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. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; but taking his leave of them, he said, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. Having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv18, 22 18. And when he had tarried there many days.…
18. And when he had tarried there many days. Paul’s constancy appeareth in this, in that he is not driven away with fear, lest he should trouble the disciples, who were as yet ignorant and weak, with his sudden and untimely departure. We read in many other places, that when persecution was raised against him elsewhere he fled forthwith. What is the cause then, that he stayeth at Corinthus? to wit, when he saw that the enemies were provoked with his presence to rage against the whole Church, he did not doubt but that the faithful should have peace and rest by his departure; but now, when he seeth their malice bridled, so that they cannot hurt the flock of God, he had rather sting and nettle them, than by departing minister unto them any new occasion of rage. Furthermore, this was the third journey which Paul took to Jerusalem. For going from Damascus, he went once up that he might be made known to the apostles. And he was sent the second time with Barnabas, that he might handle and end the controversy about ceremonies. But Luke doth not set down for what cause he now took such a long and laborious journey, determining with all speed to return.
When he had shorn his head. It is uncertain whether that be spoken of Aquila or of Paul: neither skilleth it much. Though I interpret it willingly of Paul, because it seemeth to me a likely thing that he did this for because of the Jews, unto whom he was about to come. Assuredly, I think this to be a thing which all men grant, that he made not any ceremonial vow for his own cause, only that he might do some worship to God. He knew that that was to continue only for a time which God commanded under the law to the old people; and we know how diligently he teacheth that the kingdom of God consisteth not in these external elements, and how straitly he urgeth the abrogating thereof. It had been an absurd thing for him to bind his own conscience with that religion from which he had loosed all other men.
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Therefore, he did shear his head for no other cause, save only that he might apply himself to the Jews, who were as yet ignorant, and not thoroughly taught; as he doth testify that he took upon him the voluntary observing of the law, from which he was freed, that he might gain those who were under the law, (1 Corinthians 9:20.) If any man object that it was not lawful for him to make semblance of a vow which he had not made from his heart, we may easily answer, that as touching the substance of purifying he did not dissemble, and that he used the ceremony which was as yet free, not as if God did require such worship, but that he might somewhat bear with the ignorant.
Therefore, the Papists are ridiculous when they fet from hence an example of making vows. Paul was moved with no religion to make his vow; but these men place a reigned worship of God in vows. Respect of time enforced Paul to keep the rites of the law. These men do nothing else but entangle in superstition the Church of Christ, which was set free long ago. For it is one thing to bring in use again old ceremonies used long ago, and another to tolerate the same being as yet used, until such time as they may by little and little grow out of use. I omit that the Papists in vain and foolishly compare the shaving of their priests with the sign of purifying which God had allowed in the law. But because we need not stand any longer to refute them, let this one thing suffice us, that Paul bound himself with a vow that he might bring those which were weak to Christ, at least that he might not offend them, which vow he knew was of no importance before God.
19. Entering into the synagogue. In that he shook his garment at Corinthus, it was [not] done for that cause, (as this place teacheth,) that he might cast off the whole nation, but only such as he had already tried [experienced] to be of desperate obstinacy. Now, he cometh afresh unto the Ephesians, that he might try whether he could find any more obedience among them. Furthermore, it is a wonder, that seeing it appeareth by Luke’s report that he was heard more patiently in this synagogue than in any other place, and also that he was requested to tarry, he did not grant their request. Hence we may easily gather that which I said before, that he had some great cause to go up to Jerusalem in haste. Also, he himself showeth that he must make haste, saying, I must keep the feast which is at hand at Jerusalem. Neither is it to be doubted but that after he had set things in good order there, he departed with their good leave; and we may gather out of Luke’s words that they did admit his excuse lest the repulse should offend them. And this is worth the noting, that when better hope to do good is offered us than we were wont to have, we are drawn unto divers affairs, as it were, by the hand of God, that we may learn to give over ourselves to be governed at his pleasure.
The feast. That which I said of late touching the vow doth also appertain unto the feast day. For Paul meant not to do thereby any duty of godliness to God, but to be at the assembly, wherein he might do more good than at any other time of the year. For the Epistle to the Galatians doth sufficiently testify what account he made of difference of days, (Galatians 4:10.) And we must note that he maketh no promise touching his return without using this exception, if it please the Lord. We do all confess that we be not able to stir one finger without his direction; but because there reigneth in men so great arrogancy everywhere, that they dare determine anything (passing over God) not only for the time to come, but also for many years, we must oftentimes think upon this reverence and sobriety, that we may learn to make our counsels subject to the will and providence of God; lest, if we be deliberate and take counsel as those use to do who think that they have fortune at their commandment, we be justly punished for our rashness. And though there be not so great religion in words but that we may at our pleasure say that we will do this or that, yet is it good to accustom ourselves to use certain forms in our speeches, that they may put us in mind that God doth direct all our doings.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21 Cenchrea was an haven of the Corinthians.
Cenchrea was an haven of the Corinthians.
Paul is made all to all, to win all to Christ.
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That is, Paul.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–23 18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a…
18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Ver. 18. In Cenchrea] A haven of the Corinthians. Here he was shorn, as a Nazarite, for the sake of some weak Jews, whom herein he gratified and gained to the faith. The Popish shaving is so bald a ceremony, that some priests in France are ashamed of the mark, and few of them have it that can handsomely avoid it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18–23 A good while; a year and a half in…
A good while; a year and a half in all, as some think, which is mentioned Act 18:11, by a prolepsis; or, besides that year and a half there spoken of.
Took his leave of the brethren; ordering every thing as if he were to have taken his last farewell of them, as it fell out accordingly: howsoever, holy men live in a constant expectation of their dissolution.
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Priscilla and Aquila: that the wife’s name is here put before the husband’s, have caused various conjectures; and it is observed, that in St. Paul’s Epistles, whereas there are three times only mention of them both together, viz. Rom 16:3; 1Co 16:19; 2Ti 4:19, the wife’s name is twice placed first, to show, that in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, Gal 3:28.
Cenchrea; which was a town at the entering into the haven belonging to Corinth, Rom 16:1.
For he had a vow; to wit, St. Paul had; and therefore had shaven his head, according unto the law, Num 6:18. To the Jews he became as a Jew.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v18 A farther account is here given of the laborious…
A farther account is here given of the laborious travels of the great apostle St. Paul; namely, from Corinth to Ephesus, from Ephesus to Cesarea, from Cesarea to Antioch, &c.
Where observe, 1. That St. Paul having continued a year and a half at Corinth, and planted a church there, which yet soon after sadly degenerated; he determines now to sail to Ephesus; and accordingly at Cenchrea, a haven near to that city, he shaved his head, for he had a vow; that is, the vow of a Nazarite, which he (that is, Aquila, say some; St. Paul, say others) had before taken upon him for a time, whereby he was obliged to abstain from wine, and shaving his head, and touching of the dead.
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But having now accompolished his vow, he shore his head, and returned to the common way of living; where the wisdom and moderation of this great apostle, in complying in indifferent things, is to be noted and imitated: To the Jews he became a Jew, that he might gain the Jews.
He willingly compiled with their weakness, to show that he was no contemner of their law; for which reason he caused Timothy to be circumcised, and purified himself in the temple at Jerusalem: and behold the success of this his compliance; for, by gratifying the Jews in this condescension to the prescription of the law, he brought over very many of them to the faith of Christ.
Let not any suspect this for a sinful compliance with the Jews, in observing a ceremony which the gospel had abolished, nor censure it for a low and mean stoop in so great a man to the humour of the people; for though the ceremonial rites died with Christ, yet they were a long time in burying, and the Jews were indulged in the observation of them till they came to a clearer sight of their Christian liberty; accordingly the apostle yielded to them for the present in indifferent tings, without dissimulation or blame.
Observe, 2. The apostle being now come to Ephesus, he taught in the synagogue of the Jews, and reasoned with them.
Where we may note, both how close the apostle kept to his commission, in first preaching the word of life to the Jews, and also the fervent love which he bare to his own countrymen, whom though he had suffered all manner of indignities from, yet doth he give them precept upon precept, line upon line; and, with an unwearied diligence, dispenses the word of life and salvation to them.
Observe, 3. Our apostle stays not long at Ephesus, but hastens to Jerusalem to keep the feast there, namely, the feast of the passover; not that he took himself obliged to observe the feasts, or any of the antiquated ceremonies: but because of the vast concourse which he knew would be at Jerusalem at the time of the feast, from all quarters, and which would give him an opportunity to make Christ known to a great multitude. The ministers of the gospel, without the imputation of vain-glory, or seeking popular applause, may warrantably desire, and occasionally lay hold upon, an opportunity of dispensing the word to a numerous auditory, in hope that casting the net among many, they may inclose some.
Observe, lastly, The incessant care, indefatigable diligence, and unwearied pains, of this great apostle, in travelling from place to place, and at such great distances, to preach the everlasting gospel to lost sinners. From Ephesus he sails to Cesarea, from Cesarea to Jerusalem, from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Antioch to Galatia and Phrygia. See how the care of all the churches was upon him, and how he laboured more abundantly than they all.
Lord, what a pattern is here of ministerial diligence and faithfulness! What pains did St. Paul take! What hazards did he run, in planting and propagating the gospel of Christ! In labours more abundant, in sufferings above measure! Well might he say, I am able to do all things through Christ that strengthens me. And blessed be God, the same power that assisted him, stands ready to succour us; and if ever he calls us to extraordinary service, he will come in with more than extraordinary strength.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v18 We have here Paul in motion, as we have…
We have here Paul in motion, as we have had him at Corinth for some time at rest, but in both busy, very busy, in the service of Christ; if he sat still, if he went about, still it was to do good. Here is,
I. Paul's departure from Corinth, Act 18:18. 1. He did not go away till some time after the trouble he met with there; from other places he had departed when the storm arose, but not from Corinth, because there it had no sooner risen than it fell again. Some tell us that Gallio did privately countenance Paul, and took him into his favour, and that this occasioned a correspondence between Paul and Seneca, Gallio's brother, which some of the ancients speak of. After this he tarried there yet a good while, some think, beyond the year and a half mentioned, Act 18:11. While he found he laboured not in vain, he continued labouring. 2. When he went, he took leave of the brethren solemnly, and with much affection, with suitable comforts and counsels, and prayers at parting, commending what was good, reproving what was otherwise, and giving them necessary cautions against the wiles of the false apostles; and his farewell sermon would leave impressions upon them. 3. He took with him Priscilla and Aquila, because they had a mind to accompany him; for they seemed disposed to remove, and not inclined to stay long at a place, a disposition which may arise from a good principle, and have good effects, and therefore ought not to be condemned in others, though it ought to be suspected in ourselves. There was a great friendship contracted between them and Paul, and therefore, when he went, they begged to go along with him. 4. At Cenchrea, which was hard by Corinth, the port where those that went to sea from Corinth took ship, either Paul or Aquila (for the original does not determine which) had his head shaved, to discharge himself from the vow of a Nazarite: Having shorn his head at Cenchrea; for he had a vow. Those that lived in Judea were, in such a case, bound to do it at the temple: but those who lived in other countries might do it in other places. The Nazarite's head was to be shaved when either his consecration was accidentally polluted, in which case he must begin again, or when the days of his separation were fulfilled (Num 6:9; Num 13:18), which, we suppose, was the case here. Some throw it upon Aquila, who was a Jew (Act 18:2), and retained perhaps more of his Judaism than was convenient; but I see no harm in admitting it concerning Paul, for concerning him we must admit the same thing (Act 21:24, Act 21:26), not only in compliance for a time with the Jews, to whom he became as a Jew (Co1 9:20), that he might win upon them, but because the vow of the Nazarites, though ceremonial, and as such ready to vanish away, had yet a great deal of moral and very pious significance, and therefore was fit to die the last of all the Jewish ceremonies. The Nazarites are joined with the prophets (Amo 2:11), and were very much the glory of Israel (Lam 4:7), and therefore it is not strange if Paul bound himself for some time with the vow of a Nazarite from wine and strong drink, and from being trimmed, to recommend himself to the Jews; and from this he now discharged himself.
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II. Paul's calling at Ephesus, which was the metropolis of the Lesser Asia, and a sea-port. 1. There he left Aquila and Priscilla; not only because they would be but burdensome to him in his journey, but because they might be serviceable to the interests of the gospel at Ephesus. Paul intended shortly to settle there for some time, and he left Aquila and Priscilla there in the mean time, for the same end as Christ sent his disciple before to every place where he himself would come, to prepare his way. Aquila and Priscilla might, by private conversation, being very intelligent judicious Christians, dispose the minds of many to give Paul, when he should come among them, a favourable reception, and to understand his preaching; therefore he calls them his helpers in Christ Jesus, Rom 16:3. 2. There he preached to the Jews in their synagogue; though he did but call there in his journey, yet he would not go without giving them a sermon. He entered into the synagogue, not as a hearer, but as a preacher, for there he reasoned with the Jews. Though he had abandoned the Jews at Corinth, who opposed themselves, and blasphemed, yet he did not, for their sakes, decline the synagogues of the Jews in other places, but still made the first offer of the gospel to them. We must not condemn a whole body or denomination of men, for the sake of some that conduct themselves ill. 3. The Jews at Ephesus were so far from driving Paul away that they courted his stay with them (Act 18:20): They desired him to tarry longer with them, to instruct them, in the gospel of Christ. These were more noble, and better bred, than those Jews at Corinth, and other places, and it was a sign that God had not quite cast away his people, but had a remnant among them. 4. Paul would not stay with them now: He consented not; but bade them farewell. He had further to go; he must by all means keep this feast at Jerusalem; not that he thought himself bound in duty to it (he knew the laws of the feasts were no longer binding), but he had business t Jerusalem (whatever it was) which would be best done at the time of the feast, when there was a general rendezvous of all the Jews from all parts; which of the feasts it was we are not told, probably it was the passover, which was the most eminent. 5. He intimated his purpose, after this journey, to come and spend some time at Ephesus, being encouraged by their kind invitation to hope that he should do good among them. It is good to have opportunities in reserve, when one good work is over to have another to apply ourselves to: I will return again to you, but he inserts that necessary proviso, if God will. Our times are in God's hand; we purpose, but he disposes; and therefore we must make all our promises with submission to the will of God. If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that. I will return again to you, if the Spirit suffer me (Act 16:7); this was included in Paul's case; not only if providence permit, but if God do not otherwise direct my motions.
III. Paul's visit to Jerusalem; a short visit it was, but it served as a token of respect to that truly mother-church. 1. He came by sea to the port that lay next to Jerusalem. He sailed from Ephesus (Act 18:21), and landed at Caesarea, Act 18:22. He chose to go by sea, for expedition and for safety, and that he might see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. Joppa had been the port for Jerusalem, but Herod having improved Caesarea, and the port at Joppa being dangerous, that was generally made use of. 2. He went up, and saluted the church, by which, I think, is plainly meant the church at Jerusalem, which is emphatically called the church, because there the Christian church began, Act 15:4. Paul thought it requisite to show himself among them, that they might not think his success among them, that they might not think his success among the Gentiles had made him think himself either above them or estranged from them, or that the honour God had put upon him made him unmindful of the honour he owed to them. His going to salute the church at Jerusalem intimates, (1.) That it was a very friendly visit that he made them, in pure kindness, to enquire into their state, and to testify his hearty good-will to them. Note, The increase of our new friends should not make us forget our old ones, but it should be a pleasure to good men, and good ministers, to revive former acquaintance. The ministers at Jerusalem were constant residents, Paul was a constant itinerant; but he took care to keep up a good correspondence with them, that they might rejoice with him in his going out, and he might rejoice with them in their tents, and they might both congratulate and wish well to one another's comfort and success. (2.) That it was but a short visit. He went up, and saluted them, perhaps with the holy kiss, and made no stay among them. It was designed but for a transient interview, and yet Paul undertook this long journey for that. This is not the world we are to be together in. God's people are the salt of the earth, dispersed and scattered; yet it is good to see one another sometimes, if it be but to see one another, that we may confirm mutual love, may the better keep up our spiritual communion with one another at a distance, and may long the more for that heavenly Jerusalem in which we hope to be together for ever.
IV. His return through those countries where he had formerly preached the gospel. 1. He went and spent some time in Antioch, among his old friends there, whence he was first sent out to preach among the Gentiles, Act 13:1. He went down to Antioch, to refresh himself with the sight and conversation of the ministers there; and a very good refreshment it is to a faithful minister to have for awhile the society of his brethren; for, as iron sharpeneth iron, so doth a man the countenance of his friend. Paul's coming to Antioch would bring to remembrance the former days, which would furnish him with matter for fresh thanksgiving. 2. Thence he went over the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, where he had preached the gospel, and planted churches, which, though very briefly mentioned (Act 16:6), was yet a glorious work, as appears by Gal 4:14, Gal 4:15, where Paul speaks of his preaching the gospel to the Galatians at the first, and their receiving him as an angel of God. These country churches (for such they were [Gal 1:2], and we read not of any city in Galatia where a church was) Paul visited in order as they lay, watering what he had been instrumental to plant, and strengthening all the disciples. His very coming among them, and owning them, were a great strengthening to them and their ministers. Paul's countenancing them was encouraging them; but that was not all: he preached that to them which strengthened them, which confirmed their faith in Christ, their resolutions for Christ, and their pious affections to him. Disciples need to be strengthened, for they are compassed about with infirmity; ministers must do what they can to strengthen them, to strengthen them all, by directing them to Christ, and bringing them to live upon him, whose strength is perfected in their weakness, and who is himself their strength and song.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–23 When they desired him to tarry longer time with…
When they desired him to tarry longer time with them,.... Either Aquila and Priscilla, whom he left here, for here they were, as is certain from
Ac 18:24,26 or rather the Jews with whom he reasoned, who might be desirous of further conference with him, upon the subject they had disputed about; either in order to gain more knowledge, or in hopes of baffling and confounding him:
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he consented not; for a reason afterwards given.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv18, 21, 22, 23 Paul continued many days - After the year and…
Paul continued many days - After the year and six months, to confirm the brethren. Aquila having shaved his head - As was the custom in a vow, chap. xxi, 24; Num. vi, 18. At Cenchrea - A seaport town, at a small distance from Corinth.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21, 22, 23 Verse 18. And Paul - tarried there yet a…
Verse 18. And Paul - tarried there yet a good while] The persecuting Jews plainly saw, from the manner in which the proconsul had conducted this business, that they could have no hope of raising a state persecution against the apostles; and the laws provided so amply for the personal safety of every Roman citizen that then were afraid to proceed any farther in their violence. It would not be unknown that Paul was possessed of the right of Roman citizenship; and therefore his person was sacred as long as he did nothing contrary to the laws.
It is probable that at this time Paul stayed, on the whole, as Corinth, about two years.
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Having shorn his head in Cenchrea] But who was it that shore his head? Paul or Aquila? Some think the latter, who had bound himself by the Nazarite vow, probably before he became a Christian; and, being under that vow, his conscience would not permit him to disregard it. There is nothing in the text that absolutely obliges us to understand this action as belonging to St. Paul. It seems to have been the act of Aquila alone; and therefore both Paul and Priscilla are mentioned before Aquila; and it is natural to refer the vow to the latter. Yet there are certainly some weighty reasons why the vow should be referred to St. Paul, and not to Aquila; and interpreters are greatly divided on the subject. Chrysostom, Isidore of Seville, Grotius, Hammond, Zegerus, Erasmus, Baronius, Pearce, Wesley, and others, refer the vow to Aquila.-Jerome, Augustin, Bede, Calmet, Dodd, Rosenmuller, and others, refer it to St. Paul. Each party has its strong reasons-the matter is doubtful-the bare letter of the text determines nothing: yet I cannot help leaning to the latter opinion. Perhaps it was from feeling the difficulty of deciding which was under the vow that the AEthiopic and two Latin versions, instead of κειραμενος, having shaved, in the singular, appear to have read κειραμενοι, they shaved; and thus put both Paul and Aquila under the vow.
