Teaching the truth
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Teaching the truth
, After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
As we left Paul last week in verse 31, he was about to clarify his teaching about Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. This teaching had prompted a negative response to Paul’s address. Yet, even in skeptical atmosphere of the Areopagus, ‘some became followers of Paul and believed’. The implication is that preaching Jesus and the resurrection to such an audience is the way forward (cf. v. 18), despite the cynicism this arouses. In both Jewish and Gentile contexts, it is ‘the Word of God, the truth of God’s Word’ by which God grows the church.
32, Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead some mocked, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” The Greek construction of this sentence (some mocked … others said) highlights the fact that there were two different reactions to Paul’s speech. The mocking of some continued because of Paul’s return to the subject of the resurrection from the dead, because in their ignorance and the arrogance they could not believed in such a thing. But others expressed a desire to hear Paul again ‘concerning this’, which could refers to the topic of the resurrection this person mentioned in v. 31 (the unnamed Jesus). Those who became followers of Paul and believed must have had a later opportunity to ask their questions and hear more before turning to Christ. Luke’s gives us an abbreviated version of the speech indicates that Paul said little about the way of salvation and the Saviour who makes it possible. The text now tells us in 33-34, So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. The association of Damaris with Dionysius may imply that Damaris was also ‘a distinguished Areopagite’. Her presence at the meeting addressed by Paul certainly implies some status, either in the council or in the philosophical schools represented on that occasion. So Paul’s time in Athens was not a complete failure and the implication is that he left behind a small group of believers. describes the household of Stephanas as ‘the first-fruit of Achaia’ (cf. 1:16). Corinth was the capital city of the province of Achaia and soon became the center of Paul’s ministry in the region. In the context of his argument to the Corinthians, he means that the household of Stephanas was ‘the first of more converts to come in Achaia’. If Paul’s focus was on the newness of the situation in Corinth, this does not deny the possibility that there were previous converts in Athens, the other leading city of Achaia.
What, finally, can contemporary Christians learn from Paul’s apologetic and evangelistic strategies in ?
Simply, stated we should follow in Paul footsteps.
(1) By connecting with those hearers in the marketplace.
(2) Correcting their misconceptions about the gospel.
(3) Conversing and reasoning with them through the Scriptures. (4) Convicting them of their compromises with their idols of this world.
(5) Confronting them with their need of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because of the coming day of judgment.
These are all the essential features of a dialogue that is distinctly Christian and biblical.
Let us pray…
Here in Corinth Luke links together four short scenes in this section ‘to show Paul having a long and fruitful ministry in Corinth in spite of strong Jewish opposition’.
The first scene deals with the fact that teaching the truth requires partnership. Verses 1–4 confirms that, as usual, his ministry began in the synagogue, but that in this city he formed a new partnership with Aquila and Priscilla. We are later told that this couple assisted Paul in establishing the gospel in Ephesus and ministered significantly to Apollos (vv. 18–28). The second scene deals with the fact that teaching the truth rebukes people. Verses 5–8 has Paul devoting himself to the evangelization of Jews in Corinth until they become resistant and abusive, at which point he warns them of impending judgment and states his intention to turn to Gentiles in the city. The third scene deals with teaching the truth relies on power. Verses 9–11 records that Jews and Gentiles continued to believe in the Lord Jesus, but that the opposition was such that Paul needed a special vision from the Lord to encourage him to stay there for a year and a half. He needed power to persevere, which he did not have. In the fourth scene he deals teaching the truth results in persecution. Verses 12–17, the Jews finally bring Paul before the proconsul and charge him with ‘persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law’. The proconsul rightly discerns that this dispute between Jews and Christians is not a matter for him to judge and does not even intervene when the crowd turns on Sosthenes, the synagogue leader.
Teaching the truth requires partnership (18:1–4)
In one of the most important centers of the Gentile world, Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla, who are Jewish Christians, recently come from Italy. They become co-workers with Paul, both with respect to tent making (v. 3) and gospel ministry. They also ‘join the ranks of those who display discipleship by offering hospitality to Christian witnesses. With this support, Paul engages in a synagogue ministry every Sabbath.
V 1, After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, a journey of some 37 miles. Corinth had been the capital of the Roman province of Achaia since 27 bc. Situated on the Isthmus of Corinth, with the Corinthian Gulf to the west and the Saronic Gulf to the east, the city had long been a commercial and naval rival to Athens. There were two seaports; the city was the gateway to the Adriatic Sea and a the gateway to the Aegean Sea. Corinth had been built on the north side of the Acrocorinth, which served as a citadel and source of fresh water. The temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was on the summit of the mountain, and the temple of Melicertes, the patron of seafarers, was at the bottom. The city was devoted to the worship of many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords.’
