Founding the Corinthian Church
1 After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth, o 2 where he found a Jew named Aquila, p a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them, 3 and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, q he stayed with them and worked. 4 He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks. r
5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. s 6 When they resisted and blasphemed, t he shook out his clothes u and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! v I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” w 7 So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. x Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
9 The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. 10For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” y 11 He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal. z 13 “This man,” they said, “ is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”
14 As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews. 15 But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.” a 16 So he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, b the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.
The Return Trip to Antioch
18 After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. c 19 When they reached Ephesus d he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, 21 but he said farewell and added, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” e Then he set sail from Ephesus.
22 On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch. f
23 After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. g
The Eloquent Apollos
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, h a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism. i 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. j 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. k 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah. l
18:1–4. Leaving Athens, Paul travels west to the Roman city of Corinth (18:1), the capital city of Achaia, whose political and economic influence surpassed that of Athens. As a city that boasted two significant harbors, Cenchreae, which led to the Greek East, and Lechaion, which led to Italy, Corinth was also a significant cultural center. This helps explain why Paul would spend a year and a half in this city (18:11).
18:5–8. Paul’s experience in Corinth is consistent with his previous receptions, with the Jews rejecting the gospel and opposing him. That Paul “shook out his clothes” in protest (18:6) recalls Jesus’s earlier instruction to his disciples (Lk 9:5; cf. 10:11) and Paul’s earlier act in response to Jewish opposition in Pisidian Antioch (Ac 13:51). Paul’s statement that follows explains this act. “Your blood is on your own heads” evokes the language of the OT (Jos 9:24; 2 Sm 1:16; 1 Kg 2:33), and “I am innocent” points to the responsibility of the Jews for their rejection of the gospel. Paul’s claim to go to the Gentiles (18:6) likewise recalls his earlier statement in 13:46; as in the earlier episode, this is not an indication of his giving up on the Jews (cf. 18:19, 26; 19:8).
18:9–17. The vision from the risen Lord (18:9–10) provides an introduction to the judgment of Paul before Gallio (18:12), the proconsul of Achaia in AD 51–52. “Don’t be afraid” (18:9) evokes the “fear not” formula that is often used in divine war contexts when God promises to fight for his people (cf. Nm 21:34; Dt 3:2; Jos 8:1–2). The risen Lord promises Paul that he will be present with him as he struggles against those who oppose the work of God (18:10). The fact that Gallio dismisses the case the Jews have brought against Paul fulfills the promise made by the risen Lord (18:14–16). Gallio’s verdict is important in that the early Christian movement is not to be considered a subversive sect but is seen as related to Judaism, a religion approved by Rome. This verdict shows that even the Roman officials are but an instrument of God as he reveals his glory to the ends of the earth (cf. Ac 4:28).
18:18–22. Luke’s description of Paul’s return to Antioch provides the itinerary of Paul to Antioch through Ephesus, Caesarea, and Jerusalem. This brief account serves two additional functions. First, it emphasizes Paul’s connection with the Jewish believers and the Jerusalem church. The “vow” (18:18) that Paul takes most likely refers to a Nazirite vow (Nm 6:1–21). Paul’s cutting off his hair is probably an act prior to the observance of the vow that ends when he has his hair “shaved” (Ac 21:24; cf. Nm 6:18). Luke does not provide the occasion for this vow, but this brief note emphasizes Paul’s adherence to Jewish traditions. The note that he went to Jerusalem to greet the church (18:22) also highlights his connection with the center of Jewish Christianity. Second, this account introduces Paul’s return to Ephesus during his third missionary journey. In 18:21, he evokes his obedience to God’s will in his plan to return. His eventual return to Ephesus (18:24–19:41) is therefore to be understood as dictated by the will of God.
D. Paul’s third missionary journey (18:23–21:16). 18:23–28. The account of Paul’s third missionary journey begins with a note on Paul’s travels through the region of Galatia and Phrygia (18:23). The focus of the first episode in this section is, however, on a native of Alexandria who has moved to Ephesus. Apollos is described as an eloquent and learned man (18:24). He knows only John’s baptism, but the fact that he has been instructed “in the way of the Lord” and he teaches accurately about Jesus suggests that he is at least a believer (18:25). Whatever is missing in his knowledge and experience is amended by the teaching ministries of Priscilla and Aquila (18:26). [Faith]