March 6, 2022
Acts 18:18-28
“Partners in Crime”
Service Overview: Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos serve as great examples of people who have Jesus’ mission is in focus. They had an eye on eternity, an attitude of availability, and were committed to ministry; serving to advance the mission of Jesus.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5 (NIV)
Background Information:
- This section of Acts serves as a transition between Paul’s second and third missionary journeys. Luke devotes all 41 verses of chapter 19 to Paul’s extended period of ministry in Ephesus. In contrast to that detail, Luke gives only five verses to Paul’s thousands of miles of travel and ministry between the time he left the Corinth area and his long stay in Ephesus. Luke may have seen this time as less eventful, or he may have known less information about this period in Paul’s life. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3723)
- [Apollos] was a Jew from the North African city of Alexandria, a great metropolis said to have had 1 million Jews at this time. It was also a famous intellectual and university center. Philo, the Jewish philosopher who blended Judaism and Hellenistic thought and who taught the allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament, was still at Alexandria. Apollos may have come under Philo’s influence. He was eloquent (the Greek word can also mean that he was learned, well educated). Besides this he was zealous, fervent in … spirit. He spoke boldly in the synagogue at Ephesus. This last furnished the occasion for Aquila and Priscilla, themselves synagogue attenders, to hear and meet him. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 216)
- (v. 18) When a Jew specially wished to thank God for some blessing he took the Nazirite vow (Numbers 6: 1-21). If that vow was carried out in full it meant that for thirty days he neither ate meat nor drank wine; and he allowed his hair to grow. At the end of the thirty days he made certain offerings in the Temple; his head was shorn and the hair was burned on the altar as an offering to God. No doubt Paul was thinking of all God’s goodness to him in Corinth and took this vow to show his gratitude. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 138)
- (v.18) Luke’s purpose in giving the detail was likely to illustrate once more the fact that Christian Jews were free to observe Jewish ceremonials, and often did (cf. 21:20-26). (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 215)
- Ephesus, with its 300,000 inhabitants, was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia and its most important commercial center. Thanks to a large harbor, Ephesus grew wealthy on trade, and, thanks to the temple of Diana, it attracted hosts of visitors who wanted to see this building that was one of the seven wonders of the world. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 382)
The question to be answered…
What’s important to note about what Luke is sharing here?
Answer…
The traits that made this ministry team effective as partners in Jesus’ mission.
What traits in this team should draw our attention?
- Their demonstrable commitment to Jesus’ mission.
(vv. 18, 28 | Psalm 37:5; 96:3; Proverbs 16:3; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8)
Here was a couple who, though they had no particular status in the Roman world and no exceptional education, were nevertheless active Christian people. And they were mobile! They traveled with Paul and were helpful to him in his ministry—not only now but also later, as we will see. They seem to have been willing to relocate for the sake of the infant, growing church. (James Boice, Acts, 313)
- The humble and teachable attitude of Apollos.
(vv. 24, 26-27 | Ps. 25:9; Proverbs 11:2; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 3:8; 5:5)
That Apollos responded positively to the instruction is shown by the letters of recommendation the Christian brothers in Ephesus wrote for him when he wanted to go over to Greece. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7181)
The sure sign of spiritual maturity is the undefensive willingness to grow. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 270)
- Their truth-informed conviction and fervor.
(vv. 24-26, 28 | Mat. 6:21; 22:37; John 14:6; 17:17; Romans 12:10-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
[Apollos] did not merely know the Old Testament with detached intellectual or academic awareness. On the contrary, its teachings were important to him. So when he spoke about them and taught them, he did so fervently. We would say, “with energy and conviction.” (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 314)
Good feelings will not free us. Ecstatic experiences will not free us. Getting “high on Jesus” will not free us. Without a knowledge of the truth, we will not be free. (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 63)
- Dependence on God and his lead.
