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Acts 18:1-22

Paul had left the Roman province of Macedonia under duress. The unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica, not
content with driving Paul out of their own city, had followed him to Berea, and stirred up the crowds there
against the missionaries. Paul then preceded Silas and Timothy to Athens which was in southern Greece, in
the Roman province of Achaia.

Paul was subject to no such persecution in Athens as in the Macedonian cities. Yet Athens, too, was a
painful experience – for instead of the fierce indignation of the religious Jews, he encountered the cold
indifference of the philosophical Athenians. Only a few were willing to relinquish all of their knowledge
for the simple truth of the gospel. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing; but to
those who are being saved, it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18) – the power of God unto salvation.

While Paul attended to the few converts in Athens, he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to establish the
brethren there, and encourage them in their faith (1 Th 3:1-2). Silas also returned to Macedonia; he may
have accompanied Timothy, but it is probable that he went to Philippi at some point (Silas and Timothy
brought a monetary gift to Paul from the church in Philippi; 2 Cor 11:7-9, Phil 4:15). Both would later
rejoin Paul on the next stop of his journey – Corinth.

18:1-3 Paul left Athens on foot, traveling about 50 miles southwest along the Saronic Gulf, following the
road known as the Sacred Way, until he came to the city of Corinth. Indeed, it was the sacred way for Paul,
as he followed the Spirit’s leading to what might seem a most unlikely city in which to find interest in the
gospel.

Corinth was the leading political and commercial city in Greece (see map). It was located at a strategic
point, a very narrow passage of land that lay between the Aegean Sea to the east, and the Mediterranean to
the west. This narrow land mass connected the provinces of Achaia to the north and Peloponesia to the
south, so that virtually all land traffic between northern and southern Greece had to pass through Corinth.

Corinth was also a shipping center, with two ports – Lechaeum to the west, and Cenchrea to the east.
Rather than go around the Peloponnesian peninsula, ships were portaged across the narrows of Corinth on
rolling logs. You can see why Corinth developed into such an important trade center.

At one time, ancient Corinth had rebelled against Roman dominion, and for that, it was leveled to the
ground in 146 BC, and remained in the dust for a century. Then in 44 BC, Julius Caesar had the city
rebuilt, and gave it the status of a Roman colony. In 27 BC, Corinth became the capital of the Roman
province of Achaia.

The economic vitality of Corinth led to the city becoming highly populated, and quite wealthy. Corinth
was known for its luxuries and ostentation. But it had even greater renown for another attribute – its
immorality.

Now, ancient Corinth had a reputation for sexual license that was remarkable even in classical antiquity. In
those days, Corinth actually became proverbial in this regard: “to act the Corinthian” became an
expression, referring to the practice of sexual immorality. With the regaining of commercial prosperity,
Roman Corinth revisited the city’s old reputation.

Corinth housed the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The temple was a center of prostitution,
which was part of that cultic religion. Here was the consecration of fornication. In this way, religion gave
the Corinthians license to fulfill the lust of their flesh; it sanctified lasciviousness.
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If you think about the letters Paul wrote to the church that would come into existence in Corinth, you can
find much evidence in his admonitions that sexual immorality was a particular problem here. Corinth was
a center of the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Pet 1:4).

Now Paul, fresh from his meager experience in Athens, had come to Corinth. Surely, his eyes and ears
quickly told him what this city was about – And I’m sure the reputation of this city preceded it. Do you
think that Paul would have expected many to respond to the gospel here? He may well have.

The people of Athens were puffed up with knowledge – they thought they knew the truth – and that
rendered their hearts hard to the gospel. All their knowledge left them uncertain, when they finally did
hear the truth – which is what the name of Athens means – “uncertainty”.

But the people of Corinth were different. They had everything the world had to offer – in excess – and
many of them had come to realize that it didn’t given them any heart satisfaction. The name Corinth
means “satiated”. The people of Corinth had satiated themselves on riches and pleasures – even gorged
themselves – only to find that it left them empty inside. They were still poor – in spirit.

Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Mt 9:12). Vice had
taught many in Corinth that they were indeed sick – sin-sick – and that they needed to be healed. I think
Paul would have surmised that many in worldly Corinth would have come to a place where they knew their
need; and he had come to introduce them to the Great Physician, who would make them whole. Those who
came would find heart satisfaction. They would no longer be poor – in spirit.

