21 January 2024 // Acts 18
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION: Read Acts 18
SERMON REVIEW:
A visit with new friends. vs. 1-4
Aquila and Priscilla
Their reason for being there.
Their profession in life- Tentmaking.
A visit from old friends. vs. 5
Brought support as fellow teachers/disciples
Brought support financially. 2 Cor. 11:9/Phil. 4:14
From part-time to full time.
God’s omnipotent will. vs. 5-11
Titius Justus and his house.
Crispus and his household.
The Lord’s direction.
The world’s impotent wishes vs. 12-17
The truth of the matter.
Sothenes
The Disciples support. vs. 18-23
The rest of the story… vs. 24-28
Apollos – Faith and Following!
QUESTIONS:
LIFE APPLICATION:
Alexandria!
We began with a city, and we end in a different one. This time to Alexandria, the home of Apollos, great cultural center, and grain port on the coast of North Africa where the Nile meets the Mediterranean. During the first century it was the second largest city in the Roman Empire and home to a great university modeled after Athens itself. Alexandria shipped 150,000 tons of grain annually to Rome.
It was also a city of no minor religious and philosophical significance. The birthplace of the Septuagint, it housed Clement, Origin, and Athanasius. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., its merchant ships, the largest and finest of the day, sailed all across the Mediterranean. Its university was especially noted for the study of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and poetry. The Alexandrian library became the largest and best known in the world, reportedly housing from 400,000 to 900,000 books and scrolls.
It was also a city of no minor religious and philosophical significance. The birthplace of the Septuagint, it housed Clement, Origin, and Athanasius. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., its merchant ships, the largest and finest of the day, sailed all across the Mediterranean. Its university was especially noted for the study of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and poetry. The Alexandrian library became the largest and best known in the world, reportedly housing from 400,000 to 900,000 books and scrolls.
Years ago, George Sweeting, then president of Moody Bible Institute, wrote about ministry to cities (The City, Moody Press, 1972). At the beginning of the second chapter he reminds us.
The city is here to stay. We cannot ignore, deplore, or flee it forever. At the present time 90 percent of the earth’s inhabitants live in five percent of the earth’s area. Within the next century it is claimed that 30 billion people may live in a universal city that covers the globe. Already the United States is a metropolitan society, with at least 60 percent of its population clustered in the cities. But in the urban areas the masses of coming generations will work out their destinies. In the cities the future of America will be decided for better or for worse (Sweeting, 19).
Surely Luke does not minimize the Derbes and Lystras of Paul’s day when he emphasizes urban congregations like Antioch, Corinth, and Ephesus, to say nothing of Jerusalem. This follows the missionary plan from the beginning, a plan continued in contemporary missionary strategy.
DIGGING DEEPER:
A. Edict of Claudius (v. 2)
Though we have discussed this briefly before, it may be useful to visit it again here. During the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Claudius, sometime between January 25 A.D. 49 and January 24 A.D. 50, Claudius was compelled to deal with riots regularly arising in the Jewish community in Rome. Suetonius tells us in Vita Claudius 25.4 that these riots occurred “at the instigation of Chrestus.” At this distance we have no guarantee that Chrestus was not some local agitator, but most scholars agree Suetonius was really describing conflict between Gentiles and Jews in Rome, or more properly, between Christian and non-Christian Jews, and that Chrestus was really a way of saying Christ. Ramsay tells us:
In the earliest stages of Christian history in Rome, such a mistake was quite natural; and Suetonius reproduces the words which he found in a document of the period. As Dion Cassius mentions, it was found so difficult to keep the Jews out of Rome on account of their numbers, that the Emperor did not actually expel them, but made stricter regulations about their conduct. It would therefore appear that the edict was found unworkable in practice; but Suetonius is a perfect authority that it was tried, and it is quite probable that some Jews obeyed it, and among them Aquila (Ramsay, 254).
B. Report from Thessalonica (v. 5)
Most likely 1 Thessalonians formed Paul’s response to the report Silas and Timothy brought from Thessalonica to Corinth. That bright epistle commends the growth of the church, encourages its steadfastness, defends the apostle’s motives, instructs them about the coming of the Lord (apparently a major doctrinal confusion at Thessalonica), and calls the congregation to patience.