, For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords.” And these gods were linked with sexual immorality in a way that was infamous even in the Greco-Roman world. Corinth had survived many crises in its history, but in 146 bc the ancient city was destroyed by the Romans because of the leading role it had taken in the rebellion of the Achaean League against Roman rule. Its population had been enslaved and its land had been claimed for the Roman state. The city lay derelict until Julius Caesar restored it in 44 bc. What Paul therefore saw was a relatively new and prosperous city. Corinth was the chief sponsor of the Isthmian Games, which brought many travellers on a biennial basis. In many ways, it was well placed to be a center of influence for the region.
2a ‘And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla...’ It seems probable that Aquila and Priscilla were already Christians when Paul met them. When Paul ‘found’ them, he went to see them. The context suggests that Paul sought an accommodation, a partnership and work with fellow Jews and was blessed to meet a couple that were believers in Jesus. Luke mentions that Aquila was a Jew partly to stress that Paul’s initial ministry in Corinth was with and among his own people, and partly to prepare for the explanation about their sudden departure from Rome. As a native of Pontus, Aquila came from a region in Asia Minor that had been united with Bithynia to form a Roman province. However, at some stage he had moved to Italy, and he had only recently come from there with his wife Priscilla. Luke takes the opportunity to link his narrative about Corinth with a well-known event in Roman history (2b, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome). This imperial edict banning Jews from Rome is recorded by the historian Suetonius in these terms: ‘since the Jews constantly made disturbances. Leaving Rome under such circumstances must have been a great trial for those concerned, but Luke shows how, in God’s providence, the coming of this couple to Corinth and then Ephesus advanced the work of the gospel significantly.
3 And because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. Greek culture, however, tended to despise manual labor, which makes Luke’s matter-of-fact record of Paul’s practice here unusual. ‘By lodging with an artisan couple and, beyond that, actually joining in as a partner in their trade, Paul suddenly appears no longer as the rising star among noble ladies and gentlemen and lofty academicians’.
In his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders, Paul makes much of the fact that he worked with his own hands, to support himself and his companions, while engaging in ministry.
, “I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Although he understood that Christians should support their full-time teachers, we see this in his comments concerning that subject.
, Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Yet, Paul did not normally avail himself of such rights though they we clearly his rights to refuse.
, Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
There are two reasons are given in for why he refuse his right to be paid in Ephesus, Thessalonica. Negatively, Paul sought to avoid any hint of covetousness. Positively, he was determined to help ‘the weak’, inspired by an otherwise unrecorded saying of Jesus about the blessedness of giving instead of receiving. Paul’s behavior thus reflected his trust in God and God’s generosity to his people, demonstrating two important aspects of the message he preached.
, For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath day… He reasoned ‘discussed, argued.’ ‘… And tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. These Greeks were apparently Gentiles who were attached to the synagogue, sometimes designated as God-fearers. makes the point that ministry to Jews in Corinth was productive but extremely challenging, perhaps particularly because of the size and influence of the Jewish community in the city. They needed the teaching of God’s truth through partnership to have an impact amongst the people
2. Teaching the truth rebukes people (18:5–8)
When Silas and Timothy arrive, Paul devotes himself more fully to the evangelization of Jews. This is possible because financial aid from the Macedonian churches which, relieves him from having to support himself by tent making. As was his practice, synagogue ministry essentially involves testifying that Jesus is the Messiah. However, opposition from Jews eventually necessitates Paul in the teaching of truth to rebuke the Jews. Rebuking these rebellious Jews and turning the focus of his ministry to Gentiles. Even making the house next door his base of operation for reaching Gentiles is a new strategy. Many conversions, including that of Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household, apparently exacerbate opposition from the Jews.
5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
Silas and Timothy joined Paul after he left them in Macedonia. There was a change in Paul’s pattern of ministry when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia. Prior to their coming, Paul was engaged in a Sabbath ministry in the synagogue and was working with Aquila and Priscilla during the week. The Greek expression occupied by the word, if read as a passive, means ‘constrained by the word’ it means to be ‘wholly absorbed in preaching’). If this same phrase is read as a middle voice, it can be understood reflexively that Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, and moved away from tent making. Paul began to be wholly occupied by preaching when they arrived.
, Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
The content of Paul’s message is simply defined as testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. This recalls an important aspect of Paul’s ministry in the synagogues in Antioch.
