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STUDY TWENTY-TWO: ACTS 18

© Rosemary Bardsley 2026

Acts 18 reports the end of Paul’s second missionary journey and the beginning of his third. It also introduces Aquilla, Priscilla and Apollos.

Luke tells us that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, who had come to Corinth because the emperor, Claudius, had expelled all Jews from Rome. A secular historian, Suetonius, reported that in around AD49 – 50, "As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he (Claudius) expelled them from Rome." Most Bible scholars believe that ‘Chrestus’ is a reference to Christ. If this is the case, then the expulsion of Jews from Rome resulted from riots provoked by the preaching of the Gospel OF Jesus Christ. As we have seen, such riots happened, or almost happened, in other places. [Note: Suetonius assumes that ‘Chrestus’ was personally present, inciting the riots, but it was the name of Christ, the truth about Christ proclaimed in the gospel, that caused the riots.]

What do these verses reveal about this disturbing aspect of Jesus Christ and his gospel?
Matthew 26:3 – 5
Mark 12:12
John 11:47, 48
Acts 4:21, 22
Acts 5:17
Acts 5:26b
Acts 6:9 – 14
Acts 7:51 – 54
Acts 9:22, 23, 30
Acts 13:45, 50
Acts 14:2, 4, 5
Acts 14:19
Acts 15:1, 2
Acts 16:19 – 22
Acts 17:5 – 8
Acts 17:13
Acts 18:6
Acts 18:12 – 17
Acts 19:9
Acts 19:23 – 41
Acts 21: 27 – 36
Acts 22:22 – 24
Acts 24:5
Acts 25:18, 19

In the Gospels we read about the Jews hesitating to arrest Jesus because they were afraid that the people, who were impressed by Jesus, would set up a riot if they arrested him; they feared that if a riot occurred it would incur the wrath of the Roman authorities, which had the potential for the Jews to lose the limited amount of freedom they had.

In Acts, riots and disturbances resulted from the content of the Christian gospel. The proclamation of the name of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection, provoked intense opposition. Just as Paul (before his conversion) had strongly opposed the name of Jesus, and did everything in his power to eliminate that name, so Paul, and others, who proclaimed Jesus Christ, were vigorously opposed, usually by Jews because of what they believed was a rejection of the Scriptures, but sometimes by unbelievers who felt threatened in some way (e.g. financial) by the impact of the gospel in their city.

Jesus had warned his followers that this would happen:

Read John 15:18 – 25.
What did Jesus say?

 

How would you feel if significant persecution of Christians became a reality where you live?

 

A. MINISTRY IN CORINTH – ACTS 18:1 – 17

Paul’s ministry in Corinth was long (one and a half years – 18:11), and productive. During this time, he worked as a tent-maker to support himself (18:3; 1Corinthians 4:12).

A.1 His companions
Priscilla and Aquila – Christians from Rome. Aquila was a Jew; ‘Priscilla’ is a Roman name, but no one seems quite sure whether she was a Roman or a Jew.

Silas and Timothy. Paul had left them in Berea when he was forced to leave (17:14), then sent instructions for them to join him in Athens (17:15), which they did. At some point after that, Paul was concerned about the well-being of the believers he had left behind in Thessalonica, so had sent Timothy there to encourage them (1Thessalonians 3:2). Timothy then rejoined Paul in Corinth (1Thessalonians 3:6; Acts 18:5). It seems from 18:5 that Silas had gone to Macedonia with Timothy.

A.2 His ministry
[1] Paul followed his usual custom of first preaching in the local synagogue. Luke reports that ‘Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks’ – verse 4. This tells us two things – (1) that Paul didn’t just preach – there was back and forth discussion; he didn’t just tell them the truth, he proactively tried to get them to believe. (2) There were both Jews and Gentile proselytes in the synagogue.

[2] When the Jews opposed him and became abusive, Paul, satisfied that he had done everything he possibly could to get them to believe in the name of Jesus, distanced himself from any further responsibility towards them – verse 6.