So coming to Corinth, Paul apparently made his way to the agora – the marketplace, where goods were
bought and sold. Paul’s intention was not to preach in the agora initially, but to see if he could locate some
Jews who did the same kind of work that he was trained in, which we see was the trade of tentmaking.

This trade was closely connected with the main product of Paul’s native province of Cilicia - a cloth of
goat’s hair called cilicium. Cilicium was used for cloaks, curtains and other coverings, and was particularly
useful, in that it was water-repellent; it kept one from exposure in rainstorms.

Now, don’t you think that is the perfect occupation for Paul? For he also labors in the gospel (Phil 4:3).
When men buy the Good News of Jesus Christ, they receive eternal Life. And that Life will one day result
in them being covered with a heavenly tent (2 Cor 5:1-4). That tent fits them for God’s presence; they are
covered from the storm of God’s judgment. Truly, Paul was a “tentmaker”, of the highest order!

Now, Paul had been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), a renowned rabbi in Jerusalem. He was
being groomed as a Pharisee – a lawyer, a teacher. Why was he also trained as a tentmaker? Well, the Jews
did not consider it appropriate for a scribe or rabbi to earn money for his teaching, so many were trained in
and practiced a trade in addition to their study and teaching of the Law.

That turned out to be a good thing for Paul. It is certain that the church in Antioch supported him in his
missionary work, as well as some of the fledgling assemblies that he had established; but looking at the
testimony in his letters, there were times when he was lacking in that support.

Partly this would have been due to the difficulty of getting funds to Paul and his associates; partly it was
because many of the assemblies did not have the financial ability to give very much; and partly, there were
those in the assemblies who were unwilling to give generously (2 Cor 11:7-9). They were insensitive to the
Spirit when He prompted them to give; they “forgot” about the missionaries – and that they worked with
them, in prayer and support, in the furtherance of the gospel; out of sight, out of mind.
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So at times, it was necessary for Paul and his associates to work at their trades, and support themselves,
which, of course, limited their time in preaching the gospel. That was a loss, for those who could have
supported the work. But such things never limit God; He always accomplishes His purposes.

In that day, tradesmen did not compete against one another, but formed trade guilds, and worked together; a
kind of work co-op. A Jew seeking to set up shop in a city would seek out other Jews, as the Gentile guilds
usually adopted a patron deity – from the pagan pantheon.

Since the Jews were in the minority in virtually all Gentile cities, another Jew of the same trade would
always be a welcome addition. This is why Paul would have sought out Aquila and Priscilla, who were
Jewish tentmakers, and why they would have welcomed him. They clearly got along quite well, because
Paul actually stayed with them during his time in Corinth (KJV, abode). Aquila and Priscilla would become
dear friends of Paul, and fellow workers in the gospel of Christ (Rm 16:3).

Luke tells us that Aquila was born in Pontus. That is quite far from Corinth, a Roman province on the
southern coast of the Black Sea in Asia. It is even further from Italy, specifically Rome, where Aquila and
Priscilla apparently lived, prior to Corinth. Now, we don’t know how Aquila and Priscilla came to be living
in Rome; but we do know why they left, because Luke tells us: Claudius had commanded all the Jews to
depart from Rome.

In AD 49, the emperor of the Roman Empire, Claudius Caesar, issued an edict expelling the Jews from
Rome. The Roman historian Suetonius recorded that Claudius “banished from Rome all the Jews, who
were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus”.

The name “Chrestus” is thought to mean “Christ”; Suetonius wrote decades after the fact, and is thought to
have mistaken the name. His statement suggests that there was dissension and disorder within the Jewish
community of Rome resulting from the conversion of some Jews and Gentiles to Christ. The riots that
ensued resulted in the banishment of the Jews.

Now, who would have come to Rome and preached the gospel there? We don’t know. But we do know
that when Paul writes his letter to the Roman assembly, he is introducing himself to them, and has yet to
visit them; the assembly is already established (Rm 1:8-15).

We also know that there were Jewish pilgrims from Rome in Jerusalem on Pentecost (Acts 2:10), after the
death of Jesus, and that they witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the believers there. Many were
converted, and would have returned to their native cities, carrying the gospel with them. Surely, the first
place they would head is to their synagogues, to share with their Jewish brethren that their Messiah had
come.

