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Paul in Corinth (1–17). His departure through Ephesus to Jerusalem (18–23). Beginning of the third apostolic journey (22–23). Apollos the Alexandrian (24–28) Acts 18:1. After this Paul left Athens and came to Corinth: “Corinth” is the most famous in antiquity, a large trading and wealthy city, on an isthmus between the Aegean and Ionian seas, with two harbors on the eastern and western sides, the residence at that time of the Roman ruler - the proconsul. Acts 18:2. and having found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife - because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome - he came to them; The “Jew” named “Aquila” and his wife “Priscilla” were probably not yet enlightened by the faith of Christ, and Paul stayed with them not due to the sameness of faith, but the sameness of craft. However, it is likely that they were all soon converted to Christianity by the apostle (see Acts 18:26). "Aquila" is the Greek pronunciation of the Latin name Aquila; what his Hebrew name was is unknown. “Born from Pontian” - a resident of the Asia Minor province of Pontus, adjacent to the Black Sea. The Roman historian Suetonius speaks about the expulsion of the Jews from Rome, by decree of Emperor Claudius (chapter 25 of the biography of Claudius), reporting that the reason for this was the indignation of the Jews by some Jewish rebel posing as Christ. When, after the death of Claudius, many of the expelled Jews began to return again to Rome (Acts 28, etc.), and Aquila and Priscilla did the same (Rom. 16:3). "Priscilla" is a diminutive name from the Latin "Prisca". Acts 18:3. and, due to the same craft, he stayed with them and worked; for their trade was making tents. “Tent making” - for travelers, for military purposes, etc. - was a fairly common and profitable craft. Paul was taught him - as was the custom of that time, to teach his children some kind of craft, even if they were the children of rich parents, in order to ensure them complete independence in their means of subsistence. Paul refers to this independence many times as one of the important conditions for the success of his preaching (Acts 20:34; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8). Acts 18:4. On every Sabbath he spoke in the synagogue and convinced the Jews and Greeks. “He spoke... convinced...” in the synagogue, which naturally presupposes a conversational way of preaching, which was permitted in synagogues, as can be seen from the Gospel (John 4:25-59). From what follows (Acts 18:6) it is clear that the apostle’s preaching did not initially bring the desired fruits (“they resisted and slandered”), so that to strengthen the apostle it was necessary for the Lord to deliberately appear to him (Acts 18:9–10, cf. 1 Cor. 14:9, 18). Acts 18:5. And when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the spirit to testify to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. “Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia...” - see Acts 17:14. “I was compelled by the spirit...” is an expression indicating a special tense state of the apostle’s spirit, as opposed to the particularly stubborn resistance of the Jews. Acts 18:6. But as they resisted and slandered him, he shook off his clothes and said to them: Your blood is on your heads; I am clean; From now on I am going to the pagans. “Having shaken off your clothes...” is the same as “shaking off” the dust from your feet (Acts 13:51) - an expression of a decisive break and separation from unbelievers. “Your blood is on your heads...” (Matthew 23:35, 14:25) - that is, your guilt, yours and the retribution for it - the bloody punishments of God announced in the Gospel, and eternal destruction. “I am pure...” - because I have done everything in my power so that you know the truth and, having known it, turn away from yourself not only temporary, but also eternal destruction, prepared for the disobedient (Rom. 1:32, 6:16, 21, 23, 7:5-10, 13, etc.). “From now on I am going to the pagans...” - cf. Acts 13:46. Acts 18:7. And he went from there and came to a certain God-worshipper named Justus, whose house was near the synagogue. The apostle's transition to preaching to the pagans and settling in a house near the synagogue, revealing his excited state and decisiveness of character, was consistent with his rule to arouse the jealousy of his relatives according to the flesh (Rom. 11:14). “He settled in a neighboring house, so that this very neighborhood would arouse jealousy in them, if they wanted to” (Chrysostom). And indeed, such a decisive and majestic measure was not slow to produce its saving effect for many. An example was set by the ruler of the synagogue himself (cf. Acts 13:15), Crispus, one of the few baptized by the apostle himself (1 Cor. 1:14). This Crispus was subsequently bishop on the island of Egina, off the coast of Greece, in the Gulf of Sharon (Chet.-Min., Jan. 4). Acts 18:9. The Lord, in a vision at night, said to Paul: Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, “In a vision...” - not in a dream, although “at night,” but precisely “in a vision,” in a waking state (cf. Acts 16:9). It is possible that, under the influence of a painful feeling and fear of the open indignation of the Jews, the apostle thought to leave Athens or weaken his preaching, like Jeremiah (Acts 20, etc.). Therefore, the Lord inspires him, commanding him to “not be afraid” and “not to be silent” and promising His help and intercession. Acts 18:10. for I am with you, and no one will harm you, because I have many people in this city. “I have many people in this city.” By these people, whom the Lord calls His own, we mean not only those who have already turned to Him and are known to Paul, but mainly (cf. John 10:16, 11:52) those who have to turn to Him, given to eternal life in