Day 5: Paul Returns to Antioch via Ephesus, Third Journey Begins, Apollos

Reading: Acts 18:18-28

Listen to: Acts chapter 18

Historical Context

Acts 18:18-28 is one of Luke’s characteristically compressed travel narratives, covering an enormous geographical and theological distance in just eleven verses. This passage marks the end of Paul’s second missionary journey, his brief but strategically important visit to Ephesus, his return to Antioch and Jerusalem, the beginning of his third missionary journey, and the introduction of Apollos – a figure who will play a significant role in the Corinthian church. Each of these elements deserves careful attention.

Paul’s departure from Corinth after eighteen months is accompanied by a curious detail: “At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow” (verse 18). Cenchreae was the eastern port of Corinth, about seven miles from the city center. The vow Paul took was almost certainly a Nazirite vow, described in Numbers 6:1-21. A Nazirite vow involved abstaining from wine and grape products, avoiding contact with dead bodies, and letting one’s hair grow for the duration of the vow. At the vow’s completion, the hair would be cut and offered at the temple in Jerusalem. The fact that Paul undertook such a vow is significant: it demonstrates that he continued to observe Jewish practices voluntarily, even as he insisted that Gentile converts were not obligated to follow the Torah. Paul’s freedom from the law was not antinomianism; it was the liberty to practice Jewish customs when appropriate without imposing them on others (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:20, “to the Jews I became as a Jew”).

Priscilla and Aquila accompany Paul as far as Ephesus, where he leaves them. Paul himself enters the synagogue and has a brief but promising engagement with the Jewish community there. They ask him to stay longer, but he declines, saying, “I will return to you if God wills” (verse 21). This brevity is tantalizing – Paul senses the potential of Ephesus but is compelled to move on, probably to fulfill his Nazirite vow in Jerusalem. His promise to return will be abundantly fulfilled: his third missionary journey will center on Ephesus, where he will spend over two years (Acts 19:10).

Verse 22 is one of the most compressed verses in Acts: Paul “went up and greeted the church” – the expression “went up” (anabas) almost certainly refers to Jerusalem, since the verb anabaino is standard terminology for going up to Jerusalem. He then “went down to Antioch.” In two clauses, Luke covers a journey of hundreds of miles. Paul’s visit to the mother church in Jerusalem maintained the vital connection between the Gentile mission and its Jewish roots. He then returned to Antioch, his sending church, before setting out again.

Verse 23 marks the beginning of the third missionary journey with characteristic Lukan economy: Paul “departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.” This is not pioneer evangelism but pastoral consolidation – revisiting churches planted on earlier journeys, teaching, correcting, and encouraging. The pattern reveals Paul’s understanding that church planting without church nurture is incomplete. The apostle was not merely interested in initial conversions but in the ongoing formation of believers into mature communities.

The introduction of Apollos in verses 24-28 is one of the most intriguing passages in Acts. Apollos is described as a Jew from Alexandria, “an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures” (verse 24). Alexandria was the intellectual capital of the Jewish diaspora, home to the great library, the center of Hellenistic Jewish scholarship, and the city of Philo, the philosopher who attempted to synthesize Jewish theology with Greek philosophy. An Alexandrian Jewish education would have given Apollos extraordinary command of the Scriptures and sophisticated rhetorical skills. The Greek word logios, translated “eloquent,” can also mean “learned” – Apollos was both a powerful speaker and a rigorous thinker.

Yet Apollos had a significant gap in his understanding. He had been “instructed in the way of the Lord” and “spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus,” but “he knew only the baptism of John” (verse 25). This is a fascinating puzzle. Apollos knew something about Jesus – enough to teach “accurately” – but his knowledge stopped at John the Baptist’s preparatory message of repentance. He apparently did not know about the full significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, or Christian baptism in the name of Jesus. How such partial knowledge reached Alexandria is unknown, but it reminds us that information traveled unevenly in the ancient world, and the Christian message arrived in different communities at different stages of completeness.

Priscilla and Aquila hear Apollos in the synagogue and recognize both his extraordinary gifts and his incomplete understanding. Rather than publicly correcting him – which would have been humiliating – they “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (verse 26). The Greek word exethento (from ektithemi) means to set forth or explain in detail. Notice that Priscilla is named first, which many scholars take as an indication that she took the lead in this instruction. A woman instructing a male teacher would have been remarkable in the ancient world, and Luke’s inclusion of this detail without apology suggests that the early church, at least in some settings, recognized the teaching gifts of women.

The result of this instruction is remarkable: when Apollos crosses to Achaia (the province containing Corinth), “he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus” (verses 27-28). Apollos becomes one of the most significant figures in the Corinthian church – so significant that some Corinthian believers will later claim allegiance to him over Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:4-6). Paul, for his part, will speak of Apollos with nothing but respect: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Key Themes

• The continuity of Jewish practice in apostolic freedom – Paul’s Nazirite vow demonstrates that faithfulness to Jewish heritage and freedom from legalism are not contradictory
• The humility to receive correction – Apollos, despite his brilliance and education, was willing to be instructed by a tentmaking couple, and his ministry was immeasurably enriched as a result
• God’s sovereignty in preparing workers – Priscilla and Aquila were positioned in Ephesus to complete Apollos’s training, and Apollos was equipped to strengthen the very church Paul had planted

Connections

• Old Testament Roots: The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6:1-21; the concept of going up to Jerusalem echoes the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134); Apollos’s Alexandrian background connects to the tradition of Jewish wisdom literature and the Septuagint, which was produced in Alexandria
• New Testament Echoes: Apollos becomes a major figure in the Corinthian correspondence (1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:4-9, 4:6, 16:12); Priscilla and Aquila are commended in Romans 16:3-4 and 2 Timothy 4:19; the “disciples of John” theme continues in Acts 19:1-7
• Parallel Passages: Acts 19:1 (Paul arrives in Ephesus after Apollos leaves); 1 Corinthians 1:12 and 3:4-9 (Apollos in Corinth); 1 Corinthians 16:12 (Paul’s regard for Apollos)

Reflection Questions

1. Paul continued to practice Jewish customs like the Nazirite vow even while insisting that Gentiles were free from the law. What does this teach us about the difference between personal devotion and universal obligation?
2. Priscilla and Aquila corrected Apollos privately rather than publicly. What can we learn from their approach about how to address theological gaps or errors in gifted people?
3. Apollos was brilliant, eloquent, and zealous – but incomplete in his understanding. Have you ever had to unlearn something or have your understanding corrected? How did that experience shape your growth?

Prayer

Lord of the harvest, we thank you for the way you position the right people in the right places at the right time. Thank you for Priscilla and Aquila, who had the humility to serve behind the scenes and the courage to instruct a man far more eloquent than themselves. Thank you for Apollos, who had the teachability to receive correction and the power to build up what others had planted. Give us the same humility, the same teachability, and the same willingness to let others receive the credit while you receive the glory. You plant, you water, you give the growth. Amen.