Acts 18
Today's Passage: Acts 18
We are introduced to some characters in this passage that we will see more throughout the New Testament. We meet Priscilla and Aquila, the husband and wife team who become close friends of Paul, and Apollos, the gifted preacher.
Priscilla and Aquila were tentmakers just like Paul was, and were from Rome. They meet Paul in Corinth after Claudius commanded the Jews to leave Rome. It is believed that they were already Christians when they met Paul. They are mentioned several more times in the New Testament, as they risk their lives for Paul and host a church in Ephesus.
Apollos was from Alexandria, an important city in Egypt as it was located near the mouth of the Nile. At this time it had a large Jewish population, so Apollos was probably raised in a Jewish cultural setting even though he came from outside of Israel. He had a very good understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures, and was a follower of John the Baptist.
Apollos was so close to understanding the full Gospel with Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, but he needed help connecting the dots! It reminds me of the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. The two disciples knew everything they needed to know, they had experienced everything they needed to experience, yet they failed to connect the dots. They had the facts, but they were missing the obvious conclusion. They even mentioned that others had said that Jesus is alive! But they stopped short of saying for themselves that Jesus had risen. This is why Jesus calls them foolish. They were too slow of heart to put the pieces together and believe.They knew what the prophets had said. They saw what had happened the week before with the crucifixion of Jesus, and there is a good chance they heard Jesus talk about His death and resurrection during the final part of His earthly ministry.
While Jesus’ initial response was strong, what He did next reminds us of His kindness and graciousness. He walked the travelers through the entire Old Testament, showing them how it all points to Him. Every. Single. Story.
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:7
That verse serves as our interpretive key to the entire Bible. JESUS interpreted Scripture, not as a collection of random stories, but as one big story about Him.
We get to do that for others, Like Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos and Jesus did for the disciples! We get to show how beautiful the Bible is, and how it is one big story about Christ.
How have you seen the Bible as one big story?
Written By: Kaitlin White
We are introduced to some characters in this passage that we will see more throughout the New Testament. We meet Priscilla and Aquila, the husband and wife team who become close friends of Paul, and Apollos, the gifted preacher.
Priscilla and Aquila were tentmakers just like Paul was, and were from Rome. They meet Paul in Corinth after Claudius commanded the Jews to leave Rome. It is believed that they were already Christians when they met Paul. They are mentioned several more times in the New Testament, as they risk their lives for Paul and host a church in Ephesus.
Apollos was from Alexandria, an important city in Egypt as it was located near the mouth of the Nile. At this time it had a large Jewish population, so Apollos was probably raised in a Jewish cultural setting even though he came from outside of Israel. He had a very good understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures, and was a follower of John the Baptist.
Apollos was so close to understanding the full Gospel with Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, but he needed help connecting the dots! It reminds me of the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. The two disciples knew everything they needed to know, they had experienced everything they needed to experience, yet they failed to connect the dots. They had the facts, but they were missing the obvious conclusion. They even mentioned that others had said that Jesus is alive! But they stopped short of saying for themselves that Jesus had risen. This is why Jesus calls them foolish. They were too slow of heart to put the pieces together and believe.They knew what the prophets had said. They saw what had happened the week before with the crucifixion of Jesus, and there is a good chance they heard Jesus talk about His death and resurrection during the final part of His earthly ministry.
While Jesus’ initial response was strong, what He did next reminds us of His kindness and graciousness. He walked the travelers through the entire Old Testament, showing them how it all points to Him. Every. Single. Story.
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:7
That verse serves as our interpretive key to the entire Bible. JESUS interpreted Scripture, not as a collection of random stories, but as one big story about Him.
We get to do that for others, Like Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos and Jesus did for the disciples! We get to show how beautiful the Bible is, and how it is one big story about Christ.
How have you seen the Bible as one big story?
Written By: Kaitlin White
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