Paul at Corinth
After this
Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named
Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife
Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome.
Paul
approached them, and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them
and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade). He addressed both
Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them.
Now when
Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became wholly absorbed with
proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When
they opposed him and reviled him, he protested by shaking out his clothes and
said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am guiltless! From now on I
will go to the Gentiles!” Then Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of
a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, whose house was next
door to the synagogue. Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed in the
Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it
believed and were baptized. The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, “Do
not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, because I am with you, and no
one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So
he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio
Now while
Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul together and brought him
before the judgment seat, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God
in a way contrary to the law!” But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said
to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, I
would have been justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews, but since it
concerns points of disagreement about words and names and your own law, settle
it yourselves. I will not be a judge of these things!” Then he had them forced
away from the judgment seat. So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the
synagogue, and began to beat him in front of the judgment seat. Yet none of
these things were of any concern to Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria
Paul, after
staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed
away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at
Cenchrea because he had made a vow. When they reached Ephesus, Paul left
Priscilla and Aquila behind there, but he himself went into the synagogue and
addressed the Jews. When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent,
but said farewell to them and added, “I will come back to you again if God
wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus, and when he arrived at Caesarea, he went
up and greeted the church at Jerusalem and then went down to Antioch. After he
spent some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia
and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos Begins His Ministry
Now a Jew
named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent
speaker, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of
the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts
about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak out
fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more
accurately. When Apollos wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers
encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he
assisted greatly those who had believed by grace, for he refuted the Jews
vigorously in public debate, demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ
was Jesus. (NET)
This reading is taken from 30
Scripture Readings on Great Women from the Bible. The complete book can be
found here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZK5H96/ref=nosim?tag=hudsonbcom-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549
The NET Bible® Copyright© 2005 by Biblical Studies Press,
L.L.C. www.bible.org All Rights Reserved.
0 comments:
Post a Comment