When all the Jews were expelled from Rome, the members of the church who were formerly Jews would
have been required to leave, also. The church in Rome would have been purely Gentile, then, until the
edict was automatically repealed, with the death of Claudius, in AD 54, and the Jews were permitted to
return to Rome. By the time that Paul wrote to that assembly, around AD 56-58, Aquila and Priscilla had
already returned there, and believers routinely assembled in their home (Rm 16:3-5).

So we know why Aquila and Priscilla left Rome, but we don’t know if they were already believers by the
time that Paul met them. I’m inclined to believe that they were not, in that Luke simply names Aquila as a
Jew.
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Whether Aquila and Priscilla came to believe that Jesus is their Messiah in Rome or in Corinth, we know
they certainly would have become better acquainted with Jesus, and His fulfillment of the Scriptures,
through spending time with Paul. By the time that the couple and Paul have to part ways, Aquila and
Priscilla will be learned enough to even instruct a Jewish teacher who was mighty in the Scriptures, named
Apollos (Acts 18:24-26) – as we’ll see next time.

During the time when Paul was working with Aquila and Priscilla to earn his livelihood, he also was
teaching in the synagogue week by week, on the Sabbath.

v. 4-5 We see that Luke again uses the word “reasoned”, which was the preferred mode of communication
for the Greeks, involving discussion. As the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue listened to
Paul, and talked with him about Jesus, some of them could see how He fulfilled the Scriptures, and became
convinced that Jesus was indeed their Messiah.

After a time, Silas and Timothy returned from their visit with the assemblies in Macedonia. It is then that
Luke records that Paul was compelled by the Spirit – pressed or constrained – and that Paul testified,
meaning earnestly or repeatedly, to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

Now, why does Luke write that this happened “when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia”? We
learn the answer in two of Paul’s letters. Turn to Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Paul was writing
of the fact that he had to work with his hands in order to support himself, when he first came to Corinth to
preach. The Gentiles despised manual labor.

[2 Corinthians 11:7-9] So Silas and Timothy came to Corinth with a gift of money from the brethren in
Macedonia. We learn in another letter that it was the assembly in Philippi that supplied this money (Phil
4:15).

[Return to Acts 18]

We can assume that, since v. 4 indicates that Paul was already reasoning with the Jews every Sabbath, that
when Silas and Timothy came, Paul was able to stop working at his trade and devote his full energy to
preaching the gospel in Corinth – presumably upon other days of meeting in the synagogue, or even on a
personal basis with individual Jews. It was the love of Christ that constrained Paul to do this (2 Cor 5:14),
particularly for his brethren, the Jews (Rm 10:1).

v. 6-7 The general response of the community of Jews was to set themselves in opposition to Paul. To
blaspheme here means to hurt the reputation; to speak evil of; to slander. Who was this slander directed at?
At Jesus, no doubt; they were denying that He is the Christ of God.

These Jews in Corinth had heard Paul’s extensive testimony to Jesus being the Christ; they would have
heard details concerning His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, all shown to be the fulfillment
of their Scriptures. Yet in the face of this comprehensive evidence, these Jews rejected Him as their
Messiah.

Having rejected Jesus, there was nothing left to say to them; Paul had said it all. Paul shook out his
garments – a symbolic action that he was removing from himself the guilt of their condemnation. By the
rejection of their Messiah, these Jews had brought upon themselves the guilt that would result in their own
destruction.
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Paul had tried to remove that guilt, through the blood of Jesus, but the Jews would not allow it. Paul had
done his part; any further effort would be wasted, and would detract from those who desired to hear the
gospel – the Gentiles of Corinth.

So Paul went out one door, leaving the unbelieving Jews behind, in the synagogue – and went in another
door – right next door to the synagogue, in fact. This was a Gentile door – the home of a God-fearing
Gentile named Justus (v. 7, “who worshiped God” – a God-fearing Gentile) – Titius Justus, in some
manuscripts. Now, Paul didn’t just walk into this man’s home uninvited; Titius Justus would have invited
Paul in, which tells us that he was one of Paul’s first Gentile converts in Corinth.

For what purpose did Paul go into the house of Titius Justus? Not to stay with him; Paul was already
staying with Aquila and Priscilla. The understanding here is that Paul left the synagogue, where he had
been preaching and teaching, and he entered the house of Titius Justus, in order to continue preaching and
teaching – to any and all who would hear. So we can assume that the home of Titius Justus became the
meeting place for the brand-new assembly in Corinth.

