IN THE BOOK OF ACTS PAUL IS CONTINUING THE EXPANSION OF THE YAHUSHA-MOVEMENT INTO PLACES MORE AND MORE DISTANT FROM ITS BIRTHPLACE IN JUDEA AND GALILEE.
CORINTH OF COURSE IS THE SUBJECT AUDIENCE OF PAUL’S LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS. SO WHAT GOES ON IN CORINTH HERE IN ACTS.18 PROVIDES THE BACKGROUND CONTEXT TO UNDERSTAND BOTH THE TONE AND THE ISSUES THAT PAUL ADDRESSES WITH THE CORINTHIANS IN HIS LETTERS TO THEM. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE, PAUL DIDN’T LEAVE ATHENS IN A STATE OF RIOT AFTER HE HAD VISITED THERE. AND HE WASN’T BEING CHASED AND HOUNDED, NOR HAD HE BEEN ROUGHED UP OR JAILED. IT’S PRETTY CERTAIN THAT PAUL ARRIVED IN CORINTH IN 50 A.D, MEANING IT’S BEEN BETWEEN 15 AND 20 YEARS SINCE YAHUSHA DIED ON THE TORTURE-STAKE IN JERUSALEM.
CORINTH WAS AN IMPORTANT PLACE. IT WAS LOCATED ON THE ISTHMUS OF CORINTH AND WAS IDEALLY SUITED AS A CENTRE OF COMMERCE AND SHIPPING. IT WAS A HUGE CITY FOR THAT DAY; THERE WERE 6MILES OF WALLS SURROUNDING THE METROPOLIS. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE TOTAL POPULATION AT THAT TIME WAS AROUND 750,000 PEOPLE; IT WAS LARGER THAN ATHENS. LIKE MOST ANCIENT CITIES THIS ONE HAD BEEN DESTROYED AND REBUILT MORE THAN ONCE. IN ONE SUCH DESTRUCTION IN 146 B.C. IT WAS LEVELLED INTO A SMOULDERING HEAP. IT WAS REBUILT BY JULIUS CAESAR 100 YEARS LATER. SO BY PAUL’S DAY IT HAD GROWN TO THIS STAGGERING SIZE AND POPULATION IN ONLY ABOUT 90 YEARS.
NATURALLY CORINTH MAINTAINED A SIZEABLE JEWISH POPULATION AND BOASTED SEVERAL SYNAGOGUES. PAUL WOULD HAVE HAD NO TROUBLE IN FINDING JEWS FOR HOSPITALITY (BED & BREKKY).
ACTS .18
1Later, Paul left Athens and went to the city of Corinth. 2There he met a Jewish man named Aquila, who was born in the country of Pontus, but he and his wife, Priscilla, had recently moved to Corinth from Italy. They left Italy because Claudius had given an order for all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. 3They were tent-makers ( ` LEATHER - MAKERS ' ) the same as Paul, so he stayed with them and worked with them.
PAUL MUST HAVE FORMED QUITE A BOND WITH THIS COUPLE BECAUSE HE MENTIONS THEM (IN A POSITIVE WAY) ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. AQUILA AND HIS WIFE CAME TO CORINTH BECAUSE THE JEWS HAD BEEN EXPELLED FROM ROME BY ORDER OF EMPEROR CLAUDIUS. SO WHILE ROME WAS RELIGIOUSLY TOLERANT AS A NATIONAL POLICY, THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT ALL WERE TREATED WITH EQUALITY. WE CAN SEE IMMEDIATELY WHY PAUL HIT IT OFF WITH AQUILA AND PRISCILLA:
THEY WERE TENT-MAKERS JUST AS HE WAS. IT IS CLEAR THAT PAUL WAS SUPPORTING HIMSELF WITH HIS TRADE WHEN HE WAS IN ONE PLACE LONG ENOUGH. APART FROM BEING A SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLE (IF YOU DON’T WORK, YOU DON’T EAT), THIS WAS ACTUALLY A COMMON UNDERSTANDING FOR RABBIS AND TEACHERS, SINCE IN THEIR MISHNAH (TALMUD) IT SAYS: “DO NOT MAKE OF THE TORAH....A SPADE WITH WHICH TO DIG”.
