25 He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in his spirit, he spoke and taught exactly the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John.
whom *we* announce, admonishing every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, to the end that we may present every man perfect in Christ. Whereunto also I toil, combating according to his working, which works in me in power.
And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites that they might ask him, Thou, who art thou? And he acknowledged and denied not, and acknowledged, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. They said therefore to him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I [am] [the] voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the path of [the] Lord, as said Esaias the prophet. And they were sent from among the Pharisees. And they asked him and said to him, Why baptisest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? John answered them saying, I baptise with water. In the midst of you stands, whom ye do not know, he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose. These things took place in Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptising. On the morrow he sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He it is of whom I said, A man comes after me who takes a place before me, because he *was* before me; and I knew him not; but that he might be manifested to Israel, therefore have I come baptising with water. And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptise with water, *he* said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, he it is who baptises with [the] Holy Spirit. And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God. Again, on the morrow, there stood John and two of his disciples. And, looking at Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God.
Now in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Ituraea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, [the] word of God came upon John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all the district round the Jordan, preaching [the] baptism of repentance for [the] remission of sins, as it is written in [the] book of [the] words of Esaias the prophet: Voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of [the] Lord, make straight his paths. Every gorge shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked [places] shall become a straight [path], and the rough places smooth ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. He said therefore to the crowds which went out to be baptised by him, Offspring of vipers, who has forewarned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and begin not to say in yourselves, We have Abraham for [our] father, for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And already also the axe is applied to the root of the trees; every tree therefore not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into [the] fire. And the crowds asked him saying, What should we do then? And he answering says to them, He that has two body-coats, let him give to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise. And tax-gatherers came also to be baptised, and they said to him, Teacher, what should we do? And he said to them, Take no more [money] than what is appointed to you. And persons engaged in military service also asked him saying, And we, what should we do? And he said to them, Oppress no one, nor accuse falsely, and be satisfied with your pay. But as the people were in expectation, and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning John whether *he* might be the Christ, John answered all, saying, *I* indeed baptise you with water, but the mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not fit to unloose; *he* shall baptise you with [the] Holy Spirit and fire; whose winnowing-fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his threshing-floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. Exhorting then many other things also he announced [his] glad tidings to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him as to Herodias, the wife of his brother, and as to all the wicked things which Herod had done, added this also to all [the rest], that he shut up John in prison. And it came to pass, all the people having been baptised, and Jesus having been baptised and praying, that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, *Thou* art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight. And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years old; being as was supposed son of Joseph; of Eli, of Matthat, of Levi, of Melchi, of Janna, of Joseph, of Mattathias, of Amos, of Naoum, of Esli, of Naggai, of Maath, of Mattathias, of Semei, of Joseph, of Juda, of Joannes, of Resa, of Zorobabel, of Salathiel, of Neri, of Melchi, of Addi, of Cosam, of Elmodam, of Er, of Joses, of Eliezer, of Joreim, of Matthat, of Levi, of Simeon, of Juda, of Joseph, of Jonan, of Eliakim, of Meleas, of Menan, of Mattatha, of Nathan, of David, of Jesse, of Obed, of Booz, of Salmon, of Naasson, of Aminadab, of Aram, of Esrom, of Phares, of Juda, of Jacob, of Isaac, of Abraham, of Terah, of Nachor, of Seruch, of Ragau, of Phalek, of Eber, of Sala, of Cainan, of Arphaxad, of Sem, of Noe, of Lamech, of Methusala, of Enoch, of Jared, of Maleleel, of Cainan, of Enos, of Seth, of Adam, of God.
Now in those days comes John the baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh. For this is he who has been spoken of through Esaias the prophet, saying, Voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of [the] Lord, make straight his paths. And John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the country round the Jordan, and were baptised by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of vipers, who has forewarned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce therefore fruit worthy of repentance. And do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for [our] father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And already the axe is applied to the root of the trees; every tree therefore not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. *I* indeed baptise you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not fit to bear; *he* shall baptise you with [the] Holy Spirit and fire; whose winnowing fan [is] in his hand, and he shall thoroughly purge his threshing-floor, and shall gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptised of him; but John urgently forbad him, saying, *I* have need to be baptised of thee; and comest *thou* to me? But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer [it] now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffers him. And Jesus, having been baptised, went up straightway from the water, and lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him: and behold, a voice out of the heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 18
Commentary on Acts 18 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 18
Ac 18:1-22. Paul's Arrival and Labors at Corinth, Where He Is Rejoined by Silas and Timothy, and, under Divine Encouragement, Makes a Long Stay—At Length, Retracing His Steps, by Ephesus, Cæsarea, and Jerusalem, He Returns for the Last Time to Antioch, Thus Completing His Second Missionary Journey.
