Another translation is they opposed him and spoke harshly (Johnson, The Acts of the Apostles, page 323). Perhaps the harshness of their speech was to blaspheme the name of Jesus; such behavior would elicit an outraged response from Paul. That he "shook out his garments" is a gesture of rejection toward those who have rejected not only him but his Lord. His act is similar to Jesus' instructions in Luke 10:11 and Paul's actions in Acts 13:51.
Question: Paul's judgment on the Jews as he says: "Your blood be on your heads" sounds like an echo of what other curse judgment by the Jews? See Mt 27:25.
Answer: It is similar to the self-curse the Jewish crowds placed on themselves as they condemned Jesus to death in choosing Barabbas over Jesus at Jesus' trial with Pilate.
Paul's declaration makes the Jews responsible for their rejection of the Messiah rather than him. What he says is also similar to other formula curses in Scripture (see 2 Sam 1:16; 1 Kng 2:33; 3:1; and Acts 5:28).
Acts 18:7-8 ~ So he left there and went to a house belonging to a man named Titius [Titius] Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next to a synagogue. 8 Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized.
Titus Justus is a Gentile who became Paul's sponsor and allowed Paul to use his house for preaching and worship instead of the synagogue. Once again, as in the case of Lydia, the home of a Gentile convert became the place of Christian worship. Paul will mention Crispus in 1 Corinthians 1:14where he says he did not personally baptize anyone in Corinth except Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas.
Acts 18:9-11 ~ One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city." 11 He settled there for a year and half and taught the word of God among them.
Paul must have been tired, worried and fearful, and so the Lord comforts his apostle and assures him of his success in witnessing to the Gentiles of Corinth. That the Lord tells Paul He has "many people in this city" reminds us of Acts 15:14 when St. James of Jerusalem spoke of how Peter described how "God first concerned himself with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name." Paul must stay until all those destined for salvation have had the opportunity to accept the Gospel of salvation.
Question: For how long will Paul remain in Corinth?
Answer: Paul with remain in Corinth for a year and a half.
Acts 18:12-17 ~ The Jews Accuse Paul Before the Proconsul of Achaia
Question: What was Gallio's reaction to the charges brought against Paul?
Answer: He did not care about theological disputes between religious sects. He told them to handle it themselves.
It is interesting that the angry Jews beat Sosthenes instead of Paul. Perhaps this was because they were fearful of beating a Roman citizen or they couldn't get their hands on Paul who was whisked away by the "brothers." Sosthenes either replaced Crispus as the synagogue leader when Crispus became a Christian or they shared the office. Sosthenes went with Paul to Ephesus and is named as the co-sender with Paul of the first letter to the Corinthians (1:1), which Paul wrote from Ephesus.
Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeus was a man with good connections. He was the son of the Roman rhetorician and writer Seneca the Elder and the brother of Seneca the Younger, the Stoic philosopher, dramatist, and statesman who became the tutor and advisor to the Roman Emperor Nero. Nero later, ungratefully, resented Seneca's advice and forced him to commit suicide in 65 AD. It was through his connections that Gallio was appointed to the prestigious position of the Roman proconsul of Achaia in 51-52 AD. The dates of his office are confirmed in an inscription that was found at Delphi in Greece. This information together with the passage concerning Claudius' expulsion of the Jews and Christians from Rome in c. 50 AD gives a good fix on dating the years Paul was in Corinth.
Acts 18:18-23 ~ The End of the Mission
Notice that Priscilla is given precedence over her husband in being named first. Both Luke and Paul are very fond of this couple and see them as the model Christian couple.
Ephesus was the third most important city in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria, Egypt. It was a port city of western Asia Minor located at the mouth of the Cayster River between Smyrna and Miletus. Ephesus and Smyrna are cities whose Christian communities are sent letters in the Book of Revelation chapter 2. Paul will return to Ephesus on his third missionary journey. In the New Testament Ephesus and Ephesians are mentioned more than twenty times.
Acts 18:18b ~ At Cenchreae he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.
Cenchreae is a harbor seven miles east of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf. Here Paul shaves his head, perhaps because he has completed his vow to make this second missionary journey and is returning to his home church at Antioch. Later, when the faith spread to Cenchreae, it was the home of Paul's friend Phoebe who must have had a church-home there. Paul calls her a "minister" of the church at Cenchreae (Rom 16:1).