Cenchrea. This was a port on the east side of the isthmus of Corinth, opposite to the Lecheum, which was the other port on the west. And it is likely that it was at Cenchrea that St. Paul took shipping for Syria, as it would be more convenient her him, and a shorter passage to embark at Cenchrea, in order to go by the AEgean Sea to Syria, than to embark at the Lecheum, and sail down into the Mediterranean. This isthmus is generally described now as dividing the Gulf of Lepanto, on the west, from the Gulf of Engia, or Eginaon, on the east.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv18–19 Act 18:18. Paul after this — After these tumultuous…
Act 18:18. Paul after this — After these tumultuous proceedings, and the opposition that was raised against him at Corinth by the Jews; tarried there yet a good while — Greek, ημερας ικανας, many days, after the year and six months, mentioned Act 18:11, to confirm the brethren. And then took his leave, and sailed into Syria — That is, in order to return thither; and with him Priscilla and Aquila — His two intimate friends; having shorn his head in Cenchrea — Commentators are much divided in opinion, whether this is spoken of Aquila or Paul. Chrysostom, Grotius, Heinsius, Hammond, and Witsius, with many others, refer it to the former; but Jerome, Augustin, Beda, Calmet, Whitby, Doddridge, Dodd, and Macknight, understand it of Paul. And it seems more probable from the construction, that this clause, and the beginning of the next verse, should refer to the same person, that is, to Paul. “Aquila being left at Ephesus, and not going up to Jerusalem as Paul did, hence I conclude,” says Dr. Whitby, “that the vow was made by Paul.” Macknight’s paraphrase on the clause is, “They took ship at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth, where Paul shaved his head, and thereby put a period to the duration of a vow which he had made, perhaps, on occasion of the great deliverance he had obtained, when the Jews made insurrection against him.” What sort of a vow this was we are not informed. Salmasius has justly observed, it could not be a vow of Nazariteship, for then the hair must have been burned in the temple, under the caldron in which the peace-offerings were boiled, Num 6:18. It was the custom, it seems, on the accomplishment of vows, for persons to shave their heads, Act 21:23-24.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21, 22, 23 And sailed thence into Syria - Or set sail…
And sailed thence into Syria - Or set sail for Syria. His design was to go to Jerusalem to the festival which was soon to occur, Act 18:21.
Having shorn his head - Many interpreters have supposed that this refers to Aquila, and not to Paul. But the connection evidently requires us to understand it of Paul, though the Greek construction does not with certainty determine to which it refers. The Vulgate refers it to Aquila, the Syriac to Paul.
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In Cenchrea - Cenchrea was the eastern port of Corinth. A church was formed in that place, Rom 16:1.
For he had a vow - A “vow” is a solemn promise made to God respecting anything. The use of vows is observable throughout the Scripture. Jacob, going into Mesopotamia, vowed one-tenth of his estate, and promised to offer it at Bethel to the honor of God, Gen 28:22. Moses made many regulations in regard to vows. A man might devote himself or his children to the Lord. He might devote any part of his time or property to his service. The vow they were required sacredly to observe Deu 23:21-22, except in certain specified cases they were permitted to redeem what had been thus devoted. The most remarkable vow among the Jews was that of the Nazarite, by which a man made a solemn promise to God to abstain from wine, and from all intoxicating liquors, to let the hair grow, not to enter any house polluted by having a dead body in it, or to attend any funeral. This vow generally lasted eight days, sometimes a month, sometimes during a definite period fixed by themselves, and sometimes during their whole lives. When the vow expired, the priest made an offering of a he-lamb for a burnt-offering, a she-lamb for an expiatory sacrifice, and a ram for a peace-offering. The priest then, or some other person, shaved the head of the Nazarite at the door of the tabernacle, and burnt the hair on the fire of the altar. Those who made the vow out of Palestine, and who could not come to the temple when the vow was expired, contented themselves with observing the abstinence required by the Law, and cutting off the hair where they were. This I suppose to have been the case with Paul. His hair he cut off at the expiration of the vow at Cenchrea, though he delayed to perfect the vow by the proper ceremonies until he reached Jerusalem, Act 21:23-24. Why Paul made this vow, or on what occasion, the sacred historian has not informed us, and conjecture, perhaps, is useless. We may observe, however:
(1) That if was common for the Jews to make such vows to God, as an expression of gratitude or of devotedness to his service, when they had been raised up from sickness, or delivered from danger or calamity. See Josephus, i. 2, 15. Vows of this nature were also made by the Gentiles on occasions of deliverance from any signal calamity (Juvenal, Sat., 12, 81). It is possible that Paul may have made such a vow in consequence of signal deliverance from some of the numerous perils to which he was exposed. But,
(2) There is reason to think that it was mainly with a design to convince the Jews that he did not despise their law, and was not its enemy. See Act 21:22-24. In accordance with the custom of the nation, and in compliance with a law which was not wrong in itself, he might have made this vow, not for a time-serving purpose, but in order to conciliate them, and to mitigate their anger against the gospel. See 1Co 9:19-21. But where nothing is recorded, conjecture is useless. Those who wish to see the subject discussed may consult Grotius and Kuinoel in loco; Spencer, De Legibus Hebrae., p. 862; and Calmet’s Dictionary, “Nazarite.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18, 22 Shorn, &c. It was customary among the Jews to…
Shorn, &c. It was customary among the Jews to make vows of abstaining from all inebriating liquor, not to cut their hair for a limited time, &c. This was the vow of the Nazarites, mentioned in Numbers vi. 18; Acts xxii. 24. St. Paul had probably taken upon himself some obligation of this kind; perhaps in condescension to the Jews, who were yet weak in faith. The time being now expired, he cut his hair as before. It was lawful for converts to observe these legal ceremonies, till the gospel was perfectly established, provided they did not place their hopes of salvation in them, or believe that the faith and grace of Christ were ineffectual without them. (Denis the Carthusian) --- For he had a vow, that is, Paul, not Aquila. This seems to have been such a vow, as those called Nazarenes, used to make, of abstaining from wine for a time, of not cutting their hair, and of making some offerings in the temple at Jerusalem. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv18, 23 18And [But] Paul after this [om. after this] tarried…
G.—RETURN OF THE APOSTLE, THROUGH EPHESUS AND JERUSALEM, TO ANTIOCH
Act_18:18-22
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18And [But] Paul after this [om. after this] tarried there yet a good while [considerable time], and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into [to] Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having [, after he had] shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19And he [But they]12 came to Ephesus, and [he] left them there:13 but he himself [om. himself, αὐτός] entered into the synagogue, and reasoned [discoursed]14 with the Jews. 19[But,δὲ When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; 21But bade them farewell [took leave of them (as in Act_18:18)]15, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you [saying, I will return unto you [om. the intermediate words16], if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. 22And when he had landed at [And having come to] Cesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act_18:18. a. And Paul … tarried … yet a good while—ʼΑποτάσσεσθαι τινι, valedicere alicui. He embarked at Cenchrea, which was the eastern port of Corinth, on the Saronic Gulf, nearly nine miles [seventy stadia] distant from the city; the western port was called Lechæum.
b. Having shorn his head in Cenchrea.—This act of shaving the head, and the vow connected with it, however brief the terms are in which they are mentioned, and, indeed probably because they are so slightly mentioned, have given rise to much discussion. With regard to the first particular, the question arises: Who shaved his head? Paul or Aquila? The name of the latter confessedly stands immediately before κειράμενος, and the circumstance attracts attention that it is placed after that of his wife [whereas, in Act_18:2 and Act_18:26, it precedes Priscilla’s name.—Tr]. Some interpreters have hence inferred that Luke adopts the order of the names found in the present verse for the purpose of more distinctly pointing out that κειράμενος prefers to Aquila. [This argument acquires additional force, when it is remembered that the comma usually inserted in the printed text after ʼΑκύλας, is simple a modern addition to it, and that the most ancient uncial manuscripts exhibit no marks of punctuation, nor even spaces between the words.—Tr.]. But it is remarkable that Priscilla’s name in a similar manner precedes that of her husband in Rom_16:3 and 2Ti_4:9; the reason may be, that her personal character and acts gave her a more prominent position; she may have possibly labored in the Christian cause with more intelligence and with greater zeal than her husband. If this point be admitted, the order in which the names of this married couple occur here, can afford no aid when we seek for an answer to the question stated above. [Meyer observes that Paul may have been influenced by certain considerations in mentioning Priscilla first in these two passages, but that such could not have been the case with Luke, in preparing his narrative, since, elsewhere, Act_18:2 and Act_18:26, he first names Aquila.—Tr.]. Besides, the very nature of the case, and also the form of the narrative, plainly exhibit Paul as the principal person, and assign a subordinate position to Aquila and his wife, so that it is by far the most natural course to refer the words κειράμενος … εὐχήν to the apostle; and, indeed, what significance could this statement have, if it referred to Aquila? [It may be importance, if it referred, not to Paul (comp. Act_15:1 ff.), but to Aquila, who had at a comparatively recent period embraced the Christian faith, and that, on this account, Luke so slightly mentions it, as Lechler himself concedes at the beginning of this note; the whole notice, accordingly, assumes the character of a parenthesis the attached to the name of the person to whom it refers.—Tr]. It hence follows thatκειράμενος must be understood as referring to Paul. This is the view adopted, for instance, by Augustine, Erasmus, the Reformers, Bengel, and more recently, Olshausen, Neander, de Wette [who, however, speaks with some doubt.—Tr.], Baumgarten, and Ewald [also, Alford, Hackett, and Alexander.—Tr.]. On the other hand, the word is referred to Aquila already by the Vulgate [Pr. et Aquila, qui sibi totonderat], and this is regard ed as the correct interpretation by Theophylact and, subsequently, by Grotius, Kuinoel, Schneck enburger and Meyer [also, Wieseler, Niemeyer (Char. d. Bibel. I. 120. ed. 1830), and Howson (Conyb. and Howson: Life, etc. of St. Paul. I 453).—Tr.]. One of the principal motives which, whether expressly stated or not, has usually influenced those who adopt the latter view may be found in the circumstance that this external Jewish ceremony [cutting of the hair], and also the vow, seem to them to be inconsistent with the liberal views of the apostle of the Gentiles. [Not a trace can be found—says Meyer—indicating that Paul ever “became as a Jew unto the Jews” in such a sense, as making vows.—Tr.]. This argument, however, possesses no weight, if our view of the liberal sentiments of the apostles, is derived, not exclusively from the imagination, but from facts. But the purpose for which this act of shaving the head was performed, can be considered only in connection with the next point—the vow.
c. For he had a vow.—The cutting off of the hair was connected with a vow, and, indeed, was done in consequence of it (εῖ̓χε γὰρ εὐχήν). But this expression itself is also indefinite in its character. Nothing whatever is said respecting either the nature of the vow, or the time of the cutting off of the hair—whether at the beginning, when the vow was made, or after the expiration of the time, when the vow was fulfilled. It was, at an earlier period (Wetstein, and others), supposed that the vow was that of a Nazarite. The individual, in this case, allowed his hair to grow during a specified period, in honor of God; the hair was cut off, at the expiration of the period, and thrown into the sacrificial fire. But these facts do not explain the present case, for the Nazarite could not be released from his vow, unless he presented himself in the temple, that is, in Jerusalem [whereas here Cenchrea is mentioned]; and the assertion that Jews who were travelling, were not bound by this regulation, has never been sustained by satisfactory evidence. And the assumption that the Nazariteship had been interrupted in this case by some Levitical uncleanness, and was now renewed by this, shaving of the head, can claim no attention, as such a renewal likewise could take place only in the temple (Num_6:9 ff.). Hence we may infer that this shaving of the head had no connection with the vow of a Nazarite, and that the present passage does not speak of any Levitical vow, closely connected with the temple. At all events, it appears from all that we learn from other sources respecting this subject, that the shaving of the head coincided, not with the assumption, but with the fulfilment of a vow, since it was the custom of the Hebrews to cut the hair from time to time, when its growth was too rapid. [Herzog: Encyk. V. 434]. According to this view,εῖ̓χε would have the sense of: “he had had” [but see Winer: Gr. N. T. § 40. 3.—Tr.].—Still, the occasion which led to this vow, and its precise character, cannot be determined, and the conjectures which have been hazarded, lead to no satisfactory conclusions [all which seems to sustain the view of those who suppose that the vow was a private and comparatively unimportant personal affair of Aquila, and not one which Paul had made.—Tr.]
Act_18:19-21. And he [But they] came to Ephesus.—This is the first occasion on which Paul, who was returning from his second missionary journey, visited Ephesus. This ancient and celebrated city, the capital of Ionia, was also, at that time, the capital of proconsular Asia; it maintained an extensive commerce, and soon became the Christian metropolis of Asia Minor. Aquila and his wife remained here, when the apostle left the city; κατέλιπεν simply anticipates this fact [and αὐτὸς δὲ is not intended to imply that they did not accompany Paul, when he proceeded to the synagogue (de Wette).—Tr.]. Before his departure, he endeavored to exercise an influence on the Jews, whose synagogue he visited; he was so successful, that they desired to retain him for a longer period among them, but, as he was anxious to proceed to Antioch, he could not comply with their request; he gave them, however, the promise that he would return, and soon afterwards, according to Act_19:1, he fulfilled it. [Lechler here ascribes Paul’s refusal to remain at that time, to his desire to proceed to Antioch: he regards the words: “I must … in Jerusalem,” which assign a different reason for his refusal, as an interpolation; see note 5, appended to the text above. Those who receive this sentence as genuine, generally suppose, with Wieseler (Chron. d. Apost.) that the feast of Pentecost is meant. Ewald suggests the Passover; but the data do not enable them to decide the point with entire confidence.—Tr.]
Act_18:22. And when he had landed at Cesarea.—Some of the earlier commentators, e.g., Calovius, Kuinoel, etc., supposed that ἀναβάς referred to Cesarea [see Act_10:1], in the sense that Paul ascended from the beach to the city, which was situated on higher ground. But it is not conceivable that Luke, who here (Act_18:19-22, inclusive) relates the facts in so summary a manner, and who had already said: κατελθὼν εὶς Καισάρειαν, (which remark undoubtedly refers to the city itself, and not merely to the coast and harbor), should now pause in order to give special prominence to the circumstance that Paul ascended from the water to the higher ground on which the city lay. Moreover, the expression κατέβη εἰς ʼ Αντιόχειαν, would be inappropriate, if it referred to Cesarea, since Antioch was situated in the interior of the country [Act_9:20], at a distance of nearly twenty miles from the Mediterranean, and was, consequently, more elevated than the sea-port Cesarea. But the same expression is perfectly appropriate, and corresponds to the usual phraseology of the Book of the Acts (comp. [Act_9:27, and] Act_15:2 : ἀναβαίνειν descriptive of the journey from Antioch to Jerusalem), if we assume that Jerusalem is the terminus ad quem for ἀναβάς and the terminus a quo for κατέβη and this interpretation appears to be indicated by ἡ ἐκκλησία (κατʼ ἐξοχήν [i.e., the mother-church of Jerusalem, not the church at Cesarea], without ἡ αῦ̓σα, Act_13:1.). Still, it is an erroneous opinion which Meyer entertains, when he represents ἀναβάς as necessarily referring to Cesarea, if the sentence in Act_18:21 : δεῖ με - - Ἱερος. [see above], is assumed to be an interpolation; for the considerations just presented, retain their weight, even if that sentence is omitted. [Recent commentators almost unanimously adopt the view here presented, i.e., that ἀναβάς describes a brief visit to Jerusalem; but this interpretation apparently demands the recognition of the sentence:δεῖ με etc., as genuine, although Lechler does not here concede that point.—Tr.].—It is, however, remarkable under all circumstances, that in this portion of the narrative, Luke exhibits such brevity and haste, and especially that he so slightly —with only five words—refers to a visit of Paul to Jerusalem, simply stating that he saluted the church. It cannot be doubted that Paul remained only a short time with the mother-church.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
The vow, which is involved in an obscurity that will never be removed, was unquestionably made in the spirit of evangelical liberty; the motive which led to it, was furnished, as we assume, by a special circumstance, of which no record has been made.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act_18:18. And Paul—tarried there yet a good while.—Paul remained during this long period in Corinth, partly, for the purpose of ministering to that “much people” (Act_18:10) which had been indicated to him by the heavenly appearance, and, partly, for the purpose of availing himself, as far as it was practicable, of Gallio’s moderate course, and laboring for the kingdom of Christ. (Rieger).—For he had a vow.—Pay thy vows unto the Most High! [Psa_50:14]: I. The vows which we are permitted to make; (a) none that are unevangelical—with a view to serve God in this way by dead works, and to purchase his grace; (b) but the vows, in the heart, of repentance, of faith, and of new obedience. II. The manner in which we are to pay them; (a) by doing all that is possible, with conscientious zeal; (b) by humbly disclaiming all personal merit.
Act_18:19. He came to Ephesus—entered into the synagogue—reasoned with the Jews.—The society of his most beloved brethren was not so attractive to him, as to induce him to interrupt his intercourse with the people who were so hostile to him, or to discontinue the efforts which he had already made for their conversion. Here he presents a model, as a servant who labors not for himself, but for his Lord and Master Jesus. He is always willing to be himself scorned and oppressed, and it is his only aim to glorify his Saviour.
Act_18:20. Desired him to tarry longer—he consented not.—He furnishes us with an instructive example, in maintaining an intercourse with brethren. He was connected with the believers by tender bonds of love, and yet he did not blindly obey them; he refused to comply with a request, which did not seem to him to accord with the mind and will of the Lord. This example should teach us that we ought not to yield to every wish even of beloved brethren and devout souls, but that we should love God and the Saviour even more than the brethren, and obey the divine will, rather than the will of any human being. (Ap. Past.).—“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Mat_10:37.
Act_18:21. I must by all means keep this feast that cometh at Jerusalem (according to Luther’s version [and the English Bible.—Tr.]). May God grant even to us such an earnest zeal in pursuing our journey to the heavenly Jerusalem, and may He teach us to oppose this holy “I must” to all the allurements of the world and of our own flesh! (From Ap. Past.).—I will return … if God will.—He was as prompt and humble in submitting to the will of God, as he was heroic in pursuing his prescribed course. He was a lion in his contest with the world, but, like a lamb, obeyed the voice of his Lord, (id.)
Act_18:22. When he had … gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.—As the mention of his departure from Jerusalem is so closely connected with that of the salutation, we may conjecture that on this occasion also, he found no suitable field of labor in that city. (Rieger.)
‘I must work while it is day’ [Joh_9:4]—the motto of the ambassadors of Christ: I. Where do they work? Wherever the Lord shows a way, and opens a door; II. How do they work? With unwearied zeal, and yet with humble attention to every intimation of the Lord; III. For what do they work? Not for their own glory and gain, but, in everyplace, for the kingdom of God, and, accordingly, for the salvation of men.—The longing desire for Christian fellowship: I. How strong it was in Paul! It induced the apostle, who was himself so richly endowed, and who had received such an abundant measure of grace, to proceed from a distant point, to Jerusalem; II. How great its strength should be also in us! (Lisco.).—Paul as a traveller, a model as a servant of God obeying the divine will: I. The hatred of no enemies intimidates him, when the Lord sends him, Act_18:19; II. No fraternal love restrains him, when the Lord calls him away, Act_18:20; III. No place is too distant for him; he hastens thither, when the Spirit draws him, Act_18:21; IV. No place is too pleasant to him; he departs, when the Lord no longer requires his services in it, Act_18:22.—‘I must go up to Jerusalem’—the watchword of the pilgrim of God: it enables him to resist every temptation—in sorrow and in joy—whether it proceeds from friend or from foe.
Footnotes:
[12]Act_18:19. a. The pluralκατήντησαν is found in four uncial manuscripts [A. B. E., and Cod. Sin.], whereas the singular, κατήτησε [of text, rec.], occurs only in two [G. H.; also Vulg.]. The singular undoubtedly corresponds to the style of the narrative in the context [verbs and participles in the singular, especially κατέλιπεν], but, precisely on that account, would not have been changed [by copyists] into the plural, if it had been originally employed. [D. has κατάντησας Lach., Tisch., and Alf. adopt the plural.—Tr.]
[13]Act_18:19. b. [In place of αύτοῦ after κατέλιπεν, of text. rec. from B. G. H., ἐκεῖ is found in A. D. E., and Cod. Sin., and is substituted by Lach. and Born.; Alf. retains αὐτοῦ, regarding ἐκεῖ as an alteration to the more usual word, and Meyer adopts the same view.—Tr.]
[14]Act_18:19. c. [In place of διελἐχθη, of text, rec. from E. G. H., Lach. and Tisch, adopt διελέξατο, from A. B., and Cod. Sin., which, however, Alf. regards as a later correction to the more usual form; comp. Act_17:2.—Tr.]
[15]Act_18:21. a. Not less than four uncial manuscripts [A. B. D. E.; also Cod. Sin.] exhibit [in place of ἀπετάξατο αὐτοῖς εἰπών, of text, rec.] the following: ἀποταξάμενος και εἰπών, according to which construction, the direct narrative is not resumed till at the word ἀνήχοη; only two manuscripts, of the ninth century, viz.: G. H. read ἀπετάξατο, which is an easier construction [and is hence regarded as probably a later correction of the original participle; the latter is, accordingly, adopted by Lach. and Tisch. Alford retains the verb of the text. rec. here, and also the sentence which follows (Δεῖ -- Ἱερ.; see next note), and thinks that the variations in this place were occasioned by the omission of that sentence; Meyer (3d ed.) is also inclined to recognize the reading of the text. rec. as genuine.—Tr.]