1-4. came to Corinth—rebuilt by Julius Cæsar on the isthmus between the Ægean and Ionian Seas; the capital of the Roman province of Achaia, and the residence of the proconsul; a large and populous mercantile city, and the center of commerce alike for East and West; having a considerable Jewish population, larger, probably, at this time than usual, owing to the banishment of the Jews from Rome by Claudius Cæsar (Ac 18:2). Such a city was a noble field for the Gospel, which, once established there, would naturally diffuse itself far and wide.
2. a Jew … Aquila … with his wife Priscilla—From these Latin names one would conclude that they had resided so long in Rome as to lose their Jewish family names.
born in Pontus—the most easterly province of Asia Minor, stretching along the southern shore of the Black Sea. From this province there were Jews at Jerusalem on the great Pentecost (Ac 2:9), and the Christians of it are included among "the strangers of the dispersion," to whom Peter addressed his first Epistle (1Pe 1:1). Whether this couple were converted before Paul made their acquaintance, commentators are much divided. They may have brought their Christianity with them from Rome [Olshausen], or Paul may have been drawn to them merely by like occupation, and, lodging with them, have been the instrument of their conversion [Meyer]. They appear to have been in good circumstances, and after travelling much, to have eventually settled at Ephesus. The Christian friendship now first formed continued warm and unbroken, and the highest testimony is once and again borne to them by the apostle.
Claudius, &c.—This edict is almost certainly that mentioned by Suetonius, in his life of this emperor [Lives of the Cæsars, "Claudius," 25].
3. tentmakers—manufacturers, probably, of those hair-cloth tents supplied by the goats of the apostle's native province, and hence, as sold in the markets of the Levant, called cilicium. Every Jewish youth, whatever the pecuniary circumstances of his parents, was taught some trade (see on Lu 2:42), and Paul made it a point of conscience to work at that which he had probably been bred to, partly that he might not be burdensome to the churches, and partly that his motives as a minister of Christ might not be liable to misconstruction. To both these he makes frequent reference in his Epistles.
4. the Greeks—that is, Gentile proselytes; for to the heathen, as usual, he only turned when rejected by the Jews (Ac 18:6).
5, 6. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia—that is, from Thessalonica, whither Silas had probably accompanied Timothy when sent back from Athens (see on Ac 17:15).
Paul was pressed in the spirit—rather (according to what is certainly the true reading) "was pressed with the word"; expressing not only his zeal and assiduity in preaching it, but some inward pressure which at this time he experienced in the work (to convey which more clearly was probably the origin of the common reading). What that pressure was we happen to know, with singular minuteness and vividness of description, from the apostle himself, in his first Epistles to the Corinthians and Thessalonians (1Co 2:1-5; 1Th 3:1-10). He had come away from Athens, as he remained there, in a depressed and anxious state of mind, having there met, for the first time, with unwilling Gentile ears. He continued, apparently for some time, laboring alone in the synagogue of Corinth, full of deep and anxious solicitude for his Thessalonian converts. His early ministry at Corinth was colored by these feelings. Himself deeply humbled, his power as a preacher was more than ever felt to lie in demonstration of the Spirit. At length Silas and Timotheus arrived with exhilarating tidings of the faith and love of his Thessalonian children, and of their earnest longing again to see their father in Christ; bringing with them also, in token of their love and duty, a pecuniary contribution for the supply of his wants. This seems to have so lifted him as to put new life and vigor into his ministry. He now wrote his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, in which the "pressure" which resulted from all this strikingly appears. (See Introduction to First Thessalonians). Such emotions are known only to the ministers of Christ, and, even of them, only to such as "travail in birth until Christ be formed in" their hearers.
6. Your blood be upon your own heads, &c.—See Eze 33:4, 9.
from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles—Compare Ac 13:46.
7, 8. he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus—not changing his lodging, as if Aquila and Priscilla up to this time were with the opponents of the apostle [Alford], but merely ceasing any more to testify in the synagogue, and henceforth carrying on his labors in this house of Justus, which "joining hard to the synagogue," would be easily accessible to such of its worshippers as were still open to light. Justus, too, being probably a proselyte, would more easily draw a mixed audience than the synagogue. From this time forth conversions rapidly increased.
8. Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house—an event felt to be so important that the apostle deviated from his usual practice (1Co 1:14-16) and baptized him, as well as Caius (Gaius) and the household of Stephanas, with his own hand [Howson].
many of the Corinthians … believed and were baptized—The beginning of the church gathered there.
9-11. Then spake the Lord to Paul … by a vision, Be not afraid … no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, &c.—From this it would seem that these signal successes were stirring up the wrath of the unbelieving Jews, and probably the apostle feared being driven by violence, as before, from this scene of such promising labor. He is reassured, however, from above.