this city (Acts 13:48). Acts 18:11. And he remained there a year and six months, teaching them the word of God. Acts 18:12. Meanwhile, during the proconsulship of Gallio in Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul with one accord and brought him before the judgment seat, "During Gallio's proconsulate in Achaia". According to the Roman division of provinces, Achaia embraced all of Greece proper, including the Peloponnese. At first, as a senatorial province, it was governed by proconsuls; then, under Tiberius, having become imperial, it began to be governed by procurators. But Claudius again gave it to the Senate and under the control of the proconsuls. In the time described by the Writer (53–54 AD), the proconsul of Achaia mentions Junius Annaeus Gallio, the brother of the famous philosopher Seneca, Nero’s teacher, who died in the same way as Seneca, at the hand of Nero. He adopted the surname Gallion from his adoptive father, the rhetorician L. Junius Gallion; before that he was called Julius Annaeus Novatus. According to his brother Seneca, he was a very gentle, honest, philanthropic and experienced ruler, which is in agreement with the story of the writer. Acts 18:13. saying that he teaches people to honor God not according to the law. “To honor God not according to the law” is a hollow expression, which probably means to indicate the activity of Paul as generally something destructive for the laws and, in particular, for the law of Moses. Acts 18:14. When Paul wanted to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews: Jews! if there were any offense or malicious intent, then I would have a reason to listen to you, Acts 18:15. but when there is a dispute about doctrine and about names and about your law, then sort it out for yourself; I don't want to be the judge of this. Gallio quite rightly rejects the case brought by the Jews, declaring it not subject to trial, as a matter of scientific rather than judicial competence. “On the teaching and on the names,” probably the names of the Messiah, foreshadowed in the Old Testament, which Paul examined, proving that Jesus is the true Messiah (Acts 18:5). “About your law” is Gallio’s correct view of this matter, as a matter that does not concern Roman laws, the protection of which lay with the responsibility of the proconsul. Acts 18:16. And he drove them away from the judgment seat. Acts 18:17. And all the Greeks, seizing Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, beat him before the judgment seat; and Gallio was not at all worried about that. “He drove them out,” obviously by force, probably caused by the usual importunity of the Jews, who sought the condemnation of Paul in violation of order and all decency. The expulsion of the Jews from the court was accompanied by their beatings, in which, in addition to the servants of the proconsul, “all the Greeks” took part, that is, from those who were here, and the most affected was Sosthenes, the head of the synagogue (probably the successor of Crispus), the reprisal against whom was supposed to give special embarrassment to the rest of the Jews. This Sosthenes was later converted by an apostle to Christ, was his collaborator (1 Cor. 1:1) and then a bishop in Colophon, in Asia Minor (Ch.-Min. Jan. 4). “Gallio was not the least concerned” that the Jews were already being inflicted a clear offense (Acts 18:14), which was subject to the judicial powers of the proconsul. Thus the Lord’s promise to the Apostle was fulfilled that “no one would do him harm”; on the contrary, only those who tried to cause this evil suffered. Probably, Gallio reacted so indifferently to the massacre of the Jews, finding that the court of the crowd fulfills in this case only what the law itself should have done when applied to those who violated all respect for it by annoyingly illegal harassment. Acts 18:18. Paul, having stayed quite a few more days, said goodbye to the brethren and sailed to Syria, and with him Aquila and Priscilla, having shaved his head in Cenchrea, according to a vow. Here the text is somewhat unclear, and the event mentioned is somewhat mysterious. It is unclear, first of all, to whom the expression “having shaved his head” refers, since, in addition to Paul as the main character in this narrative, this can also be attributed to Aquila, whose name, apparently, is not without reason placed in the Greek text behind the name of his wife (“Priscilla and Aquila”), in close proximity to this event. Be that as it may, both Paul and Aquila could allow the Jewish rite to take place over them, without much temptation for believers and without much contradiction to their beliefs. It is known from the following that Paul participates in the performance of a similar rite in Jerusalem on the advice of the elder apostles (Acts 21ff., cf. Acts 16:3). As for the meaning of the very fact of “shave of the head by vow,” this was probably a Christianized fulfillment of the Old Testament law on Naziriteship by vow (Num. 6). According to this law, one who made a vow of Nazaritehood to God for a certain specific time should not, by the way, cut the hair on his head; tonsure was performed only either after the expiration of the vow, or in the case of “desecration” of the vow (provided for by law), when the vow itself was ordered to begin again. Since all these rites were connected with the offering of a sacrifice and, therefore, could only take place at the church, the exception of which was hardly allowed for those living in dispersion and traveling, the cutting of the head mentioned by the writer probably meant the end of some private vow, for which the apostle used a legal symbol. “In Cenchreae” - Cenchreae harbor east of Corinth, from where Paul and his companions sailed to Syria. Acts 18:19. Having reached Ephesus, he left them there, and