IN OTHER WORDS, DON’T TEACH THE TORAH AS A MEANS TO ENRICH YOURSELF, FOR IT SHOULD NOT BE THE MAIN SOURCE OF YOUR INCOME. RATHER TEACHERS WERE EXPECTED TO HOLD JOBS. THIS IS STILL A GOOD PRINCIPLE TODAY, FOR YAHUSHA WILL RAISE UP GIFTS WITHIN A GROUP (FOR A TIME) TO SERVE AND MINISTER TO HIS PEOPLE UNTIL THEY MATURE IN THE WORD AND NO LONGER NEED SUCH SHEPHERDING (SINCE YAHUSHA IN THE SHEPHERD) . . . IT’S CERTAINLY NOT FOR A CAREER OR A PROFESSION. SO PAUL WORKED AS A TENTMAKER AS DID AQUILA AND PRISCILLA.
IN PAUL’S DAY THE MOST COMMON CAUSE FOR SOCIAL-CLASS SUBDIVISION HAD TO DO WITH ONE’S OCCUPATION (AS IT STILL DOES TODAY). SO TRADE GUILDS WERE A CUSTOMARY MEANS OF SOCIETY DIVIDING THEMSELVES UP INTO SOCIAL UNITS, AND IT ALSO REPRESENTS THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT ORGANISED LABOR TO BOTH POLICE
THEMSELVES AND TO ASSURE THAT THEY WERE PAID AT SOME ACCEPTABLE LEVEL. IT WAS COMMON THAT A SYNAGOGUE WAS CREATED AND POPULATED BY MEMBERS OF A PARTICULAR TRADE GUILD. HOWEVER IN THE ROMAN WORLD, BLUE COLLAR LABOURERS WERE LOOKED DOWN UPON. ROMAN CITIZENS DID NOT USUALLY INDULGE IN MANUAL LABOR AS THEY SAW IT AS BENEATH THEM. SO WE SEE THAT JEWS (AND OTHER ETHNICITIES NO DOUBT) WERE THE MAIN SOURCE OF LABOR FOR THE ROMAN EMPIRE; NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE FORCED, BUT BECAUSE TRADECRAFT WAS SEEN IN JEWISH SOCIETY HAS HONOURABLE. SO IT WOULD BE NATURAL THAT IN THE DIASPORA, JEWS WOULD PRACTICE THEIR CRAFT IN A SOCIETY THAT WELCOMED AND NEEDED IT. NOT SURPRISINGLY WE FIND THE BIGGEST JEWISH COLONIES WITHIN THE BIGGEST CITIES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
THE IRONY OF THIS IS THAT PAUL WAS BORN INTO JEWISH ARISTOCRACY. HE WAS SENT TO THE FINEST JEWISH RELIGIOUS SCHOOL (GAMALIEL’S), AND THEN VERY QUICKLY AFTERWARDS BEGAN SERVING NOT AS A HUMBLE CRAFTSMAN BUT RATHER AS A SOPHISTICATED AND INTELLECTUAL STAFF MEMBER OF THE JERUSALEM SANHEDRIN. THE STATUS OF A TENTMAKER WAS IN CONFLICT WITH THE STATUS OF A LEARNED OPERATIVE FOR THE JEWISH HIGH COURT; IT IS ALSO NOT INDICATIVE OF HIS PRIVILEGED UPBRINGING AND SOCIAL STATION. SO HOW, WHEN AND WHY DID PAUL LEARN THE TRADE OF A LOWLY TENTMAKER? PROBABLY FOR 2 REASONS. AS A MEANS OF SUPPORTING HIMSELF ANYWHERE HE HAPPENED TO BE, AND TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM JEWISH ARISTOCRACY AND THE TIES HE HAD WITH THE SANHEDRIN.