(v. 21 | Isaiah 41:10; John 15:5; Romans 8:14; Philippians 2:13; 4:13; Hebrews 13:5-6)
“If God will” (Acts 18:21) was more than a religious slogan with Paul; it was one of the strengths and encouragements of his life and ministry. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 382)
God has to let every Christian come to the place where he learns that he is powerless in himself. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Acts, 159)
Conclusion…
How might this inspire our own faith and practice?
The lesson of Acts 18 is that God is prepared to work through us to bring down strongholds of evil, to shake up entire communities, and to set men and women free. This will take place as the body of believers operates as God intended it to. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 242)
A. By prioritizing that which is eternal.
(Matthew 6:21; Luke 16:13; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 2:20; 6:9)
If we give instead of keep, if we invest in the eternal instead of the temporal, we store up treasures in heaven that will never stop paying dividends. Whatever treasures we store up on earth will be left behind when we leave. Whatever treasures we store up in heaven will be waiting for us when we arrive. (Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle, 18)
The call to follow Christ is the call to joyfully endure suffering in this life for the promise of eternal blessing in the next. (Francis Chan, Letters to the Church, 131)
B. By bridling our passion with truth.
(Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 22:37; John 14:26; Romans 12:1-2, 10-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The ideal place for each of us is in the middle of the chain of discipleship. We all need to continually receive teaching from mentors who have walked farther than we have. At the same time, we need to pass along to others what we have received. Continually be discipled; continually disciple. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3770)
When beliefs move from our heads down into our hearts, when we are overpowered by truth and we become convinced in our souls that a thing is true and that it matters, then we become passionate. This is not a plea for us to try to conjure up feelings or attempt to live on an emotional high. But it is a warning for us to monitor our spiritual temperature. (Grant R. Osborne, Acts, 319)
Churches can have a hard time connecting the knowledge of the mind with the passions of the heart. Yet they’re integrally related. And both are crucial to biblical worship. (Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters, 165)
C. By humbly committing ourselves to the encouragement and growth of one another.
(John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:10; 14:1; Eph. 4:2; 4:32; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:12; 1 Peter 3:8; 5:5)
The work of ministering and witnessing for God was never intended to be the exclusive domain of a few professional Christians. God calls all believers to be His witnesses. God has commissioned all believers to recognize and exercise their spiritual gifts. When all of us, not just a few of us, begin to function as the body of Christ, it won’t be long before the world around us is affected and changed. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 242)
Gospel Challenge…
What adjustments to your life needs to happen in order for it to be more fully aligned with Jesus and his mission?
(Matthew 6:33; 9:37-38; 28:19-20; Luke 10:2; John 4:35; Galatians 6:9; Philippians 2:2)
No one left to himself or herself is going to come to God. But if God told the apostle, “I have many people in this city” in the city of Corinth, then certainly in our cities God has many people as well. We need to reach out to them. And we need workers. That is why you must pray for God to send more workers into his vineyard. It is by many that God works to save some. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 318)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- How much does your willingness to learn affect God’s efforts to help you become all he wants you to be?
- Have you ever been in a situation where you felt the need to “explain something more adequately” to someone? How was your instruction received? What could have happened differently?
- How are you at receiving correction? Is your natural inclination defensiveness? How might you grow in your ability to receive correction?
- Who is someone you know or maybe someone from history who has inspired you with their fervor, boldness, or passion for the Lord? What about them serves to inspire you?
- How might you be stretched to grow in your fervor for the Lord?
