Bible Study on Acts 19, verses 8 to 12, heard the word of Lord Jesus

 

Acts 19:8 ¶  And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9  But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10  And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11  And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12  So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

 

The school of Tyrannus probably was, according to some sources, some sort of guild or lecture hall where popular orators or philosophers entertained high class clients who had mornings to hear a speech or sermon. Philosophers commonly made money by giving speeches or sermons throughout the Greek world. In fact, I have read that Stoic preachers would have competitions to see who could better make an audience laugh or cry and be judged by it. They would even be tested and would compete on giving sermons on the most ridiculous subjects to see how clever they were, such as one I read about where a Stoic preacher was challenged to speak about a donkey. One Stoic preacher famously gave a sermon on morality and sobriety just before falling face first drunk into his meal at a wealthy person’s dinner party.

 

But hearing philosophy was an enjoyable pastime for the wealthy. Paul may have rented this school during off peak hours or Tyrannus may have been a sympathetic Jew or Gentile who let Paul and company teach for free. It was a great opportunity to deliver the gospel. He spent two fruitful years there and the word of God was spread wide by his disputations. Paul, which we will see in the book of Romans, was a competent lawyer who was capable of presenting arguments that his party, no matter whether they were Jew, Roman, or Greek, would understand.

 

Paul’s lectures were probably open to all classes for free if he did not depend on the money he may have received to support himself. We aren’t told. But, for the message to spread so widely it is possible that God used this venue to let Paul use his talents to declare the message of Christ. And to back up his words God gave him signs and wonders that he performed showing that among his hearers were Jews. Paul would appeal, most likely, to the Greek Gentiles by argument but the Jews were impressed with signs and wonders. God gave Paul both.

 

1Corinthians 1:22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

Bible Study on Isaiah 6, verses 5 to 8, Here am I, send me.

 

Isaiah 6:5 ¶  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

 

Isaiah did not feel himself worthy to be in the Lord’s presence, acknowledging his wretched state in the presence of the King of the Universe.

 

Paul would write of his inadequacies.

 

Romans 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

But we all stand before our God in a wretched state, undone, of a people who have sinned against the Lord God. Still, in His mercy He came to us anyway.

 

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

And while this seraphim symbolically cleansed Isaiah’s unclean lips it is Christ who makes us whole.

 

2Timothy 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

This purging of Isaiah’s sin is a foreshadowing of what Christ will do. Note that it is God who does the cleansing, nothing Isaiah did.

 

It is then that Isaiah is ready and it is then that he is willing to serve God. God asks a rhetorical question, who will I send, and Isaiah answers what every Christian must answer to God’s calling on their lives, Here am I; send me.

Bible Study on Acts 19, verses 1 to 7, at Ephesus

 

Acts 19:1 ¶  And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2  He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7  And all the men were about twelve.

 

Ephesus was a great city of Asia at the time devoted to the goddess Diana which was the Roman version of the Greek Artemis as Jupiter was the Roman version of the Greek Zeus. It was founded as a Greek colony a thousand years before this and became under Roman control a little over a century and a half before this. It was famous for its temple to Diana/Artemis which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Worship of Diana was a great moneymaker and very important to commerce for the city. Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Revelation and some believe John wrote his gospel from there. It was an important center of trade and business as well as religion and culture for the Greek speaking Roman world of Asia.

 

Again, more of those converts to John’s message of the coming Messiah who know only John’s baptism are found. This defines what John’s baptism actually was, not a public declaration of fellowship with the church in the name of Jesus Christ, but of national repentance to believe on the one who was to come. It is important to be able to distinguish what the different baptisms represented. One is like the Old Testament, an incomplete revelation, and one is like the New Testament, the Messiah declared and the Old Testament fulfilled in Him.

 

John’s baptism did result in the believer expectantly prepared and waiting of their Messiah to come but not receiving the Holy Ghost. But the believer’s baptism after Christ arose did result in that indwelling.

 

Bible Study on Exodus 22, verses 25 to 31, the first fruits

 

The Hebrews were to give the first of the produce of the land, the juice extracted from it, and to consecrate their firstborn to God. There will be more on this in Exodus but notice the following.

Deuteronomy 26: 1 ¶  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. 3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 8  And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 11  And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

    12 ¶  When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13  Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15  Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

We saw in chapter 13 that the firstborn were to be sanctified.

