RETURN TO ANTIOCH (Acts 18:18-23)
In this passage we find Paul on the way home to Antioch in
Syria, where his second missionary journey had begun in 15:36.
His return route in the company of Priscilla and Aquila took
him via Cenchreae, the port of Corinth. Here he had cut his hair because of a
vow. We are not told what the nature of the vow was, but the reference is
probably to the Nazirite vow in Numbers
6:1-21. This vow involved abstinence
from drinking wine or eating grapes. The vow also included the practise of not cutting one’s hair for a period. After the period of the vow was over the individual would go to the temple and make offerings. It certainly
was strange that the apostle Paul would have done this, since Paul had been liberated from
such works as a means of finding
grace from God. And yet Paul did it with the liberated heart that he had! We are free to participate in meaningful rituals, as long as we know that these are simply a means to serving our Lord Jesus Christ .
From Cenchrae he would
go on to Ephesus, making a short stop over there and a visit to the local synagogue and then on to Caesarea, where he greeted the
church, and then back to the sending
church in Antioch where he remained for
some time (v.23a).
In v. 23b he begins
the third missionary journey by
revisiting the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening the disciples in the churches which he had
formerly planted. Paul then spent
more than two years in Ephesus (18:24-
19:41). From there he went to
Macedonia, crossing over to Troas and proceeded by way of Miletus, Tyre and
Caesarea on to Jerusalem. This is Luke’s
summary, all in just a few verses.
APOLLOS (Acts 18:24-28)
In Ephesus we meet a new Bible character, a Jew called
Apollos, born in Alexandria in Egypt. He had just arrived in Ephesus. Coming from Alexandria he would have come from a rich
culture and background of learning. We read that he had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and that he was fervent in spirit and that he spoke and taught accurately the things
concerning Jesus , though he knew only the baptism of John [v. 25].
I wanted us to consider this man, Apollos, for clearly he is
a great illustration of a man in the making – a man, with promise,
but as yet with incomplete knowledge,
but in
the process of being formed into a fruitful gospel
messenger. It is amazing how much
information concerning Apollos Luke packs into these few
words. Let’s see what we can
learn about him:
· He was a Jewish Man (18:24a) : Apollos was a Jew by
birth but lived in Alexandria, a Gentile city.
We know there were large numbers of Jews living in this city at that time. We will find out that Apollos was a Jew who
believed in the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One to come. He had deeply committed himself to this Messiah by
faith. He was part of the Jewish remnant
which John the Baptist had called out to wait for.
· He was an educated man (18:24b): Apollos came from Alexandria, the greatest city apart from Rome in that day, founded by and named after Alexander the Great. This
city in Egypt became one of the great centers of Greek thought and
culture. It had one of the finest
libraries in the world, the greatest source of learning in the ancient world,
consisting of over one half million volumes.
Sadly, this library was destroyed and all this learning was lost to the
world. Alexandria produced some of the
finest minds in history. Euclid
developed the principles of geometry. Archimedes
performed his experiments with water and gave us specific knowledge about
gravity. Aristhosthenes discovered
the formula by which the size of the earth was determined.
The
Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (or the LXX) was put together here by 70
scholars in Alexandria. It was from
Alexandria that famous Christians such as Athanasius,
Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria and
Origen came.
The Alexandrian
theological school was noted for her allegorical
interpretation[1] of
the Old Testament. The two great schools of biblical interpretation in the early
Christian church blended philosophical beliefs from Plato's teachings into
Christianity, and interpreted much of the Bible allegorically. The founders of
the Alexandrian school of Christian theology were Clement of Alexandria and
Origen. Origen taught that there were three levels of Biblical interpretation
which could be found for every text in Scripture: the literal, the moral, and
the spiritual, which contained the more "complete" meaning. This is
the atmosphere in which Apollos was born and raised.
· He was an eloquent Man (18:24c) this indicates that Apollos had learned the art of rhetoric and homiletics. He was trained in these skills and he was
clearly easy to listen to. George Whitefield was like that. Sarah Edwards wrote
to her brother about Whitefield’s preaching: “He is a
born orator. You have already heard of his deep-toned, yet clear and melodious
voice. O it is perfect music to listen to that alone! . . . You remember that
David Hume thought it worth going 20 miles to hear him speak; and Garrick [an
actor who envied Whitefield’s gifts] said, ‘He could move men to tears . . . in
pronouncing the word Mesopotamia.’ . . . It is truly wonderful to see what a
spell this preacher often casts over an audience by proclaiming the simplest
truths of the Bible. (Haykin, Revived Puritan, 35–37)[2].
Apollos might have been that kind of speaker who was so smooth that a person may
not agree with what is said but listens anyway because of the flow of speech.
· He was a man competent in the Scriptures (18:24d). He knew his OT Bible, one might say.