INSTEAD HE ALIGNED HIMSELF WITH THE COMMON JEWS WHO WERE USUALLY CRAFTSMEN. ESSENTIALLY NOT LONG AFTER HIS DELIVERANCE PAUL CHOSE NOT ONLY TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH YAHUSHA ON A SPIRITUAL LEVEL, BUT ALSO TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH COMMON FOLK ON A SOCIAL LEVEL, BECAUSE CLEARLY PAUL WAS GOING TO SPEAK TO MORE COMMON FOLK THAN ARISTOCRATS.
THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR THE BRIDAL FELLOWSHIPMTODAY, AS THEY OPEN THE DOORWAY OF YAHUSHA'S DELIVERANCE TO OTHERS. WE NEED TO IDENTIFY WITH THOSE TO WHOM WE SPEAK. WE NEED TO REFRAIN FROM HOLDING OURSELVES AS ABOVE AND SEPARATE. YET PAUL WAS MERELY FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF HIS MASTER YAHUSHA, WHO WAS A CARPENTER AND SO FAR AS WE KNOW HE CONTINUED TO BE ONE THROUGHOUT HIS ADULT LIFE AND MINISTRY. HE DIDN’T PRESENT HIS MESSAGE TO THE RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP OR THE INFLUENTIAL, BUT RATHER TO THE EVERYDAY JEW. HE DIDN’T HANG OUT WITH THE WEALTHY, AND THEN AT TIMES GO MAKE A SPEECH TO THE POOR. HIS 12 DISCIPLES WERE THE JEWISH WORKING CLASS; NOT THE JEWISH ELITE. HE CAME FOR THE TAX-COLLECTORS, THE WHORES AND SINNERS.
EVEN IF THERE’S A DIFFERENCE IN EDUCATION AND AFFLUENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE, THERE SHOULD NOT BE AN INTENTIONALLY VISIBLE DIFFERENCE IN CLASS AND STATUS IN YAHUSHA'S BODY. PAUL IS NOT ONLY A MAN’S MAN, HE IS ALSO INDIFFERENT TO WEALTH AND PRESTIGE. OH, HE WOULD MAKE GOOD USE OF HIS ROMAN CITIZENSHIP AND HIS ELITE EDUCATION; BUT IT WAS TO DO YAHUSHA’S WORK OF SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS AS OPPOSED TO SPENDING TIME BUILDING BIGGER BARNS AND ENRICHING HIMSELF. HE DID NOT SEE IT AS DEMEANING TO LIVE AMONG THE AVERAGE WORKERS AND TO LABOR WITH HIS HANDS, FOR HE WANTED TO BE NEAR TO THOSE HE SOUGHT TO TEACH AND TO UTILISE HIS CRAFT AS THE MEANS TO SUPPORT HIMSELF, SO THAT HE COULD ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION WITHOUT PLACING THAT BURDEN UPON OTHERS. PAUL INTENTIONALLY RE-INVENTED HIMSELF SO THAT HE COULD FOLLOW THE MASTER ALL THE BETTER. AS WE READ ABOUT PAUL WE SEE WHY EARLY SCHOLARS CLAIMED THAT HEAVENLY ANGELS HONOURED HIM, AND DEMONS TREMBLED AT HIM SO THAT HE COULD HONESTLY SAY WITHOUT BRAGGING THAT (AS TAKEN FROM ACTS 20:34) “THESE SAME HANDS SERVED MY NEED AND THOSE WHO WERE WITH ME.”
4Every Shabath day Paul went to the Synagogue and talked with both Jews and Greeks, trying to persuade them to believe in YAHUSHA. 5But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time offering YAHUSHA’S message to the Jews, trying to reason and convince them that YAHUSHA is the Messiah. 6But they disagreed with what Paul was teaching and started insulting him.
So Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “If you’re not delivered, it’ll be your own fault! You’re blood is on your own heads now! I’m clean and have done all I can. From now on I’m only dealing with the nations (gentiles).”