Quotes to note…
Be glad for God’s gifts, but always remember that they are given to bring honor to him. He is the point! His glory is the issue! Any ability or talent that calls undue attention to itself is sinful. Appreciate the gift, but more than that, praise the Giver of the gifts. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 321)
It is interesting to note here that John Chrysostom (“John of the golden mouth”), the chief pastor of the church in Constantinople about A.D. 400, recognized that Priscilla took the lead in giving this instruction to Apollos. The best Greek scholars today agree. Apollos was a man of culture and education. Priscilla also must have been well educated and a very gracious woman. Paul’s epistles show she was, along with her husband, a fellow worker, fellow teacher, and missionary. They had a church that met in their house while they were in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16: 19). (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7170)
Religion is man’s effort to be righteous and adequate on the basis of self-effort and to live life dependent upon self-sufficiency. It is the strenuous desire to live for the Lord rather than by His power. Our churches are filled with good, moral, respectable people. They have domesticated the Gospel into a set of rules and regulations, rites and rituals, which can be accomplished with little contact with, or need for, the Lord. The church for them has become a culturally conditioned institution of cherished programs, traditions, and procedures. The result is a practical agnosticism. Daily pressures and demands are confronted as if Calvary and Pentecost had never happened. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 266)
Apollos needed what all religious people desperately need—an experience of the substitutionary sacrifice of Calvary as the only basis of righteousness with the Lord, and an infusion of His Spirit as the only source of power to live life as He meant it to be lived. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 271)
[Priscilla and Aquila] don’t criticize Apollos for preaching an incomplete gospel. They don’t accuse him of heresy. Instead, they invite him to their home and fill in the gaps of his knowledge. They undoubtedly explained both the Old Testament prophecies of Christ and the events that fulfilled those prophecies, the crucifixion and resurrection. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 245)
As Paul set out, one of his priorities was strengthening all the believers. This verb (episterizo) is only used twice in the New Testament and conveys the idea of establishing or making strong; it connotes edification mixed with encouragement. Such was Paul’s regular practice—to keep checking up on those he had led to Christ and the churches he had founded. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 318)
18:26. Rather than correct Apollos publicly, Priscilla and Aquila …invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God (cf. “the way of the Lord,” v. 25) more adequately. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 409)
Ephesus was another of the great metropolitan centers of the Eastern empire. Like Corinth, it played a major role in the political, economic, and religious activities of its region. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3723)
Ephesus was the greatest city in Asia, and yet was an area he previously had been told to bypass. His promise to return, if that was God’s will (18:21), may indicate that he felt that an immediate long-term stay was not God’s plan. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3734)
Paul stayed in Ephesus only a short time. Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Ephesus indefinitely. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3734)
When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch (18:22). The church where? This wording could refer to greeting the believers in Caesarea, but more likely indicates a visit to the church in Jerusalem. (Ancients always spoke of going up to Jerusalem. If Luke had intended his readers to picture any other place, he would have used language more specific than the church. Likewise, the words went down to Antioch would more likely describe a trip from Jerusalem [in hill country] rather than from Caesarea [on the seacoast]).2 Why did Paul wish to visit Jerusalem? Perhaps he wished to report on how the Gentile churches had received the decision of the Jerusalem Council (see Acts 15). (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3746)
Paul was not the only minister active during this time. While Paul was traveling, Priscilla and Aquila were busy ministering in Ephesus. They were likely quite pleased for their church to receive a “transfer member” named Apollos. Who wouldn’t rejoice to welcome one who had been instructed in the way of the Lord, who spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately (18:25)? But then Priscilla and Aquila discovered that his teaching, although accurate, was incomplete. Apollos knew only the baptism of John (18:25). (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3757)