Liquor simply means juice. The juice of a fruit is its liquor as defined in the Early Modern English of the King James Bible era. John Baret’s 1574 dictionary entitled An Alveary or Triple Dictionary, in English, Latin, and French has the following entry;

 “Juice – all kind of liquor whether it be wine or water, oile or other…”[1]

The offering of oxen and sheep was to take place after eight days with a beast’s mother. The eighth day is a significant time in Bible reckoning for sanctification and offering, setting something or someone apart for God. The Hebrew week was seven days, God’s number of completion after the seven days of creation.

Note the following verses;

Leviticus 9:1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel…12:3  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised…14:10  And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil…14:23  And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD…15:14  And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest…15:29  And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…22:27  When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD…23:36  Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein…23:39  Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

Numbers 6:10  And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…7:54  On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh…29:35  On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:

1Kings 8:66  On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

2Chronicles 7:9  And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days…29:17  Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Nehemiah 8:18  Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Ezekiel 43:27  And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.

Luke 1:59  And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

Acts 7:8  And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

Philippians 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

The Hebrews were also not to be scavengers, eating the carcasses of animals, carrion, that had been killed by other beasts and left in the field. Dogs were to have that, not human beings, certainly not Hebrews.

Deuteronomy 14:21a  Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself…

Leviticus 17:15  And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.

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[1] Ian Lancashire, ed., Lexicons of Early Modern English (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), http://leme.library.utoronto.ca/.

 

Bible Study on Acts 18, verses 18 to 28, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

 

Acts 18:18 ¶  And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19  And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. 20  When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; 21  But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. 22  And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23  And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

 

Now notice that Paul said this back in Acts 13;

 

46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

 

So, why does he keep arguing with the Jews? Why shave his head in a solemn vow and insist on keeping a feast in Jerusalem? Paul has a great burden on his heart for his people.

 

Romans 9:1 ¶  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

Priscilla and Aquila, a husband and wife team, are called Paul’s helpers.

 

Romans 16: 3  Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4  Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

 

Remember what Peter called a saved husband and wife.

 

1Peter 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

 

By the way, to any Fundamentalists out there the weaker vessel is a reference to the relative weakness physically of a woman. It is not saying that they are inferior morally or spiritually to a man. Our vessel is our body.

 

Romans 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

 

1Thessalonians 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

 

It is in Cenchrea where Paul took his vow that Phebe worked for Christ and for the church.

 

Romans 16:1  I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:…27  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. «Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.»

 

Acts 18:24 ¶  And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25  This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26  And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27  And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28  For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

 

Here, the beautiful work that the husband and wife team of Priscilla and Aquila is manifested. They both took Apollos under their wing, so to speak, to teach him doctrine that he, at this point, did not have. He knew only John’s baptism that was to prepare the Jews to receive their Messiah. They told him about Christ and he became a believer and a powerful preacher.

 

Apollos is mentioned by Paul a half a dozen times in his first letter to the Corinthians church. He is mentioned also in the letter to Titus. Apollos became an important help to Paul.

 

Titus 3:13  Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.

Bible Study on Exodus 22, verses 25 to 31, part 1, usury

 

Exodus 22:25 ¶  If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26  If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27  For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. 28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 29  Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. 30  Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. 31  And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

A usurer lends money at interest.

Leviticus 25:36  Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. 37  Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

This wasn’t our current understanding of usury of excessive interest but as it stood in pre-Capitalist Christian nations and in Islam the charging of any interest at all as a profit on money. The interest on money lent was a great source of social unrest in Ancient Rome as farmers would go further and further into debt to ease the burden of bad harvests until they lost their farms. In this way, and others, large landowners could accrue massive landholdings. Our modern banking and finance system would not exist without charging a profit or interest on money lent.

This is not like investing in a merchant’s trip to a foreign country and expecting a share of the profits but the bondage of being constantly in debt to interest charged. In America, during the colonial era before there were any commercial banks, most loans were private arrangements between individuals.

So, the difference is, if I invest in your farm or your business and expect to share in the profitability that is not usury. If I loan you money and expect a profit on the return of that money that would have been considered usury, for instance, as it was considered in England before Henry VIII’s rule in the 1500s. Economics, particularly finance, can be quite complex so I apologize for oversimplifying the subject.