6 A pattern of behavior previously seen in Pisidia Antioch was repeated at Corinth, but in reverse order. After the second Sabbath in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas found the opposition from Jews so intense that they turned to the Gentiles, abandoning any hope of working in the synagogue, remember?
, The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
Finally, they were forced out of the city because of Jewish-led persecution and ‘shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them’ (13:49–52). In Corinth, when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, V. 6a, And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent.” As in 13:45, the verb blasphēmeō could refer to abusive speech directed at Paul (became abusive) or it could mean blasphemy against God in the sense that they denied what Paul said about Jesus (v. 4). The latter is more likely since Paul went on to stress that the Jews were responsible for their own blood, (death viewed as a punishment for rejecting God’s word). When he shook out his clothes in protest, it was a symbolic way of breaking off relations with these people. Declaring himself to be innocent (katharos, ‘clean’) of their imminent punishment, Paul indicated that he had acted like the faithful watchman.
, The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
God’s warning to the person who does not heed the message is that ‘his blood will be on his head.’ As a faithful messenger of the Lord, he would not be responsible for the punishment of those who rejected the gospel he proclaimed to them. With this gesture and associated warning of God’s impending judgment, Paul left the synagogue, declaring, v 6b ‘… From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’ This is not a decisive abandonment of ministry to Jews since he goes straight to the synagogue again when he arrives in Ephesus (v. 19). But, his pattern of speaking first to Jews and only later turning to Gentiles indicated a sense of prophetic obligation, expressed positively in terms of . Ezekiel’s teaching about the duty of the watchman released Paul from his obligation ‘to the Jews first’ when he met strong public resistance within the Jewish community. A third allusion to Paul’s prophetic role and status is found in 18:9–10. In such a situation he began ‘the second phase of his mission within a city, a phase in which the conversion of individual Jews is still possible, although Paul is no longer preaching in the synagogue nor addressing Jews as a community’. The novel element here is this theological justification for leaving the synagogue and finding another base for ministry. Because teaching the truth rebukes people.
“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. God’s warning to the person who does not heed the message is that ‘his blood will be on his head.’ As a faithful messenger of the Lord, he would not be responsible for the punishment of those who rejected the gospel he proclaimed to them. With this gesture and associated warning of God’s impending judgment, Paul left the synagogue, declaring, v 6b ‘… From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’ This is not a decisive abandonment of ministry to Jews since he goes straight to the synagogue again when he arrives in Ephesus (v. 19). But, his pattern of speaking first to Jews and only later turning to Gentiles indicated a sense of prophetic obligation, expressed positively in terms of . Ezekiel’s teaching about the duty of the watchman released Paul from his obligation ‘to the Jews first’ when he met strong public resistance within the Jewish community. A third allusion to Paul’s prophetic role and status is found in 18:9–10. In such a situation he began ‘the second phase of his mission within a city, a phase in which the conversion of individual Jews is still possible, although Paul is no longer preaching in the synagogue nor addressing Jews as a community’. The novel element here is this theological justification for leaving the synagogue and finding another base for ministry. Because teaching the truth rebukes people.
Going to the Gentiles in this context meant leaving the synagogue and going next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. V. 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper. His house was next door to the synagogue.
Titius, a Gentile God-fearer was presumably converted during Paul’s time in the synagogue. His willingness to use his house as a base for Christian ministry displayed great courage and commitment. It must also have been very disturbing for the synagogue to have the rival Christian meeting-taking place in the house next door. But worse was still to come for Paul’s opponents: V. 8a Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household…
It is possible that Crispus had also been converted during Paul’s synagogue ministry, though the narrative sequence implies that it was after Paul moved to the house of Titius Justus. Crispus is mentioned in , “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Although he was a notable convert, his action was ‘evidently not weighty enough to carry with him the Jews as a group, or even his colleagues in office’. Nevertheless, the conversion of the synagogue ruler intensified the opposition from those who remained behind. The location of this new center of ministry suggests that Jews and God-fearers continued to have ‘access or proximity to the gospel, but not by virtue of their being members of the synagogue’. Such people were doubtless included along with Gentile pagans among V.8b, … And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. The use of continuous tenses in the Greek (‘were believing’; ‘were being baptized’ indicates that this was an ongoing pattern of response to the preaching of the gospel. The household of Crispus was baptized, this is significantly the third time that the conversion of a whole household is mentioned in Acts. Teaching the truth rebukes people; real truth either draws people or drives people away.
