Completing and commencing missions

Completing and commencing the mission

, After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, 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.

What does the Bible say about strength? The word strength and its derivatives are mentioned over 360 times in the Bible, almost one for every day of the year; applying to both natural and supernatural strength. The Greek word katei means “power, strength, might.” In the Bible, strength is often linked to God’s power. We as believers are to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” ().

The unlimited power of Christ is the source of strength for those who belong to Him. According to the Bible, the strength we have is not our own. It ultimately comes from God. “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength . . . but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord” (). No matter how strong we think we are, “ our flesh is weak” (). It we are left to our own devices, we will always fall into temptation and we will always fail in any worthy endeavor.

The weakness inherent in our human nature is why the Bible commends us to the strength of the Lord. Because Christ’s “power is made perfect in our weakness” (). As we learn to rely on God’s strength instead of our own, we gain new heights, new levels of trusting in through His glory:

“The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (

The Lord gives His children strength to minister to others (; ), strength to face persecution (), and strength to overcome death (). Strength to strength if all His disciples. God’s strength in the Bible is readily seen in many of His works. He created the world and all that is in it with the power of His word. He parted the Red Sea, caused the sun to stand still, raised the dead, and performed many other great and glorious deeds. “Praise him for his acts of power” (). The one “who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (), because the God of all power needs no rest. The Bible places an emphasis on God’s strength in our salvation. We cannot way save ourselves. Only God can save. Paul makes this abundantly clear: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (). These two verses are the most forceful summary of the dynamics of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. They help us to understand the contrast between man’s total helplessness and God’s insuperable strength. “God alone . . . has the power to save or to destroy” (, NLT). The Bible illustrates God’s strength to save in the story of Gideon. The Israelites were facing a Midianite army described as “thick as locusts” with “camels as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore” (). Gideon mustered his troops, and they numbered 32,000. God said that was too many, and Gideon reduced them to 10,000 (). Still too many, God said, and He reduced Gideon’s forces to a mere 300 men (verses 7–8). God had stated His purpose in paring the Israelite army down to almost nothing in verse 2: “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’” In the end, the Midianites are routed, God is glorified, and Israel is saved. The salvation came not through human strength but solely through the strength of the Lord working through men of faith. Our strength is found in Christ—in our having a vibrant, dynamic relationship with Him. It is Christ who empowers us to do whatever is necessary to accomplish God’s will: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (). There is no other source that gives man the strength to overcome the world with its trials and temptations. The Bible says that our strength is, paradoxically, related to surrender: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (). We align ourselves with the strength of God through our total submission to Him; then we are able to withstand the wiles of the evil one. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (). Those who rely on God’s strength from day to day will find in Him a never-ending spring of energy: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you. . . . They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion” (, ). As God’s children, we are strengthened by His grace (), by our time spent in prayer (), and by the promise that God will reward our efforts (). Many around us may grow weary and faint, but “those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” ().

Let’s us pray...

18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer… (‘a number of days’; cf. 9:23, 43; 27:7), implying a short stay in addition to the eighteen months mentioned in v. 11. Paul was not forced out of Corinth, but he left the believers when he was ready. The verse goes on to say, …and them took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, with him Priscilla and Aquila. Silas and Timothy were perhaps left behind to minister to the Corinthians, since Priscilla and Aquila now appear as Paul’s primary travel companions. They sailed from Cenchreae, which was the eastern seaport of Corinth ( indicates that there was a church there) and a natural place to embark for a journey to Syria.

Before they sailed, 18c states… At Cenchreae he had cut his hair for he was under a vow. The reason for making the vow could be related to the Lord’s promise of protection from danger and Paul’s determination to stay in the city and keep preaching (vv. 9–11). It was not unusual for Jews made vows to God either in thankfulness for past blessings (such as Paul’s safekeeping in Corinth) or as part of a petition for future blessings (such as safekeeping on Paul’s intending journey). Paul appears to have taken a temporary Nazirite vow, which involved abstinence from alcohol and not cutting his hair until the period of the vow was completed at Cenchreae. Paul was later urged to participate in the completion of another Nazirite vow with four others men.

, Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.

Being under a vow meant those men would under a Nazirite vow would abstain from wine, strong drink, grape juice, grapes, or raisins; would avoid any contact that would defile them (such as contact with a dead body); and would not cut their hair (cf. ). When the time of the vow was over (often 30 days), they would cut their hair and present an offering in the temple (cf. Mishnah, Nazir 6.3). If Paul went with them and personally paid for the cost of their offering, it would show that he did not object to Jewish converts following OT customs voluntarily, so long as those same customs were not required of Gentile believers.