Question: In Numbers 6:1-21 the requirements are given for taking a Nazirite vow. Why is it unlikely that Paul considers himself to be taking a Nazirite vow according to the Mosaic Law?
Answer: To fulfill a Nazirite vow the hair must be allowed to grow until the vow is completed and then the vow maker's hair had to be cut by a priest and burned on God's holy altar in Jerusalem. Paul cut his hair in Cenchreae because he had completed his vow but did not find it necessary to observe the old Law by going to the Jerusalem Temple.
Acts 18:19-21 ~ When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, while he entered the synagogue and held discussions with the Jews. 20 Although they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but as he said farewell he promised, "I shall come back to you again, God willing." Then he set sail from Ephesus.
Paul was favorably received at the synagogue at Ephesus and promised to return. Aquila and Priscilla stayed in Ephesus, presumably to work with the converts and to establish a church-home (Acts 18:24, 26; 1 Cor 16:19). Paul will make many converts in Ephesus and later will remain with the church there for two and a half years. Ephesus is the first church named in the seven letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation. It eventually became the head of the diocese of St. John Zebedee and the home of the Virgin Mary.
Acts 18:22 ~ Upon landing at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
Paul and his missionary team landed at Caesarea, the headquarters of the Roman governor of Judea on the Mediterranean coast and from there went "up" to Jerusalem to meet with the church of St. James the Just, Bishop of Jerusalem. Since Jerusalem was situated on mountain ridges 2400-2500 feet above sea level, it was always called "going up" to Jerusalem and "down" to anywhere else. Then he traveled "down" to his home parish in Antioch, Syria. This is the completion of Paul's second missionary journey.
Question: Where did Paul go after reporting to his faith community in Antioch?
Answer: He began his third missionary journey by revisiting the faith communities he had founded in the Roman provinces of Galatia and Phrygia to strengthen the faith of the churches there.
| ST. PAUL'S THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY Approximate dates: 53 " 58 AD Companions: Timothy, Luke, and other disciples Mission field: Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, Judea-Samaria-Galilee Approximate miles traveled 2,700 Sent by church of Antioch, Syria | |
| Galatia and Phrygia | Acts 18:23 |
| Ephesus | Acts 19:1-20, 23-40 |
| Macedonia | Acts 19:21; 20:1 |
| Greece (Achaia) | Acts 20:2-3 |
| Macedonia, Philippi, and Troas | Acts 20:3-12 |
| Assos, Mitylene; near Chios, Samos, Trogyllium, Miletus | Acts 20:13-38 |
| Cos, Rhodes, Patara | Acts 21:1-2 |
| Tyre and Ptolemais | Acts 21:3-7 |
| Caesarea | Acts 21:8-16 |
| Jerusalem | Acts 21:17-23:22 |
| Caesarea (imprisoned 2 years) | Acts 23:23-26:32 |
Acts 18:24-28 ~ Apollos
Apollos was a Scripture scholar from the Hellenistic cultural and intellectual center of Alexandria, Egypt who believed in Jesus the Messiah and possessed impressive skills in Greek rhetoric. Jews and Gentile God-fears from Egypt were present at Pentecost in 30 AD. Apollos may have been one of them or he may have become a convert early in Jesus' ministry when St. John the Baptist was still baptizing. "The Way" was the earliest title for believers in Christ and was probably taken from Jesus' statement that I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn 14:6). See references to "the Way" as a designation for the Church in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22.
Question: Apollos gave a powerful witness of Christ but what was it that concerned Priscilla and Aquila? What did they do?
Answer: They realized that his knowledge of Scripture was vast but his knowledge of Christ was limited because he had not been fully instructed and only knew of Jesus in the context of St. John's baptism of repentance. Therefore, they took him aside and properly catechized him.
Question: What does this incident it tell us about the character of these three people in which a tentmaker and his wife corrected an Alexandrian Scripture scholar?
Answer: The incident shows the commitment and courage of Aquila and Priscilla to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it shows the humility of Apollos.