[16]Act_18:21. b. The entire sentence: Δεῖ με πάντως τὴν ἑρχομἐνην ποιῆσαι εἰς ̔Iεροσόλυμα, is omitted in four important ancient manuscripts, viz.: A. B. E., and Cod. Sin., as well as in nine minuscules, and in several ancient versions [Vulg. etc.], whereas it is found in D. G. H., [and is inserted in text. rec.]. The whole sentence, like so many other interpolations in the Acts, seems to have been inserted [suggested, as some suppose, by Act_20:16] at a later period, because the terms: πάλιν -- θέλοντος [if immediately succeeding εἱπών] seemed to be too brief or abrupt. Mill and Bengel, and, after their day, Griesbach, Heinrichs, and Kuinoel, took exception to the sentence, believing it to be an interpolation, and Lach. and Tisch. [and also Born.] have rejected it. [The manuscripts vary considerably in the entire verse. Alford says that no imaginable reason for the later insertion can be assigned, and, like Meyer, believes that the omission may be explained by assuming that ἀναβὰς in Act_18:22 had been misunderstood by copyists and translators; they could find no immediate and explicit mention of such a journey to Jerusalem; whereas ἀναβὰς really indicates (see Exeg. note on Act_18:22) the journey up to Jerusalem, not up from the shore into the city of Cesarea, and κατέβη) informs us that Paul went down from Jerusalem to Antioch.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv18–23 Paul . . . tarried . . . yet…
Paul . . . tarried . . . yet a good while--During his long residence at Corinth, Paul planted other churches in Achaia (Co2 1:1).
then took . . . leave of the brethren, and sailed . . . into--rather, "for"
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Syria--to Antioch, the starting-point of all the missions to the Gentiles, which he feels to be for the present concluded.
with him Priscilla and Aquila--In this order the names also occur in Act 18:26 (according to the true reading); compare Rom 16:3; Ti2 4:19, which seem to imply that the wife was the more prominent and helpful to the Church. Silas and Timotheus doubtless accompanied the apostle, as also Erastus, Gaius, and Aristarchus (Act 19:22, Act 19:29). Of Silas, as Paul's associate, we read no more. His name occurs last in connection with Peter and the churches of Asia Minor [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
having shorn his head in Cenchrea--the eastern harbor of Corinth, about ten miles distant, where a church had been formed (Rom 16:1).
for he--Paul.
had a vow--That it was the Nazarite vow (Num. 6:1-27) is not likely. It was probably one made in one of his seasons of difficulty or danger, in prosecution of which he cuts off his hair and hastens to Jerusalem to offer the requisite sacrifice within the prescribed thirty days [JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews, 2.15.1]. This explains the haste with which he leaves Ephesus (Act 18:21), and the subsequent observance, on the recommendation of the brethren, of a similar vow (Act 21:24). This one at Corinth was voluntary, and shows that even in heathen countries he systematically studied the prejudices of his Jewish brethren.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18–23 Paul’s Return from Greece to Jerusalem, closing his Second…
Paul’s Return from Greece to Jerusalem, closing his Second Missionary Journey, Act_18:18-22.
The voyage lies across the AEgean to Ephesus; thence southeastward to Cesarea; thence the land route to Jerusalem.
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18. Yet a good while—He was, in consequence of this decisive check imposed by the Roman power upon Jewish hostility, enabled to fill out the eighteen months of Act_18:11 in building probably the most powerful Church in Europe. The experiment was now settled that Europe was a true predisposed field for the Gospel. Japheth was at length to enter and dwell in the tents of Shem. Hereby Paul’s initiatory mission seemed to him fulfilled, and he turns his heart and feet back toward his native East.
Shorn his head—Unquestionably it was Paul who had the vow; and not, as some commentators maintain, Aquila. By the Nazarite vow, a Jew for a period consecrated himself to God, avoiding strong drink, and allowing his hair to grow unsheared. At the end of the period he was to go to the temple, make a somewhat liberal offering, shave his head and burn the hair in the sacrificial fire, and so absolve himself from his vow, (Num_6:1-21.)
A vow of a less sacred nature could be made for various purposes. A Jew, as an act of devotion, would vow not to trim his hair until he had safely accomplished his journey. So the Jews (Act_23:14) vowed neither to eat or drink until they had slain Paul. By a similar custom the Greeks and Romans were accustomed, after deliverance from some great danger, to trim the head and consecrate their hair to the god who had preserved them. In modern times, the temperance pledge and the baptismal engagements are of the nature of a vow. The jurors in our modern law vow with a formal oath not to eat or drink until they have agreed upon a verdict. As the apostle’s vow ended with his embarkation for Syria, it was probably an act of self-consecration dependent upon being successfully brought to the end of his present mission in Corinth.
Dr. Wordsworth notes the difference between κειραμενος, used here, which signifies to cut with shears, and ξυρησωνται, signifying to shave bare with a razor. It was the last of these which was done by the Nazarite at the temple to close his vow. Wordsworth suggests that Paul wore his hair long at Corinth, (where short hair was the sign of a slave,) trimmed his hair at Cenchrea for convenience, preparatory to shaving it at Jerusalem, for which purpose was his haste at Act_18:21.
Had a vow—Rather, had had a vow.
Cenchrea—More accurately Cenchreae. Leaving Corinth, Paul would pass by a road about nine miles in length, lined by tokens of zealous paganism, to this the seaport of Corinth, in her vast trade with the East, particularly with Asia Minor, through the great city of Ephesus. The name is still retained in its modern form, Kikries, though the more educated Greek still affects to retain its ancient classical name, which is plausibly derived from the millet, κενκρι, (cencri,) natively growing there. A Church was established there probably by Paul, and from thence his messenger, Phebe, bore his letter to the Romans, (Rom_16:1.) The ancient site is visible at Kalamaki, the eastern station of the modern steamboats.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–23 18–23. Paul leaves Corinth to go into Syria, halting…
18–23. Paul leaves Corinth to go into Syria, halting a short time at Cenchrea and somewhat longer at Ephesus. He lands at Cesarea, goes up to Jerusalem and from thence to Antioch, and after a time departs on his third missionary journey
18. And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while] Lit. many days. This appears to be after the appearance before Gallio. We are told (Act_18:11) that he settled quietly for a year and six months. Then came an opportunity of attacking him on Gallio’s arrival. Of this the Jews tried to avail themselves, and when their attempt was at an end, the Apostle had another time of peace among his converts. So that the whole stay in Corinth extended over more than a year and a half.
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sailed thence into (better, for) Syria] We have no motive given why the Apostle at this time sailed back. Some have suggested that he was carrying a contribution to the brethren in Jerusalem. It is clear that when the return was resolved on, he wished to reach Jerusalem as soon as possible, for he declined to tarry in Ephesus even though his preaching was more readily received there than by the Jews in many other places. It may have been the wish to fulfil his vow, which could only be brought to its conclusion by a visit to the temple in Jerusalem.
having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow] We can observe all through the narrative of the Acts that St Paul, although the Apostle of the Gentiles, did not cease to regard the festivals and ceremonies of the Jews in things which did not militate against the Christian liberty. For some reason, either during sickness or in the midst of his conflict at Corinth, he had taken a vow upon himself of the nature of the Nazarite vows (Num_6:1-21). This could only be brought to its fitting close by a journey to Jerusalem to offer up the hair, which it was a part of the vow, to leave uncut. At Jerusalem when the ceremony was completed the head was shaven (see Act_21:24), but it seems to have been allowed to persons at a distance to cut the hair short and to bring that with them to the temple and offer it up when the rest was shaven. This appears to be what St Paul did at this time, at Cenchreæ, before starting on the voyage to Syria. The Greek word for “having shorn” stands in the original next to Aquila, and some have contended from this that it was he who had the vow, and cut his hair. They have pointed out also that the order of the names “Priscilla and Aquila” seems to have been adopted purposely to make this connexion of words possible. But the name of the wife stands before that of her husband in Rom_16:3; see also 2Ti_4:19; and may have been so placed because by her zeal she made herself a very conspicuous member of the Church wherever she lived. But it seems very unlikely that all this detail of a vow and its observance would be so prominently mentioned in connexion with Aquila, who played but a small part in St Luke’s history; while it is a most significant feature in the conduct of St Paul that he so oft conformed to Jewish observances.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–23 (18) And Paul after this tarried there yet a…
(18) And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while.—Literally, tarried yet many days, the phrase probably covering a period of some months. The fact is noted as following on Gallio’s repression of the enmity of the Jews. The Apostle could stay and work on without molestation. The time of his voyage was probably, as in the second journey from Corinth to Jerusalem, after the Passover, and before Pentecost. (See Note on Act_2:1.) It was the most favourable time of the year for travelling, and it brought the Apostle into contact with a larger number both of Hellenistic Jews and Hebrews than were found at other times. We can only infer, more or less conjecturally, the motives of his journey. (1) As afterwards, in Act_20:3-4, he may have wished, in carrying out the terms of the compact with the Church of Jerusalem (Gal_2:10), to be the bearer of alms collected for the disciples there. By some writers, however, this visit is identified with that of which St. Paul there speaks. (2) The vow which he had taken (see Note below) required a visit to the Temple for its completion. (3) There might be a natural wish to report, as in Act_15:4, the results of his ministry among the Gentiles, in what, from the stand-point of Jerusalem, would seem the remoter regions of Macedonia and Achaia.
Priscilla and Aquila.—On the priority given to the name of the wife, see Note on Act_18:2.
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Having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.—The grammatical structure of the Greek sentence makes it possible to refer the words to Aquila as well as St. Paul, but there is hardly the shadow of a doubt that the latter is meant. (1) If Aquila had taken the vow he too would have to go to Jerusalem instead of remaining at Ephesus. (2) The language of St. James in Act_21:23-24, implies a conviction, as resting on past experience, that St. Paul would willingly connect himself with those who had such a vow. It remains to inquire (1) as to the nature and conditions of the vow; (2) as to St. Paul’s motives in taking it.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18–23 Having tarried after this yet many days for after…
Having tarried after this yet many days for after this tarried there yet a good while, and then, A.V.; for for into, A.V.; Cenchreae for Cenchrea, A.V. Took his leave; ajpotaxamenov, here and again in ver. 21. This is a somewhat peculiar use of the word, which occurs also in Luk_9:61 and 2Co_2:13. (see too Mar_6:46) It is used in the same sense in Josephus. ("Ant. Jud:," 11:8:6) In a metaphorical sense it means" to renounce," "to bid adieu to". (Luk_14:23) Of the six times it occurs in the New Testament, four are in St. Luke"s writings and one in St. Paul"s. With him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchreae, etc. There is great diversity of opinion as to whether it was St. Paul or Aquila who had the vow. Meyer thinks that the mention of Priscilla before Aquila, contrary to the order in ver. 2 and in ver. 26 (where, however, the R.T. reads Priscilla and Aquila"), is a clear indication that Luke meant the words keiramenov k.t.l., to refer to Aquila, not to St. Paul, and Howson takes the same view. But this is a very weak argument, refuted at once by Rom_16:3 and 2Ti_4:19, as well as by the whole run of the passage, in which Paul is throughout the person spoken of; or, as Alford puts it, in the consecutive narrative from ver. 18 to ver. 25, there are nine aorist participles, of which eight apply to Paul, as the subject of the section, making it scarcely doubtful that the ninth applies to him likewise. Moreover, there is no conceivable reason why the vow should be mentioned if it was taken by Aquila, and, what is still more conclusive, the person who went to Jerusalem, i.e. Paul, must be the one who had the vow, not the person who stayed behind, i.e. Aquila. In fact, nobody would ever have thought of making Aquila the subject if it were not for the thought that there is an incongruity with Paul"s character in his making a vow of that kind. But we must take what we find in Scripture, and not force it to speak our own thoughts. As regards the nature of the vow, it is not quite clear what it was. It was not the simple Nazaritic vow described in Num_6:18-21; nor is the word here used by St. Luke (keira) the one which is there and elsewhere employed by the LXX, and by St. Luke himself in Act_21:24, of that final shaving of the hair of the Nazarite for the purpose of offering it at the door of the tabernacle (xura) It seems rather to have been of the nature of that vow which Josephus speaks of as customary for persons in any affliction, viz. to make a vow that, for thirty days previous to that on which they intend to offer sacrifice, they will abstain from wine and will shave off (xurhsasqai) their hair, adding that Bernice was now at Jerusalem in order to perform such a vow ("Bell. Jud.," it. 15:1). But it further appears, from certain passages in the Mishna, that, if any one had a Nazarite vow upon him outside the limits of the Holy Land, he could not fulfill such vow till he was come to the Holy Laud, to Jerusalem; but it was allowable in such case to cut his hair short (keiresqai thn), and as some say to take it with him to Jerusalem, and there offer it at the same time that he offered his sacrifice and shaved his head (xurhsasqai). It would seem, therefore, that either in a severe illness or under some great danger (ajnagkh) St. Paul had made such a vow; that he had been unwilling to cut his hair short at Corinth, where he was thrown so much into the society of Greeks, and therefore did so at Cenchreae just before he embarked for Syria; and that he made all haste to reach Jerusalem in time for the Passover, that he might there accomplish his vow. (see Bishop Wordsworth"s note on Act_18:18; and Farrar"s "Life of St. Paul," 2. p. 2) His motives for the vow may have been partly those described on another occasion, (Act_21:24) and partly his own Jewish feelings of piety showing themselves in the accustomed way. Cenchreae. The eastern port of Corinth; a considerable place. There was a Church there, doubtless founded by St. Paul during his stay at Corinth. (Rom_16:1)
Vers. 18-23. The concise narrative.
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The grain of mustard seed becomes a great tree, and the fowls of the air lodge in its branches. Could we unfold all that is covered under these few words, whole volumes of surpassing interest might be evolved. The occasion and motives of Paul"s vow; the first visit to the capital of Proconsular Asia, to be afterwards the scene of such great events; Pentecost at Jerusalem; the interview with James and the elders of Jerusalem; his thoughts in the metropolis of Christianity, in the stronghold of Judaism, about the aspects of the Church, and the relations of his Corinthians converts to the believing priests and Pharisees at Jerusalem; the execution of his vow, and the state of his feeling towards the temple and its services: his return to Antioch, the metropolis of Gentile Christianity, the new Rome, as it were, of the Christian world; his meeting with old disciples; his narratives of God"s work in the new world of Europe, just conquered for the God of Israel; his possible meeting again with Barnabas there, and their tearful reconciliation, and the binding up of the old wound so painful to two good and loving hearts; and then the long and wearisome journey, full of labor and peril, through Phrygia and Galatia; the aspect of old friends and old enemies; the new conquests for Christ, the new triumphs of the gospel, perhaps fresh disappointments from the fickleness of the Gaulish character; were all this told, and the skeleton verses before us filled in with all this life and action, what volumes we should have! But it has pleased God to seal up all these books, and hide them from our eyes. It is our part to be thankful for what we have, and to draw the lesson that the silence of Scripture is as surely ordered as its revelations are, anti that we must read, not to satisfy our curiosity, but to edify our souls.
Vers. 18-23. The strength which is of man.
The most suggestive sentence in these verses is that with which they conclude; but we may gather lessons from others also. We may learn
I THAT THE DIVINE SPIRIT LEAVES US TO LEARN SOME TRUTHS BY THE TEACHING OF EVENTS. (Ver. 18.) We are a little surprised that Paul should think it necessary to trouble himself with ceremonies which, in Christ Jesus, have become obsolete. But this is one of those things which, among many others in our New Testament, show that God does not directly lead his people into the whole truth; he wishes us to learn his mind by the teaching of events, as the early Christians came gradually, and through the lessons of Providence, to understand that they were emancipated from the injunctions and prohibitions of that which was "positive" in the Mosaic Law.
II THAT OPPORTUNITIES OF USEFULNESS SHOULD BE EAGERLY EMBRACED. There was time for a hasty visit to Ephesus, and Paul did not fail to avail himself of it (ver. 19).
III THAT EVERY MAN MUST BE ALLOWED TO JUDGE HIMSELF IN MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE. (Vers. 20, 21.) Those Ephesian Jews may have thought and we may be disposed to agree with them that it was of greater consequence that they should have the truth preached to them than that Paul should go on to visit an unsympathizing Church. But it was a matter of conscience to him that he should go, and he therefore resisted their entreaties. We must form our judgments respecting the decision of others; we may offer our opinion and even urge our request; but we are bound to remember that it is every man"s duty to decide for himself, in the last resort, what he should do and whither he should go. Our urgency should never be pushed so far as to disregard this individual obligation.
IV THAT THE CHRISTIAN COURTESIES SHOULD BE STUDIOUSLY OBSERVED. (Ver. 22.) It became Paul to salute the Church at Jerusalem. It was the mother Church, with which the other apostles were so intimately connected; it would have been ungraceful on his part not to have maintained friendly, or, at any rate, courteous, relations with it from time to time. It is very probable that there was no cordiality existing between its leaders and himself. Nevertheless, it was better to pay it an amicable visit, as he now did. Cordiality is vastly better than courtesy; but courtesy is decidedly better than disrespect or impropriety, and the irritation which proceeds therefrom. If possible, let unaffected, warmhearted love prevail and abound; if that be hopeless, then let there be a studious observance of that which is courteous and becoming.
V THAT THE BUSIEST LIFE SHOULD INCLUDE SOME SEASONS OF REFRESHING REST AND COMMUNION. Even the energetic and anxious apostle, with all his cares and projects, found it well to "go down to Antioch and spend some time there" (vers. 22, 23).
VI THAT THE WISE TEACHER WILL CARE TO STRENGTHEN HIS DISCIPLES as well as to make converts (ver. 23). Paul was always solicitous to "strengthen his disciples." He was the last man in the world to forget that God was the ultimate Source of all spiritual strength. But he knew that there was much that he, as a Christian teacher, had to do to make his disciples strong. He had
(1) to impart a fuller knowledge of the truth;
(2) to warn against those doctrines and those habits which would bring spiritual weakness;
(3) to incite to holy earnestness by his own spirit of devotion;
(4) to counsel his converts to maintain close intercourse with Jesus Christ;
(5) to see that they were at their post in the Church and in the field of holy usefulness. C.
Vers. 18-22. Return of-Paul to Antioch.
We do not know the exact nature of the vow he was under. But the following lessons may be drawn from his conduct:
I WORK WHILE IT IS DAY. Where God opens the door, let the ready servant enter. The voice of the Almighty saith, "Upward and onward evermore," Work, not for glory and gain, out for the kingdom of God and the salvation of men.
II TARRY NOT TO CONFER WITH FLESH AND BLOOD. Foes might have deterred him in the front; loving friends might have held him back; difficulties might have made him quail; but he hears but one voice, sees but one hand, and goes forward. He who proceeds in this spirit, "unhasting, unresting," is always setting out, always arriving; and, passing unhurt through perils which, if dwelt upon in the imagination, would appear insurmountable, can with thankfulness exclaim, at the end of every step of the life-journey, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us! J.
Vers. 18-23. Retrospect.
An interval in Paul"s labors; how long cannot be known. Probably a needed rest; possibly connected with a vow. Employed in visiting Ephesus, sailing to Caesarea, his long fellowship with the Church there, repairing to Antioch and recounting his successes, for some time; and then revisiting the scene of his labors in Galatia and Phrygia. Thus it was a time of comparative bodily rest, of reflection and preparation for the future, and of confirmed intercourse and fellowship with brethren. Notice, therefore
I THE EXAMPLE OF WISE METHOD IN CHRISTIAN WORK.
1. Mingle pauses of rest and thought with activity.
2. Revisit places where seed of truth has been scattered, both to watch the doctrine and strengthen the confidence of new converts.
3. Maintain brotherly sympathy with those laboring for the same Master, but in different ways and places. We should avoid mere individualism in Church life and evangelistic efforts. Paul constantly referred himself to Antioch, and never forgot that he had been recommended to the grace of God by his brethren.
II AN ILLUSTRATION OF PROVIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT IN THE LIVES OF GOD"S PEOPLE.
1. The absences of Paul from his converts the occasions of his letters, so of his instruction to the universal Church.
2. Apollos made way for at Ephesus. His mission important. Possible necessity among the Ephesians of other elements besides the Pauline; hence both Apollos and, subsequently, the Apostle John.
3. The immense influence of Paul"s personal narration of his successes at Antioch, and of his confirmation of the disciples in the infant Churches of Asia Minor. "Man proposes, God disposes," wonderfully illustrated in the early history of Christianity. R.