While still at Corinth, Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians which focuses even more thoroughly on the second coming of Christ and how believers should live in the present world in anticipation of that great event. Both books stress that Christ’s coming is near, but they emphasize constant attention to right living rather than some kind of cultic expectation of immediacy. In 2 Thessalonians, eighteen out of forty-seven verses (38 percent) deal with end-time events.
C. Gallio’s Decision (v. 15)
Whatever the Jews intended with their accusations, Gallio clearly considered the complaint outside the boundaries of Roman authority, a theological dispute of intramural proportions in the Jewish community. His responsibility as Rome’s official presence in Corinth was to judge civil and criminal cases, not theological squabbles. The Roman proconsul saw Christianity as a subset of Judaism, not some new kind of religion which required approval of the courts. This is precisely what the apostles taught as evidenced by their constant pattern of going first to Jews in the synagogue and proclaiming that the Messiah had come.
Longenecker stresses the importance of this judgment by a Roman authority.
The importance of Gallio’s decision was profound. Luke highlights it in his account of Paul’s ministry at Corinth and makes it the apex from an apologetic perspective of all that took place on Paul’s second missionary journey. There had been no vindication from Roman authorities of Christianity’s claim to share in the religio licita (legally recognized religion) status of Judaism in Macedonia, and the issue had been left entirely unresolved at Athens. If Gallio had accepted the Jewish charge and found Paul guilty of the alleged offense, provincial governors everywhere would have had a precedent, and Paul’s ministry would have been severely restricted. As it was, Gallio’s refusal to act in the matter was tantamount to the recognition of Christianity as a religio licita; and the decision of so eminent a Roman proconsul would carry weight wherever the issue arose again and give pause to those who might want to oppose the Christian movement (Longenecker, 486).
D. Paul’s Vow (v. 18)
This simple notation by Luke has caused no minor riot among commentators and theologians for hundreds of years. Barnhouse does not mince words:
Here, Paul was definitely out of the will of the Lord. He had no right to take this vow, or to have his head shaved as a symbol of it. This was deliberate sin on his part. Since God puts everything in Scripture, I believe he allows us to see this episode so that we can realize that Paul was fallible in some things (Barnhouse, 168–169).
Barnhouse assumes Paul involved himself in some kind of law-keeping, thereby violating the grace principle laid down by the Jerusalem Council. In fact, this act had absolutely nothing to do with salvation or the preaching of the gospel of faith in Jesus. We do not know why or when Paul took a vow, but it certainly might have been during the dark hours of Jewish persecution in Corinth, perhaps in a deep night of prayer for God’s intervention, which he clearly received (18:9–10).
If this was a Nazirite vow (not all agree it was), it involved abstinence from alcohol and allowing one’s hair to grow until some point in the future, obviously Paul’s arrival at Cenchrea in this case. Then the head would be shaved and the hair offered as a burnt offering at the temple in Jerusalem (Num. 6:1–21; Acts 23:21–26). Paul never claimed to be anything but a Jew saved by grace so this practice of a Jewish custom should hardly be surprising.
Normally, the head would be shaved at Jerusalem, and the hair disposed of immediately. The law did not restrict doing it earlier and carrying the hair to Jerusalem for completion of the ritual. Certainly, the practice seems strange to us, but in the boundaries of Paul’s oriental world, this would be a very normal behavior. Polhill says:
In any event, the significance of the vow is that it shows Paul to have been a loyal, practicing Jew. In his mission to the Gentiles, he did not abandon his own Jewishness. He was still a ‘Jew to the Jews’ and still continued his witness in the synagogues. Interestingly, on Paul’s final visit to Jerusalem, when James wanted him to demonstrate his Jewish loyalty before the more legally zealous Jewish Christians, participation in a similar vow was chosen as the means to accomplish this (21:20–24) (Polhill, 390).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Do you have special friends with whom you share common hobbies and interests? Can you find a way to use those common hobbies and interests in God’s work?
2. Do you know a young Christian with enthusiasm and zeal who needs more training in the basics of Christian faith? Are you willing to help train that young person?
3. What do you say when people try to prove that the gospel is wrong and Jesus is not the only way to salvation?[3]
PRAYER:
[1] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 311–312.
[2] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 312-315.
[3] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 316.
SERMON REVIEW:
A visit with new friends. vs. 1-4
Aquila and Priscilla
Their reason for being there.