“The cure for error is [not rejection, but] more truth.” (A.T. Robertson, Types of Preachers in the New Testament, 65)
As Paul’s teaching of Aquila and Priscilla had been effective, so was their teaching of others. Luke mentions the brothers in Ephesus, evidently referring to an active church there (18:27). And then, of course, there was Apollos. The church in Ephesus sent him as an ambassador to Achaia (more specifically, Corinth; see 19:1; 1 Corinthians 1:12). When he arrived there, he was a great help to the church, both in discipling believers and in refuting nonbelievers. His previous knowledge of the Old Testament, which was the only written Scripture the churches had at that time, combined with his newly enriched understanding of Jesus, equipped him well for effective ministry. Paul later described Apollos as watering seed that Paul himself had planted (see 1 Corinthians 3:6). (Martin Luther and many others have thought that Apollos wrote Hebrews.7) (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location, 3770)
The vow Paul fulfilled at Cenchrea (the seaport for the city of Corinth) may have been a temporary Nazirite vow, which would end with shaving the head and offering the hair as a sacrifice (Numbers 6:18). Or it could have been a personal vow of thanksgiving, offered in light of God’s providential protection while in Corinth. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 317)
Though the Jews were receptive to Paul’s message, he apparently felt a more pressing need to return to Antioch. A few ancient manuscripts imply that Paul was also eager to arrive in Jerusalem in time to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. If this is accurate, Paul probably wanted to take advantage of the evangelistic opportunities presented by such a gathering of devout Jews. He promised to return to them “if it is God’s will” (see James 4:15). (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 318)
Verse 23 marks the beginning of Paul’s third missionary journey, which lasted from A.D. 53 to 57. Leaving the church at Antioch, Paul headed toward Ephesus, but along the way he revisited the churches in Galatia and Phrygia. The heart of this trip was a lengthy stay (two to three years) in Ephesus. Before returning to Jerusalem, Paul also visited believers in Macedonia and Greece. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 318)
Apollos taught with great fervor (18:25). How can we capture and maintain Apollos’s zeal? The key is conviction. When beliefs move from our heads down into our hearts, when we are overpowered by truth and we become convinced in our souls that a thing is true and that it matters, then we become passionate. This is not a plea for us to try to conjure up feelings or attempt to live on an emotional high. But it is a warning for us to monitor our spiritual temperature. We must do the things that will increase our passion for God and avoid things that tend to sap us of our spiritual enthusiasm. If we don’t worship or witness, if we don’t experience God or spend time with new believers who are joyful and exuberant about their newfound relationship with God, we can very easily become stagnant and cold. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 319)
From Alexandria, the second most influential city in the Roman Empire, came a Jew named Apollos (the name is a possible contraction of “Apollonius”). Growing up in that Egyptian city’s university atmosphere, Apollos was highly cultured and trained in philosophy and rhetoric. As a Jew, he also possessed a wonderful grasp of the Old Testament. It is not stated what prompted him to move to Ephesus. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 319)
Apollos was “fervent in spirit” (NASV). Acts 19:8 describes Paul’s preaching and teaching in Ephesus as forceful and convincing. Clearly these were enthusiastic men. Our English word “enthusiasm” comes from an extrabiblical Greek word, enthousiasmos, meaning to be inspired, to be “in” (en) “God” (theos). The idea is one of strong excitement or feeling. An enthusiastic person inspires others because of his or her zeal or fervor. The ministries of Apollos and Paul were excellent, at least in part, because these men were filled with passion. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 320)
Although his natural abilities could have made him proud, Apollos proved himself willing to learn (18:26). God used Priscilla and Aquila, fresh from months of traveling with and learning from Paul, to give Apollos the complete gospel. Because Apollos did not hesitate to be a student, he became an even better teacher. How much does your willingness to learn affect God’s efforts to help you become all he wants you to be? Be humble enough to let others teach you truths and skills that can make you a more effective Christian witness. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 320)
Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos aside and taught him (18:26).
