January 9 - Meet the Corinthians

January 9 - Meet the Corinthians - Acts 18:1-22

We are a year and a half out from the end of the second missionary journey (Acts 18:11), but that period of time is spent in Corinth, a city about 60 miles to the west of Athens and the worship center of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

It's hard for us to imagine meeting up with someone like Aquila and Priscilla out of the blue without God's hand being active in the progress. But, Claudius wanted the Jews out of Rome, so the two of them had to find a new home.

Claudius reigned from 41-54 AD and the edict commanding Jews to leave Rome was issued in 50AD. Seutonius, an ancient historian, stated that the "Jews were indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Chrestus." He assumed that Chrestus was instigating the riots, when they were actually riots about Chrestus, a reference to Christ. (Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary)

Since they were tentmakers and Paul was obviously going to be staying in town for awhile, he needed a job. His father had trained him in the trade and what better way to support himself while telling people about the Savior!

Paul was probably thrilled to be staying with Jewish Christians, such as Aquila and Priscilla, but it wasn't going to be for long. Silas and Timothy showed up (Acts 18:5) and Paul was able to transform his ministry from all-encompassing to just preaching.

As you read Acts 18:6, I hope you see the utter passion of his ministry. When the Jews opposed his teaching and became abusive, he didn't take it lying down. He shook out his clothes in protest and in essence, he cursed them. This marked the end of Paul's preaching to Jews. He then moved out of Aquila and Priscilla's home and moved in with Titus Justus, a Gentile. He was probably protecting them from the behavior of their fellow Jews and more than likely, continued to work for them.

The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and encouraged him in is preaching. This was an important point in the growth of the early church and Paul was in a position to encourage new Christians.

Gallio (Acts 18:12-17) was a well-loved proconsul in the region of Achaia from 51-64AD. Sosthenes (Acts 18:17) had apparently replaced Crispus (Acts 18:8) as leader of the synagogue and even after this beating, became a Christian (1 Corinthians 1:1).

While Paul was in Corinth, he wrote the two letters to Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians 3:6-7, we find that Paul has written the letter to the church there just after Silas and Paul had delivered an excellent report to him in Corinth.

His time in Corinth has come to a close, it was time to return to Antioch. Priscilla and Aquila traveled with him as far as Ephesus and during this time, he completed his Nazarite (Numbers 6) vow (Acts 18:18). Though the Ephesians asked him to stay, he went on to Caesarea and then to Antioch.

The second journey has come to a close. Paul's impact on the Gentiles and the Jews has grown.