An archeological find in Corinth reveals that the synagogue was in close proximity to the agora in Corinth
– the marketplace – in an affluent area of town. This would suggest the home of Titius Justus was large,
which would be appropriate to accommodate a home church.

Now, a little detective work. The name Titius Justus is Latin, suggesting this man was a Roman citizen,
likely Roman by nationality. Romans usually had three names. In his letter to the assembly in Rome, Paul
mentions two members of the church in Corinth, from where he was writing (this was his second visit
there) – Erastus, the treasurer of the city, and Gaius, his host (Rm 16:23) – a Latin name.

It is thought that this Gaius was Titius Justus – the same Justus as in our passage – who hosted the assembly
in his home in Paul’s first visit in Corinth. So his full name would then have been Gaius Titius Justus. We
have another reference to Gaius, which we will talk about shortly.

v. 8 The “ruler of the synagogue” was an elder who had been appointed to govern the affairs of the
synagogue, such as preserving order, and inviting men to read or speak in the assembly. There was often
more than one of these in each synagogue. This was a position appointed to persons of status and wealth.

Crispus was clearly not one of those Jews who believed in the beginning, when Paul first began to preach
the gospel; but neither was he one of the revilers, who had blasphemed Christ. He just hadn’t come to a
decision yet, concerning Jesus; perhaps he needed to search the Scriptures for himself; perhaps he needed
to hear more. But shortly after Paul left the synagogue, Crispus became convinced that Jesus was indeed
the Messiah – and he received Jesus as his Lord.

This must have sent shock waves through the Jewish community – and caused others, including the
members of Crispus’ household, to believe into Jesus. The effects of his conversion radiated even further
out, so that many of the Corinthians, hearing of the conversion of Crispus, and then hearing the gospel for
themselves, believed; and they were all baptized in water by the missionaries, indicating their decision, to
become Christ Ones.

In his first letter to the assembly at Corinth, Paul names a few of the believers that he had baptized
personally, including Crispus and Gaius (1 Cor 1:14) – presumably, our Justus here, who was one of the
first converts. These were prominent members of the community in Corinth – and they were meeting in the
house right next door to the synagogue. That must have been sure to fuel the fire of wrath in the
unbelieving Jews.
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v. 9-11 The Lord Jesus Himself came to Paul in a vision. What did He say first? “Do not be afraid”. Why
would He say that? Because Paul was afraid, or was inclined to be. Does that seem possible – with all that
Paul had already been through? Maybe because of what Paul had already been through, he was afraid.

Paul had already experienced many sufferings at the hands of the Jews – he had been seized by riotous
crowds (Acts 14:5, 19; 16:22) , tried before magistrates (Acts 16:19-24), beaten (Acts 16:22-23),
imprisoned (Acts 16:23-37), stoned (Acts 14:19), expelled from cities (Acts 13:50, 16:39-40, 17:10) ; and
there had been more than one plot to kill him (Acts 9:23-24, 29).

By now, Paul was familiar with the pattern: he preached the gospel in the synagogue; some Jews and many
Gentiles believed; and the unbelieving Jews became indignant, seeing the members of their synagogue
converting to what they considered to be a perversion of their Scriptures; a false religion.

Retaliation against Paul was always the next part of the pattern – and Paul anticipated that it would be
ferocious in Corinth, with its large Jewish community. Not to mention the conversion of their ruler,
Crispus, and the fact that Paul was teaching in the house adjoining the synagogue! It would be unnatural to
be unafraid.

So the Lord Himself came to Paul in a vision, to encourage him with the strength of the super-natural. The
Lord came, to encourage Paul in the Spirit – the only One who could eradicate the fear in his flesh. The
encouragement was to speak; to not keep silent. Well, that had never been a problem for Paul; but fear is
paralyzing.

Fear cannot be reasoned away, for it is irrational; it cannot be suppressed, because it rides on waves of
emotion. What must be done with fear? It must be cast out. And what alone can cast it out? Perfect Love.
Perfect Love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).

Perfect Love is not an emotion; it is a Person – who is it? Jesus – God is Love (1 Jn 4:8); Perfect Love. In
order for fear to be cast out, we must give it to the One who is Perfect Love, to do so. That requires
yielding up the concern to Him – turning over the concern entirely into His keeping, and leaving it there –
casting all your care upon Him – why? – because He cares for you (1 Pet 5:7); because He can, and will,
take care of it. It is an issue of trust.