In an age when the focus is mostly on what happens between husband and wife, Aquila and Priscilla are an example of what can happen through husband and wife. Their effectiveness together speaks about their relationship with each other. Their hospitality opened the doorway of salvation to many. All their lives they used their home as a warm place for training and worship. Back in Rome years later, they hosted one of the house churches that developed (Romans 16:3-5). The Christian home is still one of the best tools for spreading the gospel. Do guests see Christ (and meet him) in your home? (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 321)
A finely trained mind is a powerful tool when used for the glory of God. Apollos used the gift of reason to convince many in Greece of the truth of the gospel. You don’t have to turn off your mind when you turn to Christ. If you have an ability in logic or debate, use it to bring others to God. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 322)
At Cenchrea, Corinth’s eastern harbor (six or seven miles from Corinth), Paul had his hair cut, for he had taken a vow. This is not explained but it was probably a modified Nazirite vow, which expressed total dedication to God and to His will. It probably also expressed thanksgiving for all God had done in Corinth. The hair was always cut at the conclusion of the period of the vow (see Num. 6: 1– 21). (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location6940)
Paul spent some time, probably about six months, in Antioch encouraging and teaching the church. Then he went north by land on a fifteen-hundred-mile journey “throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia.” One after another he visited the churches founded on his first and second journeys. Paul never started churches and forgot them. Always he sought to go back to give further teaching and to establish and strengthen new believers. That is, he was always as much concerned with followup as he was with evangelism. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7135)
Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., was located on the north coast of Egypt west of the mouth of the Nile River. By the first century it had a population of one million and was the second largest city of the Roman Empire, an important seaport, and the empire’s greatest cultural and educational center. It had a Jewish population of about four hundred thousand in the northeast part of the city. They were Hellenistic (Greek speaking) and had produced the famous Septuagint (LXX), a translation of the Old Testament into Greek. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7150)
Priscilla and Aquila were present and heard him. They did not say anything to him in the synagogue but took him aside to give him further instruction. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 7167)
In these brief verses Luke passes over the period between the closing of Paul’s ministry at Corinth and the beginning of a great ministry at Ephesus. About a year of time and many hundreds of miles of travel are condensed into a few words. We are reminded again that there is a significant part of Paul’s ministry about which we have no knowledge. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 212)
We remember that Paul would have gone to Ephesus earlier but was not permitted to do so by the specific guidance of the Spirit (cf. 16:6). Now, after perhaps two years, the door to Ephesus, the greatest city of Asia Minor, was opening in the will and plan of God. But first Paul felt obliged to return to his original home base of Antioch in Syria, for the last time, as it turned out. Included would be a visit to Jerusalem . (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 213)
Luke adds the detail that at Cenchrea someone (either Aquila or Paul: the grammar would permit either meaning) cut his hair because he had taken a vow. The Nazarite and other religious vows were usually expressions of special gratitude to God. The man making the vow let his hair grow for the duration of the vow and then shaved his head. The shaved hair would be presented and burnt at Jerusalem as an offering. Either Paul or Aquila had good reason for special thanksgiving (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 213)
With all his gifts and training, Apollos had a crippling deficiency. He knew only the baptism of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 216)
In the church at Corinth the unfortunate factions ranked Apollos with Peter and Paul. Paul, in his letter, placed no blame for the division on Apollos. Grateful for his ministry, Paul wrote: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6). In 2 Cor. 16:12 Paul speaks of him as a “brother,” evidently then laboring at Ephesus, and indicates that he had desired him to return again to Corinth but that Apollos had willed otherwise, possibly to avoid risk of further factionalism in that church . (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 217)
18:18. The actual length of Paul’s stay in Corinth is unclear because the 18 months (v. 11) may be dated from the time of Paul’s vision (vv. 9-10) or it may include all of Paul’s time in Corinth (from v. 5 on). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 407)
