Acts 18:1-4 meaning

The beginning of Paul’s ministry in Corinth is depicted in Acts 18:1-4.

After being driven out of the Macedonian cities of Thessalonica and Berea (See Map), Paul sailed down to the southern shore of Achaia (Greece) to hide out in Athens. He waited for Silas and Timothy to come down from Berea and join him when they could. There were idols everywhere in Athens, so Paul felt compelled to preach about Christ to the Athenians. Thus, he again very publicly proclaimed the gospel.

The Athenians knew nothing about the God of Israel or His promised Messiah, so Paul preached a sermon on the Hill of Ares about how the true God created everything, and is not a statue made of gold or stone. The true God has appointed a day of judgement, and the judge will be a man whom God raised back to life. Many of the Athenian philosophers found Paul’s claim of resurrection too incredible to believe. But others, including an Athenian judge, went to Paul to learn more, and believed in Jesus upon hearing the full gospel message.

Luke, the author of Acts, writes nothing more of Paul’s stay in Athens:

After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth (v. 1).

Corinth was about fifty miles west of Athens (See Map). Paul was evidently not chased out of Athens, but he apparently either felt he could make no further headway in the city or was led to Corinth. Perhaps the Holy Spirit urged him to go to Corinth. Paul submitted himself to the Spirit’s lead and was in constant prayer, and many of his travel plans were made by the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, Acts 13:2-3, 16:6-7).

The phrase After these things refers to his sermon at the Hill of Ares to the Athenians. Paul must have left word in Athens or sent some form of communication so that Silas and Timothy would know he had moved west to Corinth.

In Corinth, Paul forms a partnership with a married couple of fellow Jews which begins as a business relationship, but becomes one of Paul’s most influential ministry teams:

And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers (vs. 2-3).

In Corinth, Paul meets a Jew named Aquila, who was not a native of Israel, but was born outside of the Israelite homeland, just as Paul was born in Tarsus, Cilicia (part of modern-day Turkey). Beginning with the Assyrian conquest of Samaria (720 B.C.), the Jewish people had lived and formed communities outside of Israel, which is known as the “diaspora” (“the dispersion”). During Roman rule, Jewish populations were prevalent across the Empire, as evidenced through this book of Acts, where the majority of the cities Paul has journeyed to have had synagogues (Acts 13:5, 14, 14:1, 17:1, 10, 17). The largest Jewish populations outside of Israel were found in Syria, Egypt, and Rome.

While Aquila was a native of Pontus (a kingdom in the northeast of modern Turkey), he had at some point in life moved to Italy, specifically to the capital of the Empire: Rome. Aquila’s wife was Priscilla. Both had recently come to Corinth because they, being Jews, had been deported from Rome. The current Caesar, Claudius, had for reasons unknown to us commanded all the Jews to leave Rome (v. 2).

It is still debated why Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. As early as 41 A.D., Claudius banned the Jews in Rome from holding meetings (Cassius Dio 60.6.6). A few years before Claudius was Caesar, there were violent riots against the Jews in Alexandria, Egypt. In his letter to the Alexandrians (41 A.D.), Claudius forbade the Jews who lived in Alexandria from asking for more privileges than they already had, as well as forbidding any new Jewish immigration to the city of Alexandria, because Claudius would interpret such a move as suspicious, in which case he would take “vengeance” on the Jews as instigators.

Corresponding with Acts 18, it appears Claudius eventually banned Jews from Rome altogether.  According to the historian Suetonius Tranquillus: “He banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus” (Divus Claudius 25). Some conclude that “Chrestus” was in reference to “Christus” or “Christ,” and that there was civil unrest between the Christian Jews and the Jews who rejected Christ.

However, there is no conclusive evidence of when the gospel first went to Rome. It does not appear to have come to Corinth until this chapter, Acts 18, and there is no indication that Aquila and Priscilla already knew about Jesus before meeting Paul. It could be that Aquila and Priscilla had a role in spreading the gospel to Rome, as Paul mentions them as key figures in his letter to the Roman church (Romans 16:3-4). It seems certain that Aquila and Priscilla were key figures in contending for the gospel of grace against competing Jewish “authorities” who slandered Paul’s gospel (Romans 3:8).

Claudius’s reign would end in 54 A.D. and his ban would be overturned. The Jews would be allowed back into Rome. At this point in Acts 18, during Paul’s second missionary journey and time in Corinth, it is thought that this persecution of the Jews took place sometime between the years 49-52 A.D. We can presume that sometime after the ban was overturned Priscilla and Aquila returned to Rome where they continued their ministry partnership with Paul.

Paul may have first met Aquila and his wife Priscilla because they shared the same vocation. This is the first time Luke tells us of Paul’s part-time job as a tent-maker. This was presumably how Paul supported himself for some of his ministry expenses (1 Corinthians 9:12, Acts 20:33-34). As recently as his time in Thessalonica, Paul and his co-ministers were “working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of” the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:7-8).

We know from verse 4 that Paul was continually visiting the Corinthian synagogue each week, so it is possible that he first met Aquila and his wife Priscilla in the synagogue. Since he was of the same trade as they were, they welcomed him to rent or borrow a room in their home and work for them, so Paul stayed with them in their house. The three of them began working together as a team of tent-makers (v. 3).

The text never tells us when Aquila and Priscilla became believers. If Paul met this married couple at the synagogue, they were probably among the first Corinthian believers, and invited him to stay with them because he was of the same trade as they were, but also perhaps out of hospitality and support for his ministry, as the new believer Lydia had done in Philippi (Acts 16:14-15).

Aquila and Priscilla may have believed in Jesus after Paul had stayed with them and witnessed to them for a while. Whenever they believed is not particularly relevant; this married couple stands out in the New Testament as close friends to Paul with a relationship that lasts for many years. As Paul states in his letter to the church at Rome:

“Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
(Romans 16:3-4)

Aquila and Priscilla are among the few figures in Acts about whom Luke writes even when they are not with Paul. They preached the gospel on their own, and were essential to guiding a highly intelligent Jew, Apollos, to the full understanding of the scriptures and faith in Christ (Acts 18:24-26). Aquila and Priscilla will eventually return to Rome and start a church there (Romans 16:3). They are possibly the first believers to teach the gospel in Rome.

While Paul plays the central role in the second half of the Book of Acts, the gospel is spread by many faithful disciples of Christ. The new believers whom Paul leads to Christ are seen to continue to spread the gospel throughout the Empire. Romans 16 is a fine example of this. In his farewell remarks in the letter to the Romans, Paul names 28 different believers to whom he sends greetings, thanks, and praise, which shows the widespread ministry. Many of those listed in Romans are never mentioned in the Book of Acts.

Now settled in Corinth with a room and a job, Paul continues to preach the gospel of Jesus every Saturday:

And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks (v. 4).

Paul was working full time as a tent-maker in Corinth at this point, since he is still separated from his ministry team (Silas and Timothy). But every Sabbath, Paul visits the synagogue and teaches the Jews and God-fearing Greeks that the Messiah came to Israel, died for our sins, and was raised to eternal life by God the Father to one day return, judge the world, and rule as a righteous, forever king.

Paul was reasoning from the Old Testament prophecies, trying to persuade his listeners to trust in the Christ. As usual, some believe, while the majority do not. It could be that Paul was teaching the same things Jesus taught the disciples on the road to Emmaus:

“Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”
(Luke 24:27)

Among the Jews who believe from his weekly teaching are presumably Aquila and Priscilla, as well as the leader of the synagogue, Crispus (Acts 18:8). A church is founded in Corinth, to which Paul will write at least four letters, of which we have two preserved in the New Testament (1 & 2 Corinthians).