Atos 18

Verse-by-verse explanation

1. Atos 18:1After the episode in Athens, Paul travels on alone to Corinth, a large commercial port city, quite different from the more philosophical setting he had just left.
2. Atos 18:2This is a reference to a real historical decree of Emperor Claudius, around A.D. 49, expelling the Jews from Rome. That is why Aquila and Priscilla, Roman Jews, were living in Corinth when Paul meets them.
3. Atos 18:3It was common for rabbis and Jewish teachers to learn a manual trade to support themselves, even while also being scholars of the law. Paul uses his skill making tents of leather or canvas to work while he preached, without depending on donations.
4. Atos 18:4Following his usual pattern, Paul goes to the synagogue every week to reason with those present, trying to persuade both the Jews and the Greeks gathered there.
5. Atos 18:5When Silas and Timothy finally join him, coming from Macedonia, Paul devotes himself even more to preaching, openly declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
6. Atos 18:6Shaking out his garments was a symbolic Jewish gesture of protest, similar to shaking the dust off one’s feet, signaling that Paul was releasing himself from responsibility for those who rejected the message after having had the chance to hear it.
7. Atos 18:7After facing resistance in the synagogue, Paul changes location and starts meeting at the house of Justus, a Gentile who already worshipped the God of Israel, right next door to the synagogue itself.
8. Atos 18:8Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, converts along with his whole household, and many other Corinthians who hear the preaching also believe and are baptized.
9. Atos 18:9In a night vision, the Lord directly encourages Paul not to be afraid and to keep speaking without stopping, suggesting he had been considering giving up or falling silent in the face of opposition.
10. Atos 18:10The promise in the vision includes personal protection and the news that God already had “much people” in Corinth—people who would still come to believe, even though Paul had no way of knowing who they were.
11. Atos 18:11Encouraged by the vision, Paul decides to stay in Corinth for a year and a half, a much longer period than he usually spent in other cities.
12. Atos 18:12Roman inscriptions found at Delphi help historians precisely date when Gallio governed this Greek province, which serves as an anchor for calculating the dates of Paul’s journey.
13. Atos 18:13The formal charge against Paul before the Roman tribunal is that he was persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law—most likely Jewish law, not Roman law.
14. Atos 18:14Before Paul can even offer a defense, Gallio himself, the Roman governor of the region, interrupts, saying he would only hear the complaint if it involved an actual crime.
15. Atos 18:15Gallio refuses to judge the case because he understands it to be an internal dispute over words, names, and Jewish religious law—a matter that Roman justice had no business deciding.
16. Atos 18:16Without further delay, Gallio drives the accusers away from the tribunal, ending the proceedings before they had really even begun.
17. Atos 18:17Taking advantage of the confusion, the crowd beats Sosthenes, another synagogue leader, right in front of the tribunal, and Gallio simply ignores the attack, showing total indifference to the local religious conflict.
18. Atos 18:18The haircut at Cenchreae refers to a temporary Jewish vow, similar to the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6, which involved letting the hair grow for a period and then cutting it as a sign of completion. It shows Paul still keeping certain personal Jewish customs even while preaching to the Gentiles.
19. Atos 18:19On arriving in Ephesus, an important city in Asia Minor, Paul leaves Priscilla and Aquila there and goes to the synagogue to reason with the local Jews, repeating his usual pattern.
20. Atos 18:20Even though he is invited to stay longer in Ephesus, Paul decides not to accept, eager to continue on his journey.
21. Atos 18:21Paul explains that he needed to be in Jerusalem for an approaching Jewish feast, but promises to return to Ephesus if God wills, before setting sail.
22. Atos 18:22After landing at Caesarea, Paul goes up to Jerusalem to greet the church there, and then goes down to Antioch, closing the loop on this second missionary journey.
23. Atos 18:23After some time in Antioch, Paul sets out again, passing through Galatia and Phrygia, regions he had already visited, now strengthening the disciples established there.
24. Atos 18:24Apollos was already preaching about Jesus with enthusiasm, but his knowledge was incomplete, based only on the teaching of John the Baptist. Priscilla and Aquila instruct him privately, without embarrassing him in public.
25. Atos 18:25Apollos already knew “the way of the Lord” and taught enthusiastically about Jesus, but his knowledge came only from John’s baptism—an incomplete teaching that was missing the part about the Holy Spirit.
26. Atos 18:26Hearing Apollos preaching boldly in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila take him aside and complete his instruction more accurately, without embarrassing him in public.
27. Atos 18:27When Apollos decides to go to the region of Achaia, the brothers in Ephesus write a letter of recommendation so the disciples there would welcome him warmly.
28. Atos 18:28Once in Achaia, Apollos proves useful to the local Christians, publicly refuting the Jews with strong arguments from the Scriptures to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.