Their profession in life- Tentmaking.
A visit from old friends. vs. 5
Brought support as fellow teachers/disciples
Brought support financially. 2 Cor. 11:9/Phil. 4:14
From part-time to full time.
God’s omnipotent will. vs. 5-11
Titius Justus and his house.
Crispus and his household.
The Lord’s direction.
The world’s impotent wishes vs. 12-17
The truth of the matter.
Sothenes
The Disciples support. vs. 18-23
The rest of the story… vs. 24-28
Apollos – Faith and Following!
QUESTIONS:
- What did the message teach me about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?
- What did the message teach me about the human condition?
- Is there anything I need to confess, repent, or be grateful for, because of this passage?
- How do I need help in believing and applying this scripture to my life?
- How can I encourage others with this passage?
LIFE APPLICATION:
Alexandria!
We began with a city, and we end in a different one. This time to Alexandria, the home of Apollos, great cultural center, and grain port on the coast of North Africa where the Nile meets the Mediterranean. During the first century it was the second largest city in the Roman Empire and home to a great university modeled after Athens itself. Alexandria shipped 150,000 tons of grain annually to Rome.
It was also a city of no minor religious and philosophical significance. The birthplace of the Septuagint, it housed Clement, Origin, and Athanasius. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., its merchant ships, the largest and finest of the day, sailed all across the Mediterranean. Its university was especially noted for the study of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and poetry. The Alexandrian library became the largest and best known in the world, reportedly housing from 400,000 to 900,000 books and scrolls.
It was also a city of no minor religious and philosophical significance. The birthplace of the Septuagint, it housed Clement, Origin, and Athanasius. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., its merchant ships, the largest and finest of the day, sailed all across the Mediterranean. Its university was especially noted for the study of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and poetry. The Alexandrian library became the largest and best known in the world, reportedly housing from 400,000 to 900,000 books and scrolls.
Years ago, George Sweeting, then president of Moody Bible Institute, wrote about ministry to cities (The City, Moody Press, 1972). At the beginning of the second chapter he reminds us.
The city is here to stay. We cannot ignore, deplore, or flee it forever. At the present time 90 percent of the earth’s inhabitants live in five percent of the earth’s area. Within the next century it is claimed that 30 billion people may live in a universal city that covers the globe. Already the United States is a metropolitan society, with at least 60 percent of its population clustered in the cities. But in the urban areas the masses of coming generations will work out their destinies. In the cities the future of America will be decided for better or for worse (Sweeting, 19).
Surely Luke does not minimize the Derbes and Lystras of Paul’s day when he emphasizes urban congregations like Antioch, Corinth, and Ephesus, to say nothing of Jerusalem. This follows the missionary plan from the beginning, a plan continued in contemporary missionary strategy.
DIGGING DEEPER:
A. Edict of Claudius (v. 2)
Though we have discussed this briefly before, it may be useful to visit it again here. During the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Claudius, sometime between January 25 A.D. 49 and January 24 A.D. 50, Claudius was compelled to deal with riots regularly arising in the Jewish community in Rome. Suetonius tells us in Vita Claudius 25.4 that these riots occurred “at the instigation of Chrestus.” At this distance we have no guarantee that Chrestus was not some local agitator, but most scholars agree Suetonius was really describing conflict between Gentiles and Jews in Rome, or more properly, between Christian and non-Christian Jews, and that Chrestus was really a way of saying Christ. Ramsay tells us:
In the earliest stages of Christian history in Rome, such a mistake was quite natural; and Suetonius reproduces the words which he found in a document of the period. As Dion Cassius mentions, it was found so difficult to keep the Jews out of Rome on account of their numbers, that the Emperor did not actually expel them, but made stricter regulations about their conduct. It would therefore appear that the edict was found unworkable in practice; but Suetonius is a perfect authority that it was tried, and it is quite probable that some Jews obeyed it, and among them Aquila (Ramsay, 254).
B. Report from Thessalonica (v. 5)
Most likely 1 Thessalonians formed Paul’s response to the report Silas and Timothy brought from Thessalonica to Corinth. That bright epistle commends the growth of the church, encourages its steadfastness, defends the apostle’s motives, instructs them about the coming of the Lord (apparently a major doctrinal confusion at Thessalonica), and calls the congregation to patience.