St. Paul"s personal relations with Judaism.
shorn his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow." For the various explanations of this allusion which have been offered, reference must be made to the Exegetical portion of this Commentary. For some reason, which St. Paul regarded as sufficient, he had allowed his hair to grow for a time, and now, the time of the vow being nearly expired, he had his hair cut (not shaved) before starting on his journey into Syria. The point to which we bend attention, as suggesting suitable lessons for us, is that, being a born Jew, St. Paul found himself bound by rules and ceremonials which he did not feel justified in pressing upon his Gentile converts. This may give a seeming inconsistency to St. Paul"s conduct, but it really reveals the nobility of his spirit, and the self-mastery and self-rule which he had won. We should carefully distinguish between the limitations under which a good man and wise teacher may please to confine his own personal conduct, and the freedom from such personal limitations which he may enjoin in his public teachings. As an illustration, reference may be made to such matters as card-playing and going to theatres. The Christian teacher who feels that no rule on such matters can be laid down, is quite consistent with such teaching if he pleases to put himself under rule, and will neither play cards nor attend theatres. And this was the position of St. Paul. He felt that personally he did not wish to break off the familiar Jewish bonds of his lifetime; but while he personally met all Jewish claims, he resolutely championed the freedom of the Gentile Christians from all such restrictions and limitations. Impress that the details of a man"s conduct are fully within his own management, and that in our public relations we can only deal with principles, leaving all direct applications to the judgment and conscience of the individual. Still, it should be noticed that the apparent diversity between St. Paul"s personal conduct and public teachings gave his enemies a seemingly fair ground of accusation. We remark that
I A MAN"S PERSONAL LIFE MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH HIS PUBLIC TEACHINGS. Two things we demand of a public teacher:
(1) the "accent of conviction;" and
(2) the "note of sincerity.
The force behind a man must be the force of the man himself. We mast know him, and have adequate assurance that the things he speaks have a living power upon himself. We properly require something more than consistency; we ask for a harmony between words and works which wilt show that each are set to the same keynote. if St. Paul"s enemies were right, and his Judaical practices were out of harmony with his public teachings, then they pluck the life and power from his teaching. Impress that still all public teaching is ineffective which is beyond the personal attain-merit of the speaker. He can only utter it as intellectual knowledge or as current sentiment. A man only speaks with power when he tells what he has himself "tasted and handled and felt of the Word of life.
II A MAN"S PRIVATE LIFE MAY BE RULED BY CONSIDERATIONS WHICH HE DOES NOT FEEL BOUND TO PRESS ON OTHERS. This is the point suggested by our text, and a simple illustration will show us St. Paul"s position. A Christian teacher nowadays may be personally impressed with the examples of David and Daniel, and may feel that to adopt a rule of praying three times a day will be of direct service to his spiritual life. But he may feel that he has no right to press his rule upon his congregation as a binding one for all. He commends the duty of prayer, but he puts himself under limitations which are for himself alone. Many Christian people make intellectual and spiritual advances, which we might think would give them a large freedom in conduct, and yet the fact is that, to the end of their days, they voluntarily keep up their old habits and practices, preferring to set themselves within what they find to be well-ordered limitations. In such cases it is rather an over-severe consistency than anything like inconsistency which we find. Modern evil rather goes in the direction of over-demand of personal liberty as new aspects of Divine truth gain prominence. There is too little of Pauline self-regulation on the Christian principles.
III A MAN"S PERSONAL LIMITATIONS NEED NOT CONFUTE HIS PUBLIC TEACHINGS. They may be matters of dispute, on which the Church is divided. He need not make his decisions, for the ordering of his own private life, keep him from the public utterance of the great principles and duties. The readiest illustration of this point may be taken from the use of fermented drinks. A Christian teacher may decide that it is necessary for his well-being that he should use such drinks regularly and moderately. Now, such a man is not debarred by his own personal habit from publicly dealing with the great social evil of drunkenness. He can in no way be charged with inconsistency, since the matter is one of personal limitation, and not one of scriptural principle. St. Paul claimed the right to preach as a Gentile, and to limit himself by Jewish rules, if it pleased him to do so. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv18, 21, 23 And Paul after this tarried there a good while.
Act_18:18-23
And Paul after this tarried there a good while.
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Preparing for labour
1. Paul has conquered his position in Corinth. He seemed to have acquired a right to remain there. And after tarrying a good while he took his leave of the brethren. This is a new tone. Paul has not often gone away from a city in this quiet, friendly manner. His going out has often been amidst tumult and battle. But now he must take leave of the brethren. He had shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. The great liberalist in the Church was also addicted to Levitical obedience. Paul maintained a hard discipline over himself, and therefore could afford to be very liberal towards other people. The vow could only be completed in the metropolis. It was permitted by the Nazarite law for a man whose hair had grown long under the necessity of the vow to cut off his hair, but he must keep it and take it up to Jerusalem and burn it in the temple at the appointed hour in the appointed fire. Think of Paul doing that. We can trust that man. We feel that a man so honest in a matter so comparatively trifling is likely to be severely true in matters of larger breadth. It is thus we must judge one another. Men cannot, perhaps, understand the articles of our theological belief, but they can understand our temper, our honesty over the counter. If they find us faithful in little things they must reason that we are faithful also in greater things.
2. Paul came to Ephesus, and finding that he had a little margin of time said he would look into the synagogue and reason with the Jews. That is how Paul kept holiday. He does not want to look at anything in the city of Ephesus--famed in a country famous for great cities. But the woods around Ephesus are beautiful--why not drive through them? Imagine Paul driving through a pine wood for the purpose of sniffing the scented air! He lived in the synagogue; the Jews were the mountains he wanted to see, and the obstinacy of the unbelieving heart was the only field in which he cared to take holiday. At Ephesus he met with an unwonted reception (Act_18:20). We have seen how these Jews hated him, banishing him from their cities; but at Ephesus he meets with another reception. Is the devil playing a trick here? Was there an attempt here to keep him from Jerusalem, whither he must go to accomplish his vow? We cannot tell; but Paul bade them farewell, saying (Act_18:21). Did they want him to return? He will come back; for he has his greatest day yet before him!
3. In Act_18:22 are the saddest words in the Acts. Paul going back to Jerusalem for the fourth time! The Church will wait for him; will pray with him; will hold a great banqueting day after a spiritual fashion, for the noblest of her warriors has returned, and his speech will be a recital of battles fought and won. Paul went up to Jerusalem and saluted the Church. That is all! Paul went up to Jerusalem and made his bow. Paul was never greater than when he held his tongue, and left the dignitaries to perish in their own vanity. What a time they might have had had they gathered around the warrior and said, Show us your wounds and scars, and tell us what news there is from the seat of war. But no. Paul was a liberal thinker; Paul had protested against the Judaising teachers; Paul had committed a great offence by claiming liberty in Christ for Gentile believers; and some men cannot forgive. Do not blame them until you have blamed a flint for not bleeding. Did Paul change his faith or his policy because of this metropolitan coldness? No; having played the gentleman where he rather would have displayed the Christian, he went down to Antioch; and after he had spent some time there, etc. He was more at home among the Gentiles. Paul made short work of his visit to the Church in Jerusalem, for the door was shut and the key was lost; but when he came to Antioch he said, this is home. We cannot live on ceremony, on dignity: we cannot be happy where persons do but touch us with the tips of their fingers, intimating thereby that they would rather not touch us at all; but only live in love, in mutual trust, in mutual prayer. But at Jerusalem they were too orthodox to be Christians. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Apostolic earnestness
Paul constitutionally was an earnest man. Every chapter in his life before, and after, his conversion shows him to be a man whose purposes were made red hot with the passion of an ever-glowing nature. His earnestness is here seen--
I. In his noble defiance of danger. The Jews had made insurrection with one accord against him, and he must have felt, even after Gallio had refused to entertain their malignant purposes, their ire was still all aflame. Yet he quits not the scene of duty. Paul tarried there yet a good while. His sympathy with Christ and the Divine purpose raised him above the fear of all danger.
II. In his surrender of friendship.
1. His adieu to his brethren at Corinth. He took his leave of the brethren. He entered this Paris of the old world to fight the battles alone, and the antagonism was immense; and he left it with numerous converts and a prosperous Church. The members of that Church were his brethren: he loved them. The two letters which he afterwards wrote to them show the depth of his affection. Yet he leaves them at the call of duty.
2. His separation from his dearest companions at Ephesus--Priscilla and Aquila. It must have been not a little painful to a man of Pauls tender sensibilities, to separate from those with whom he had been so closely and so lovingly connected.
3. His departure from Ephesus in opposition to the earnest request of his friends (verse 20). Whosoever loveth father and mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. Paul proved himself worthy of Christ.
III. In his consecration to duty.
1. He felt that Gods will called him to Jerusalem now. I must by all means keep this feast. He had no doubt about the Divine will upon this point, and hence he was prepared to make any sacrifices to carry it out.
2. He was willing to return to Ephesus, if it were Gods will. Consecration to the Divine will, which was the very spirit of his life, was the philosophy of his greatness. Deo volente. This should always be the devout proviso in all our plans. Conclusion: The following remarks of Gerok are worth quoting:
1. No hostile hatred restrains him where the Lord sends him (verse 19).
2. No brotherly love retains him when the Lord calls him away (verse 20).
3. No place is too distant to him; he hastens when the Spirit draws him thither (verse 21).
4. No place is too pleasant to him; he takes his leave when the Lord cannot use him there (verse 22). I must go to Jerusalem, the watchword of a pilgrim of God, by which he breaks through all the temptations of the world, in love and suffering, from friend and foe. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Apostolic principles
The apostles had no elaborate inspired code drawn up for their guidance as, e.g., Moses had. In the latter case the minuteness of the instruction precluded the possibility of mistake; in the former they had to depend almost exclusively on the inscrutable guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord had laid down as a general rule Go ye into all the world; for particular conformity to this rule in the multitudinous instances in which it had to be applied they had to depend upon the inspire d direction of their own common sense. And so in endeavouring to ascertain the principles of apostolic procedure for modern use we have to carefully study a typical tract of apostolic work. Such we have here. Here we see underlying apostolic procedure--
I. Perseverance where circumstances were propitious. The action of Gallio, whatever we may think of the man and his motives, were wholly favourable to Paul. The Jews mere silenced, and would give no further trouble; and the gospel, in the estimation of the populace, would have at least quasi proconsular sanction. Neither Jew nor heathen would venture to attack it after this. And so Paul tarried at Corinth a good while, founding the Church, and confirming the Thessalonians by two epistles. Where, as was the ease formerly at Philippi and afterwards at Ephesus, the circumstances were unpropitious, it was manifestly both the duty and the interest of the apostle to leave.
II. Fidelity to previously registered vow. Whether the making of the vow was wise may be open to question, but we are precluded from discussing this by ignorance of all the circumstances. Still it is hard to overlook the fact of Pauls indifference to the ceremonial law, and the fact that Pauls continuance in Corinth might have prevented the evils which necessitated the first Epistle to the Corinthians. But Paul being a man of one idea, it was necessary that that one idea should be carried out. And so the vow made at Corinth must be fulfilled at Jerusalem. But Ephesus lay on the route, the work at which eventually compensated for absence from Corinth.
III. Seizure of every opportunity of extending Christs kingdom. Accompanying his friends, whom business probably took to Ephesus, he embraced the opportunity of preaching Christ in the synagogue. He had well earned a period of leisure after his arduous and anxious toils at Corinth, and doubtless he regarded his journey to Jerusalem in the light of a holiday. But the recreations Of earnest Christian workers are utilised in the service of Christ. It was not much that Paul could do during his brief stay at Ephesus, but he was at least able to lay a foundation on which he afterwards built.
IV. Dependence upon Divine providence (verse 21). If God will was the one unfailing rule with the apostle, in both personal and ministerial matters. Hence his unfailing confidence, courage, and sense of security. If God be for us, who can be against us? If God open a path who can stand in the way? God did not will that he should go to Ephesus (Act_16:6); but He willed that remarkable series of circumstances which opened up Greece to Christianity. St. Paul on his way back from Jerusalem would find that God willed him to evangelise Ephesus, and directly or by deputies to found the seven Churches of Asia.
V. Profitable economy of time. There was scant opportunity for service at Jerusalem, so he wasted no time there. There was little sympathy with the great missionary at headquarters, so, having completed his vow and saluted the Church, he repaired to congenial Antioch, from which he received, seemingly, a similar missionary impulse to that which preceded his first journey.
VI. Following up of results (verse 23; cf. Act_16:6). (J. W. Burn.)
Ministerial labour
I. Where do they work? When the Lord shows a way and opens a door.
II. How do they work? With unwearied zeal, but with humble attention to the intimations of the Lord.
III. For what do they work? Not for their own glory and gain, but for the kingdom of God and the salvation of men. (K. Gerok.)
Having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.--
Pauls vow
The grammatical structure of the Greek sentence makes it possible to refer the words to Aquila as well as Paul, but there is hardly the shadow of a doubt that the latter is meant.
1. If Aquila had taken the vow he too would have had to go to Jerusalem instead of remaining at Ephesus.
2. The language of James (Act_21:23-24) implies a conviction, as resting on past experience, that St. Paul would willingly connect himself with those who had such a vow. It remains to inquire as to--
I. The nature and conditions of the vow. There can be no doubt that the vow was that of the temporary Nazarite (Num_6:1-21). It implied a separation from the world and common life (this was the meaning of the word Nazarite), and while under the vow the man who had taken it was to drink no wine or strong drink, and to let no razor pass over his head or face. When the term was completed, he was to shave his head at the door of the tabernacle and burn the hair in the fire of the altar. It will be noted that the Nazarites in Act_21:24, who are completing their vow, shave their heads. Here a different word (shorn) is used, which is contrasted with shaving in 1Co_11:6. It was lawful for a man to have his hair cut or cropped during the continuance of the vow and this apparently was what St. Paul now did. But in this case also the hair so cut off was to be taken to the temple, and burnt there and this explains the apostles eagerness, by all means (verse 21) to keep the coming feast at Jerusalem.
II. Pauls motives.
1. The strong feeling of thankfulness for deliverance from danger, following upon fear which, as in nearly all phases of the religious life, has been the chief impulse out of which vows have grown. We have seen the fear, and the promise, and the deliverance, in the record of St. Pauls work at Corinth, and the vow of self-consecration, for a season, to a life of special devotion was the natural result. St. Paul had not learnt to despise or condemn such expressions of devout feeling.
2. His desire to be all things to all men, and, therefore, as a Jew to Jews (1Co_9:20). A Nazarite vow would testify to all his brethren by blood that he did not despise the law himself nor teach other Jews to despise it. Such a vow, involving, as it did for a time, a greater asceticism than that of common life, furnishes a link in the succession of thoughts in 1Co_9:22-25, between the apostles being made all things to all men and his keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection. (Dean Plumptre.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v19 Chapter 14
Chapter 14
THE EPHESIAN CHURCH AND ITS FOUNDATION.
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Act_18:19-21; Act_18:24-26; Act_19:1
EPHESUS has been from very ancient times a distinguished city. It was famous in the religious history of Asia Minor in times long prior to the Christian Era. It was celebrated at the time of the Roman Empire as the chief seat of the worship of Diana and of the magical practices associated with that worship; and Ephesus became more celebrated still in Christian times as the city where one of the great Œcumenical Councils was held which served to determine the expression of the Churchs faith in her Divine Lord and Master. It must then be of great interest to the Christian student to note the first beginnings of such a vast transformation as that whereby a chief seat of pagan idolatry was turned into a special stronghold of Christian orthodoxy. Let us then devote this chapter to tracing the upgrowth of the Ephesian Church, and to noting the lessons the modern Church may derive therefrom.
St. Paul terminated his work in Corinth some time about the middle or towards the close of the year 53 A.D. In the early summer of that year Gallio came as proconsul to Achaia, and the Jewish riot was raised. After a due interval, to show that he was not driven out by Jewish machinations, St. Paul determined to return once more to Jerusalem and Antioch, which he had left some four years at least before. He went down therefore to Cenchreae, the port of departure for passengers going from Corinth to Ephesus, Asia Minor, and Syria. A Christian Church had been established there by the exertions of St. Paul or some of his Corinthian disciples. As soon as an early Christian was turned from sin to righteousness, from the adoration of idols to the worship of the true God, he began to try and do something for Him whose love and grace he had experienced. It was no wonder that the Church then spread rapidly when all its individual members were instinct with life, and every one considered himself personally responsible to labour diligently for God. The Church of Cenchreae was elaborately organised. It had not only its deacons, it had also its deaconesses, one of whom, Phoebe, was specially kind and useful to St. Paul upon his visits to that busy seaport, and is by him commended to the help and care of the Roman Church. {Rom_16:1-2}
From Cenchreae St. Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla sailed for Ephesus, where, as we have already hinted, it is most likely the latter pair had some special business avocations which led them to stay at that city. They may have been large manufacturers of tents, and have had a branch establishment at Ephesus, which was then a great mercantile emporium for that part of Asia Minor.
An incidental remark of the sacred writer "having shorn his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow," has raised a controverted question. Some refer this expression to Aquila, and I think with much the greater probability. It was customary with the Jews at that time when in any special danger to take a temporary Nazarite vow, binding themselves to abstain from wine and from cutting their hair till a certain definite period had elapsed. Then when the fixed date had arrived, the hair was cut off and preserved till it could be burned in the fire of a sacrifice offered up at Jerusalem upon the individuals next visit to the Holy City. The grammatical order of the words naturally refer to Aquila as the maker of this vow; but I cannot agree in one reason urged for this latter theory. Some have argued that it was impossible for Paul to have made this vow; that it would, in fact, have been a return to the bondage of Judaism, which would have been utterly inconsistent on his part. People who argue thus do not understand St. Pauls position with respect to Jewish rites as being things utterly unimportant, and, as such, things which a wise born Jew would do well to observe in order to please his countrymen. If St. Paul made a vow at Corinth it would have been simply an illustration of his own. principle, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order that I might gain the Jews." But further, I must say that the taking of a vow, though derived from Judaism, need not have necessarily appeared to St. Paul and the men of his time a purely Jewish ceremony. Vows, in fact, naturally passed over from Judaism to Christianity. Vows, indeed, of this peculiar character, and with this peculiar external sign of long hair, are no longer customary amongst Christians; but surely special vows cannot be said to have gone out of fashion, when we consider the wide spread of the teetotal movement, with its vows identical in one important element with that of the Nazarites! But viewing the matter from a still wider standpoint, people, when contending thus, forget what a large part the tradition of ancient customs must have played in the life, manners, and customs of St. Paul. All his early life he was a strict Pharisaic Jew, and down to the end of life his early training must have largely modified his habits. To take but one instance, pork was the common and favourite food of the Romans at this period. Now I am sure that St. Paul would have vigorously resisted all attempts to prevent the Gentile Christians eating bacon or ham; but I should not be in the least surprised if St. Paul, trained in Pharisaic habits, never once touched a food he had been taught to abhor from his earliest youth. Life is a continuous thing, and the memories of the past are very powerful. We can to this day trace among ourselves many customs and traditions dating back to the times antecedent to the Reformation, and much farther. The fires still lighted on St. Johns Eve throughout Ireland, and once customary in Scotland, are survivals of the times of Druidical paganism in these islands. The ceremonies and social customs of Shrove Tuesday and Hallow Een are survivals of the rude mirth of our pre-Reformation forefathers, on the nights before a celebrated fast, Ash Wednesday, in one case, before a celebrated feast, All Saints Day, in the other. Or perhaps I may take another instance more closely analogous still which every reader can verify for himself. The use of the Church of England has to this day a curious instance of the power of tradition as opposed to written law. There is a general rubric placed in the Book of Common Prayer before the first Lords Prayer. It runs as follows: "Then the minister shall kneel and say the Lords Prayer with an audible voice; the people also kneeling and repeating it with him, both here, and wheresoever else it is used in Divine Service." This rubric plainly prescribes that clergy and people shall always say the Lords Prayer conjointly. And yet, let my readers go into any church of the Anglican Communion on Sunday next, I care not what the tone of its theological thought, and observe the first Lords Prayer used at the beginning of the Communion Service. They will find that this general rubric is universally neglected, and the celebrating priest says the opening Lords Prayer by himself with no voice of the people raised to accompany him. Now whence comes this universal fact? It is simply an illustration of the strength of tradition. It is a survival of the practice before the Reformation handed down by tradition to the present time, and overriding a positive and written law. In the days before the Reformation, as in the Roman Catholic Church of the present day, the opening Dominical or Lords Prayer in the Mass was said by the priest alone. When the service was translated into English the old custom still prevailed, and has lasted to the present day. This was only human nature, which abhors unnecessary changes, and is intensely conservative of every practice which is linked with the fond memories of the past. This human nature was found strong in St. Paul, as in other men, and it would have argued no moral or spiritual weakness, no desire to play fast and loose with gospel liberties, had he, instead of Aquila, resorted to the old Jewish practice and bound himself by a vow in connection with some special blessing which he had received, or some special danger he had incurred. When we are studying the Acts we must never forget that Judaism gave the tone and form, the whole outer framework to Christianity, even as England gave the outward shape and form to the constitutions of the United States and her own numberless colonies throughout the world. St. Paul did not invent a brand-new religion, as some people think; he changed as little as possible, so that his own practice and worship must have been to mere pagan eyes exactly the same as that of the Jews, as indeed we might conclude beforehand from the fact that the Roman authorities seem to have viewed the Christians as a mere Jewish sect down to the close of the second century.