THIS EXPRESSION IS FROM THE TORAH IDEA OF SUBSTITUTION, WHICH IS THE CENTRAL CONCEPT OF THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM, AND THEREFORE OF REDEMPTION IN MESSIAH YAHUSHA. THAT IS, INSTEAD OF THERE BEING A MEANS OF ATONEMENT (AND AN INNOCENT ANIMAL BEARING THE BRUNT OF YOUR OFFENCE) - A PERSON’S ACTIONS WILL NOW BRING UPON THAT PERSON WHAT THE LAW PRESCRIBES FOR THEIR OFFENCE. IN THIS CASE THE OFFENCE IS TO REFUSE THE OFFER OF DELIVERANCE IN YAHUSHA, AND SO THIS AMOUNTS TO BLASPHEMY.
PAUL IS ESSENTIALLY TELLING THOSE WHO REFUSE TO LISTEN TO HIM ABOUT YAHUAH’S MERCY THROUGH YAHUSHA THAT THEY ARE COMMITTING SPIRITUAL SUICIDE, AND THAT HE HAS DONE HIS PART BY TELLING THEM ABOUT THE GOSPEL AND THEREFORE ALSO THE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTING IT, AND SO BEARS NO FURTHER RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MATTER. THAT, FOLKS, IS REALLY THE ATTITUDE WE ARE TO HAVE. WE ARE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH OF THE GOOD NEWS TO WHOMEVER THE MASTER PUTS IN OUR PATH AND WHATEVER HAPPENS AFTER THAT IS BETWEEN THAT PERSON AND YAHUSHA. IT IS NOT UP TO US WHETHER THIS PERSON MAKES IT INTO THE KINGDOM OF YAHUSHA - IT IS NOT OUR BURDER OR RESPONSIBILITY, AND FRANKLY TO MAKE IT SUCH, IS EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS! HOWEVER FOR US TO BE LAZY IN OUR DUTY TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT YAHUSHA (PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW NEED IT) IN SOME WAYS MAKES US COMPLICIT IN THEIR DESTRUCTION.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE READ OF PAUL REFUSING TO ADDRESS CERTAIN OF THE SYNAGOGUE COMMUNITY ANY MORE. BUT HE’S NOT SAYING THAT HE HAS JUST ENDED ASSOCIATION WITH JEWS OR BRINGING THE GOOD NEWS TO JEWS. HE’S SIMPLY SAYING THAT HIS MAIN ATTENTION IS GOING TO BE TO THE GENTILES NOW.
7Paul left the Synagogue and moved into the home of Titius Justus, a man who was a worshiper of the true Alahim YAHUAH. His house was next to the Synagogue. 8Crispus was the leader of that Synagogue. He and all the people living in his house believed in the Master YAHUSHA. Many other people in Corinth also listened to Paul. They, too, believed and were immersed. 9During the night, Paul had a vision.
And YAHUSHA said to Paul, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t stop talking to people. 10I am with you, and no one will be able to hurt you. Many of My people are in this city.” 11So Paul stayed there for a year and a half teaching YAHUSHA’S Good News to the people. 12During the time that Gallio was the Governor of Achaia, some of the Jews came together against Paul. They took him to court. 13They said to Gallio, “This man is teaching people to worship Alahim in a way that is against our law!”
THERE WEREN’T RIOTS IN THE STREETS OF CORINTH IN PROTEST (AS WE SAW IN OTHER PLACES PAUL WENT), RATHER THERE WAS A WELL THOUGHT OUT ATTEMPT BY THE JEWISH COMMUNITY TO OFFICIALLY OUTLAW WHAT PAUL WAS TEACHING. WE SEE THIS EXACT THING IN ISRAEL TODAY. PROSELYTISING (TRYING TO CONVERT) JEWS IN ISRAEL ISN’T JUST DISCOURAGED; IT IS ILLEGAL AND IS PUNISHABLE WITH HEAVY FINES AND JAIL TIME. THE EFFECT OF WHAT PROCONSUL GALLIO COULD DECIDE IN THE CASE, AND WHAT ISRAEL IN MODERN TIMES HAS DECIDED, HAS A PROFOUND EFFECT ON BEING ABLE TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL. IT IS ONE THING TO BATTLE INDIVIDUALS; IT IS QUITE ANOTHER TO BATTLE AGAINST OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT POLICY.