Agape Bible Study 1 Corinthians 16
Chapter 16: Conclusion
1 Corinthians 16:1-4 ~ The Jerusalem Collection
1 Now in regard to the collection for the holy ones, you also should do as I ordered the churches of Galatia. 2 On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever he can afford, so that collections will not be going on when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I shall send those whom you have approved with letters of recommendation to take your gracious gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems fitting that I should go also, they will go with me.
The "holy ones" are the sanctified "saints" in training in the Corinthian community. The "first day of the week" is the New Covenant Sabbath; it is the "Day of the Lord," meaning the day of the Lord Jesus' resurrection. The Jewish Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, inaugurated on the seventh day of the Creation event (Gen 2:2-3). The New Covenant Lord's Day is the same day as the first day of the first Creation event and marks the commemoration of a new Creation in Christ Jesus.
This collection, gathered during the Sunday worship service, is for the Mother Church in Jerusalem. It is a very important symbolic gift for St. Paul because it represents the fruit of his labors among the Gentiles. If the date is 56 or 57, St. Peter has already established the headquarters of the Church in Rome. According to Bishop Eusebius' 4th century history of the Church, Peter was seven years in Antioch, Syria and then twenty-five years headquartered in Rome before his martyrdom in about 67 AD. The Christian communities in Rome are not poor like the church in Jerusalem where many widows and orphans rely on the church to feed and care for them (Acts 6:1). Paul's last trip to Jerusalem was to take the contribution from the Gentile Christians of Greece and Asia Minor as a gift of love to the Mother Church (Acts 24:14; Rom 15:25-32).
1 Corinthians 16:5-12 ~ Paul's Travel Plans and News of Other Ministers
Verse 8 tells Paul wrote his letter from Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). It seems he is spending Easter in Ephesus. He plans to stay there until the Feast of Pentecost in the late spring before traveling to northern Greece after which he plans to visit Corinth to gather contributions for the Mother Church before traveling to Jerusalem. The "brothers" Paul refers to are members of his missionary team. He is sending St. Timothy to them to correct the abuses he has mentioned in his letter.
1 Corinthians 16:13-20 ~ Exhortation to the Community
13 Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 14 Your every act should be done with love. 15 I urge you, brothers, you know that the household of Stephanas is the firstfruits of Achaia and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the holy ones, 16 be subordinate to such people and to everyone who works and toils with them. 17 I rejoice in the arrival of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. So give recognition to such people. 19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca together with the church at their house send you many greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Stephanas and his family (household includes children and slaves) were Paul's first converts in the Roman Province of Achaia (Greece). He is probably the one who brought the letter to Paul from Chloe's household in Corinth, and he, Fortunatus and Achaicus who came with him will probably return with Paul's letter.
Aquila and Pricilla are a married couple and Paul's good friends. Notice how Paul refers to Pricilla with an affectionate nickname. Aquila is originally from Pontus (Acts 18:2), but he and his wife lived in Rome until they left when Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews and Christians because of their disputes in 49 AD (Acts 18:2). Paul first met them in Corinth where they shared lodgings and worked together in the tent-making trade (Acts 18:2-3). They traveled with Paul to Ephesus where they helped in the evangelization effort, establishing a church home. It was probably there that they "risked their necks" to save Paul (Rom 16:4). After Claudius' assassination in 54 AD, the couple returned to Rome and Paul mentions them first in his greetings to the Roman Christians in Romans 16:3.
1 Corinthians 16:21-24 ~ Paul's Personal Greeting
I, Paul, write you this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. Marana tha. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus
Paul was dictating the letter to his personal scribe until this final section that Paul writes in his own hand. Paul pronounces a curse (literally, "anathema") against any who deny they owe their love and allegiance to Christ. The expression, also found in 12:3, is a formula for excommunication from the faith community. The Aramaic expression Marana tha, means "O Lord come!" and is a declaration of belief in the Resurrection and Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was probably a declaration/plea used in early Christian liturgical worship services. If the letters are divided slightly differently, then the expression means "Our Lord has come" and becomes a declaration of faith. This interpretation is supported by what is a Greek equivalent of the acclamation in Revelation 22:20, "Amen, Maran atha," literally "Amen, our Lord has come, Jesus!" The word is only found in two places in the Bible: Revelation 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 16:22. Can you with confidence declare with all your heart and soul, "Amen Maranatha!"
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