I. Let us now take a rapid survey of the extensive journey which our book disposes of in very concise fashion. St. Paul and his companions, Aquila and Priscilla, Timothy and Silas, sailed from Cenchreae to Ephesus, which city up to this seems to have been untouched by Christian influences. St. Paul, in the earlier portion of his second tour, had been prohibited by the Holy Spirit from preaching in Ephesus, or in any portion of the provinces of Asia or Bithynia. Important as the human eye of St. Paul may have viewed them, still the Divine Guide of the Church saw that neither Asia nor Bithynia, with all their magnificent cities, their accumulated wealth, and their political position, were half so important as the cities and provinces of Europe, viewed from the standpoint of the worlds conversion. But now the gospel has secured a substantial foothold in Europe, has taken a firm grasp of that imperial race which then ruled the world, and so the Apostle is permitted to visit Ephesus for the first time. He seems to have then paid a mere passing visit to it, lasting perhaps while the ship discharged the portion of her cargo destined for Ephesus. But St. Paul never allowed time to hang heavy on his hands for want of employment. He left Aquila and Priscilla engaged in their mercantile transactions, and, entering himself into the principal synagogue, proceeded to expound his views. These do not seem to have then aroused any opposition; nay, the Jews even went so far as to desire him to tarry longer and open out his doctrines at greater length. We may conclude from this that St. Paul did not remain during this first visit much beyond one Sabbath day. If he had bestowed a second Sabbath day upon the Ephesian synagogue, his ideas and doctrines would have been made so clear and manifest that the Jews would not have required much further exposition in order to see their drift. St. Paul, after promising a second visit to them, left his old friends and associates, Aquila and his wife, with whom he had lived for nearly two years, at Ephesus, and pushed on to Casarea, a town which he must have already well known, and with which he was subsequently destined to make a long and unpleasant acquaintanceship, arriving at Jerusalem in time probably for the Feast of Tabernacles, which was celebrated on September 16, A.D. 53. Concerning the details of that visit we know nothing. Four years at least must have elapsed since he had seen James and the other venerated heads of the Mother Church. We can imagine then how joyously he would have told them, how eagerly they would have heard the glad story of the wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through the power of Jesus Christ. After a short sojourn at Jerusalem St. Paul turned back to Caesarea, and thence went on to Antioch, the original seat of the Gentile mission for the propagation of the faith. After refreshing himself with the kindly offices of fraternal intercourse and conversation at this great Christian centre, where broad liberal sentiment and wide Christian culture, free from any narrow prejudices, must have infused a tone into society far more agreeable to St. Paul than the unprogressive Judaising views which flourished in Jerusalem, St. Paul then determined to set off upon his third great tour, which must have begun, at the earliest, some time in the spring of A.D. 54, as soon as the snows of winter had passed away and the passes through the Taurus Range into the central regions of Asia Minor had been opened. We know nothing more concerning the extended journey he took on this occasion. He seems to have avoided towns like Lystra and Derbe, and to have directed his march straight to Galatia, where he had sufficient work to engage all his thought. We have no mention of the names of the particular Churches where he laboured. Ancyra, as it was then called, Angora as it is now named, in all probability demanded St. Pauls attention. If he visited it, he looked as the traveller does still upon the temple dedicated to the deity of Augustus and of Rome, the ruins of which have attracted the notice of every modern antiquary. Glad, however, as we should have been to gratify our curiosity by details like these, we are obliged to content ourselves with the information which St. Luke gives us, that St. Paul "went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, stablishing all the disciples," leaving us a speaking example of the energising power, the invigorating effects, of a visitation such as St. Paul now conducted, sustaining the weak, arousing the careless, restraining the rash, guiding the whole body of the Church with the counsels of sanctified wisdom and heavenly prudence. Then, after his Phrygian and Galatian work was finished, St. Paul betook himself to a field which he long since desired to occupy, and determined to fulfil the promise made a year previously at least to his Jewish friends of the Ephesian Synagogue.
II. Now we come to the foundation of the Ephesian Church some time in the latter part of the year 54 A.D. Here it may strike some reader as an extraordinary thing that more than twenty years after the Crucifixion Ephesus was as yet totally untouched by the gospel; so that the tidings of salvation were quite a novel sound in the great Asiatic capital. People sometimes think of the primitive Church as if, after the Day of Pentecost, every individual Christian rushed off to preach in the most distant parts of the world, and that the whole earth was evangelised straight off. They forget the teaching of Christ about the gospel leaven, and leaven never works all on a heap as it were; it is slow, regular, progressive in its operations. The tradition, too, that the apostles did not leave Jerusalem till twelve years after His ascension ought to be a sufficient corrective of this false notion; and though this tradition may not have any considerable historical basis, yet it shows that the primitive Church did not cherish the very modern idea that enormous and immediate successes followed upon the preaching of the gospel after Pentecost, and that the conversion of vast populations at once occurred. The case was exactly contrary. For many a long year nothing at all was done towards the conversion of the Gentile world, and then for many another long year the preaching of the gospel among the Gentiles entirely depended upon St. Paul alone. He was the one evangelist of the Gentiles, and therefore it is no wonder he should. have said in 1Co_1:7, "Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel." He was the one man fitted to deal with the prejudices, the ignorance, the sensuality, the grossness with which the Gentile world was overspread, and therefore no other work, no matter how important, was to be allowed to interfere with that one task which he alone could perform. This seems to me the explanation of the question which might otherwise cause some difficulty, how was it that the Ephesians, Jews and Gentiles alike, inhabiting this distinguished city, were still in such dire ignorance of the gospel message twenty years after the Ascension? Now let us come to the story of the circumstances amid which Ephesian Christianity took its rise. St. Paul, as we have already said, paid a passing visit to Ephesus just a year before when going up to Jerusalem, when he seems to have made a considerable impression in the synagogue. He left behind him Aquila and Priscilla, who, with their household, formed a small Christian congregation, meeting doubtless for the celebration of the Lords Supper in their own house while yet frequenting the stated worship of the synagogue. This we conclude from the following circumstance, which is expressly mentioned in Act_18:26. Apollos, a Jew, born in Alexandria, and a learned man, as was natural coming from that great centre of Greek and Oriental culture, came to Ephesus. He had been baptised by some of Johns disciples, either at Alexandria or in Palestine. It may very possibly have been at Alexandria. St. Johns doctrines and followers may have spread to Alexandria by that time, as we are expressly informed they had been diffused as far as Ephesus. {Act_19:1-4} Apollos, when he came to Ephesus, entered, like St. Paul, into the synagogue, and "spake and taught carefully the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John." He knew about Jesus Christ, but with an imperfect knowledge such merely as John himself possessed. This man began to speak boldly in the synagogue on the topic of the Messiah whom John had preached. Aquila and Priscilla were present in the synagogue, heard the disputant, recognised his earnestness and his defects, and then, having taken him, expounded to him the way of God more fully, initiating him into the full mysteries of the faith by baptism into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This incident has an important bearing upon the foundation and development of the Ephesian Church, but it bears more directly still upon the point on which we have been dwelling. Apollos disputed in the synagogues where Aquila and Priscilla heard him, so that they must have been regular worshippers there, notwithstanding their Christian profession and their close intercourse with St. Paul for more than eighteen months. After a little time further, Apollos desired to pass over to Greece. The little Christian Church which met at Aquilas house told him of the wonders they had seen and heard in Achaia and of the flourishing state of the Church in Corinth. They gave him letters commendatory to that Church, whither Apollos passed over, and rendered such valuable help that his name a year or two later became one of the watchwords of Corinthian party strife. The way was now prepared for St. Pauls great mission to Ephesus, exceeding in length any mission he had hitherto conducted, surpassing in its duration of three years the time spent even at Corinth itself. His own brief visit of the year before, the visit and work of the Alexandrian Jew, the quiet conversations, the holy lives, the sanctified examples of Aquila and Priscilla, these had done the preliminary work. They had roused expectation, provoked discussion, developed thought. Everything was ready for the great masterful teacher to step upon the ground and complete the work which he had already so auspiciously begun.
I do not propose to discuss the roads by which St. Paul may have travelled through the province of Asia on this eventful visit, nor to discuss the architectural features, or the geographical position of the city of Ephesus. These things I shall leave to the writers who have treated of St. Pauls life. I now confine myself to the notices inserted by St. Luke concerning the Apostles Ephesian work, and about it I note that upon his arrival St. Paul came in contact with a small congregation of the disciples of John the Baptist, who had hitherto escaped the notice of the small Church existing at Ephesus. This need not excite our wonder. We are apt to think that because Christianity is now such a dominant element in our own intellectual and religious atmosphere it must always have been the same. Ephesus, too, was then an immense city, with a large population of Jews, who may have had many synagogues. These few disciples of John the Baptist may have worshipped in a synagogue which never heard of the brief visit of a Cilician Jew, a teacher named Saul of Tarsus, much less of the quiet efforts of Aquila and Priscilla, the tentmakers, lately come from Corinth. St. Paul, on his second visit, soon came in contact with these men. He at once asked them a question which tested their position and attainments in the Divine life, and sheds for us a vivid light upon apostolic doctrine and practice. "Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?" is plainly an inquiry whether they had enjoyed the blessing connected with the solemn imposition of hands, from which has been derived the rite of confirmation, as I showed in the previous Part. The disciples soon revealed the imperfect character of their religion by their reply: "Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Ghost was," words which led St. Paul to demand what in that case was the nature of their baptism. "Into what then were ye baptised?" and they said, "Into Johns baptism."
Now the simple explanation of the disciples ignorance was that they had been baptised with Johns baptism, which had no reference to or mention of the Holy Ghost. St. Paul, understanding them to be baptised disciples, could not understand their ignorance of the personal existence and present power of the Holy Ghost, till he learned from them the nature of their baptism, and then his surprise ceased. But then we must observe that the question of the Apostle astonished at their defective state - "Into what then were ye baptised?" - implies that, if baptised with Christian baptism, they would have known of the existence of the Holy Ghost, and therefore further implies that the baptismal formula into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, was of universal application among Christians; for surely if this formula were not universally used by the Church, many Christians might be in exactly the same position as these disciples of John, and never have heard of the Holy Ghost! St. Paul, having expounded the difference between the inchoate, imperfect, beginning knowledge, of the Baptist, and the richer, fuller teaching of Jesus Christ, then handed them over for further preparation to his assistants, by whom, after due fasting and prayer, they were baptised, and at once presented to the Apostle for the imposition of hands; when the Holy Ghost was vouchsafed in present effects, "they spake with tongues and prophesied," as if to sanction in a special manner the decided action taken by the Apostle on this occasion.
The details concerning this affair, given to us by the sacred writer, are most important. They set forth at greater length and with larger fulness the methods ordinarily used by the Apostle than on other similar occasions. The Philippian jailor was converted and baptised, but we read nothing of the imposition of hands. Dionysius and Damaris, Aquila and Priscilla, and many others at Athens and Corinth were converted, but there is no mention of either baptism or any other holy rite. It might have been very possible to argue that the silence of the writer implied utter contempt of the sacraments of the gospel and the rite of confirmation on these occasions, were it not that we have this detailed account of the manner in which St. Paul dealt with half-instructed, unbaptised, and unconfirmed disciples of Christ Jesus. They were instructed, baptised, and confirmed, and thus introduced into the fulness of blessing required by the discipline of the Lord, as ministered by His faithful servant. If this were the routine observed with those who had been taught "carefully the things of Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John," how much more would it have been the case of those rescued out of the pollutions of paganism and called into the kingdom of light!
III. After this favourable beginning, and seeing the borders of the infant Church extended by the union of these twelve disciples, St. Paul, after his usual fashion, flung himself into work amongst the Jews of Ephesus upon whom he had previously made a favourable impression. He was well received for a time. He continued for three months "reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the kingdom of God." But, as it was elsewhere, so was it at Ephesus, the offence of the Cross told in the long run upon the worshippers of the synagogue. The original Christian Church was Jewish. Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos and Timothy, and the disciples of John the Baptist would have excited no resentment in the minds of the Jews; but when St. Paul began to open out the hope which lay for Gentiles as well as for Jews in the gospel which he preached, then the objections of the synagogue were multiplied, riots and disturbances became, as elsewhere, matters of daily occurrence, and the opposition became at last so bitter that as at Corinth, so here again at Ephesus, the Apostle was obliged to separate his own followers, and gather them into the school of one Tyrannus, a teacher of philosophy or rhetoric, whom perhaps he had converted, where the blasphemous denunciations against the Divine Way which he taught could no longer be heard. In this school or lecture-hall St. Paul continued labouring for more than two years, bestowing upon the city of Ephesus a longer period of continuous labour than he ever vouchsafed to any place else. We have St. Pauls own statement as to his method of life at this period in the address he subsequently delivered to the elders of Ephesus. The Apostle pursued at Ephesus the same course which he adopted at Corinth, in one important direction at least. He supported himself and his immediate companions, Timothy and Sosthenes, by his own labour, and that we may presume for precisely the same reason at Ephesus as at Corinth. He desired to cut off all occasion of accusation against himself. Ephesus was a city devoted to commerce and to magic. It was full of impostors too, many of them Jewish, who made gain out of the names of angels and magical formulae derived from the pretended wisdom of Solomon handed down to them by secret succession, or derived by them from contact with the lands of the far distant East. St. Paul determined, therefore, that he would give no opportunity of charging him with trading upon the credulity of his followers, or working with an eye to covetous or dishonest gains. "I coveted no mans silver or gold or apparel. Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me," is the description he gave of the manner in which he discharged his apostolic office in Ephesus, when addressing the elders of that city. We can thus trace St. Paul labouring at his trade as a tentmaker for nearly a period of five years, combining the time spent at Ephesus with that spent at Corinth. Notwithstanding, however, the attention and energy which this exercise of his trade demanded, he found time for enormous evangelistic and pastoral work. In fact, we find St. Paul nowhere else so much occupied with pastoral work as at Ephesus. Elsewhere we see the devoted evangelist, rushing in with the pioneers, breaking down all hindrances, heading the stormers to whom were committed the fiercest struggle, the most deadly conflict, and then at once moving into fresh conflicts, leaving the spoils of victory and the calmer work of peaceful pastoral labours to others. But here in Ephesus we see St. Pauls marvellous power of adaptation. He is at one hour a clever artisan, capable of gaining support sufficient for others as well as for himself; then he is the skilful controversialist "reasoning daily in the school of one Tyrannus"; and then he is the indefatigable pastor of souls "teaching publicly, and from house to house," and "ceasing not to admonish every one night and day with tears."
But this was not all, or nearly all, the burden the apostle carried. He had to be perpetually on the alert against Jewish plots. We hear nothing directly of Jewish attempts on his life or liberty during the period of just three years which he spent on this prolonged visit. We might be sure, however, from our previous experience of the synagogues, that he must have run no small danger in this direction; but then when we turn to the same address we hear something of them. He is recalling to the minds of the Ephesian elders the circumstances of his life in their community from the beginning, and he therefore appeals thus: "Ye yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me with plots of the Jews." Ephesus again was a great field wherein he personally worked; it was also a great centre for missionary operations which he superintended. It was the capital of the province of Asia, the richest and most important of all the Roman provinces, teeming with resources, abounding in highly civilised and populous cities, connected with one another by an elaborate network of admirably constructed roads. Ephesus was cut out by nature and by art alike as a missionary centre whence the gospel should radiate out into all the surrounding districts. And so it did. "All they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks," is the testimony of St. Luke with respect to the wondrous progress of the gospel, not in Ephesus alone, but also throughout all the province, a statement which we find corroborated a little lower down in the same nineteenth chapter by the independent testimony of Demetrius the silversmith, who, when he was endeavouring to stir up his fellow-craftsmen to active exertions in defence of their endangered trade, says, "Ye see and hear that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people." St. Pauls disciples laboured, too, in the other cities of Asia, as Epaphras, for instance, in Colossae. And St. Paul himself, we may be certain, bestowed the Lifts and blessings of his apostolic office by visiting these local Churches, as far as he could consistently with the pressing character of his engagements in Ephesus. But even the superintendence of vast missions throughout the province of Asia did not exhaust the prodigious labours of St. Paul. He perpetually bore about in his bosom anxious thoughts for the welfare, trials, and sorrows of the numerous Churches he had established in Europe and Asia alike. He was constant in prayers for them, mentioning the individual members by name, and he was unwearied in keeping up communications with them, either by verbal messages or by written epistles, one specimen of which remains in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, written to them from Ephesus, and showing us the minute care, the comprehensive interest, the intense sympathy which dwelt within his breast with regard to his distant converts all the while that the work at Ephesus, controversial, evangelistic, and pastoral, to say nothing at all of his tentmaking, was making the most tremendous demands on body and soul alike, and apparently absorbing all his attention. It is only when we thus realise bit by bit what the weak, delicate, emaciated Apostle must have been doing, that we are able to grasp the full meaning of his own words to the Corinthians: "Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the Churches."
This lengthened period of intense activity of mind and body terminated in an incident which illustrates the peculiar character of St. Pauls Ephesian ministry. Ephesus was a town where the spiritual and moral atmosphere simply reeked with the fumes, ideas, and practices of Oriental paganism, of which the magical incantations formed the predominant feature. Magic prevailed all over the pagan world at this time. In Rome, however, magical practices were always more or less under the ban of public opinion, though at times resorted to by those whose office called upon them to suppress illegal actions. A couple of years before the very time at which we have arrived, workers in magic, among whom were included astrologers, or mathematicians, as the Roman law called them, were banished from Rome simultaneously with the Jews, who always enjoyed an unenviable notoriety for such occult practices. In Asia Minor and the East they flourished at this time under the patronage of religion, and continued to flourish in all the great cities down to Christian times. Christianity itself could not wholly banish magic, which retained its hold upon the half-converted Christians who flocked into the Church in crowds during the second half of the fourth century; and we learn from St. Chrysostom himself, that when a young man he had a narrow escape for his life owing to the continuance of magical practices in Antioch, more than three hundred years after St. Paul. It is no wonder that when Dianas worship reigned supreme at Ephesus magical practices should also flourish there. If, however, there existed a special development of the power of evil at Ephesus, God also bestowed a special manifestation of Divine power in the person and ministry of St. Paul, as St. Luke expressly declares: "God wrought special miracles by the hand of Paul, insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits departed from them." This passage has often been found a stumbling-block by many persons. They have thought that it has a certain legendary air about it, as they in turn think there is a certain air of legend about the similar passage in Act_5:12-16, which makes much the same statement about St. Peter. When writing about this latter passage (Chap. XII above), I offered some suggestions which lessen, if theydo not quite take away, the difficulty; to these I shall now only refer my readers. But I think we can see a local reason for the peculiar development or manifestation of miraculous power through St. Paul. The devils seat was just then specially at Ephesus, so far as the great province of Asia was concerned. The powers of evil had concentrated all their force and all their wealth of external grandeur, intellectual cleverness, and spiritual trickery in order to lead men captive; and there God, in order that He might secure a more striking victory for truth upon this magnificent stage, armed His faithful servant with an extraordinary development of the good powers of the world to come, enabling him to work special wonders in the sight of the heathen. Can we not read an echo of the fearful struggle just then waged in the metropolis of Asia in words addressed some years later to the members of the same Church, "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"? We make a great mistake when we think of the Apostles as working miracles when and as they liked. At times their evangelistic work seems to have been conducted without any extraordinary manifestations, and then at other times, when the power of Satan was specially put forth, God displayed His special strength, enabling His servants to work wonders and signs in His name. It was much the same as in the Old Testament. The Old Testament miracles will be found to cluster themselves round the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and its Reformation at the hand of Elijah. So, too, the recorded miracles of the Apostles will be found to gather round St. Peters earlier work in Jerusalem, where Satan strove to counter-work Gods designs in one way, and St. Pauls ministry in Ephesus, where Satan strove to counter-work them in another way. One incident at Ephesus attracted special attention. There was a priestly family, consisting of seven sons, belonging to the Jews at Ephesus. Their father had occupied high position among the various courses which in turn served the Temple, even as Zacharias, the father of the Baptist, did. These men observed the power with which St. Paul dealt with human spirits disordered by the powers of evil, using for that purpose the sacred name of Jesus. They undertook to use the same sacred invocation; but it proved, like the censers of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, a strange fire kindled against their own souls. The man possessed by the evil spirit recognised not their presumptuous efforts, but attacked them, and did them serious bodily injury. This circumstance spread the fame of the man of God wider and wider. The power of magic and of the demons fell before him, even as the image of Dagon fell before the Ark. Many of the nominal believers in Christianity had still retained their magical practices as of yore, even as nominal Christians retained them in the days of St. Chrysostom. The reality of St. Pauls power, demonstrated by the awful example of Scevas sons, smote them in their inmost conscience. They came, confessed their deeds, brought their magical books together, and gave the greatest proof of their honest convictions; for they burned them in the sight of all, and counting the price thereof found it fifty thousand pieces of silver, or more than two thousand pounds of our money. "So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed" in the very chosen seat of the Ephesian Diana.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v18 18–23. After this. After the affair before Gallio. How…
18–23. After this. After the affair before Gallio. How long Paul remained, whether weeks or months, is not stated. The object is to show that this occurrence did not cause his departure. Sailed thence into Syria. Antioch, the mother Gentile church from whence he started, was his destination. Having shorn his head in Cenchrea. Cenchrea was the eastern harbor of Corinth, and received the commerce of Asia. A church was planted here (Rom. 16:1). For he had a vow. We know that the Jews were wont to make personal vows (Gen. 28:20; Lev. 27:2; 1 Sam. 1:11; 2 Sam. 15:7, etc.) Paul complied with this custom of his race for some reason not explained. Why he took the vow, for how long, and what the shaving of the head had to do with it, are matters of conjecture. Nazarite vows required the shaving of the head in Jerusalem, and the hair cut off was offered in the temple. This could not have been a Nazarite vow. It is probable that he complied with some Jewish custom to aid him in reaching his own people with the gospel.