[3] Using a house next door to the synagogue, belonging to a God-fearer, Titius Justus, Paul’s ministry continued for a year and a half – verse 11. During that time, the synagogue ruler and his entire household believed in the Lord, and many Corinthians believed and were baptized – verse 7, 8.

[4] The Lord spoke to Paul, telling him to continue to speak; he assured him of his presence with Paul; he told Paul that no one would attack or harm him, because he, the Lord, had ‘many people in this city’ – verse 9, 10.

Some questions:
How consistent was Paul’s teaching in the synagogue?

What made him stop teaching in the synagogue?

How does this tie in with what Jesus said in Matthew 7:6, 10:14 and 15:14?

What makes it difficult to know whether or when to stop telling an individual person about Jesus?

 

What did the Lord say to Paul (in verses 9 & 10) that could be understood to mean the Paul was not as bold and brave in his heart as he often appeared to be?

 

Suggest what the Lord was talking about when he told Paul that ‘I have many people in this city’.

 

A. 3 A disturbance – Acts 18:12 – 17
Paul was attacked by the Jews, but he was not harmed. Their accusation that he was ‘persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law’ didn’t impress the proconsul, Gallio. Paul didn’t even have to speak in his own defence, as Gallio dismissed the Jews and their accusations.

Frustrated by having failed in their efforts to get Paul silenced by the Roman authority, they turned on one of their own, Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler, and beat him up. Luke does not tell us why. Perhaps it was because he, their leader, had not put a strong enough argument to Gallio. Perhaps they suspected that he secretly sympathised with the message about Jesus Christ.

What we do know is that this man did at some point become a Christian – Paul calls him ‘our brother’ in 1Corinthians 1:1.

B. BACK TO HIS HOME CHURCH – ANTIOCH – ACTS 18:18 – 22

Luke’s report is brief:

[1] Paul had his hair cut because of a vow he had made. We are not told what the vow was. FF Bruce suggests that the hair cut marked the end of the vow – that Paul, because of the vow, had let his hair grow long, and now having completed his ministry in Corinth, he had his hair cut. Some Bible teachers suggest that, as part of the vow, Paul had to get to Jerusalem within 30 days of cutting his hair, hence his sense of hurry (see verse 20), but there is no record of him visiting Jerusalem between then and setting off on his third mission trip.

[2] Paul took Priscilla and Aquila with him, and left them at Ephesus. While at Ephesus, Paul ‘went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.’ Even though they wanted him to stay longer, he refused, promising to return to them ‘if it is God’s will.’

[3] He greeted the church in Caesarea.

[4] He went to Antioch, and spent some time there, before departing on his third mission trip – vs. 22, 23.

C. APOLLOS – ACTS 18:24 – 28

Paul had left Priscilla and Aquilla in Ephesus. Nothing is said about whether or not they had been involved in the ministry in Corinth, nor if Paul intended them to teach and preach in Ephesus. In Romans 16:3 Paul calls them ‘my fellow workers in Christ Jesus’; and in 1Corinthians 16:19 said ‘Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord’, which infers that they were still in Ephesus when Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians (about AD 55). They were still in Ephesus some years later, (c AD 64-66), when Paul in his second letter to Timothy, who was pastor at Ephesus, asked him to ‘greet Priscilla and Aquila’.

Sometime after Paul had left Apollos arrived, and his arrival had both pros and cons.

Find the answers to these questions:
What were the positives about Apollos (verses24, 25a)?

 

What was the one negative that Luke reports – verse 25b?

What did he do when he arrived in Ephesus?

How did Priscilla and Aquila deal with the discrepancy in his understanding – verse 26?

What does Luke tell us that indicates that he accepted their correction – verse 27?

What was his impact in the churches in Achaia – verses 27, 28?

Apart from a quick reference to Apollos being in Corinth (Acts 19:1), we do not read any more about him in Acts. We do, however, find his name mentioned several times in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, and in Titus 3:13. It would seem that Apollos became quite a recognized teacher, so much so that some believers were identifying Apollos as they one they were following, and others, Paul, splitting the church in Corinth into leader-based divisions. You can read about this in 1Corinthians 3:1 – 4:21. There is a further reference to Apollos in 1Corinthians 16:12.