What he knew he preached powerfully and with conviction, but it is evident that
he did not know very much about
Christ. The phrase “way of the Lord” is used in the OT and NT, and refers to the first coming
of the Messiah.[3] It is a phrase of Messianic expectation. He
believed in Jesus and he had heard of him and he
knew how to connect him to the OT, but that was that.
· He was fervent in spirit. (18:25a) : Apollos felt what he preached and taught, and he was
able to persuade men.
· He knew only the baptism of John (18:25b):
In this sense Apollos was a
typical OT believer, and in that sense he was a disciple of John the Baptist whose ministry
was to prepare the people of Israel for
the coming of Christ the Messiah. Apollos knew the prophecies about Christ but he did not know the fulfillment of
these prophecies in Christ. Apollos was a believer, but unacquainted with
the full facts, and as such he had a limited ability, because of lack
of knowledge. We cannot preach what we don’t know.
· He
was teachable (18:26b): Though he spoke with
boldness in the synagogue where
Aquila and Priscilla ( converted under the ministry of Paul) were present, it was at once evident to them
that he needed to know the way of God
more accurately. They must have filled him in into the full gospel story – the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
This learned man was willing to be taught by two lay people who were tent-makers by
trade. The mark of a spiritual man is
that he is always teachable.
I learned something about Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920). After a sermon, as
the congregation was leaving the church, they shook his hand and thanked him
for his message, as was the custom. A
woman of the congregation however
refused to shake his hand. Kuyper asked,
“Why?” She said, “you
did not tell them the truth!” That
really shook Kuyper. Later, he went to
see her and it turned out that he really was not a born again believer – a true
Christian. This woman led him to Christ.
From this he went on to become a good
pastor and professor of the Free University of Amsterdam. And eventually he became the Prime minister
of the Netherlands.
· He was truly helpful (18:27) he wanted to go across to Achaia (Corinth), and received encouragement from the brothers in Ephesus to do so.
What is very encouraging is the phrase… “when he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had
believed”. We know that Apollos went to Corinth and had a
great ministry among the Christians there.
He helped, encouraged and strengthened them. (see 1
Cor. 1:12; 3:5-8).
· He was a powerful communicator (18:28)
When Apollos had fully understood the person and work of
Christ, he became a powerful evangelist for Christ Jesus and a great defender of the faith.
A MAN IN THE MAKING
Apollos clearly had ability and learning to begin with. But
after he came into full truth about Christ, God used these natural abilities,
coupled with the spiritual gifts of preaching and exhortation, to make him one
of the great preachers in the first century.
He really helped others.
Apollos is
a wonderful example of a growing man, and this should encourage us greatly. In a sense everyone
is a worker in gospel progress.
Even Paul recognized that. 25 years
after becoming a believer, Paul wrote, “Not
that I have already obtained it or have become perfect, but I press on so that
I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”
(Phil. 3:12). He was still in process!
I look back and wonder how God ever could have used
me. I have to
keep reminding myself of Paul’s question, “And
who is sufficient for these things?” (2
Cor. 2:16), and his encouraging confession, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming
from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Cor.
3:5).
And we need to
thank God for the many people along the
way that have helped us to get where we
are. Apollos had every reason to thank
God for Aquila and Priscilla
who shaped his thinking in a new and significant way.
I thank God for the people that took an interest in me when I was a young Christian.
Won't you take some time now, and thank God in prayer for the people that God has used in your life to urge you on in your faith, and lead you on too new heights in your Christian experience?
I thank God for the people that took an interest in me when I was a young Christian.
Won't you take some time now, and thank God in prayer for the people that God has used in your life to urge you on in your faith, and lead you on too new heights in your Christian experience?
[1] A
popular form of literature in which a story points to a hidden or symbolic
parallel meaning. Certain elements, such as people, things, and happenings in
the story, point to corresponding elements in another realm or level of
meaning. The closer the resemblances between the two realms, the more detailed
is the allegory. The best allegories are interesting, coherent stories in their
own right and through the story provide new insight into the realm they depict
(e.g., Pilgrim's Progress and The Narnia Chronicles). Semitic
parables, including the Gospel parables, have varying amounts of allegorical
elements. Those with many corresponding elements in both realms are properly
called allegories.
In Galatians
4:21-31 Paul uses the story of the children of Sarah (Isaac) and Hagar
(Ishmael) and the images of Jerusalem above and Mount Sinai as a double
allegory, both pairs contrasting the covenant of freedom and the covenant of
slavery. This allegory adds an earthy, emotional appeal to Paul's arguments for
freedom in Christ.
Perhaps the
most famous instance of allegorical interpretation is Origen’s explanation of
the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. In the allegorical view, the
man who is robbed is Adam, Jerusalem is paradise, and Jericho is the world. The
priest is the Law, and the Levites are the Prophets. The Samaritan is Christ.
The donkey is Christ’s physical body, which bears the burden of the wounded man
(the wounds are his sins), and the inn is the Church. The Samaritan’s promise
to return is a promise of the second coming of Christ.
[3] Isa.
40:3; Matt. 3:3
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