As for the Gentiles believers, The Jerusalem elders reminded Paul of the requirements for Gentile Christians agreed upon in the Jerusalem council (15:28–29). This was to assure Paul that they wanted to avoid giving unnecessary offense to either believers or unbelievers among the Jews. They were not asking Paul’s Gentile converts to embrace the Jewish laws beyond those minimal requirements, nor were they requiring Jewish believers to observe OT ceremonial laws. In he purified himself. and voluntarily went along with the suggestion from James and the elders. Paul voluntarily continued certain Jewish practices because he did not see them to be inconsistent with his new status in Christ. Nevertheless, his lifestyle and his whole focus on salvation through faith in Christ must have raised many questions about the continuing role of the law for Jews in the messianic era. Making a vow and shaving the head when it was completed was a way of demonstrating his trust in God and showing loyalty to the traditions of Israel, without compromising his gospel message. Perhaps such gestures allowed Paul to talk more freely with fellow Jews about the gospel.

, For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

In Paul’s cutting of his hair was just used to strengthen the disciples to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ.

19a And they came to Ephesus and he left them there… Who did Paul leave there? He left Priscilla and Aquila.

Ephesus is mentioned for the first time, though it appears from 16:6 that Paul had earlier tried to preach in the province of Asia, where Ephesus was the capital. Most of Paul’s third missionary campaign was spent in this important center (19:1–20:38), where there were Jews in great numbers. Priscilla and Aquila played a key role in the work there, ministering to Apollos and using their house as a meeting place for at least some of the Ephesian Christians. But by the time Paul wrote , they were back in Rome again. … 19b But he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. No explanation is given about Paul’s desire to leave so soon after arriving. Perhaps he wanted to fulfill his vow with the requisite period of residence in Israel and take a thank offering in Jerusalem. Perhaps he was already aware of the sort of criticisms expressed on a later visit and wished to build bridges of trust with believers in Jerusalem. Perhaps his return to Antioch in Syria suggests a concern to encourage his home church and secure its support for another missionary campaign. Perhaps Paul was trying to get to the Passover, that would be good reason for haste: ‘the seas were closed to navigation until March 10, and in ad 52 Passover fell in early April.’, leans toward this explanation by the additional information there though it is not found in the best and most ancient manuscripts.

21 But on taking leave of them he said, ‘ I will return to you, if God wills, and he set sail from Ephesus.

, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Paul’s resolution to return is accompanied by a clear expression of his dependence on God to make it happen. Paul wants to strengthen the disciples by teaching them that everything they do is dependent upon God.

Luke gives no account of the voyage from Ephesus, which is likely to have involved several stops along the way.

22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. Caesarea was not in Syria, which was his stated destination. Perhaps northerly winds had prevented a more direct approach to Antioch or perhaps a prior visit to Jerusalem was always intended. The text does not specifically say that he visited Jerusalem, though this is a reasonable conclusion from the use of the terms went up and went down, coupled with the reference to the church. This visit was not an expression of Paul’s subordination to the twelve apostles or to the church in Jerusalem. Rather, it was part of his strategy to maintain good links between the Gentile churches and the center from which the gospel first came. 23 After spending some time there he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

He merely greeted the church in Jerusalem, but he spent some time in Antioch, thus rounding off the second missionary journey that had begun in Antioch (15:35–41). There he presumably reported back to his praying friends all that God had been doing through him and his team. He prays and presence gave courage, and strength to all the disciples to go on serving the one and true living God.

Look for a moment at these two passages.

, When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

, And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

In these verses we see that the central theme throughout all the missionary journeys was about strengthening the disciples and churches. It is only fitting that it marks the end of the second missionary trip and the beginning of the third missionary trip.

The second missionary journey comes to its completion when Paul returns to Antioch (18:22), and the third journey commences when Paul and his team travel overland through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, ‘strengthening all the disciples’ (18:23) and finally arriving at Ephesus (19:1). However, the churches visited on this journey are once again those founded on the first missionary journey. The churches of Macedonia and Greece, which were established on the second missionary campaign, are revisited when Paul has finished his work in Ephesus (19:21; 20:1–3). This final journey to Jerusalem also includes the farewell to the Ephesian elders (20:17–38). Thus Paul’s work on the second and third journeys is completed through a single sequence of final visitation, which binds these areas of work closely together. Although the second and third journeys are distinct, the narrative also encourages us to consider Paul’s work in the Aegean region as a whole.’

The third journey is different in that Paul has a settled and extensive ministry in only one city.

While Paul was away from Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila presumably continued the ministry in the synagogue (18:19), though Luke’s interest is in their engagement with Apollos garners his full attention.

Paul set out on his third campaign from Antioch in Syria and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. The reference to his strengthening all the disciples suggests a return to Galatian towns in the south, rather than a new initiative in the north. Both the second and the third missionary journeys began with visits to strengthen churches previously founded by Paul and his companions. In this case, the churches were once again those founded on the first missionary journey. Congregations established in Macedonia and Achaia on the second missionary campaign were not revisited until Paul had finished his work in Ephesus

Every detail about Apollos is significant for understanding the impact of his later ministry. 24a Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus… As a Jew, who was a native of Alexandria, he had apparently encountered Christianity before he came to Ephesus. Alexandria was the second largest city in the Roman Empire and was ‘the leading intellectual and cultural center of the Hellenistic world (as Athens had been of the classical world), built around a massive museum and 400,000-book library’. It was in Alexandria that Jewish scholars had produced the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures called the Septuagint (LXX). This undergirds facts mentions next 24b … He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.

