Paul Returns Home and His Third Missionary Journey

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The City of Corinth

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The first 17 verses of chapter 18 deals with Paul's visit to Corinth. Corinth was the Capitol of the Roman Providence of Achaia. It's ideal location and deep harbors made it a world seaport. It was rich in resources and trade. It had vast wealth which is always accompanied by corruption.

Paul arrived in Corinth about AD 50, when he was about 38 years old. It presented a great challenge to him. The "Great White Way" in Corinth was known the world over. Las Vegas couldn't compare to the "Great Agora", which was a shopping mall. The entrance to the city was by a "Colonnade, a series of columns, 100 feet long by 80 feet wide. There was 33 houses or places of business in the mall where one could obtain just about anything you wanted. It was the largest non-religious structure in Greece. The city was a place where sin ran rampant. It is easy to see why Paul stayed so long, 18 months, longer than anywhere else.

Priscilla and Aquila

In Corinth, Paul found a couple by the name of Aquila and Priscilla who had been run out of Italy because of an order by the Roman Caesar Claudius, that all Jews had to leave Italy. According to Josephus, the first century historian, the edict from Claudius was published in AD 49, so it would appear that these two had not been in Corinth very long. They had, however, been there long enough to have established a tent making business and Paul, who was a tent maker by trade, was invited to work with them while he was there at Corinth. It is not clear as to when or where these two became Christians. It was either before coming to Corinth or during the short time that they had been here in Corinth and either by the ministry of Paul or one of the other Apostles.

A Vision of Assurance

Aquila and Priscilla joined Paul and were very helpful in his ministry there at Corinth. Every Sabbath they would go to the synagogue and Paul would "reason" with the Greeks and the Jews about Jesus Christ, and Luke says, he persuaded some of them. Paul displayed an unusual amount of patience with these Corinthians which he later explained in his letter to them as having been the work of the Holy Spirit urging him to do so.

When Timothy and Silas finally arrive from Athens, Paul was still "reasoning" with the Jews, testifying that Jesus was the Christ. Finally, after many months and much ridicule, Paul lost his patience with these Jews and declared to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads, I am innocent of it." "From now on, I will go to the Gentiles." With this declaration, Paul ceased to witness at the synagogue and went to the home of a man by the name of Titius Justus. Justus lived next door to the synagogue, and some believe this was the work of the Lord to draw some from the synagogue. Justus was not a Jew but he did worship the God of Israel. During this time Paul continued to live with Aquila and Priscilla.

Paul did have some success among the Jews, Crispus, who was the ruler of the synagogue believed and all his family and he and a man by the name of Gaius were the only people that Paul baptized at Corinth. It would appear that most of his success here was among the Gentiles. Luke says that many of them heard Paul and believed and were baptized. Later Paul speaking of these converts in I Cor. 6:9, says, "There are immoral idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunks and robbers and such were some of you but you were washed, justified in the name of Jesus Christ."

Certainly Paul was a man of great faith but even he had limits that caused him to become discouraged with the problems he encountered there at Corinth. The Magistrates were trying to imprison him, the Jews were trying to kill him, even his friends were ushering him out of the city. But God, who knew his needs, said to Paul, "Do not be afraid, I am with you." "Do not be afraid to speak and do not be silent for no man shall attack you or harm you, for I have many people in this city." There were still many that the Lord had called and Paul's work was not yet done there.

I often wondered with all the traveling and all the preaching that Paul did, when did he find time to write 13 books? Well, during his 18-month stay here at Corinth, he wrote his first book to the Thessalonians.

Vindication

Well Satan was not going to remain quiet even if the Lord was with Paul. He stirred up the Jews and they decided to make a united attack upon Paul. Notice Luke says it was at the time when Gallio was Proconsul of Achaia. History tells us that Gallio was Proconsul of Achaia in AD 51-52. Tradition has it that he contacted Lung cancer shortly after this and went to Egypt for the benefits of the dry climate. It was to this Roman Proconsul that the Jews brought Paul.

Notice the charges: "He has been persuading men to worship God which is contrary to the law."

Now, someone had not done their homework. These Jews did not realized that in a Roman Court there was only two charges that pertained to God that was prosecutable. One, persuading men not to worship God, and two, persuading men to worship a god that was not recognized by the Romans. In this Providence, the Romans recognized the God of Israel and allowed the Jews to worship Him.

So the Proconsul became greatly disturbed because these Jews were wasting his time with a matter that they should have taken care of themselves. Note what he said, "If this had been a matter of wrong doing or a vicious crime, I would bear with you Jews, but sense it is a matter of your own law, see to yourselves." Then he drove them out of the courthouse. Gallio's conduct was right and worthy of phrase. He would not pretend to judge things that he did not understand or that were out of his jurisdiction.

Now, what happened next is not clear. The best guess is that it preceded this way. Sosthenes was a Greek Jew who was a ruler of one of the synagogues in Corinth. He had become a Christian and a close friend of Paul's. He may very well have appeared with Paul before Gallio. Sense the Jews had lost their case against Paul, they decided to take it out upon his friend, which they did right there in front of the court, but Gallio was not impressed, neither was he about to take a part in the matter sense it was religious in nature. However, Gallio was a judge and he should have made an effort to protect Sosthenes, but Luke says, he paid no attention to it.