3. Teaching the truth relies on power (18:9–11)
Luke’s third scene contains a visionary pronouncement from the Lord encouraging Paul and granting him the power to persist in ministry for a year and a half or more, despite the opposition from Jewish quarters. The first ground for confidence and power is a promise of the Lord’s presence and protection such as was given to Joshua in his calling to bring the word of the Lord to Israel,
, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The second ground is a promise that through the power of the gospel that many more will become believers and show themselves—both Jews and Gentiles—to be true people of God. Such promises bring a change to the pattern of events previously witnessed in Paul’s mission, enabling him to stay and establish the work quite extensively on his first visit. Paul is not forced out of Corinth, but departs when he is ready.
In , Paul reveals that he first visited the city ‘in weakness with great fear and trembling’. According to Luke’s account, it was not a sense of inadequacy about neither his rhetorical skills nor the idolatry of the city that caused Paul to be troubled, but the antagonism of fellow Jews to the gospel he preached. In effect, he needed to be re-encouraged and a re-commissioning for ministry. There is first the confrontation—the appearance of the divine commissioner—who in this case appears to be the risen Lord Jesus (v 9a, And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision). Here, the exalted Jesus behaves towards Paul ‘as deity supreme in power and knowledge and as one who is personally present’. Secondly, there is the commission to undertake a God-given task, with the assurance of divine enabling V.9b-10, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”
This is a promise of power and protection. Paul’s allusion to in v. 6 indicates that he had a theological reason for withdrawing from synagogue ministry to focus on Gentiles in a given place. When that became an impossibility because of mounting opposition, he moved on to another town. However, the clear message in Corinth was not to be afraid of the opposition, but to keep on speaking not be silent. ‘The Lord intervenes both to require and (through divine protection) allow a change in the pattern of events that has been common to this point in Paul’s mission.
Well before the March on Washington. Or his “I have a Dream” speech. There was a defining moment for Martin Luther King, Jr. And it came past midnight, in a kitchen, at 309 South Jackson Street, in Montgomery, Alabama.
King was 27 years old, two years into his role as pastor of nearby Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Over the past month, King had been leading the Montgomery bus boycott, a decision that set off a series of death threats delivered via mail and phone to his residence — as many as 30 to 40 calls daily, often at night. Normally, King could put the phone down and go back to sleep. But one call, on the night of January 27, 1956, stood out.
As King’s wife, Coretta, and 10-week-old daughter, Yolanda, slept in the master bedroom nearby, the voice on the other end of the line said: “N, we’re tired of your mess. And if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow up your house and blow your brains out.” Shaken, King went to the kitchen, made himself a cup of coffee, but soon buried his face in his hands. He began to pray aloud: “Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right … But … I must confess … I’m losing my courage.”
King later explained what happened next: “I could hear an inner voice saying to me, ‘Martin Luther, stand up for truth. Stand up for justice. Stand up for righteousness.’” In a moment his fears ceased, but not the threats. Several days later, around 9 p.m., a bomb exploded on the front steps of the house. No one inside was hurt.
Also for Paul there would be no quick mission escape only the promise of protection. The encouragement for doing this is twofold. First, there is the assurance of God’s presence to protect Paul (For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you), given in words that recall the commissioning and re-commissioning of Jeremiah as ‘a prophet to the nations’. The promise that no one is going to attack and harm you was fulfilled when Paul escaped the clutches of his opponents in vv. 12–17 and continued his work in Corinth (v. 18). Second, there is the promise, because I have many people in this city. This takes up the theme introduced in 15:14 (God intervened ‘to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles’), where the covenant formula of was applied to those who believe in Jesus from among the nations. The Lord’s promise is that, as a result of Paul’s preaching, more will become believers and show themselves to be part of this elect but inclusive people of God. In other words, those ‘appointed for eternal life’ will believe (cf. 13:48). The final element of the typical commissioning story is the conclusion, which states how the one commissioned carried out the task (11. And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. Teaching the truth requires power.
In a moment his fears ceased, but not the threats. Several days later, around 9 p.m., a bomb exploded on the front steps of the house. No one inside was hurt. Also for Paul there would be no quick mission escape only the promise of protection. The encouragement for doing this is twofold. First, there is the assurance of God’s presence to protect Paul (For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you), given in words that recall the commissioning and re-commissioning of Jeremiah as ‘a prophet to the nations’. The promise that no one is going to attack and harm you was fulfilled when Paul escaped the clutches of his opponents in vv. 12–17 and continued his work in Corinth (v. 18). Second, there is the promise, because I have many people in this city. This takes up the theme introduced in 15:14 (God intervened ‘to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles’), where the covenant formula of was applied to those who believe in Jesus from among the nations. The Lord’s promise is that, as a result of Paul’s preaching, more will become believers and show themselves to be part of this elect but inclusive people of God. In other words, those ‘appointed for eternal life’ will believe (cf. 13:48). The final element of the typical commissioning story is the conclusion, which states how the one commissioned carried out the task (11. And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. Teaching the truth requires power.