Came to Ephesus. The great commercial metropolis of Asia Minor. Left them there. Priscilla and Aquila. Entered the synagogue. The Jews seem to have given him a favorable hearing, but he could not now tarry.
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Keep this feast. There are reasons for believing the feast to be Pentecost. I will return to you. He kept the promise. See 19:1.
Landed at Cæsarea. He sailed from Ephesus to Cæsarea, and went up from thence, about seventy miles, to Jerusalem. Saluted the church. We have no other account of the incidents of the visit. Went down to Antioch. The headquarters of Gentile missions, the terminus of his second missionary tour. It had occupied at least three years.
Spent some time there. He did not remain a great while, but departed to visit the churches he had planted on his last tour in Galatia and Phrygia, This is the beginning of his third missionary journey.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv18, 23 Act_18:18. Having shorn his head at Cenchrea, for he…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_18:18. Having shorn his head at Cenchrea, for he had a vow.—The uncertainties connected with this passage are three:
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1. Whether Aquila (Kuinoel, Meyer, Wendt, Zöckler) or Paul (Augustine and most moderns) is here referred to.
2. Whether the hair shaving signified the assumption of or releasing from a vow.
3. Whether the vow was a regular Nazarite or simply a private vow, analogous to that. Most interpreters hold that Paul was the person who shaved his head; that he did so in order to release himself from a vow he had taken in Corinth; that the vow was, if not in all respects a Nazarite vow, at least a private vow analogous to that which bound him along with abstinence to let his hair grow for a certain period—in this case till he left Corinth; that if it was a Nazarite vow Paul might have taken it without compromising his Christian liberty (compare Act_21:24), and might have been able to release himself from it without waiting till he reached Jerusalem (see further in “Homiletical Analysis”). That such vows were practised among the heathen numerous instances show. Diodorus (Act_1:18) mentions them among the Egyptians; while Homer (Iliad, xxiii. 140–153) records similar acts of Peleus and Achilles. Josephus (Wars, II. xv. 1) notices a like vow which Agrippa’s sister Bernice paid in Jerusalem.
Act_18:19. Ephesus.—On the Cayster, which falls into the bay of Scala Nova on the western coast of Asia Minor. Dating back probably to B.C. 1044, Ephesus from its foundation “increased in importance till it became the chief mart of Asia Minor”; while its magnificent temple of Diana “never ceased to attract multitudes from all parts.” It ultimately fell into the hands of the Romans B.C. 41 (Modern Discoveries on the Site of Ancient Ephesus, pp. 13–17).
Act_18:21. And he left them there.—Not meaning that Paul left Aquila and Priscilla in the town while he went into the synagogue (Alford), or that he henceforth quitted their society and devoted himself to the heathen (Wendt, Holtzmann), but signifying that he left them behind in Ephesus when he set sail for Cæsarea. The best MSS. omit the words I must by all means keep this feast which cometh at Jerusalem, and they are now commonly regarded as an insertion modelled after Act_20:16. But as they occur in some important texts, and explain the phrase “having gone up” in Act_18:22, it will do no harm to retain them—the feast being in this case either Passover (Ewald, Renan) or Pentecost (Wieseler).
Act_18:22. The Church.—In Jerusalem is meant, not in Antioch (Kuinoel, Blass). An impossible interpretation, for two reasons:
1. The phrase “went down” is never used of a journey from a coast town to an inland city like Antioch. One regularly goes down to a coast town (compare Act_13:4, Act_14:25, Act_16:8, etc.).
2. The terms “going up” and “going down” are used so frequently of the journey to and from Jerusalem as to establish this usage (Ramsay). The historic credibility of this journey to Jerusalem is challenged (Weizsäcker, Wendt, Pfleiderer, Holtzmann, and others) because it does not appear to be mentioned in Galatians, and along with that the truthfulness of the narrative which speaks of a first brief sojourn in Ephesus (Act_18:19) and a second longer visit at a later date (Act_19:1). But neither does Galatians mention the journey in Act_11:30, unless this be that referred to in Gal_2:1, in which case Galatians omits all mention of the visit in Act_15:2. Yet both of these are historical.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_18:18-22
Paul’s Return to Antioch; or, the Close of his Second Missionary Journey
I. Departure from Corinth.—
1. After a somewhat prolonged stoy. At the time of Sosthenes’s attempt to persecute Paul, the apostle, according to one view (Meyer), had been eighteen months in Corinth, when the failure of that attempt, the consequent notoriety his cause obtained, and the success which attended his labours, induced him to “remain yet many days” with his converts. According to the common interpretation (Alford, Lechler, Wendt, Hackett, Spence) the year and six months of Act_18:11 embraced the whole period of his residence in that city. In either case, in addition to preaching and founding churches in the town and neighbourhood (2Co_1:1)—as, e.g., in Cenchrea (see Rom_16:1)—he occupied a part of his time in writing letters to the Thessalonians (the First and Second Epistles).
2. With affectionate leave takings.
(1) Of his colleagues, Silas and (most likely also) Timothy, though the latter is found with him again in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Act_19:22).
(2) Of his new friends—Stephanas and Crispus, with their households, whom he had baptised with his own hands (1Co_1:14); Gaius, whom he also baptised (1Co_1:14), and with whom he lodged on his next visit (Rom_16:23); Fortunatus, Achaicus, and Chloe (1Co_1:11; 1Co_16:17); with Erastus, the city chamberlain, and Quartus, a brother (Rom_16:23).
(3) Of the general body of converts, among whom were not many wise, or mighty, or noble, but only weak, ignorant, humble, and poor people (1Co_1:26-27), whom he had tended as babes in Christ (1Co_3:2), whom he regarded as his spiritual children (2Co_6:13), and for whose welfare he continued ever after to be solicitous.
3. Accompanied by dear friends. What induced Aquila and Priscilla to leave Corinth is not recorded. Perhaps they desired to enjoy longer the society of Paul, or to proceed to their home in Pontus, though circumstances, guided by providence, led to their being detained at Ephesus (Act_18:26); but whatever may have been the motive which prompted them, their company would, without question, be helpful to Paul.
II. Embarkation at Cenchrea.—
1. The harbour of Corinth. Cenchrea, Kichries, ten miles distant from Corinth, formed its eastern port, from which ships sailed to Asia; Lechæum, its western, for vessels bound to Italy, lay upon the other side of the Isthmus. At Cenchrea a Christian Church was early planted, presumably by the apostle’s labours (Rom_16:1).
2. An incident before sailing. Either Aquila (Grotius, Kuinoel, Meyer, Conybeare and Howson) or Paul (Augustine, Calvin, Bengel, Olshausen, Neander, Alford, Hackett, Plumptre, Spence, and others) shaved his head in consequence of having a vow. The only reasons for supposing that Aquila was the person who thus released himself from his vow are that the name Aquila immediately precedes the participle “having shorn,” and that one feels a difficulty in perceiving why Paul should have entangled himself with such a worn-out Jewish custom while founding a Christian Church in Corinth. But
(1) There does not appear sufficient cause for Luke recording anything about Aquila’s vow, the principal actor in the story being Paul.
(2) If Aquila had been under such a vow as is here referred to he must have proceeded to Jerusalem, and either shaved there in the temple, or, if the modification of the law permitted him to shave at Cenchrea, he must still have carried the hair to the temple and burnt it in the altar fire (Numbers 6).
(3) If the vow spoken lay on Paul, it need only be remembered that Paul, though a Christian,” was still a Jew, and delighted, when able, without compromising his evangelical liberty, to observe Jewish customs—thus to the Jew becoming a Jew in order to gain the Jews (1Co_9:20-22).
(4) It is not certain that Paul’s vow was that of a Nazarite; but even if it was, the act performed was intended not as an assumption, but as a discharge of the vow.
(5) More than likely the vow bound him to a modified asceticism as a sign and means of more earnest spiritual consecration, and was assumed as a visible expression of gratitude for the protection and success he had experienced at Corinth.
3. The destination of the voyagers. Immediately Syria, ultimately for Paul Jerusalem and Antioch.
III. Sojourn in Ephesus.—
1. The sail across the archipelago. With a favourable wind this may have been accomplished in two or three days, though Cicero once spent fifteen on a voyage from Athens, to Ephesus, and thirteen on the return trip. As the ship threaded its way among “the Isles of Greece” many ancient historical associations may have presented themselves to the mind of the apostle; but if they did (which is doubtful), the thoughts they occasioned have not been recorded, and probably were not expressed.
2. The landing at Ephesus. The ship, which was seemingly bound for Syria, would not stay long in the harbour of Ephesus, but Paul and his companions disembarked, and made their first acquaintance with the famous ancient capital of Ionia, at that time the metropolis of proconsular Asia, the seat of a flourishing trade, the centre of the worship of Diana (Act_19:14, which see), and afterwards the Christian metropolis of Asia Minor (see “Critical Remarks”).
3. The work in the city. Priscilla and Aquila no doubt followed their ordinary calling as they had done at Corinth, but Paul betook himself to preaching in the synagogue and reasoning with the Jews—according to his work, losing no opportunity of making known the gospel of the grace of God to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Though not stated there would doubtless be here, as elsewhere, proselytes attached to the synagogue.
IV. Voyage to Cæsarea.—
1. After a brief stay in Ephesus. So favourable an impression had he made upon his countrymen in that large commercial and intellectual but superstitious city, that his hearers would willingly have persuaded him to remain amongst them some time longer. This, however, they were unable to do, “He consented not.”
2. With kindly farewells to his countrymen. Amongst these he had presumably made numerous friends and perhaps not a few converts, and from these he tore himself only under the constraint of a higher duty. For reasons not explained he deemed it incumbent on him to be present at the approaching festival in Jerusalem—either the Passover (Ewald, Renan), or more likely Pentecost (Wieseler), rather than Tabernacles, which would have made the voyage too late—and so he told his kinsmen.
3. Promising to return. If God should permit (compare Jas_4:15). A promise soon after fulfilled (Act_19:1).
4. Unattended by his recent companions. That Priscilla and Aquila remained behind in Ephesus appears to be the import of the clause—“and he left them there” (see “Critical Remarks”); and that they stayed behind the context shows.
V. Visit to Jerusalem.—
1. The certainty of this visit. Having landed at Cæsarea (see Act_8:40), he went up, not from the harbour to the town (Kuinoel, Blass), but from Cæsarea to Jerusalem. Compare the usual mode of expression (Act_11:2, Act_15:2, Act_21:12; Act_21:15, Act_24:11, Act_25:1; Act_25:9; Gal_2:1-2; Mat_20:18; Mar_10:32-33; Luk_2:42; Luk_23:31; Luk_19:28; Joh_2:13; Joh_5:1; Joh_7:8; Joh_7:10; Joh_11:55; Joh_12:20). It forms no valid objection to this visit that it is not mentioned in Galatians 2. The number of this visit. The fourth; the others having been—the first (Act_9:26), the second (Act_11:30), the third (Act_15:2).
3. The object of this visit.
(1) To keep the feast (see “Critical Remarks”). Whether he arrived in time for this is not told.
(2) Perhaps to complete his vow by burning his hair in the temple.
(3) Possibly to salute the Church there, which he did.
VI. Return to Antioch.—
1. How long he had been absent. Uncertain. According to one computation (Wieseler) about three years, giving six months for Paul’s journey between Antioch and Troas, six months for his work in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berœa, eighteen months for his stay in Corinth, and six months for the voyage from Corinth to Ephesus and Cæsarea, and the travel to Jerusalem and back to Antioch. 2. Why he returned. Because Antioch was the place from which he had been sent out, and was now practically become the Church’s missionary centre.
3. When he left. After a brief stay. When he did depart it was probably for ever. No intimation is preserved of his having ever again visited the city. Antioch is not again mentioned by Luke.
Learn.—
1. That earthly friendships should never be allowed to hinder the onward movements of God’s servants and Christ’s missionaries.
2. That legitimate vows voluntarily undertaken should be religiously paid.
3. That promises made by Christian people should be faithfully kept.
4. That missionaries ought to stir up the home Churches by frequent rehearsals of missionary intelligence.
5. That for the true apostle of Jesus Christ there can be no rest so long as it is day.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_18:18. Vows in the Religious Life.
I. Are perfectly legitimate under the gospel.—Though not enjoined in the Scriptures of the New Testament, Paul’s example may be regarded as giving them a quasi sanction.
II. Concern things which are, in themselves, morally indifferent.—Whatever is already commanded lies outside the province, within which a vow is permissible.
III. Should never be undertaken rashly.—Otherwise unnecessary burdens may be laid on weak consciences.
IV. When made should be faithfully performed.—Better not vow than having vowed neglect to pay.
Act_18:21. Keeping the Feast—a Communion Sermon. “I must by all means keep this feast” (the Lord’s Supper) “which cometh at Jerusalem.”
I. Because of the commandment I have received.—“This do in remembrance of Me” (Luk_22:19).
II. Because of the company I shall meet.—Christ and His friends who are also my brethren (Joh_15:14).
III. Because of the benefit I shall receive.—Spiritual nourishment and growth in grace (Joh_6:55).
IV. Because of the good I shall do.—By
1. Confessing Christ before His Church and in sight of the world.
2. By encouraging my fellow-disciples to be steadfast in the faith.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 20, 21, 23 18. After an absence of two years, it is…
PAUL RETURNS TO ASIA
18. After an absence of two years, it is important that he go round among the churches in the Gentile world. His vow at Cenchrea was Jewish and Nazaritish, signifying its expiration by clipping his hair (Num 6:1-14).
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v23 Section 5. (Act 18:23-28; Act 19:1-41; Act 20:1-38.)
Section 5. (Act 18:23-28; Act 19:1-41; Act 20:1-38.)
The Assembly with God, and its responsibility.
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We are now come to the last labors of the apostle among the Gentiles in liberty, with the constraint of Christ’s love alone upon him; -so far, at least, as the Spirit has been pleased to declare them to us. His testimony did not, of course, end here, and through his bonds might acquire a character and power it could not else have. That God was over all, and in all for blessing, needs no demonstration; but this testimony in bonds has another character than that we have been considering. If the apostle were set free afterwards, and made his wished for journey into Spain, we have no account of it; nor is the account that is here given incomplete: it is sufficient for the purpose of the Spirit who has given it, which is not a biography of Paul or any other. The narrative before us has evidently quite another design than this: it is the history of the founding of the Church as the company of the saved, whether Jews or Gentiles, brought out from the Jewish house of bondage and given to enjoy the liberty of grace. Hence we shall find, according to the manner of Scripture elsewhere, that this last portion of the ministration of the mystery will be (whatever else may be in it) very much of the nature of a review and summary of its leading features -not of doctrine but of history -while carrying us on also beyond to the future so full of responsibility and peril, of a divine testimony once more committed to man, whose course has been hitherto little but continued failure. The fact that there would be this is not shirked for a moment, but clearly announced. There would be again the display of sad, mysterious wreckage of all that man could wreck; although God’s purposes could not but go on to completion. The epistles, as we know, develop this failure fully.
Along with this, as is natural, there is yet a manifestation of the power of God as connected with this testimony, -a power supreme over all the power of the enemy: the failure is not from any failure in this respect, whatever may be the conflict, -a conflict of which the epistle to Ephesus, the assembly mainly before us in all this part, warns us, and of the conditions of it.
Ephesus is indeed the representative assembly everywhere in the New Testament. In the epistle we find the full doctrine of the Church committed to it, not as in those to the Corinthians, as a communion of saints on earth, but in its heavenly character. In Revelation it comes before us in the first place as a. vessel of testimony upon the earth. The two epistles exhibit it in contrasted spiritual condition: the first as faithful in Christ; the second as threatened with withdrawal of the candlestick, except it repent. We need not wonder to find this representative character attaching to it in the history also. We see it in its first freshness, and with its endowment of power; but with its responsibility also, and the sad prophecy of what would follow the removal of the apostle from the midst; when grievous wolves would be successors to so true a shepherd, and from among themselves would men arise speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
This, then, is the Deuteronomy of the Acts, with which the history of the "dispensation of the mystery" concludes, so far as active labors are concerned of him to whom it was first committed. The last division of the book has a character of its own which we must consider elsewhere.
1. That which characterizes the whole account of Ephesus as we have it here is the uniqueness of power manifested. It is at the very seat of the enemy’s power, as seen in the notorious idolatry there, the worship of Artemis or Diana, in her image that fell down from heaven, as well as in the demon-possessions, sorcery and magic that abounded there. Even on this account must the power of God be put forth in a decisive way. Special miracles are wrought by the hands of Paul; and the very demons themselves become unwilling witnesses, in the mastery shown over all pretenders to that to which where real they must needs be subject.
(1) The sources of this power are also carefully put before us. In Apollos we see the knowledge of Christ in its effect; in the other disciples of John the witness of the Spirit characteristic of Christianity. Here plainly is the secret of the whole matter, -the supreme Name, and He who is come to glorify the absent Lord. Iii the case of Apollos the Spirit is not mentioned; yet is He freely working in a testimony not confined to Paul, and glorifying therefore the more, Paul’s blessed Master.
(a) First, however, we are shown Paul himself starting fresh from Antioch, in the energy of a love which, caring for all, carries him once more over ground he had visited on his second journey; taking it up now in an orderly manner, so as to overlook none of those who had then been brought to Christ, of whom (in Galatia at least), there were many, and, at present, earnest disciples. Of Phrygia we know nothing except that it had been visited throughout; but the implication is that there also there were many; for whom now he was caring rather than raising up new assemblies.
Meanwhile we hear of a notable arrival at Ephesus in the person of an Alexandrian Jew, from a place well-known already in connection with Philo and his allegorization of the Scriptures, by and by to be more noted for the similar, though Christian, school of Origen. But if Philo were his master, Apollos had been led on beyond him by the voice of Israel’s preacher of repentance and of Jesus also, as far as proclaimed by him. He knew no further, doctrinally, whatever he may have known as to the facts of His death and resurrection. The Christian gospel was to him unknown.
Yet what he knew he was zealous in making known, and with a wealth of proof from the Old Testament. Thus he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, -a remarkable case of faith manifesting itself amid many hindrances. How much perplexity for a man with but Jewish hopes, Messiah come and Israel not being gathered! a message broken off, without completion! When we remember John’s own questioning from Herod’s prison, how striking it is to find so long after a disciple of John with faith in the Messiah he had announced, who yet might seem to have disappeared without the accomplishment of what He came for! But his heart carried his faith through all these difficulties; and the voice that spoke at Ephesus did not falter in spite of all.
We can understand then the joy of heart in one so loyal to the truth when Aquila and Priscilla took him to them, and made known to him the truth which both removed his difficulties and perfected with more glorious hopes that which already so possessed his soul. Doubtless it brought for a time his testimony at Ephesus to a close, while the former teacher became once more a learner at the feet of Him whom his faith amid whatever obscurity had yet recognized and confessed; and it is no wonder if the large Christian assembly at Corinth abounding in gift and in such near connection with the commercial centre of Asia, attracted the eager disciple. There at any rate he soon desired to be, where his eagerness and boldness rapidly made him a leader and helper of those who were in Christ before him. Publicly and completely he confuted the unbelieving Jews, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
The part taken by Priscilla, a woman, in this instruction given to Apollo; noted as it naturally has been and rightly, still deserves emphatic recognition. Did she go beyond her place? and does the prohibition of a woman’s teaching by that Paul, one of whose company she had so long been, rebuke her conduct on this occasion? Nay, Paul it is who in naming these two whom he so highly valued, both in the comparatively early epistle to Rome, and in the later one to Timothy, puts Priscilla before Aquila. We may be sure that neither did she go beyond the place that God had given her, nor did the apostle mean to seal the lips of believing women, so that they should not help others with the truth they have received. On the contrary, the communication of that which one has received is as much the obligation of a woman as of a man. The knowledge of the truth is one of those various gifts of God which, according to the apostle’s exhortation (1Pe 4:10), brings under the responsibility of ministering it. Nay, if the heart be right with God, it must be so: the full spring must needs overflow; out of the abundance of the heart the mouth must speak.