While still at Corinth, Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians which focuses even more thoroughly on the second coming of Christ and how believers should live in the present world in anticipation of that great event. Both books stress that Christ’s coming is near, but they emphasize constant attention to right living rather than some kind of cultic expectation of immediacy. In 2 Thessalonians, eighteen out of forty-seven verses (38 percent) deal with end-time events.
C. Gallio’s Decision (v. 15)
Whatever the Jews intended with their accusations, Gallio clearly considered the complaint outside the boundaries of Roman authority, a theological dispute of intramural proportions in the Jewish community. His responsibility as Rome’s official presence in Corinth was to judge civil and criminal cases, not theological squabbles. The Roman proconsul saw Christianity as a subset of Judaism, not some new kind of religion which required approval of the courts. This is precisely what the apostles taught as evidenced by their constant pattern of going first to Jews in the synagogue and proclaiming that the Messiah had come.
Longenecker stresses the importance of this judgment by a Roman authority.
The importance of Gallio’s decision was profound. Luke highlights it in his account of Paul’s ministry at Corinth and makes it the apex from an apologetic perspective of all that took place on Paul’s second missionary journey. There had been no vindication from Roman authorities of Christianity’s claim to share in the religio licita (legally recognized religion) status of Judaism in Macedonia, and the issue had been left entirely unresolved at Athens. If Gallio had accepted the Jewish charge and found Paul guilty of the alleged offense, provincial governors everywhere would have had a precedent, and Paul’s ministry would have been severely restricted. As it was, Gallio’s refusal to act in the matter was tantamount to the recognition of Christianity as a religio licita; and the decision of so eminent a Roman proconsul would carry weight wherever the issue arose again and give pause to those who might want to oppose the Christian movement (Longenecker, 486).
D. Paul’s Vow (v. 18)
This simple notation by Luke has caused no minor riot among commentators and theologians for hundreds of years. Barnhouse does not mince words:
Here, Paul was definitely out of the will of the Lord. He had no right to take this vow, or to have his head shaved as a symbol of it. This was deliberate sin on his part. Since God puts everything in Scripture, I believe he allows us to see this episode so that we can realize that Paul was fallible in some things (Barnhouse, 168–169).
Barnhouse assumes Paul involved himself in some kind of law-keeping, thereby violating the grace principle laid down by the Jerusalem Council. In fact, this act had absolutely nothing to do with salvation or the preaching of the gospel of faith in Jesus. We do not know why or when Paul took a vow, but it certainly might have been during the dark hours of Jewish persecution in Corinth, perhaps in a deep night of prayer for God’s intervention, which he clearly received (18:9–10).
If this was a Nazirite vow (not all agree it was), it involved abstinence from alcohol and allowing one’s hair to grow until some point in the future, obviously Paul’s arrival at Cenchrea in this case. Then the head would be shaved and the hair offered as a burnt offering at the temple in Jerusalem (Num. 6:1–21; Acts 23:21–26). Paul never claimed to be anything but a Jew saved by grace so this practice of a Jewish custom should hardly be surprising.
Normally, the head would be shaved at Jerusalem, and the hair disposed of immediately. The law did not restrict doing it earlier and carrying the hair to Jerusalem for completion of the ritual. Certainly, the practice seems strange to us, but in the boundaries of Paul’s oriental world, this would be a very normal behavior. Polhill says:
In any event, the significance of the vow is that it shows Paul to have been a loyal, practicing Jew. In his mission to the Gentiles, he did not abandon his own Jewishness. He was still a ‘Jew to the Jews’ and still continued his witness in the synagogues. Interestingly, on Paul’s final visit to Jerusalem, when James wanted him to demonstrate his Jewish loyalty before the more legally zealous Jewish Christians, participation in a similar vow was chosen as the means to accomplish this (21:20–24) (Polhill, 390).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Do you have special friends with whom you share common hobbies and interests? Can you find a way to use those common hobbies and interests in God’s work?
2. Do you know a young Christian with enthusiasm and zeal who needs more training in the basics of Christian faith? Are you willing to help train that young person?
3. What do you say when people try to prove that the gospel is wrong and Jesus is not the only way to salvation?[3]
PRAYER:
[1] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 311–312.
[2] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 312-315.
[3] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 316.