Acts 18:1-28: The Team Expands

There was an ancient Corinth that had its peak in the 4th and 5th centuries BCE, but the Corinth that Paul knew was a diverse “boom town” created in 44 BCE by Julius Caesar. It had the reputation for being a tough place to be, remote from the rest of Greece. In other words, this was a very challenging mission field. That same diversity and challenge became part of the Corinthian church, as we will see tomorrow in the reading in I Corinthians.

Luke, as has been his pattern, introduces to three new characters in the early church: Priscilla (the first woman we have been introduced to as a church leader), Aquila and Apollos. Jews were banished from Rome (including Priscilla and Aquila), so these Jewish Christians came to Corinth. They, like Paul, were tentmakers, working during the week and preaching on weekends. Silas and Timothy come to join them there in Corinth. This seems to be the inner circle around Paul on this missionary journey. As was usually the case, Paul’s ministry with the Jews was difficult and he “shakes the dust off his feet” and vows to minister only to the Gentiles. Paul has a vision where God encourages him and he ends up spending 18 months there. In verses 12-14, there is a little humor. The Jewish leadership there brought accusations against Paul and want him prosecuted, but instead the procounsul says their complaints are out of his jurisdiction. So the accusers end up turning on the synagogue ruler, even beating on him.

Many scholars locate this transition from Corinth to Antioch (vss. 18-22) as the end of Paul’s second missionary journey. After a rest, he takes off for his third journey which include two controversial and crucial destinations, Jerusalem and Rome. Paul has big plans for that journey, including the conversion of Jewish leadership in Jerusalem and the conversion of the emperor himself. Paul, despite many setbacks, never ceases to “dream big.”

In 18:24-28, we are introduced to Apollos. At first he is just a reform-minded Jew, but Priscilla and Aquila see him as a “diamond in the rough” and tell him more fully the gospel of Christ. According to our reading tomorrow, Apollos gains quite a following in Corinth, even to the point of becoming competitive with Paul in the minds of the Corinthians. We are at a time in the church when we all need to be talent scouts and learn how to groom a new generation of leaders for ministry inside and outside the church. Priscilla and Aquila give us a clue or two on how to do that.