When Paul made this vow is unstated. He may have made it when he left Troas for Macedonia, or at the beginning of his ministry at Corinth, or more likely, before the Lord gave him the vision (vv. 9-10). During the vow Paul would have let his hair grow. Now the time of the Nazirite vow was over (after about a year and a half), and Paul got a haircut at Cenchrea (cf. Num. 6:1-21). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 407)
18:20-21. Unlike the obstinate refusal of the Jews in other synagogues to believe, those in Ephesus desired further interchange with Paul. However, he was more inclined to press on homeward. Some Greek manuscripts add that Paul’s desire to go to Jerusalem in haste was to keep a feast. If this is accurate, probably Paul wanted to observe the Passover. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 408)
This episode (18:24-28) and the following {19:1-7) underscore the transitional nature of this phase of church history. It may be assumed from 19:1-7 that Apollos had not received Christian baptism and probably had not received the Holy Spirit. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 408)
18:25. His doctrine regarding Jesus was accurate but deficient. Probably this means Apollos did not know about the Holy Spirit’s baptism. John’s baptism symbolized cleansing by God because of repentance toward God (cf. 19:4). But Christian baptism pictures union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection by means of Spirit baptism (cf. Rom. 6:3-10; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 409)
Evidently at some time during his residence at Corinth-perhaps at its beginning when he was depressed-Paul had taken a Nazirite vow to God as he asked for his intervention. And now having seen God’s hand at work in Corinth and a thriving church established there, Paul was determined to return to Jerusalem to fulfill his vow by presenting his hair as a burnt offering and offering sacrifices in the temple (cf. 21:26). The vow could only be fulfilled after a thirty-day period of purification in the Holy City (cf. M Nazir 3:6, according to the more lenient ruling of the School of Shammai). (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 488)
From Caesarea, Paul “went up” to Jerusalem, some sixty-five miles southeast. That the name “Jerusalem” does not appear in the text has led some to suppose Luke meant only that Paul went up from the harbor at Caesarea into the city to greet the congregation there. But Jerusalem is certainly implied by the expressions “went up” (anabas) and “went down” (katebe), and also by the absolute use of the term “the church” (he ekklesia). At Jerusalem, then, he met with the mother church, from which the gospel had spread to both the Diaspora and the Gentile worlds. In addition, and in accord with fulfilling his aim in coming, he entered into a thirty-day program of purification (cf. M Nazir 3:6), after which he presented his shorn hair to God in thanksgiving and offered sacrifices. Then he “went down” to Antioch of Syria, some three hundred miles north, reporting to and ministering within the church that originally commissioned him to reach the Gentiles. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 489)
24-26 Between the time of Paul’s stopover at Ephesus (18:19-21) and his return to the city on his third missionary journey (19:lff.), Apollos came to Ephesus. A native of Alexandria, he was an educated man (ani!r logios, which came also to connote “an eloquent man”) and possessed a thorough knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 490)
This was probably not a formal Nazirite vow, which could not properly be undertaken outside the Holy Land, but a private vow, the fulfilment of which was an act of thanksgiving— possibly for the divine promise of verse 10, which had been confirmed by his preservation from harm throughout his Corinthian ministry. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 373)
Ephesus was at this time the greatest commercial city of Asia Minor north of the Taurus range, although its harbor required constant dredging because of the alluvium carried down by the Caÿster, at the mouth of which it stood. Standing on the main route from Rome to the east, it enjoyed political importance in addition to its geographical advantages: it was the seat of administration of the province of Asia, and at the same time a free Greek city, with its own senate and civic assembly; it was an assize town, and prided itself especially on its title “Temple Warden of Artemis” (cf. 19:35). The great temple of Ephesian Artemis, built to replace an earlier one which was destroyed by fire in 356 B.C., was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Much of the site of Roman Ephesus is unoccupied; it has been excavated over many years by Austrian archaeologists, who have restored some of the buildings. Part of the site is occupied by the town of Selçuk, formerly called Ayasoluk (a name commemorating the Ephesian residence of “John the Divine”). (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 373)
20–21 According to the Western text, Paul was eager to reach Jerusalem in time for one of the Jewish festivals. If the festival was Passover, there was probably a good reason for his haste: the seas were closed to navigation until March 10,57 and in A.D. 52 Passover fell in early April. He had time to hold some preparatory discourse with the members of the synagogue, but although they were interested in what he had to say and asked him to stay longer, he was unable to do so. A ship was about to leave the Ephesian harbor which might bring him to Judaea in time for his appointment, so he bade them farewell and promised, if it were God’s will, to come back and spend more time with them. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 374)