Apollos was a learned man from Alexandria, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, meaning he was ‘powerful in the Scriptures’), meaning that he had the potential to be an influential teacher of the faith. How did this happen? Well the text tells us in 25a He had been instructed in the way of the Lord… Apollos had been instructed in probably means here that ‘formally taught’) the way of the Lord. This term in Acts it refers specifically to ‘the way of salvation’ in Jesus the Messiah. Moreover, 25b And being fervent in spirit,’ suggesting the influence of the Holy Spirit.

, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” God wants the total package rather than merely a lively human spirit; he wants someone who is lead by the Holy Spirit. There is a good deal of attention in Acts to manifestations of the Spirit through speech, but we must also look at the substance of what he is saying. Additionally, we are told in 25c, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.”

The powerful Apollos, refuting the Jews through Scripture, resembles Stephen, whose opponents could not withstand “the wisdom and the Spirit by which he was speaking” (6:10) and who interpreted Scripture to the Sanhedrin.’ Given his background and the fact that Apollos had been instructed in the way of the Lord, none of this is surprising. But Luke finally qualifies his description by saying, though he knew only the baptism of John. This prepares us to compare and contrast the situation of the ‘disciples’ in 19:1–7, who similarly had received only John’s baptism. What did it mean for Apollos and his ministry to know only this baptism? Since Priscilla and Aquila did not urge him to receive baptism ‘into the name of the Lord Jesus’ (contrast 19:5), they clearly thought that he had saving faith in Christ and was not deficient in his own experience of the benefits of the gospel.

In whatever context he had come in touch with John’s teaching, Apollos had accepted John’s testimony and recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. In this respect he differed markedly from the ‘disciples’ in 19:1–7. Although he preached Jesus accurately, it would have been confusing and misleading if he offered converts only the baptism of John. This was only a preparatory rite, looking forward to the messianic era, and not specifically a means of acknowledging Jesus as Messiah and receiving the benefits of his saving work. Perhaps this was the issue about which he needed further instruction. The rite of baptism needed to be reinterpreted in the light of Messiah’s advent. Tied up with this was the re-evaluation of traditional Jewish eschatological expectations.

26a He began to speak boldly in the synagogue…

But boldness coupled with an inadequate grasp of ‘the way of the Lord’ is dangerous.

, Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

Believe me a gifted speaker can convince people to follow his own interpretation of things. The church does not need more gifted speakers, but speakers who have been given the gift and the call of God to preach His word. Christian leaders who only have talents and have not been taught accurately about Jesus fall into this trap need to be challenged and guided, for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of those who may be misled.

26b …when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took his aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. In view of what was said above in connection with v. 25, it may be that the meaning and significance of baptism were central to their teaching. Apollos was a Christian himself, and fervently tried to persuade other Jews to trust in Jesus as the promised Messiah. If he still offered people baptism as only John had done, there was something deficient about his eschatology and his way of explaining how the benefits of Jesus’ saving work could be appropriated in the present. Priscilla and Aquila ministered to him in a timely and discreet fashion when they ‘took him aside’. This my brothers and sister is not a rebuke but a refining of what the Bible was teaching concerning this issue. As Bruce observed, ‘How much better it is to give such private help to a preacher whose ministry is defective than to correct or denounce him publicly!’ They saw the obvious talent, but they understood and I understand, talent must always be tethered, tied to truth.

27a, And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. The Ephesian believers recognized his potential and felt some responsibility to write a letter of recommendation on his behalf. They were concerned to further his ministry, but also to benefit other congregations by commending him to them. Perhaps they were particularly motivated to help because they had heard about the opposition to the gospel from Jews in Achaia and knew what a powerful apologist for Christianity Apollos could be in such a context (cf. v. 26). 27b…When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed. Luke is once more at pains to point out the sovereign grace of God by which people became believers, , One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

According to Paul, Apollos ‘watered’ the seed, which he had planted in the capital of the province (), meaning that he nurtured the spiritual life of the church. However, Luke emphasizes the way in which Apollos helped Christians throughout Achaia by engaging with unbelievers as an apologist and evangelist, 28 For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scripture that Christ was Jesus. Jews agreed with Christians that there was to be a Messiah, but Apollos had to prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. It is clear from previous contexts that the suffering and death of Jesus was a particular problem to be addressed when appealing to Jewish audiences. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

We as Christian pastors must complete the mission of Christ here on earth by strengthening His disciples and His churches by preaching and teaching truth accurately!