10. I have much people in this city—"whom in virtue of their election to eternal life He already designates as His" (compare Ac 13:48) [Baumgarten].
11. continued there a year and six months—the whole period of this stay at Corinth, and not merely up to what is next recorded. During some part of this period he wrote his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. (See Introduction to Second Thessalonians.)
12-17. when Gallio was the deputy—"the proconsul." See on Ac 13:7. He was brother to the celebrated philosopher Seneca, the tutor of Nero, who passed sentence of death on both.
13. contrary to the—Jewish
law—probably in not requiring the Gentiles to be circumcised.
14. If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness—any offense punishable by the magistrate.
15. if it be a question of words and names, and of your law … I will be no judge, &c.—in this only laying down the proper limits of his office.
16. drave them, &c.—annoyed at such a case.
17. all the Greeks—the Gentile spectators.
took Sosthenes—perhaps the successor of Crispus, and certainly the head of the accusing party. It is very improbable that this was the same Sosthenes as the apostle afterwards calls "his brother" (1Co 1:1).
and beat him before the judgment-seat—under the very eye of the judge.
And Gallio cared for none of those things—nothing loath, perhaps, to see these turbulent Jews, for whom probably he felt contempt, themselves getting what they hoped to inflict on another, and indifferent to whatever was beyond the range of his office and case. His brother eulogizes his loving and lovable manners. Religious indifference, under the influence of an easy and amiable temper, reappears from age to age.
18. Paul … tarried … yet a good while—During his long residence at Corinth, Paul planted other churches in Achaia (2Co 1:1).
then took … leave of the brethren, and sailed … into—rather, "for"
Syria—to Antioch, the starting-point of all the missions to the Gentiles, which he feels to be for the present concluded.
with him Priscilla and Aquila—In this order the names also occur in Ac 18:26 (according to the true reading); compare Ro 16:3; 2Ti 4:19, which seem to imply that the wife was the more prominent and helpful to the Church. Silas and Timotheus doubtless accompanied the apostle, as also Erastus, Gaius, and Aristarchus (Ac 19:22, 29). Of Silas, as Paul's associate, we read no more. His name occurs last in connection with Peter and the churches of Asia Minor [Webster and Wilkinson].
having shorn his head in Cenchrea—the eastern harbor of Corinth, about ten miles distant, where a church had been formed (Ro 16:1).
for he—Paul.
had a vow—That it was the Nazarite vow (Nu 6:1-27) is not likely. It was probably one made in one of his seasons of difficulty or danger, in prosecution of which he cuts off his hair and hastens to Jerusalem to offer the requisite sacrifice within the prescribed thirty days [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 2.15.1]. This explains the haste with which he leaves Ephesus (Ac 18:21), and the subsequent observance, on the recommendation of the brethren, of a similar vow (Ac 21:24). This one at Corinth was voluntary, and shows that even in heathen countries he systematically studied the prejudices of his Jewish brethren.
19. he came to Ephesus—the capital of the Roman province of Asia. (See Introduction to Ephesians). It was a sail, right across from the west to the east side of the Ægean Sea, of some eight or ten days, with a fair wind.
left them there—Aquila and Priscilla.
but he himself entered into the synagogue—merely taking advantage of the vessel putting in there.
and reasoned with the Jews—the tense here not being the usual one denoting continuous action (as in Ac 17:2; 18:4), but that expressing a transient act. He had been forbidden to preach the word in Asia (Ac 16:6), but he would not consider that as precluding this passing exercise of his ministry when Providence brought him to its capital; nor did it follow that the prohibition was still in force.
20. when they desired him to tarry—The Jews seldom rose against the Gospel till the successful preaching of it stirred them up, and there was no time for that here.
21. I must … keep this feast—probably Pentecost, presenting a noble opportunity of preaching the Gospel.
but I will return—the fulfilment of which promise is recorded in Ac 19:1.
22. And when he had landed at Cæsarea—where he left the vessel.
and gone up—that is, to Jerusalem.
and saluted the church—In these few words does the historian despatch the apostle's FOURTH VISIT TO Jerusalem after his conversion. The expression "going up" is invariably used of a journey to the metropolis; and thence he naturally "went down to Antioch." Perhaps the vessel reached too late for the feast, as he seems to have done nothing in Jerusalem beyond "saluting the Church," and privately offering the sacrifice with which his vow (Ac 18:18) would conclude. It is left to be understood, as on his arrival from his first missionary tour, that "when he was come, and had gathered the church together, he rehearsed all that God had done with him" (Ac 14:27) on this his second missionary journey.