It is not expressly stated (except in the Western text) that Apollos received his accurate instruction in “the way of the Lord” (i.e., the gospel) in his native Alexandria, but he may well have done so. The gospel certainly reached Alexandria at a very early date, although the origins of Alexandrian Christianity are lost in obscurity (only in the second half of the second century does the obscurity begin to be dissipated). (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 376)
26 Priscilla and Aquila, who continued to attend the synagogue in Ephesus after Paul’s departure, listened to Apollos when he began to expound the scriptures there, and were greatly impressed by the learning and skill which he devoted to the defense of the gospel. No one else, in their experience, came so near their friend Paul in this ability. As they listened, they became aware of some gaps in his knowledge, accurate as it was, so they took him home and set forth “the way of God” to him more accurately still (they themselves had probably had the same experience when they met Paul and he supplemented the knowledge of the Way which they had acquired in Rome). (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 376)
After eighteen months of ministry, Paul decided that it was God’s will for him to leave Corinth and return to his home church in Antioch. His friends Priscilla and Aquila (note how Luke varies the order of their names) accompanied him to Ephesus and remained there when he departed for Caesarea. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 382)
Cenchraea was the seaport for Corinth, and there was a Christian congregation there (Rom. 16:1). Here Paul had his head shorn, “for he had a vow.” This probably refers to the Nazarite vow described in Numbers 6. Since the Nazarite vow was purely voluntary, Paul was not abandoning grace for law when he undertook it. The vow was not a matter of salvation but of personal devotion to the Lord. He allowed his hair to grow for a specific length of time and then cut it when the vow was completed. He also abstained from using the fruit of the vine in any form. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 382)
The temple was probably four centuries old in Paul’s day. It measured 418 feet by 239 feet, and boasted of 100 columns that stood over 50 feet high. In the sacred enclosure of the temple stood the “sacred image” of Artemis (Diana) that was supposed to have fallen from heaven (Acts 19:35). It was probably a meteorite. Since Artemis was a fertility goddess, cultic prostitution was an important part of her worship, and hundreds of “priestesses” were available in the temple. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 382)
When Paul departed from Ephesus for Jerusalem, he left his friends Aquila and Priscilla behind to carry on the witness in the synagogue. Imagine their surprise one Sabbath to hear a visiting Jewish teacher named Apollos preach many of the truths that they themselves believed and taught! (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 383)
Apollos was certainly an exceptional man in many ways. He came from Alexandria, the second most important city in the Roman Empire. A center for education and philosophy, the city was founded by (and named after) Alexander the Great, and it boasted a university with a library of almost 700,000 volumes. The population of Alexandria (about 600,000) was quite cosmopolitan, being made up of Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Jews. At least a quarter of the population was Jewish, and the Jewish community was very influential. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 383)
The ministry of John the Baptist was an important part of God’s redemptive plan. God sent John to prepare the nation of Israel for their Messiah (John 1:15–34). John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance; those who were baptized looked forward to the coming Messiah (Acts 19:4). John also announced a future baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8), which took place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5). Apollos knew about the promises, but he did not know about their fulfillment. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 383)
Luke’s account of the conclusion of the second missionary journey carries an insight into Paul’s mind and heart when he left Corinth. We are told that he took Priscilla and Aquila with him to the port of Cenchrea to get a ship to Caesarea to go on to Jerusalem for the feast. Now Luke tells us an interesting thing: Paul had his hair cut before boarding the ship. This would have been a part of the Nazarite vow in preparation for Jerusalem. The vow had originally been a lifetime of abstinence from wine and the shaving of the head. In Paul’s day it was limited to thirty days. The hair was cut and offered as part of a sacrifice at Jerusalem. If a Jew began the thirty-day period away from Jerusalem, the hair was cut and saved until he reached Jerusalem, at which time his head would be shaved. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 264)
In performing this Nazarite vow, he expressed his gratitude and his recommitment to his central purpose and plan, and at the same time reaffirmed rather than negated his Hebrew heritage. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 264)
