God Speaks
Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. 3 Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was.
4 Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. 5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”
7 Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! 10 For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” 11 So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.
12 But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment. 13 They accused Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.”
14 But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul’s accusers and said, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case. 15 But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” 16 And he threw them out of the courtroom.
17 The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention.
18 Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow. Then he set sail for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him.
19 They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined. 21 As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later, God willing.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 The next stop was at the port of Caesarea. From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem and then went back to Antioch.
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting and strengthening all the believers.
24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. 26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.
27 Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed. 28 He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Paul left Athens and traveled to Corinth where he partnered with Aquila and Priscilla. Every Sabbath he went to the synagogue where he testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah they were expecting according to the scriptures. When some Jews opposed and insulted him, Paul went next door to the home of Titius Justus who was a Gentile who worshipped God. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and his whole household came to believe in the LORD Jesus and were baptized. This enraged the opposition even more. The Lord reassured Paul in a vision that many people in Corinth belonged to Him, so he kept on preaching the word of God there for a year and a half. When Gallio became the governor, some of the Jewish leaders brought Paul up on charges, but Gallio dismissed the case since he saw that it was a religious dispute and not a legal one. When they didn’t get their way, the Jews committed violence against Sosthenes, the man who had replaced Crispus, but Gallio ignored them. Sometime after that, Paul wanted to return to Jerusalem to complete a vow. He took Priscilla and Aquila with him and dropped them off at Ephesus on the way.
Even though the new Jewish believers in Ephesus wanted him to stay longer, Paul hurried on to Caesarea and then to Jerusalem. Then he went back to his sending church in Antioch. After spending time reporting to and strengthening the church there, Paul left again and did the same for all the believers in Galatia and Phrygia. In the meantime, back in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila met privately with an eloquent Jewish speaker from Alexandria named Apollos. They recognized the gaps in his knowledge and understanding of the gospel and filled him in on such things as the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Apollos went on to be a great asset to the work of growing the church.
Prayer: Dear LORD who guides His people, please use even persecution to move Your servants to the places where You want them to be. May our homes, workplaces, schools, and businesses be places where people learn and discuss the values and principles found in Scripture. Whenever we are persecuted, may we remember what You told Paul, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I [God] am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” Please protect Your people from those who falsely accuse them of violence, misconstrue their words, and call them names. May judges refuse to hear such matters and pay the accusers no attention; however, may these judges deal swiftly and forcefully with violence and vandalism. Please give Your missionaries the courage to go on obeying You, reasoning with unbelievers, and strengthening all the disciples. Like Priscilla and Aquila, may “ordinary” believers be able to instruct other people and explain the way of God so that they in turn will use the Scripture to show that Jesus is the Christ. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will pray that the great masses of people who are fleeing war, extreme poverty, or persecution will find safety, support, and security in Christ through interaction with His followers.
- I will invite people into my home so that I can share with them what it means to live “in Christ.”
- I will study the scriptures so that I can prove using them, to anyone who will listen, that Jesus is the Christ.
- I will take courage and do whatever I can to correct the problems I see in my family, community, state/province, and nation as God directs.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.