This does not constitute teaching in the forbidden sense, even where, as in this case, there is a distinct purpose to set forth the way of the Lord. It by no means necessarily involves the authority, publicity or place of the teacher, which few men have, whom no one would think of depriving of their undoubted right to speak of Christ to the utmost of their ability. Without being an evangelist, one may evangelize; and so, without being or claiming to be a teacher, one may set forth the truth as God has enabled to apprehend it; thus a woman also without getting out of the place which the Creator has given to the woman.
We shall find the suited place to speak fully of this elsewhere; and what one would rather press here, and what needs much to be pressed, is the example of this noble woman in seeking to make another partake in that which had filled her own soul with peace and happiness. How largely is it true of men even, and much more of women, that the idea of having no responsibility in the matter of instructing others becomes an excuse for little regard to be instructed themselves, in any full and accurate way, in truths which are for all, and for one as much as another! It is conceded that it would be a shame for the teacher not to be taught; but they are not teachers; therefore they need not be accurately taught! But really it cannot be maintained that fulness or accuracy should be required of the teacher, if it is little matter in regard to those taught by him. As a teacher, what can one want which he does not need to teach? Have not all Christians need of all Christian truth? Alas, it is carelessness of heart that pleads so, whether in man or woman; and thus it is that, when Satan would bring in falsehood under some plausible disguise, the mass of Christians themselves are so slow to recognize it, if they recognize it at all; thus it is that, with all our vaunting of an open Bible, the Bible is yet but little really open to us! With all its fulness fur us, it is as to practical possession but a thing of shreds and tatters! And again, if uneducated teachers make uneducated disciples, the converse is also true, and unteachable disciples soon and of necessity make unskilled teachers. Why should they be skilled in that which their hearers have no heart to learn? And thus the wheel turns along a sharp decline!
(b) The case of Apollos is followed -and surely with meaning in the connection -by that of other disciples of John; but who plainly were not companions, still less equals of Apollos. By the latter Jesus was known, however imperfectly, but the twelve soon after found by the apostle have to learn the testimony which John bore to Jesus. Of the coming of the Spirit they have, of course, not heard; and that is the purport of their answer to the question put: they do not speak of the existence of the Spirit, but of His being on earth, -of the baptism of the Spirit being an actual accomplishment. But this with Jews, from Pentecost and on, had followed their baptism to the Name of Jesus; Paul therefore asks to what then they had been baptized; and Jesus being declared to them, they are baptized to His Name. Even then it is only upon the apostle’s hands being laid upon them that the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they speak with tongues and prophesy. Thus what Peter and John did at Samaria the apostle of the Gentiles does now in regard to Jews. Israel seems to be at a greater distance than formerly from God, and authority is not recognized in Jerusalem, but as connected with one whose testimony Israel will not receive, but who has been sent by the Lord from heaven, with a heavenly testimony which Israel has never had made to them. Power is in the Risen Jesus, and is actualized for men in the Spirit His Witness. The prophesying reminds us of the new intercourse with God, and the tongues of a gospel for the nations round.*
{*This is the only case of re-baptism mentioned in the New Testament, and it is interesting to note the reason. It was because they had only received the baptism of John, unto repentance, and not that which confessed Jesus Christ. Doubtless John’s baptism, as all other, was by immersion, but the stress here is laid not upon the form -important as it is to be obedient in all things -but upon the Name of our Lord Jesus. There is doubtless instruction in this.
This instance also illustrates the indissoluble connection between faith in Christ and sealing with the Spirit, for doubtless they were both sealed individually and baptized corporately by the gift of the Holy Spirit. But there must be faith, and only that, if there is to be sealing. S.R.}
(2) In suited connection with this, we now find separation taking place between the Christian assembly and the unbelieving Jews. The apostle continues his labor in the school of a Greek, Tyrannus. God in absolute sovereignty, in a way which to the Jew might be in disrepute, but which was forced upon Him by their sin, while it was in fact the sovereignty of grace to sinners, is taking His place among the Gentiles. Thence the Word goes freely forth, so that all in Asia hear it, the word of the rejected Lord, -both Jews and Greeks. The position of the assembly is clearly defined, and there is a wide and fruitful testimony.*
{*The name Tyrannus, "a sovereign ruler," seems to emphasize this thought. All things are in God’s hands, and never more so than when the doors are apparently closed. -S.R.}
(3) The power of God is now manifested in an extraordinary manner in connection with Paul, the minister of this new and heavenly grace, so that napkins (or sweat-cloths) and aprons from his skin -both the signs of a toil which sin has necessitated -not only healed disease but expelled demons from the possessed. So has love’s labor wrought through Him who came under the penalty of sin to heal spiritual disease and destroy the power of Satan. So manifest was the power of the Name of Jesus that certain wandering Jews, exorcists, undertook to use it as a charm, to conjure with. Seven sons of a Jewish high-priest, named Sceva (or Skeua, "implement, instrument"?) did this, but with a result for them as unfortunate as unforeseen. "Jesus I know," answered the demon, "and Paul I am acquainted with; but who are ye?" And the demoniac fell upon them, mastered and drove them, naked and wounded, from the house.* Thus a startling witness from another side caused fear to fall upon all who dwelt at Ephesus. The effect was great in the confession and abjuring of their magic arts on the part of numbers who brought and publicly burned their books. "It was precisely in Ephesus that magic, strictly so called, held its seat. It had been originally connected with the worship of Artemis" (Lechler).**
{*It is striking that we have three Jewish sorcerers who came in contact with the gospel -Simon at Samaria, Elymas in Cyprus and these sons of Sceva. Simon professed Christianity, but showed his unregenerate heart by desiring to purchase the power of bestowing the gift of God. He seems to stand for professing Judaism which for gain would take the name of Christ, and then lapse. Bar-Jesus always opposed, yet with a name suggestive of that imitation of truth which is so common. He seems to stand for the whole nation upon whom judicial blindness has fallen. The sons of Sceva would imitate a power to which they were strangers. We cannot help remembering how the "false prophet" in the last days will perform lying wonders, and meet a more awful doom than these. -S.R.
**The magic and curious arts here spoken of cannot but suggest to the thoughtful mind that which finds frequent mention, not only in the Old Testament but the New. It is the habit of the day to speak with contempt of sorcery and witchcraft, as mere chicanery. But Scripture speaks of them as satanic. Without doubt it is part of the enemy’s way to hide his hand, but faith should see with Scripture, nor confine demon possession, sorcery and magic to apostolic times merely. There is no question that they exist now under the forms of spiritism, hypnotism and other "curious arts." -S.R.}
Power, then, characterizes the work in Ephesus; and this, as already said, is in close relation to the view of the assembly in its responsibility which is here depicted. Ephesus means probably "desirable," and as the object of Christ’s affection the assembly cannot lack on His side. Power cannot be wanting to it, if it is not wanting to itself. Evil from without cannot prevail against it, except it withdraw itself from the security of the divine shield. It is the ransomed and redeemed of Him who is gone up on high, having led captivity captive, and spoiled principalities and powers, triumphing over them in His Cross. "If God be for us, who shall be against us?" Alas, is this Ephesus, thus defended, thus endowed, still to illustrate the mutability of man in all that has been entrusted to him? is it to furnish after all the most signal illustration of the warning, "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?"
2. The apostle’s labors are near their close at Ephesus, and he has in mind another visit to Macedonia and Achaia, before once more his longing heart carries him again to Jerusalem. After that he says, he must see Rome; and he was indeed to see it, but under what different circumstances from what he could have imagined now. How little he could have anticipated those years in prison, cut off from the work he loved, and then as a prisoner to see Rome also! It was a foreshadow doubtless of what awaited his gospel from legal opposition, and then from the world-power, with which in this respect it was allied. For himself we have already seen how he had been warned of the uselessness of his efforts in behalf of his misguided countrymen, and how he had been turned back on his last attempt to reach them, from the city itself, without anything attained. This time we know that he goes back as the bearer of a large offering from the Gentile Christians to the assemblies of Judea, which was to be an acknowledgement of the great debt they owed them, and a help to greater oneness of feeling between them. Yet was every fresh success among the Gentiles, accompanied as it was by a fresh manifestation of hostility on the part of the unbelieving Jews, increasing the bitterness of national enmity against himself, and the danger to himself at every return among them. Danger to himself was indeed never a deterrent: he was "ready not to be bound only, but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Act 21:13). But would that sacrifice avail? and what of the growing work in those fields afar off, to which with the distinct warning that Israel would not receive his testimony, he had been expressly sent?
It is noteworthy how the claims of the Gentile assemblies are pressed upon him at this time. Of the state of the large assembly at Corinth he hears just at this time; the fruit of this for us we have through the overruling hand of God in those two epistles in which the dangers of the Church in the world its opposite are so vividly pictured for us. After this the conflict with Judaism in Galatia calls forth the letter in which he sharply defines the contrast between the principles of law and grace. The epistle to the Romans either before or after this, written in view of the hindrances he had found to coming to them, lays down for them and for us the great foundations of Christian position, and explains the grafting of Gentiles into the good olive in place of the Jewish branches broken off through unbelief. The state of Corinth probably delays him now, while sending Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia, and now suddenly there breaks out at Ephesus a tumult of opposition against him which threatens even life.
The history of this outbreak shows us the power of the prince of this world sustained by the worldly interests which love to shelter themselves under the cover of religion. A religion men must have; yet how thin a varnish of it will suffice for the crowd, while the crowd again will suffice for the religion. What an absurd thing to deny what all Asia and the world worship! Really men believe in men: and though you may think of the individuals what you please, the mass must be judged differently. Thus it can come to be heresy that they are no gods who are made with hands; and the town clerk can shame a multitude out of treating it seriously. This, though Demetrius and his fellows are keener sighted through their nearer concern in what affects their craft, and this is the first and inciting argument; though all can feel that they gain in greatness from their magnificent goddess, and their pride can work alongside of their grosser interests. In fact the cry that unites the mob is "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" though, when they come together, it is hard to translate this into an intelligible expression. Alexander the Jew (perhaps the coppersmith of whom Paul speaks elsewhere) cannot for that reason head the crowd against the refusers of idolatry, and confusion reigns; until the town-clerk with his wonder at what is not in question, and his plea for men who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers, backed by the suggestion of Rome’s strong way of suppressing a riot, brings in order and dismisses the crowd. Paul is kept out of the way, even by the kindly advice of some of those in high place among the religious functionaries, who realize the nature of what has called the assemblage together. And indeed conscience is not in the crowd but in the individual; the Lord, as we remember, had often to scatter the crowds; Paul recognizes that he has no place here, and escapes their hands.
Such is the world into which Christianity has come -a kingdom of truth appealing to the true, claiming obedience at all personal cost, prostrating all idolatry before the ark of God. Outwardly its aspect may be greatly changed, but its features still remain, and the inevitable conflict. "All that is of the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are not of the Father, but are of the world." And again, "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
3. The journey of the apostle through Macedonia and Achaia, with all its interest for us, is passed over in the briefest way. How much would we fain have known of Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea, of Athens and of Corinth! but Scripture approves itself in all this most unlike mere human history. After Paul’s leaving Ephesus, a few words suffice for the journey through Macedonia, in which we have not even the names of the places he visited, or the time spent. In Greece (Achaia) not even Corinth is mentioned, although we are told that he was there three months. Then the machinations of the Jews, his constant enemies, decide him to return by way of Macedonia, and we are told the names of his companions,* more numerous than usual, who accompany him back to Asia; that they went before, however, from Philippi to Troas, waiting for him there. At Philippi, as we discern once more by the change of pronoun, Luke joins him once again, after an interval of between six and seven years, and sailing from Philippi, they come in five days to Troas.
{*There are seven of these companions, all of whose names occur elsewhere. The meanings are mostly plain, whether we can give the interpretation or not. 1. Sopater, "The Father the Saviour." No doubt an abbreviated form of Sosipater (Rom 16:21). He was from Berea, where, more noble than those of Thessalonica, they searched the scriptures. He was the son of Pyrrhus, "the fiery or ardent," -a good companion in service. 2. Aristarchus, "the best ruler." 3. Secundus, "the second or assistant." These two were from Thessalonica. 4. Gaius, "pertaining to the land, or earth." He was from Derbe and not the Macedonian mentioned in Act 19:29. We do not know which is the "mine host" of Rom 16:23, and of John’s third epistle. 5. Timothy, "one who honors God," well known from the two epistles addressed to him. 6. Tychicus, "fortunate," similar to Eutychus in this same chapter. He was frequently sent on errands by Paul. 7. Trophimus, "nourished." He was a Gentile apparently, and both he and Tychicus were from Asia. Nothing special is said of him except that he was left at Miletus sick (2Ti 4:20). -S.R.}
Seven days are spent at Troas, and terminate with the first day of the week, on which we find the disciples gathered together to break bread, and Paul, ready to depart on the morrow, pours out his heart to them till midnight. It is surely not, as some would have us consider it, an ordinary meal at which they gather, which would deprive the time specified of all its significance, and indeed the breaking of bread itself. On the other hand, with the first day of the week, the resurrection day, there are connected how many joyful and tender memories for the Christian heart! The seventh day rest of the old creation has now given place to that which speaks of a new beginning out of death, death itself yielding to life which has death behind it, and is a life eternal. Instead of a rest when the week of labor is over, it is a rest beginning and characterizing the blessedness it ushers in. The legal principle, "do and live," is exchanged in it for the evangelical one, "live and do." The seventh day is a command; the first day is a day of privilege; and how significant it is that, whereas in the Old Testament prophets the observance of the sabbath is again and again urged upon the people as a condition of blessing, in the New Testament epistles it is only once mentioned, and that to say, "Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days" (Col 2:16). The things with which it is classed are a convincing testimony of how it is regarded.
The breaking of bread was that for which the believers at Troas were assembled, and not even to hear the apostle, great as the privilege of this might be. The language implies that this was an ordinary meeting to remember the Lord in His death, at which the apostle took occasion to address them. Upon the Lord’s day they observed the Lord’s Supper. The day is evidently what is styled this in the book of Revelation (Rev 1:10), which is not the prophetic "day of the Lord," for this could not be applied at any rate to the first three chapters there; besides which it is another expression, literally "the Dominical day," as the Supper is (1Co 11:20) "the Dominical Supper." What day but the first day of the week has the Lord stamped as His? the day hallowed by His appearance as risen in the assembly of His disciples; the day in which He hailed them as His brethren, and breathed on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. That first day made Him their Lord in a glory unknown hitherto; and that title, "the Lord’s day," conveys to us the very essence of its blessedness. He who was under death is victorious over it; He who was under our sins is risen for ever free; and when Thomas is bidden to reach out his hand and put it into His side, the glad cry of his heart in response is "My Lord and my God!"
Fit it is, then, that the Lord’s Supper should go with the Lord’s day; with the feast of Resurrection, the joy of the Remembrance. The death which He has left behind we cannot leave behind: His resurrection glorifies and does not efface it; the myrrh and aloes perfume His garments still (Psa 45:8; Joh 19:39-40). Up in the glory of heaven He is seen by the hearts of His redeemed as a "Lamb slain" still (Rev 5:6).
How much depends upon our remembrance here! How suited a time for the departing apostle to address his farewell words to those he is of necessity leaving to bear their own burden of responsibility as the purchased of the precious blood of Christ! Upon the fulness and constancy of this remembrance rests all the hope of the future of the Church as His witness upon earth until He comes. In the joy of resurrection to show forth His death, -that is the responsibility; to realize this is to find power to sustain it. Upon such a fruitful theme no wonder that the apostle should prolong his speech till midnight, and beyond. But at midnight it is that a significant event occurs. In the upper room in which he is speaking, lighted up with many lights, but in a window looking out into the darkness, Eutychus, the "prosperous," sleeps, as in such places of outlook prosperity can induce sleep, soothed, alas, by words that once had interest, but out of which the meaning has now died. So sleeping, he falls out of the window to the ground, and is taken up dead. Until this word, we might easily take all this, (however literally a fact, as none will question,) to be yet an allegorical description of a soul’s decline and fall from truth once really and savingly known. The lighted room in the midst of surrounding darkness, the windows, avenues into the darkness of the outside world, the youth even of the sleeper (it is to the young man that John speaks specifically when he says, "Love not the world"), his very name, Eutychus, pointing out the seduction of prosperity, the consequent sleep in this place of peril, which in fact leads to his fall, -all this reads with perfect consistency, and there would seem no difficulty in understanding the warning conveyed, until we hear this last word, "taken up dead," while he that believeth on Christ can never die. Yet here an exceptional word is spoken, -a word that we hear nowhere uttered as to a dead man. The apostle goes down, and falling upon him, and embracing him, says, "Be not troubled, for his life is in him." But one with his life in him is not what we would ordinarily call dead. Does this then simply speak of life now restored by the power of God which has wrought through Paul? I own that this is what one would naturally think; and in this case an interpretation of it in the way suggested is not to be thought of. We must then accept the modification that it represents the lapse of one not savingly, but only superficially impressed; and we might think of such as are, in Jude’s strong language, "twice dead," -dead in nature, and now dead by apostasy. Such a warning would be indeed awfully solemn; but in the case of which Jude speaks he does not seem to intimate any possibility of recovery such as we see in Eutychus. Doubtless there are different grades, however, of cases seemingly the same; and here we might leave it.
But there are those who attribute a different meaning to the apostle’s words: "Eutychus pays the penalty of his inattention; but God bears testimony to His own goodness, and to the power with which he had endued the apostle, by raising him from a state of death. Paul says that his soul was yet (?) in him: he had only to renew the connection between it and his physical organization. In other cases the soul had been recalled." Another says, "Assuredly the apostle in these words had no desire to make light of the power of God which had wrought in this miracle. It may be well to compare with this Luk 8:49-56, where the spirit of the Jewish maiden had departed. But the Lord’s words were enough; and ’her spirit returned.’ Here it was not so: ’his soul is in him,’ says the apostle, though divine power alone could retain it, or hinder the proximate break-up."
If this be really what is meant, we have a death which, as far as man is concerned, is truly that, -the one in it outside of all human help, or even accessibility to any mode of appeal that can be made. Is it not possible also for a true child of God to get into a condition resembling this? as far as man is concerned inaccessible; the truth itself known in such sort that it has power no longer? nothing remaining capable of penetrating the hardened conscience, or of rousing any longer the insensible heart? How terrible may be the effect upon men in this way of truth heard, it may be, long, but not yielded to, or no longer so, but met with a resistance continued until it has stiffened into indifference? the speaker becoming perhaps "as a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument" (Eze 33:32), or soothing the hearer in his dangerous sleep!
Some lesson such as that which has been indicated, the story of Eutychus must surely yield. We are here amid intimations of the present time, when the Church, bereft of her first human guardians, would have to work out her own salvation in a world opposed to Christ; and in which, as we shall shortly have plainly declared, the enemy would have in the meantime only too much success both in alluring and worrying the sheep of Christ. The Spirit indeed would not depart; and in the faithfulness and love of God there would always be refuge and unfailing blessing, for His own. But the source of worse danger they carry ever with them, an evil heart of unbelief ready to turn them aside to seek other help than in the Only and All-powerful Helper. Thus declension and revival have marked the Church’s history upon earth; the mercy of God raising up deliverers in those who sought fully to follow in the path of faith, while the mass dragging behind would limit and enfeeble the deliverance. In Paul here we may see the special power of one who wrought with God to revive the dead, and relieve for a time the distress; but the vessels of this power depart, and those who have rejoiced in it but had it not are left once more to face their own responsibility with their feebleness to meet it. The apostle in the consciousness of such a condition of things ensuing, himself sustained* by the refreshment of that which is the means of communion to the whole company, spends the whole night in converse with them till the day breaks, and at the day-dawn departs.
{*I do not doubt that it is the bread which they have broken at the Lord’s Supper, which he now breaks for his own support (a connection which has great significance), and that this is not the Supper itself. As others have remarked, the action here is confined to himself, and the word "eaten" added, which is literally "tasted," is more suited to this.}
4. To Assos, where his companions proceed on shipboard, Paul goes alone on foot! It is probable enough that at this moment solitude was more congenial to him than companionship, even with those so spiritually akin as were his companions at this time. The future of that Church, so dear to him as the Church of Christ, was, as we know by what follows, upon his heart. He was the man of all on earth upon whom this burden rested (2Co 11:28-29). None knew as well, perhaps, as he, upon Whose shoulders of strength the graven names are; yet that did not hinder the employment of his heart with those for whom the heart of Christ was employed, but gave depth to it. There were personal causes of thought also, although not separate from the Church’s need, in whose service his life was spent. He was going to Jerusalem; place of so many memories, and perhaps of his most real conflict. What waited him there? what lay beyond this? would it affect his after-course? would it alter those visions of future service which did not stop short of the furthest bounds of the west? Doubtless he had occupation enough with thoughts that thronged him those twenty-five miles or so to Assos. There they took him up, and thence they sailed, passing by Ephesus, which with all his ties to it would detain him too long if he visited it now, and only briefly pausing at Miletus.