Hebrews were forbidden to charge interest to each other. Imagine that. They could charge foreigners, though.

Deuteronomy 23:19  Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20  Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

I’ve read that other ancient Near Eastern cultures permitted the charging of interest allowing for wealth to be consistently gathered into fewer and fewer hands. Here represents another distinct separation of the Hebrews from those around them.

The common person had few articles of clothing and would often have to sleep in the clothes they wore during the day. Keeping collateral on a loan, if it was a person’s only outer clothing they needed for warmth at night, was not permitted past sundown.

Verse 28 is very significant. It is quoted in the exchange between Paul and his accusers.

Acts 23:1 ¶  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. 3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? 5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

It is also important as it acknowledges that there are spiritual beings that exist and are allowed a certain power; like the gods of Egypt.

1Corinthians 8:4 ¶  As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

A Christian would do well not to curse or challenge Satan, the god of this world as per 2Corinthians 4:4. We are to resist him as per James 4:7. We would look well to the Biblical example of requesting God to rebuke him.

Jude 1:8 ¶  Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

We would do well not to curse or revile beings whom we do not know or understand. The preacher who openly challenges Satan virtually pleads for his congregation to be attacked by him. The Christian who pleads some power against Satan would do well to depend on and trust in God as we know from the book of Job that Satan can do nothing without God’s permission constrained by the limits set forth by God. Even if Satan were bound and inactive we would still have our flesh trying to dominate us. Satan is not the author of your sin. You are.

Bible Study on Acts 18, verses 1 to 16, Paul in Corinth

 

Acts 18:1 ¶  After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 2  And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. 3  And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. 4  And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. 5  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

 

I already spoke about Corinth’s predominant sexual sins in the worship of Aphrodite/Venus. Corinth had been an ancient city-state in Greece well-known in antiquity. Then, upon its conquest by the Romans in 146BC it was completely destroyed, the men killed and the women and children sold into slavery. It became a rebuilt colony of Rome in 44BC because of Julius Caesar and prospered as a trading and administrative center, becoming the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. It was mainly populated by Romans, Greeks, and Jews.

 

The expulsion of the Jews from Rome is also mentioned by the Roman historians Suetonius and Cassius Dio and a later Christian historian, Paulus Orosius. Jews had been expelled twice previous to this for their aggressive missionary efforts to gain proselytes among the pagans. However, it is clear that many returned each time. No expulsion efforts were ever watertight and foolproof.

 

Here is proof that Paul supported himself not by offerings, although he was allowed to and would insist on that point in 1Corinthians 9, but as a tentmaker, a skilled craftsman. He found kindred spirits in Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife team. Paul also admonished Christians to;

 

1Thessalonians 4:11  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12  That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

 

Paul again argues with the Jews on every sabbath gaining converts among Jew and Gentile but eventually the stubbornness of his people, the Jews, causes him to declare that from then on he will go to the Gentiles, implying that he is not going to preach to the Jews anymore. Of course, we know he does not follow this declaration to the letter as he has a great burden for the Jewish people.

 

Romans 9:1 ¶  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3  For I could wish

that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

Acts 18:7 ¶  And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. 8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. 9  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. 11  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

 

Here is the beginning of the Corinthian church to which two letters were written that are found in the New Testament with problems and issues that still face the church in America today. The Lord tells Paul that He has many people that will be saved in Corinth so for a year and a half Paul teaches and establishes the church in Corinth.

 

Acts 18:12 ¶  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, 13  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14  And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: 15  But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. 16  And he drave them from the judgment seat. 17  Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

 

Remember, Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. Gallio, according to sources, was the elder brother of the Roman philosopher, Seneca the Younger, who became the tutor of the future emperor, Nero, under whom Paul will be executed according to tradition. Gallio was born Lucius Annaetus Novatus but was later adopted by a Roman Senator named Junius Gallio as a protégé changing his name to Junius Gallio. He became deputy or proconsul of Achaia in AD51 according to these sources.

 

Gallio was apparently not a confrontationalist and did not want to get involved in this dispute between the Jews and Paul. John Gill noted in his commentary that Seneca said of his brother that, “he was a very modest man, of a sweet disposition, and greatly beloved.” Gill also quotes another Roman writer who called him, “mild and gentle in his speech.” Gill’s commentary is free online so you can verify my quotes if you like.