Acts 18:1-11 · Read 3 min · think and write 15 min
Paul went out preaching, and passed through one city after another. Acts records: “But those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens. Receiving a commandment to Silas and Timothy that they should come to him very quickly, they departed” (Acts 17:15). What Paul did in Athens is in Paul, Lesson 6.
This lesson reads about a husband and wife whom Paul met after he left Athens, in Corinth.
1After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth.
2He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them,
3and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers.
4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
6When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
7He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
9The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent;
10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
From Athens. “After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth” (v. 1).
Recently come from Italy. In Corinth Paul “found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them” (v. 2). The passage says where Aquila was from, and why they had left Rome: it was Claudius’ command. They had come to Corinth only ‘recently’.
Lived with them and worked. “And because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers” (v. 3). The reason the passage gives is ‘the same trade’; they lived together, and worked together.
Every Sabbath. “He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks” (v. 4). “When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ” (v. 5).
To the Gentiles. “When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!’” (v. 6). “He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue” (v. 7). “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized” (v. 8).
Don’t be afraid. “The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, ‘Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city’” (vv. 9–10).
A year and six months. “He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (v. 11).
Afterwards. “Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila” (Acts 18:18). The next lesson reads from there.
In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul says: “We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure” (1 Cor 4:12).
Readers can see this: what Acts records is that in Corinth “he lived with them and worked” (v. 3).
Perhaps you too have just arrived somewhere new: for work, for study, or for reasons you did not choose. You know few people, and everything has to start from the beginning.
This lesson does not say that people far from home will soon settle in; nor does it say that being forced to leave means you did something wrong. What it shows you is this: they had left Rome “because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome”, and had come to Corinth only ‘recently’ (v. 2); when Paul came, “He came to them”, and “he lived with them and worked” (vv. 2–3).
This week: Think of someone who has recently arrived near you — perhaps a new neighbour, or someone new at church. This week, invite this person for a cup of tea or a meal, and ask how they are getting on.
Scripture: World English Bible.