Matthew Henry says of this, "Those people who witness or even hear about the suffering of God's people and have no sympathy or concern for them, do not even pray for them and who could care less if the interests of religion sink or swim, are of the same spirit as Gallio who could not have cared or even paid any attention to it." So when the Jews find out that they cannot get to Paul, they have his friend beaten up.

Sailing for Home (Syria)

After this Paul stayed a while longer in Corinth and then he left, taking with him Aquila and Priscilla, and sailed for Syria. Verses 18 thru 23 in Chapter 18, mention six places as having been visited by Paul near the end of his Second Missionary Journey. At that time, the area from Antioch, on the north, to Jerusalem, on the south, was called Syria. He took Aquila and Priscilla with him. By now a great friendship had developed as they had labored together for at least 18 months. Leaving Corinth, apparently on the his way back to Jerusalem, they stop at Cenchreae, which was actually the name of the sea port for Corinth.

Paul was a Nazarite. In order for him to discharge himself from the vows of the Nazarite, he had to shave his head, or if a Nazarite broke, in some manner, his consecration, then in repentance he had to shave his head. We do not know which one of these situations applied to Paul but here at Cenchreae, Paul shaved his head. He had until his hair grew back to re-dedicate himself and to renew his vows should he choose. While it was true that these ceremonial laws of the Jews were no longer necessary under Christ, this one, for some reason, was one of the last to go. The Nazarites were called "The Glory of Israel".

From Cenchreae, they sailed across the Aegean Sea to Ephesus. At Ephesus, Paul left Aquila and Priscilla with the Christian Church there. It was his desire for them to instruct these Ephesians and keep them in the way of the Lord. Paul then went to the Jewish synagogue to try one more time to persuade them to accept Christ. This time they showed a lot more interest in the Gospel and even asked Paul to stay awhile, but Paul had business in Jerusalem. He wanted to be there for the Feast of the Passover. Even though he knew that the Laws concerning feast days were no longer binding upon the Jew. It was Paul's intention to return to Ephesus at a later date and he told them so, but he added, "If God wills."

Leaving Aquila and Priscilla at Ephesus, Paul set sail for Caesarea, a trip of some 600 miles. Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem, some 80 miles inland, to greet the church there. We see from this that Paul wanted to keep his ties with Jerusalem. He did not want his ministry to the Gentiles to separate him from his Jewish Christian brothers. It was a short visit, but a necessary one, taking him some 300 miles out of his way. Matthew Henry says, "God's people are the salt of the earth, dispersed and scattered, but it is good to see one another and confirm mutual love."

Leaving Jerusalem, Paul went back to Antioch by way of the coast, passing through Sidon and other Phoenician towns. At Antioch he renewed old friendships with those who had ordained him and sent him out to witness to the Gentiles. He reported to them and then left on his Third Missionary Journey by the same route that he used before going into Galatia and Phrygia (Derby - Listra) again bringing encouragement to the Churches.

Apollos

Verses 24 thru 28 of Chapter 18, introduce us to Apollos, who will become a friend and co-worker with Paul in the work of the Lord. To pick up on Apollos, we need to leave Paul for a moment and go back to Ephesus where Paul left Aquila and Priscilla. Apollos was a Jew, a native of Alexandria in Egypt. He was an eloquent man well versed in the scriptures, also well versed in Greek culture. He came to Ephesus. He had heard about Jesus and believed, by comparing the Prophets and the life of Jesus, that He was the promised Messiah.

"Yet," Luke says, "He knew only the baptism of John." Now what does that mean? John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the Messiah. He knew how to prepare the way for the Lord, but he did not know the way of the Lord. Apollos had a similar understanding, he had "heard" but he did not have the Holy Spirit, therefore he was unable to know the "way". He had been baptized with water but not with the Holy Spirit. You might say how can that be when verse 25 says that he was fervent in the spirit and spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus.

Well, the newer translations clarify this by not capitalizing the word "spirit". The spirit spoken of here was the characteristic with which he taught, not the Holy Spirit. He was ready and willing to tell others how Christ fulfilled all the prophesies concerning the Messiah in the scriptures, but he could not speak of the result of this, salvation, because he had not as yet experienced it himself. Fortunately, this condition is soon taken care of as Aquila and Priscilla take him aside and explain to him the way of salvation. Tradition has it that they actually took him into their own home and were led of the Spirit to lead him into a saving relationship with Christ. But even before this, Apollos was well received in the Jewish Synagogue because of his eloquence and knowledge of the scriptures and he spoke boldly to them of what he knew.

Now, after Apollos accepted Christ, he was not so well accepted in the synagogue, so he decided to leave Ephesus and go over to the area of Greece called Achaia, in which laid the cities of Athens and Corinth. The Brothern at Ephesus wrote a letter of recommendation for him and he was well received. God used him not only to help the believers but also to confront the unbelieving Jews which he did not only in private but also in public, wherever the opportunity presented itself. He did this in the manner in which he was best suited, by showing how Christ fulfilled all that was prophesied concerning the Messiah. He knew that if he could convince the Jews of this that their own law would demand that they "hear" him. Corinth was the place that Apollos had the greatest success.

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