That’s what the Lord was encouraging Paul to do; to trust Him. He told Paul, “I am with you” – He was
right there with Paul, in the midst of this trial. He said, “No one will attack you to hurt you” – Paul must
trust Jesus, to be His protection. Finally, He said, “I have many people in this city”.

In His foreknowledge, Jesus knew what Paul didn’t – that there were still many souls in Corinth that
belonged to Him, that yet needed to hear of the Savior who was seeking them. For Paul to give in to fear,
to not speak, to be silent, would mean that Paul could not be the chosen vessel of Jesus for this work; nor,
perhaps, for future work. Paul must trust the Lord, and keep pressing on, fighting the good fight of the
faith (1 Tim 6:12).

Paul would later write to the Corinthians of when he first came to them: “I was with you in weakness, and
in fear, and in much trembling”(1 Cor 2:3). But Paul submitted to Jesus, and by the power of God, that fear
was cast out; he spoke, and did not keep silent. Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching
the gospel to the people, and teaching the word of God among the believers of Corinth. Paul stayed in
Corinth longer than anywhere except Ephesus (20:31) and Rome (28:30).
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And, just as Paul expected, the old pattern manifested itself once again – this time, in Corinth.

v. 12-13 Once again, the Jewish opposition continued to escalate. The Jews finally went beyond words,
and organized action against Paul, whom they considered to be a false teacher.

The Lord had told Paul that he would not be hurt by any attack; but He did not say that there wouldn’t be
any attack. And there was an attack against Paul. The Jews organized themselves, and when the proconsul
was due to be attending to judicial matters in the city, they seized Paul and brought him to the judgment
seat in the agora. This was a large raised stone platform in the marketplace, situated in front of the
residence of the proconsul. It was here that the proconsul judged public cases.

The proconsul was the provincial governor of the entire Roman province of Achaia, including Corinth,
which was its capital, and therefore the place where the proconsul had his headquarters. The name of this
proconsul was Gallio. He is known to have been the provincial governor of Achaia from AD 51-52. He
was a Roman, the brother of Seneca, who was a famed Stoic philosopher. Incidentally, Seneca was the
tutor of a future emperor of Rome – Nero.

Gallio was considered to be a just and upright man – at least, according to Roman standards. Seneca said
of his brother, “No mortal is so pleasant to any one person as Gallio is to everybody; and in him there is
such a natural power of goodness, that there is no semblance of art or dissimulation”. I think I hear a
brother’s natural affection here; but perhaps we can derive from the statement, as well as the account that
follows, that Gallio was forthright and direct.

So the Jews brought Paul to Gallio. The person chosen to prosecute the case for the Jews would routinely
be the ruler of the synagogue. This ruler, named Sosthenes, made a specific charge against Paul: that he
was promoting a form of worship which was in violation of the law. What law? The Jews were implying
the Roman law. That’s why they had brought Paul to the Roman governor; he was the judge of what was in
violation of Roman law.

Now, Roman law upheld the official state religion in the Roman Empire – the pagan pantheon, as well as
worship of the emperor as a god. While Judaism was not the official religion, it was officially tolerated in
the Roman world by virtue of its antiquity. The Jews in Corinth were charging Paul with religious teaching
which was outside of Judaism, and outside of the state religion of Rome.

This was a cleverly calculated ploy by the Jews. The verdict of a Roman governor would not only be
effective throughout his entire province, but would tend to be followed as a precedent by governors of other
provinces. If the governor ruled against Paul, the preaching of the gospel and the worship of Jesus as God
could possibly have been outlawed throughout the Roman Empire.

Just as Paul was about to open his mouth to defend his actions, Gallio himself spoke up.

v. 14-16 A Roman magistrate’s first decision was whether to accept a charge, to then judge the case. What
Gallio did was to dismiss the case; he didn’t accept the charge.

Gallio would have observed that Paul was a Jew, and he would have assumed Paul’s teaching to be just a
variant form of Judaism – even though, in reality, it was not. And Gallio would have seen through the not-
so-subtle ruse of the Jews – that they were trying to inflate teaching that they felt disagreed with their
religion into a violation of Roman law. In any case, Gallio would never have thought Paul’s teaching could
be any threat to the Roman Empire!
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Gallio concluded that no crime had been committed here; it was just a dispute over semantics, something
that the Jews needed to settle themselves, according to their own Law – as long as in doing so, they did not
violate any Roman laws. What’s ironic is that, as a Roman citizen, Paul could not be prosecuted under
Jewish law in Corinth, for it was a Roman colony – so this meant that the apostle was free. No one could
attack him to hurt him here – just as Jesus had said.