But Ephesus could not be left aside with no token of his ever-abiding love; and the stay at Miletus gives him his desired opportunity. It was but thirty miles away, and a good road connecting; "he sent and called to him the elders of the assembly," for his last tender greeting.
The address of the apostle to the elders here is clearly in accordance with what has been already said of the representative character of the assembly at Ephesus. We have nothing like it elsewhere; and it ends in fact Paul’s ministry of active labor as far as the only inspired account given us depicts it. From Jerusalem a new kind of testimony begins, and if he were freed from his chain at Rome, and permitted to carry out his thought of going on to Spain, yet nothing of this comes into or is needed for the completion of the history, -for the divine purpose with which it has been given us. A divine history is no mere account of things in detail; it is much more than this: it is a specially arranged extract from the whole, to prevent our losing ourselves in the many details, and to guide us to a proper estimate of the whole; it is at once a history and a comment which the history itself furnishes.
According to the divine thought, then, the evangelization of the Gentiles is here complete: we stand at the end and look back upon it; and with the review can look on also to see the result of it all, as thus complete. Moreover, in the review of the work of such an one as Paul we get a clearer apprehension spiritually of these results than if we had a wider field and many workmen. Then we should have a complicated problem to work out -to estimate the laborers and their labors separately and together, and to distinguish what might be due to each. Now on the other hand, we have one pattern workman, and we can certainly anticipate no better results from any other, nor from any number of others; we have the whole matter resolved for us with the greatest simplicity that can be.
An unalterably solemn thing it is, to look at it so; and a comparison made outside the history of the Acts will only confirm it. Where was there a place more competent as an example than the great assembly at Corinth, "coming behind in no gift;" the fruit of the apostle’s careful labors for a year and a half; in how short a time does the first epistle, written from Ephesus during his work there, show us results such as we need not be reminded of; the Spirit of God, by the hand of Paul himself, has given it in detail. Look at Galatia with its zeal and enthusiasm for him who had brought it the gospel of Christ; in still less time from that of his second visit swept by the chilling blasts of legality, and giving up the joyous Spirit of adoption for the spirit of bondage. Compared with these Paul’s declaration as to Ephesus is moderate indeed.
At the outset he reminds them of the character of his life and service among them, so well known during the long time he had spent there. His service now ended, he can speak of it with frankness and simplicity of heart to those who would need to serve with the same lowliness, compassed with the same perils. In his ministry there had been no reserve -no keeping back of anything that would be profitable, in a service which was not only public and general, at individual and from house to house. The basis of all was that which went out in testimony to Jews and Greeks, -repentance towards God, that judgment of self in His Presence which sets aside self-righteousness and self-confidence of every kind, and thus also that seeking after one’s own will and way which is the essence of sin; on the other hand, faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, which alone gives God to be known and joyed in. and thus links the soul to Him from whom it can no more be sundered. These two things, it is evident, are but different parts of the one great whole of conversion, and which cannot exist apart from one another. One cannot exist, therefore, before the other, and they exercise a reciprocal influence upon each other. True repentance is as evangelical as true faith; and true faith as practical as true repentance. And the relation of each to a man’s works is strangely in contrast with the usual thoughts; for while faith it is that is the worker, insomuch that "faith, if it have not works, is dead" faith merely, repentance it is that turns from all doings of man as wherein to have confidence, abhorring self, not sin merely, as the best man on earth was taught to do (Job 42:6). But thus the two clasp hands and walk together.
On such a basis, then, has his work been: but he is now leaving it; as far as they are concerned, it is for ever, -they will see his face no more. For himself, he is going to Jerusalem, bound in spirit -surely not the Holy Spirit, to whom the term he uses would be quite inapplicable, nor does it speak of the sweet and happy constraint of love, though love is in it -deep and constraining love; but along with this is certainly a foreboding which casts a shadow over him; the word "bound" reminds one of the victim for the altar; yet, if it were only that, and he felt the Lord were leading him in this way, his spirit would be brighter: his spirit would not bind him, though men’s hands might. Contrast his words to the Philippians, where he is contemplating such a possibility: "Yea, and if I be offered" -"poured out" rather, the figure being taken from the drink-offering, which was a symbol of joy; and thus he goes on, -"and if I be poured out upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all" (Php 2:17). Again, when in nearer view of the end: -"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand; I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day" (2Ti 4:6-8). The mere circumstances, therefore, will not explain the expression used by him now without a great wrong to the apostle himself; except indeed we take in the circumstances in a wider sense, beginning with his love to Israel; deep enough to have made him, as he declares to the Romans (and when this journey was in fact before him), be wishing that he himself were anathema from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom 9:3); yet with those words in his ears, -how they must have remained in his ears! -They will not receive thy testimony concerning Me," how the longing desire of the heart may work round the plainest testimonies! and especially even when the love that creates it is one like this of the apostle, a divine love for the people of God; for a people whose history was the history of God’s grace to men from times far off, and of whom the Lord Himself had said, "Salvation is of the Jews."
Here he was, then, with his offering from the Gentiles, hoping, as it would seem, that now at last he might find that restriction removed, and that He who had once sent him far off to the Gentiles, might now permit him a testimony that should be accepted at Jerusalem itself. And yet -and yet -an uncertainty seems to cling to it in his mind, and shadow the hope that would fain be confident. He knows not what is to befall him there. There was the general witness of the Spirit -no exceptional thing that -wherever clustered the abodes of men, there were the scenes of his trial, if of his triumphs, -bonds and afflictions awaited him. What wonder if they did so at Jerusalem? Would he shrink from it on that account? Did he value his life, in the accomplishment of his course, -of that ministry received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God?
In Ephesus, however, his work was done; with the whole counsel of God fully declared to them, he was clear from the blood of all. He addresses himself, therefore, to those to whom the Spirit had given a place of oversight in the assembly, to care for it and watch and warn as he had done, tending the flock as shepherds, in view of evils which he can already foresee, and which would require their utmost vigilance and care.
As others have said, it is plain that the apostle thinks of no successors to himself in apostolic power or place. It is the elders who are now to exercise oversight, and they are not apostles. We find by the Apocalyptic epistle to Ephesus, that in fact just to that which, as has been already said, in a special way represents the Church at large there did come those who professed to be such successors: men who claimed to be apostles and were not, and whom they found liars (Rev 2:2). The Corinthians also are warned of false apostles (2Co 11:13), but nowhere are any exhorted to receive the true. This is marked and decisive as to those who make such claims today. It is remarkable indeed how ritualism has stultified itself in its successional pretensions, which always cleave to Peter, never to Paul: to the man, that is, who distinctly gave up the Gentiles to the care of Paul, himself going to the circumcision (Gal 2:9). Who pretends, in fact, to be successor to Paul, who had the whole Gentile field committed to him? Or when did Paul confine himself to so narrow a field as that which the widest imaginable episcopal diocese would be to such an one (Rom 1:13-15)? But in fact the episcopi -the bishops -are here in these elders (ver. 28, R.V.), who were simply the overseers of an assembly, -no one of them with diocese or parish or assembly of his own. We have seen such appointed in the Gentile assemblies by Paul and Barnabas on their first return journey through Lycaonia and Pisidia (Act 14:23), and here we find them again in Ephesus. They are a company in each assembly of men fitted by their years, or that practical experience that should come through years, to take fatherly rule and oversight together. In this way they were to tend the flock as shepherds, but it by no means follows that this comprehends also the "nourishing and furnishing it with the wholesome food of the Word and all the means of grace," as Lechler alleges; here is not the place properly to discuss this; it is quite natural for those to think so who have been accustomed to see in the minister of the church the union of all the public "gifts" in the body of Christ. On the other hand it may be asserted without hesitation that the minister of a church, as almost everywhere found today, does not anywhere appear in the pages of the New Testament. The elders were a local board, as is plain; and by the very fact that they were "elders," though the word seems to have lost its meaning now, they could not include all ministry in the assembly; which the well-known text in the first epistle to Timothy (1Ti 5:17) confirms: elders might rule well, and yet not labor in the Word and doctrine; the one did not at all include the other.
Appointed by the apostle, as in the case before us compared with those already mentioned we cannot doubt they were, it could be said that the Holy Spirit had made them overseers, and in the assembly of God which He had purchased with the blood of His own -of One in such endeared relation as Christ was. How great the responsibility, then, of such a charge! The more, because evil times were coming, and not far off, as "after my departure" would surely indicate. The conflict with evil in a world like this cannot be avoided; and God turns it to blessing, but does not keep His people from it. Have we not to maintain a similar struggle with an inward enemy also? And so as to the Church of God, it would not be persecution from the world that would be the only, or even the chief trial. Here too there would be internal strife: "I know," says the apostle, "that after my departure there will come in among you grievous wolves, not sparing the flock; also from among your own selves shall men rise up, speaking things perverted, to draw away the disciples after them." On the one hand, from without the evil would break in through the slackly-guarded gates: we see the possibility of this in Simon at Samaria; though there the power did not lack to detect and cast out what had gained admission. On the other hand, from within perversions of truth would come, men seeking to make of themselves a centre instead of Christ: the subtlest evil, -truth with a twist in it, so as in some sense to deceive the true. For, alas, how seldom are we absolutely and altogether such that error cannot appeal to us! Doubtless "he that will do His will shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God;" but who then can look round among the contradictory views that divide the sincerest Christians, without realizing how much our own wills must deceive us after all?
How solemn does this make the apostle’s word to Timothy, "Take heed to thyself and to the doctrine" (1Ti 4:16); to thyself first! For Scripture itself will only furnish perfectly the man of God: and we may be earnest enough to learn just such and such things, and find no capacity, because of something we do not want to learn, which must be learned first! For this cause what we may be pleased to call our open Bible may be a Bible with few wide open pages. If we shut our eyes, we cannot dictate to them just what they shall shut out!
But if anything like this be true, then we must not wonder at the decline that seems ever ready to set in after the greatest of revivals. All truth makes demand proportionate to its blessedness, and thus the highest truth may be the first to be lost. It is a solemn thing indeed that, even amongst Christians, the doctrine of Paul is that least received, most carped at. How significant were the tears with which day and night he ceased not to admonish every one!
Therefore they were to watch; God and the word of His grace remained with them, and would remain: a sufficient resource surely, whatever the trial. It was able to build them up and give them an inheritance among the sanctified; it is able still to minister now to the soul a portion as large as ever. We have no limit except that which we make for ourselves; why make it?
Sustained by all this wealth of blessing, he could appeal to them that he had coveted nothing from them. His own hands had sufficed for his need, and even for that of others with him. He had given them an example of labor freely engaged in on behalf of the weak, and a fulfilment of the words of the Lord Jesus, that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
He closes with a full heart, pouring out his prayers with them before he leaves them, with a burst of sorrowing love on their part at the close of a ministry to which they owed their all, henceforth a memory only, save in that one letter from the Roman prison in which he takes them and us up into the land where are no partings, and where the inheritance of them that are sanctified is spread before us and made our own. He had been already caught up there, to see things he could not communicate. In his captivity at Rome even he seems to have acquired a more penetrating apprehension of the things unseen, which he is able at the same time to communicate. May we have ability to receive these revelations which alone place us in the full height of our position as Christians, and thus give us the full length and breadth of what is through grace our own!
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v23 Third Missionary Journey, Aug. 52 a.d. to Pentecost 56…
Third Missionary Journey, Aug. 52 a.d. to Pentecost 56 a.d. (Act_18:23 to Act_21:16)
23. Visit to Galatia. St. Paul revisits Antioch in Syria and the Churches of Galatia and Phrygia, founded in the First Missionary Journey (i.e. Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe).
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24-28. Apollos at Ephesus.
24. Apollos] The name is a contraction of Apollonius. He is mentioned again Act_19:1; 1Co_1:12; 1Co_3:4.; 1Co_4:6; 1Co_16:12; Tit_3:13. He had been instructed and baptised by the disciples of the Baptist, and therefore regarded Jesus as the Messiah (Mar_1:7, etc.), perhaps even as 'the Son of God,' and 'the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world '(Joh_1:29, Joh_1:34). His knowledge was accurate as far as it went, and his faith was sincere. That he received Christian baptism (probably from Aquila) is a certain inference from Act_18:25 compared with Act_19:1-17.
Eloquent] RV 'learned.' Both meanings may be included. Probably Apollos was acquainted with the philosophy of the Alexandrian Jew Philo, and his speculations about the Divine Logos ('Reason' or 'Word').
26. The synagogue] We infer that Priscilla and Aquila, though Christians, still attended the synagogue.
27. Wrote.. the disciples] Christians travelling received 'letters of commendation 'to other Christian Churches, which secured them hospitality and admission to communion (cp. 2Co_3:1). Helped them much] RM 'helped much through grace them which had believed.' Apollos was so popular at Corinth, that his admirers soon formed a faction or party in the Church (1Co_1:12; 1Co_3:4).
28. Convinced] RV 'confuted,'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv18–23 18. This incident occurred some time previous to the…
18. This incident occurred some time previous to the close of the eighteen months of Paul's stay in Corinth, as we learn from the next verse. (18) " Now Paul, having still remained for many days, bade the brethren farewell, and sailed into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having sheared his head in Cenchrea; for he had a vow. " It is after the arraignment before Gallio, and previous to his departure from Corinth, that we best locate the date of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. That it was written in Corinth is determined chiefly by a comparison of its contents with those of the First Epistle. The congregation was still suffering from the same persecution mentioned in the First Epistle, and there was still among them some improper excitement in reference to the second coming of the Lord. Both these circumstances indicate that it was written shortly after the first; as soon, perhaps, as Paul could hear from them after their reception of the first. That it was after the arraignment before Gallio, is sufficiently evident, I think, from the absence of those indications of distress in the mind of the writer, which abound in the First Epistle. He did not enjoy this comparative peace of mind until after the persecutions of the Jews culminated and terminated in the scene before Gallio's judgment-seat. Many eminent commentators have contended that it was Aquila, and not Paul, who sheared his head at Cenchrea. The argument by which they defend this position is based upon the fact that the name of Aquila is placed after that of his wife Priscilla, and next to the participle keiramenos, having sheared, for the very purpose of indicating that the act was performed by him. Others, who insist that it was Paul, reply that the order of the names is not conclusive, inasmuch as they occur in this order in three out of the five times that they are mentioned together in the New Testament. My own opinion is that it was Paul, and my chief reason for so thinking is this: the term Paul is the leading subject of the sentence, to which all the verbs and participles must be referred, unless there is some grammatical necessity for detaching one or more of them, and referring them to another subject. Priscilla and Aquila are subjects of the verb sailed (understood): "Paul sailed into Syria, and with him ( sailed ) Priscilla and Aquila." But if it was intended also to refer the act of shearing to Aquila, the English would require the relative and verb instead of the participle: "with him Priscilla and Aquila who had sheared his head," instead of "Priscilla and Aquila, having sheared his head." The Greek, in order to express this idea, would also have required the article or relative after Aquila. In the absence of such a modification of the construction, we must refer the terms keiramenos, having shaved, and eike, had, to the leading subject of the sentence, with which agree all the other verbs, prosmeinas, tarried; apotaxamenos, took leave of; and exepei, sailed away. The objection that Paul could not have taken such a vow consistently with his position in reference to the law of Moses, is fallacious in two respects. First, It assumes a degree of freedom from legal observances on the part of Paul which his conduct on subsequent occasions shows that he had not attained. Second, It assumes, without authority, that this vow was one peculiar to the law, which it would be improper for Christians to observe. The vow of the Nazarite would certainly be improper now, because it required the offering of sacrifices at its termination. But this was not that vow, seeing the hair was sheared in Cenchrea; whereas the Nazarite's hair could be sheared only at the temple in Jerusalem. What the exact nature of the vow was, we have now no means of determining.
The only practical value of this incident arises from its bearing upon present practice. But this is altogether independent of the question whether it was Paul or Aquila who had the vow. If we admit it was Aquila, the presence of Paul, and the approbation indicated by his silence, gives to it the apostolic sanction. We conclude, therefore, that disciples would be guilty of no impropriety in making vows, and allowing their hair to grow until the vow is performed. But it must not be inferred, from this conclusion, that we are at liberty to make foolish or wicked vows, which would be better broken than kept.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv18, 23 The Return Trip to Antioch and the Beginning of…
The Return Trip to Antioch and the Beginning of the Third Journey.
From Corinth to Antioch:
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v. 18. And Paul, after this, tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.
v. 19. And he came to Ephesus and left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
v. 20. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not,
v. 21. but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem; But I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
v. 22. And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
After the unsuccessful uprising of the Jews, which must have occurred in the fall of 51 A. D. , Paul remained in Corinth a matter of another half year, many days, as Luke reports, showing that there was no more difficulty, but that the Gospel could be preached freely. Then, however, he made his farewells to the brethren and embarked for Syria, he set about to make his voyage, with Syria as his goal. Priscilla and Aquila, his hosts and dear friends, accompanied him. Note that Luke places the woman’s name first, as the more active and energetic in the work of the Lord. They went down to the eastern harbor of Corinth, the town of Cenchreae, first, for here the ships landed that carried on the trade with Asia. Before going aboard, Paul had his head shaved and took the hair along with him, for he had a vow which he intended to pay to the Lord, probably on the coming Passover festival in Jerusalem, Num 6:13-21; Num 7:3 He had been under a Nazirite’s vow, and now resumed the regular cutting of his hair, which, according to special provisions intended to cover just such cases, could then be taken to the door of the Temple and burned there. Paul, as a Jew, still observed the customs of the Jewish law and tradition which did not interfere with the exercise of the Christian religion. In the same way Luther did not permit iconoclastic motives to govern him, but retained such customs of external worship as are not in themselves sinful. Sailing eastward from Cenchreae, Paul and his companions crossed the Aegean Sea, with its many beautiful and historic islands, a distance of some 250 miles, to Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, a city which he had intended to visit in the beginning of the present journey. Here the apostle left his companions, who probably intended to stay here a while for the purpose of assisting in mission work. Paul himself, while his ship was in the harbor for some days, could not deny himself the pleasure of visiting the synagogue on the Sabbath, since he was desirous that others should partake of his hope of eternal salvation through the merits of Jesus. To this end he argued with the Jews from the Scriptures, not without making an impression upon them, for they begged him to remain there for a longer time. But he felt constrained to refuse the invitation and therefore bade them farewell, saying that he must by all means celebrate the coming festival, most likely that of the Passover, in Jerusalem. But he comforted them with the promise that he would return to them, if it was the will of God. Note the example which Paul sets with his conditional promise. Leaving Ephesus, Paul continued his voyage around the southwestern coast of Asia Minor, thence past the little isle of Rhodes in a southeasterly direction, leaving Cyprus on the left, till the ship reached Caesarea, the city of the centurion Cornelius. Without delay he made the trip up to the mountains where Jerusalem was, located (altitude about 2,500 feet), saluted the congregation, paid his vow, attended the festival, but then left at once to travel overland down to Antioch, where he doubtless received a glad welcome from the church. It was the end of his second long missionary journey, on which he had been absent for almost three years.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 20, 22 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This continues Paul's missionary journey as Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila leave Corinth. This seems to indicate that Silas and Timothy remain since it says "he" here and not "we."
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General Information:
Cenchreae was a seaport that was part of the greater Corinth city area. (See: How to Translate Names)
General Information:
Here the word "he" refers to Paul.
Connecting Statement:
The word "they" refers to Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila.
left the brothers
The word "brothers" refers to men and women believers. AT: "left the fellow believers" (See: When Masculine Words Include Women)
sailed for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila
Paul got on a ship that sailed for Syria. Priscilla and Aquila went with him.
he had his hair cut off because of a vow he had taken
This is a symbolic action that indicates the completion of a vow. This can be stated in active form. AT: "he had someone cut off the hair on his head" (See: Symbolic Action and Active or Passive)
reasoned with
"discussed with" or "debated with"
translationWords
Paul
day
brother
Syria
Priscilla
Aquila
Nazirite
Ephesus
synagogue
Jew
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 19, 21, 23 18:18 Cenchrea was a seaport located on the Aegean…
18:18 Cenchrea was a seaport located on the Aegean Sea, roughly five miles (8 km) east of Corinth. It was here that Paul shaved his head according to Jewish custom to mark the completion of a temporary Nazirite vow (cp. 21:23-24; see Num 6:1-21; Judg 13:4-7; 16:1; Amos 2:11-12; Luke 1:15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.