In verse 23, Luke summarises how Paul revisited the churches that he had started on his first missionary journey and which he had visited again on his second journey. Now, for the third time, he went to the churches in two provinces in modern-day Turkey – Phrygia and Galatia. Obviously, his actions reveal his pastoral concern for those churches. We know from the letter to the Galatians that doctrinal error had influenced the churches in Galatia and Paul would have wanted to ensure that all trace of that error had gone.
Paul’s intention was to return to Ephesus, which he had visited briefly during his second journey. The church in Ephesus was later to become very prominent and Luke says a lot about it in Acts. Here he mentions an incident in the synagogue there involving a man who became an important leader in the church, Apollos.
Apollos was basically an Old Testament believer in the Messiah who was not aware of all that Jesus had done. He had accepted the teaching of John the Baptist and could preach eloquently and courageously. In God’s providence, Priscilla and Aquila, who had stayed on in Ephesus, realised the deficiencies in Apollos’ message and helped him to better understand the gospel. Apollos humbly and no doubt gratefully accepted what he was told.
God had been at work in Ephesus, probably through Priscilla and Aquila and their tentmaking business, and people had been converted. Luke refers to ‘brothers’ there who commended Apollos to the church in Corinth. Their action reveals that contact was taking place between churches.
Ephesus had its needs, and so to did Corinth. Apollos once again revealed his boldness by going to a place where the Jews had strongly opposed the gospel when Paul and his friends were there. He did not shrink from confronting those Jews in public as well as helping the believers there. Yet as Paul later informed the Corinthians, Paul may plant and Apollos may water, but it is God who gives who gives the increase. And it remains that way still.
No comments:
Post a Comment