Acts 18
18
1Paul then left Athens and went to Corinth 2where he met a Jew named Aquila. Aquila was originally from Pontus, and had just arrived from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius#18:2. The Roman Emperor. had ordered all Jews expelled from Rome. Paul went to see them, 3and because they were in the same business of tent-making, he stayed with them. 4He debated in the synagogue every Sabbath, convincing both Jews and Greeks. 5When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul felt he had to become more direct in what he said, and told the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6When they opposed him and cursed him, he shook out his clothes#18:6. A symbolic act declaring innocence. and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent of any guilt, and from now on I will go to the foreigners.”
7He left and went to stay with Titius Justus, who worshiped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his whole household. Many of the people of Corinth who heard the message became believers and were baptized.
9The Lord told Paul in a vision at night: “Don't be afraid. Speak up, don't keep quiet— 10because I am with you, and no one will attack you, for many people in this city are mine.” 11Paul stayed there for eighteen months, teaching the people the word of God.
12However, during the time when Gallio#18:12. Gallio was the brother of Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher. was the governor of Achaia, the Jews united in an attack against Paul and brought him before the court.#18:12. Literally, “judgment seat,” or “judge's bench.” Also in 18:16-17. 13“This man is persuading people to worship God illegally,” they declared.
14But just as Paul was about to defend himself, Gallio told the Jews, “If you Jews were bringing criminal charges or some serious legal offense, there would be a reason for me to listen to your case. 15But since you're only arguing over words and names and your own law, then you deal with it yourselves. I won't rule on such matters.” 16Then Gallio had them ejected from the court. 17Then the crowd turned on Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right outside the court, but Gallio wasn't concerned about this at all.
18Paul stayed on for a while. Then he left the believers and sailed for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila along with him. He had his head shaved while in Cenchrae, because he had taken a vow.#18:18. Vow: probably a Nazirite vow (see Numbers 6).
19They arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. 21He said his goodbyes, and set sail from Ephesus, telling them, “I'll come back and see you if it's God's will.”
22After landing at Caesarea he went to greet the church members,#18:22. Possibly the church members in Jerusalem. and then carried on to Antioch. 23He spent some time there and then went from town to town through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, encouraging all the believers.
24In the meantime a Jew named Apollos, originally from Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was a gifted speaker who knew the Scriptures well. 25He had been taught the way of the Lord. He was spiritually passionate, and in his speaking and teaching he presented Jesus accurately, but he only knew about John's baptism. 26He started speaking openly in the synagogue. So when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to join them and explained the way of God to him more fully. 27When he decided to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples there telling them to welcome him. When he arrived he was very helpful to those who through grace trusted God, 28because he was able to strongly refute the Jews in public debate, demonstrating from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
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Acts 18: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com