4 Teaching the truth results in persecution (18:12–17)
In this fourth Corinthian scene, Jews in the city charge Paul before the proconsul with ‘persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law’
12 This public accusation before a Roman official is reminiscent of 16:19–24 and 17:5–9. However, ‘rather than being beaten and put in prison (as in Philippi) or having to put up a bond (as with Jason in Thessalonica). , ‘ But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia…’ Paul is released when the accusation is rejected out of hand, a turn of human events that appears as the Lord’s providential care in the light of 18:10’. The Roman official in this case was Gallio, the oldest son of Seneca the orator and famous writer and philosopher. He was adopted by the rhetorician Lucius Junius Gallio. Under Claudius, he became proconsul of Achaia. He appears to have begun no later than May, ad 51, and had left office by May or June the following year, for health reasons. The emperor had re-established Achaia as a senatorial province in ad 44, administered by a proconsul (anthypatos).
In Gallio’s time, v. 12b, …the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal.” Although the place of judgment has often been identified with the impressive podium excavated in the marketplace of ancient Corinth, the Greek term bēma ‘denotes the place where the judge holds his court, and is determined by the presence of the judge.
13 The Jews in various cities throughout the empire were allowed to exercise a considerable degree of jurisdiction over members of their own community, subject to the overriding authority of the Roman power. In this case, they brought the leader of a troublesome new movement into their midst before the proconsul, charging Paul with 13, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”
It seems here that the Jews were appealing to Gallio for protection of their own religious community ‘against a disturbing intruder’. Gallio certainly saw the matter as a dispute among Jews about words and names and their own law and not concerning Rome. They themselves spoke of worshipping God in the singular and were affirming their right under Roman law to worship the one true God according to the dictates of the law of Moses. Paul was perceived to be challenging that practice and the theology undergirding it. He was creating a situation in which Jewish identity might be lost and the security of Jews in the Empire might be compromised. Recent events in Rome had confirmed that theological debates between Jews and Christians could have serious social and political consequences. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem for the last time, he had to respond once more to accusations that he was teaching against the Law of Moses and therefore threatening the ethos of Judaism.
, When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”
, But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “ if it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint.” Paul was prepared to make a defense, but Gallio intervened and dismissed the case. If the Jews had been making a complaint about ‘some misdemeanor’ ‘unrighteous deed, wrongdoing’ against the state, Gallio indicates that it would have been reasonable for him to be forbearing with them ‘endure, bear with’). But he dismissed the case on the ground that it involved v 15, But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things. Gallio did not want to engage with their theological debates.
This is further demonstrated in verses 16-17.
, And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
Gallio drove them off ‘he drove them from the place of judgment’ because he believed there was no charge to be answered under Roman law and because he had no time for Jewish theological debates. The verb apēlasen could indicate the use of physical force. Whatever the form of the dismissal, it was a deliberate snub to the Corinthian Jews and their concerns. Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul. Sosthenes was either the replacement for Crispus, who had converted (v. 8), or for one of several remaining leaders of the synagogue (However, it is also possible that the Jews themselves could have joined in the attack on Sosthenes (so TNIV the crowd), perhaps because he mismanaged the case against Paul. Somewhat surprisingly, Gallio showed no concern whatever ( ‘none of these things mattered to Gallio’). Presumably, he felt that public order would not be threatened if he allowed a few angry people to vent their rage like this. However, ‘by refusing to intervene, Gallio gives implicit approval to gentile hostility towards Jews. In that case, his negative attitude toward Jews may also have been a factor in his legal decision’. This is one of three cases of Gentile hostility to Jews in situations where Christians were also involved. Jews and Christians faced the same hostility from pagans in the Roman Empire.
The end of this story, therefore, offered little comfort to Luke’s readers. They could easily have concluded that such prejudice and hostility might soon be directed at them. Gallio was hardly the model to encourage trust in the Roman system of justice (cf. 19:35–41 note)! More broadly, the incident is also a warning about attempting to settle religious debates before unbelieving civic authorities (cf. for a specific warning about taking other Christians to court)