The danger of a religion of self-effort is that it makes a person defensive against finding the authentic life in Christ which is liberated by forgiveness, motivated by His Spirit, and enabled by His power. William James was aware of this danger when he stated: “Religion is a monumental chapter in the history of human egotism.” Our task is to expose the inadequacy of religion and lead people beyond its limitations. Aquila and Priscilla did that for Apollos, and Paul did it for the disciples of John. How they accomplished it gives us a marvelous opportunity to do no less for our religious listeners today. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 267)
Luke paints a vivid picture of a very well-qualified man who seemed to have it all together, except what was most important—an experience of the grace and power of the indwelling Lord. Note carefully the dimensions of his dossier. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 268)
Alexandria was one of the three great centers of learning in the world at that time. The university and its extensive library contained the resources of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew rhetoric, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, geography, and history. It was there that the Hebrew interpretation of Scripture came under the influence of Philo and the disciplines of Platonism. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 268)
Apollos was mighty, dunatos, in the use of Scripture. The Greek word is the verbal of dunamai, from the same root as dunamis, meaning power; thus Apollos was dynamic in his preaching of the Scriptures. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 268)
We can see that Apollos was a personification of religious virtues to the people around him. He was like many in our churches who believe in Christ, try to live His message, and faithfully celebrate His death and resurrection without an intimate union with Him. It is possible to be a follower of Jesus without His enabling power. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 269)
Paul was on the way home. His route was by Cenchrea, the port of Corinth, and thence to Ephesus. Then he went to Caesarea; from there he went up and greeted the church which means that he went up to see the leaders at Jerusalem; after that he went back to Antioch from which he had started. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 138)
Apollos came from Alexandria where there were about one million Jews. So strong were they that two out of the five wards into which Alexandria was divided were Jewish. Alexandria was the city of scholars. It was specially the place where scholars believed in the allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament. They believed that not only did the Old Testament record history but that every recorded event had an inner meaning. Because of this Apollos would be exceedingly useful in convincing the Jews, for he would be able to find Christ all over the Old Testament and to prove to them that the Old Testament looked forward all the time to his coming. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 139)
Apollos was a spell-binder, “an eloquent man (v. 2:4). He knew the Old Testament well, but his knowledge stopped with the ministry of John the Baptist. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Acts, 171)
One of the great things about closed doors is that they are not always closed forever. Sometimes God uses a closed door to send us in a contrary direction. But then, as we go on in the Christian life, we find that God later opens that very door. We have an example of this In Acts 18. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 311)
Because the ending of the second journey and beginning of the third journey are run together in Acts 18, it is easy to read past them and not understand what is happening. Nevertheless, there is a division. It is found between verses 22 and 23. Verse 22 says that Paul “landed at Caesarea” and “went up” (the verse does not specify where he went up, but it means Jerusalem) and “greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.” In Antioch Paul would have reported on his second missionary journey, as he had reported on the first. Then verse 23 says, “After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.” These words mark the beginning of the third and final journey. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 312)
Alexandria was the city of Philo, the famous Jewish philosopher who was well-versed not only in the Greek philosophy of the day but also in the Old Testament and who interpreted much of the Old Testament in Greek terms. Since Apollos had been educated in Alexandria, it is tempting to think that he probably knew Philo, though nothing in the New Testament tells us that directly. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 314)
God has given you a distinct spiritual gift. That gift is needed where you are. If you choose not to use your gift, if you think, I am not needed, because someone else is more eloquent or someone else is more hospitable or someone else has more energy or is a better evangelist than I am, you are making a great mistake. If you neglect to use your gift, the church will be impoverished. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 318)