he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. “Ephesus” is the main city of the Asia Minor province of Ionia, which was part of what was then called proconsular Asia (Asia, see note to Acts 16:6), a large commercial seaside city, the center of activity of St. Apostle John the Theologian. The visit to Ephesus mentioned here was the first for the apostle to the Gentiles. Acts 18:20. When they asked him to stay with them longer, he did not agree, Acts 18:21. and he said goodbye to them, saying: I must definitely spend the upcoming holiday in Jerusalem; I will return to you again, if God wills. And he left Ephesus. (Aquila and Priscilla remained in Ephesus.) Regular sermon by Ap. Paul in the synagogue apparently pleased the Ephesian Jews, who “asked him to stay with them longer,” but “the approaching holiday in Jerusalem” - probably Easter or Pentecost - “the apostle absolutely had to spend” (why? unknown) “in Jerusalem”, and he could not fulfill their requests, promising to return again, which he did ( Acts 19:1). “If God wills” - cf. James 4:13–16. Acts 18:22. Having been in Caesarea, he came to Jerusalem, greeted the church and went to Antioch. “Having visited Caesarea,” the so-called Stratonova, a coastal city of Palestine, where the apostle landed after crossing the sea. Paul's short stay in Jerusalem, without indicating any special activity in this city, is probably explained by his cautious fear of arousing unnecessary irritation of the Jews, which could upset his future plans, as happened on his next visit to Jerusalem (Acts 21 et al.). Therefore, fearing not death and suffering for Christ, but the deprivation of the opportunity to preach the Word of God, he hurries on a new journey to pagan countries (Acts 18, etc.). The Apostle goes first of all to “Antioch” in Syria (see Acts 11:19). “He had a special love for this city - this is a human feeling: because here the disciples began to be called Christians; here he was given over to the grace of God; here he successfully completed the matter regarding the doctrine of circumcision” (Chrysostom). Acts 18:23. And, having spent some time there, he went out and went through the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, confirming all the disciples. Set off... - the beginning of Paul's third apostolic journey. “I passed through the country of Galatia and Phrygia,” see Acts 16:6. “Confirming all the disciples” - that is, in faith and Christian life, which was the purpose of visiting these countries and the societies founded in them (cf. Acts 14:21-22, 16:6). The apostle’s visit to other communities in Asia Minor is not mentioned either due to the brevity of the speech, or because the apostle was not in them this time. There is no mention of Paul's companions, although from what follows it is clear that Timothy and Epactus were with him (Acts 19:22). Acts 18:24. A certain Jew named Apollos, originally from Alexandria, an eloquent man and versed in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. "Apollos" is a shortened name from Apollonios. Apollonius was a strong figure in planting Christianity in Corinth (see 1 Cor.), which is why the writer pays special attention to him. “A Jew from Alexandria” (Egypt), which was the center not only of extensive trade, but also of the highest development of Judeo-Hellenic education, the representative of which was then the famous Jew Philo. Acts 18:25. He was instructed in the rudiments of the path of the Lord and, burning in spirit, spoke and taught about the Lord correctly, knowing only the baptism of John. Acts 18:26. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Hearing him, Aquila and Priscilla accepted him and more accurately explained to him the path of the Lord. Learned and eloquent, versed in the books of the Holy One. Scripture, a convinced and fiery preacher, Apollos promised special success. “So the learned men begin to preach!... Do you see the success of the sermon!” - Chrysostom exclaims on this occasion. “In the firstfruits of the way of the Lord,” that is, teaching and living according to the commandments of the Lord (cf. Acts 9:2). “In the first fruits,” that is, not completely, so Apollos needed a more precise explanation of this path of the Lord (Acts 18:26), which was done further (Acts 18:26). “Knowing only the baptism of John...”, like the disciples of Ephesus, mentioned later (Acts 19:2-3). Such incomplete knowledge and teaching of Apollos about Christ, of course, was not an incorrectness of knowledge and teaching, which is why it did not prevent Apollos, “burning in spirit” (Rom. 12:11), from speaking and teaching about the Lord correctly, although incompletely. Having received a more complete and detailed knowledge of the teachings and deeds and person of the Lord Jesus from Aquila and Priscilla and having received baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus and the grace of the Holy Spirit (St. Chrysostom), Apollos appears in Achaia as an already blessed preacher (Acts 18:27). Acts 18:27. And when he intended to go to Achaia, the brethren sent to the disciples there, urging them to receive him; and he, having arrived there, greatly helped those who believed by grace, Acts 18:28. for he powerfully refuted the Jews publicly, proving by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. The beneficial activities of Apollos in Achaia are perfectly characterized by Ap. Paul in 1 Cor. 3:6: “I waited for us, Apollos watered...” “The fact that he refuted “publicly” was his boldness; in that which is solid, strength was revealed; in what he proved with the Divine Scriptures, experience was expressed; for boldness in itself does not bring any benefit if there is no strength, and strength without boldness” (Chrysostom). Subsequently, Apollos was bishop in Smyrna (in Asia Minor) before the famous Polycarp (Ch.-Min. Jan. 4). You might be interested in: