“After spending
some time there, he (Paul) departed and went from one place to the
next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples…And
when he (Apollos) 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.” Acts 18:23;
27-28. (ESV).
One verse in Acts 18:23 tells us of the
beginning of Paul’s third missionary journey.
But the entire account of that important outreach is recorded in Acts
18:23 through Acts 21:16. Various of
Paul’s letters also add light on this journey as well as Luke’s summary account
in Acts. This journey began about 52 A.
D. and lasted for five years, until 57 A. D.
It was primarily in the area of Ephesus and vicinity, a Roman province
in Asia Minor. Ephesus was a major
commercial center. The temple to
Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located at Ephesus.
An eunuch priest was in charge of the Artemis shrine, and many virgin women
participated in the rituals. The grandly constructed theater, reputedly with
seating for 20,000, was enlarged under the orders of Emperor Claudius while
Paul was in the city. The theater was
not the temple to Artemis, for it stood in another location, but theater events
were begun by attendees chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” In addition to the temple to Artemis, emperor
worship was rife, with worship centers honoring Emperor Julius Caesar, the
goddess Roma and other Roman leaders considered divine. Ruins of the large Byzantine Church of Mary
have been uncovered in archaeological explorations, as well as the large agora
(marketplace), elaborate private dwellings and gardens, and evidence of
silversmiths’ work. Paul indeed went
into a large, busy, pagan, challenging city to take the gospel.
Paul had promised persons in
Ephesus (see Acts 18:21) that he would return to them if God willed. He traveled overland from Antioch in
Syria, going northwestward through Tarsus and Derbe in Cilicia, Lystra and
Iconium in Cappadocia, on through Galatia and to Antioch in Pisidia. We are told that in these places he “strengthened the disciples.” In these three words of summary lie much
to be imagined: Paul greeting believers
he and his team had led to Christ previously; inquiring of their health, both
physical and spiritual; hearing stories of their church outreach and missions;
teaching them further the great truths of the gospel. We all like reunions; Paul was enjoying a reunion
with those he had led into the kingdom of God through his earlier contacts with
them. And from these places he went on
to Ephesus to fulfill his promise to return to them. There he heard about Apollos, a native of
Alexandria in Egypt, who had gone to Ephesus preaching and teaching. He had much enthusiasm and success, eloquence
and scholarship. But he knew only the “baptism
of John” (John the Baptist, who preached repentance). He had not heard fully of Jesus and His
sacrificial death, burial and resurrection and the coming of the Holy
Spirit. Paul’s friends, Aquila and
Priscilla, whom Paul had left in Ephesus earlier, set Apollos straight in his
doctrine and teachings. Not embarrassing
him publicly, they took him aside and instructed him more fully in the
Way. When he wished to go to Achaia (in
particular, to Corinth) to witness, a letter of recommendation was prepared to
introduce Apollos. He was a powerful
witness there, showing in public declamation that Jesus was the Christ. Apollos evidently returned to Corinth and was
with Paul when the latter wrote I Corinthians (see I Cor. 16:12). Paul’s third missionary journey would
strengthen believers, teach pure doctrine and start some new churches. He taught us how missions should be done,
with the modern missions movement following the pattern recorded in the Acts of
the Apostles. Selah.
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