So Gallio effectively threw the case out of court, and had the area cleared, possibly by his attendants with
their rods. You can read into the words and actions of Gallio more than a little Roman impatience with the
Jews and their religious disputes. Also, due to the recent ruling of the emperor Claudius, anti-Jewish
sentiment would have been running high.

The decision of Gallio was important even beyond Corinth and the province of Achaia for the immediate
future of the gospel. Since provinces tended to follow judicial precedent, Gallio’s ruling gave the followers
of Jesus essentially the same protection which had been accorded Judaism by Roman law – the freedom to
exist.

v. 17 As the judgment seat of Gallio was in the agora, it was natural for a crowd to gather. As the Jews
were being cleared out of the area, some of the Gentiles in the marketplace took advantage of the disfavor
that Gallio had exhibited towards the Jewish prosecutor, who was the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him
up – right in front of the judgment seat, with Gallio still in it.

Did Gallio respond to this unwarranted injustice? No – he turned a blind eye to it. It would seem that
Seneca’s brother, who was reputedly “so pleasant” to everyone, was pleasant to everyone except perhaps
Jews.

And what of Sosthenes, this ruler of the synagogue, who had failed in his prosecution of Paul, only to be so
miserably beaten – two beatings in one day? He would live to see a better day; he had a very bright future.
We can see his name listed in Paul’s first letter to the assembly at Corinth, which Paul wrote from Ephesus
– Sosthenes is listed as the “brother” of Paul (1 Cor 1:1); so Sosthenes, another ruler of the synagogue,
became a believer in the Lord Jesus, and joined Paul in some of his travels.

v. 18 Paul was in Corinth for a year and a half total, then made plans to return to Syria. Priscilla and
Aquila accompanied Paul first to the port city of Cenchrea.

Paul had apparently chosen to make a vow to the Lord. It was common for a Jew to make a vow to God as
an expression of gratitude or devotion, when they had been raised up from sickness, or delivered from
danger or calamity. Vows were not a requirement of the Law, but a personal choice, for the Jews; and Paul
clearly felt he had the freedom to express himself this way. This vow may have been a reflection of how
Paul felt in the Lord delivering him from the Jews in Corinth.

At the completion of this vow, Paul had his head shorn, indicating that the period of his special vow was
over. Having the head shorn at the completion of the vow was done in the Nazirite vow. This vow
signified the consecration of the body to God.

v. 19-21 From Cenchrea, Paul sailed to Ephesus, the leading commercial center in Asia Minor. There Paul
spent a short time reasoning with the Jews in the synagogue – discussing Jesus being the Messiah, in
fulfillment of the Scriptures. The Jews in Ephesus desired to hear more, but Paul indicated that he had to
leave for Jerusalem, in order to keep the coming feast.
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If that feast was Passover, there would have been good reason for Paul to make haste. The seas were closed
to navigation until March 10, probably due to navigation issues; and in AD 52, Passover fell in early April.
Paul indicated to the Ephesians that he would return to see them, if the Lord allowed it.

Paul left Aquila and Priscilla behind in Ephesus. Paul had taught them extensively for the last year and a
half; now they were now ready to share some of what they had learned with others. From Scripture, we
learn that Aquila and Priscilla remained in Ephesus several years (1 Cor 16:19), ministering there; then later
return to Rome after the death of Claudius, where they had a church in their home (Rm 16:3-5).

v. 22 Paul then sailed through the Mediterranean to Caesarea, and journeyed by foot up to Jerusalem for
the feast. Was he being legalistic, in going to Jerusalem for the feast? No – Paul was free; the Lord would
have him keep the feast as a witness to the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem, and to Jews in general, that he did
not teach Jews to forsake the Law, as his opponents claimed (Acts 21:21).

Paul would have given his report to the church in Jerusalem of what the Lord was doing among the
Gentiles. Then Paul returned to Syrian Antioch. Almost three years had elapsed on this second missionary
journey; and countless souls had been delivered into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Next week: Finish chapter 18; read chapter 19. Finish reading 1 and 2 Corinthians; start Ephesians.