Ac 18:23-21:16. Paul's Third and Last Missionary Journey—He Visits the Churches of Galatia and Phrygia.
23. And after he had spent some time there—but probably not long.
he departed—little thinking, probably, he was never more to return to Antioch.
went over all … Galatia and Phrygia in order—visiting the several churches in succession. See on Ac 16:6. Galatia is mentioned first here, as he would come to it first from Antioch. It was on this visitation that he ordained the weekly collection (1Co 16:1, 2), which has been since adopted generally, and converted into a public usage throughout Christendom. Timotheus and Erastus, Gaius and Aristarchus, appear to have accompanied him on this journey (Ac 19:22, 29; 2Co 1:1), and from Second Corinthians we may presume, Titus also. The details of this visit, as of the former (Ac 16:6), are not given.
Ac 18:24-28. Episode Concerning Apollos at Ephesus and in Achaia.
This is one of the most interesting and suggestive incidental narratives in this precious history.
24, 25. a … Jew named Apollos—a contraction from Apollonius.
born at Alexandria—the celebrated city of Egypt on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean, called after its founder, Alexander the Great. Nowhere was there such a fusion of Greek, Jewish, and Oriental peculiarities, and an intelligent Jew educated in that city could hardly fail to manifest all these elements in his mental character.
eloquent—turning his Alexandrian culture to high account.
and mighty in the scriptures—his eloquence enabling him to express clearly and enforce skilfully what, as a Jew, he had gathered from a diligent study of the Old Testament Scriptures.
came to Ephesus—on what errand is not known.
25. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord … knowing only the baptism of John—He was instructed, probably, by some disciple of the Baptist, in the whole circle of John's teaching concerning Jesus, but no more: he had yet to learn the new light which the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost had thrown upon the Redeemer's death and resurrection; as appears from Ac 19:2, 3.
being fervent in the spirit—His heart warm, and conscious, probably, of his gifts and attainments, he burned to impart to others the truth he had himself received.
he spake and taught diligently—rather, "accurately" (it is the same word as is rendered "perfectly" in Ac 18:26).
26. speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla heard—joying to observe the extent of Scripture knowledge and evangelical truth which he displayed, and the fervency, courage, and eloquence with which he preached the truth.
they took him unto them—privately.
and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly—opening up those truths, to him as yet unknown, on which the Spirit had shed such glorious light. (In what appears to be the true reading of this verse, Priscilla is put before Aquila, as in Ac 18:18 [see on Ac 18:18]; she being probably the more intelligent and devoted of the two). One cannot but observe how providential it was that this couple should have been left at Ephesus when Paul sailed thence for Syria; and no doubt it was chiefly to pave the way for the better understanding of this episode that the fact is expressly mentioned by the historian in Ac 18:19. We see here also an example of not only lay agency (as it is called), but female agency of the highest kind and with the most admirable fruit. Nor can one help admiring the humility and teachableness of so gifted a teacher in sitting at the feet of a Christian woman and her husband.
27, 28. And when he was disposed—"minded," "resolved."
to pass into Achaia—of which Corinth, on the opposite coast (see on Ac 18:1), was the capital; there to proclaim that Gospel which he now more fully comprehended.
the brethren—We had not before heard of such gathered at Ephesus. But the desire of the Jews to whom Paul preached to retain him among them for some time (Ac 18:20), and his promise to return to them (Ac 18:21), seem to indicate some drawing towards the Gospel, which, no doubt, the zealous private labors of Priscilla and Aquila would ripen into discipleship.
wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him—a beautiful specimen of "letters of recommendation" (as Ac 15:23, 25-27, and see 2Co 3:1); by which, as well as by interchange of deputations, &c., the early churches maintained active Christian fellowship with each other.
when he was come, helped them much—was a great acquisition to the Achaian brethren.
which believed through grace—one of those incidental expressions which show that faith's being a production of God's grace in the heart was so current and recognized a truth that it was taken for granted, as a necessary consequence of the general system of grace, rather than expressly insisted on. (It is against the natural order of the words to read them, as Bengel, Meyer, and others, do, "helped through grace those who believed").
28. For he mightily convinced the Jews—The word is very strong: "stoutly bore them down in argument," "vigorously argued them down," and the tense in that he continued to do it, or that this was the characteristic of his ministry.
showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ—Rather, "that the Christ (or Messiah) was Jesus." This expression, when compared with Ac 18:25, seems to imply a richer testimony than with his partial knowledge he was at first able to bear; and the power with which he bore down all opposition in argument is that which made him such an acquisition to the brethren. Thus his ministry would be as good as another visitation to the Achaian churches by the apostle himself (see 1Co 3:6) and the more as, in so far as he was indebted for it to Priscilla and Aquila, it would have a decidedly Pauline cast.