WHAT LAW WAS PAUL BREAKING? YAHUAH’S? NO … JEWISH LAW! (HALAKHAH) WHICH IS A FUSION OF THE SCRIPTURAL TORAH, JEWISH TRADITION, AND JEWISH CUSTOMS. THE TYPICAL TERM THAT WAS USED THROUGHOUT THE NEW BLOOD-COVENANT WRITINGS IS SIMPLY “THE LAW”.
NOW WE OF COURSE KNOW THAT IN ITS MOST TECHNICAL AND ORIGINAL SENSE, THE TERM “THE LAW” POINTS TO THAT PART OF THE SCRIPTURAL TORAH WHERE THE LAWS OF MOSES ARE WRITTEN DOWN, BUT THAT WAS (IN PAUL’S DAY AND STILL TO THIS DAY) NO LONGER WHAT IT’S REFERRING TO (USUALLY). “THE LAW” IN COMMON EVERYDAY SPEECH AMONG JEWS, ALWAYS MEANT HALAKHAH: JEWISH LAW. AND JUST TO MAKE THINGS A BIT MORE CONFUSING FOR US, THE TERM “TORAH” HAD ALSO EVOLVED TO CARRY A DUAL MEANING. AT TIMES IT WAS USED IN ITS TECHNICAL SENSE AS MEANING THE FIRST 5 BOOKS OF THE SCRIPTURE (FROM MOSES) - BUT IN ITS MORE COMMON USAGE SIMPLY MEANT HALAKHAH (JEWISH LAW) ALSO.
THIS UNDERSTANDING IS CRITICAL BECAUSE PAUL USES THE TERM “THE LAW” OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN HIS LETTERS AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE MEANS BY THAT. IF WE DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TIME THAT WE SEE THE WORD “LAW” THAT PAUL MEANS “JEWISH ORAL LAW” THEN IT SENDS US DOWN RABBIT TRAILS THAT PRODUCE ERRONEOUS DOCTRINES, ESPECIALLY THAT PAUL IS DECLARING THAT THE TORAH LAW OF MOSES IS A BAD THING, A FAULTY THING, WHICH YAHUAH FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND SO HE ABOLISHED IT - NOT TRUE !! YAHUSHA EVEN DECLARES IN MATTHEW 5 THAT THE LAW IS NOT ABOLISHED AND IN FACT NOT THE SMALLEST JOT OR TITTLE OF IT WILL CHANGE UNTIL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASSES AWAY.
14Paul was ready to say something, but Gallio spoke to the Jews, saying, “I would listen to you if your complaint was about a crime or other wrong. 15But it’s only about words and names, arguments about your own law. Go and resolve this problem yourselves. I don’t want to be a judge of these petty matters.” 16So Gallio made them leave the court. 17Then they all grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the Synagogue and beat him before the court. (SOSTHENES HAD ALLOWED PAUL TO SPEAK IN THE SYNAGOGUE AND SO THEY BLAMED HIM FOR THE DRAMA).
But this did not bother Gallio.
BACK IN THIS DAY, BOTH THE JEWS AND THE ROMANS SAW NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN JEWS AND MEMBERS OF ‘YAHUSHA’S WAY’. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE SIMPLY DIFFERENT SECTS OF THE SAME RELIGION: JUDAISM. SO WHAT DID THESE ANGRY UNBELIEVING JEWS DO WHEN GALLIO REFUSED THEIR REQUEST? THEY TOOK ANOTHER SYNAGOGUE LEADER NAMED SOSTHENES AND BEAT HIM UP IN FULL VIEW OF GALLIO, WHO EXPRESSED NO INTEREST IN STOPPING IT.
(SOSTHENES HAD ALLOWED PAUL TO SPEAK IN THE SYNAGOGUE AND SO THEY BLAMED HIM FOR THE DRAMA).
But this did not bother Gallio. 18Paul stayed with the believers for many days. Then he left and sailed for Syria. Priscilla and Aquila were also with him. At Cenchrea Paul cut off his hair (FINISHING A NAZIRITE VOW MAYBE)
because he had made a promise to YAHUSHA. 19Then they went to the city of Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. While Paul was in Ephesus, he went into the Synagogue and talked with the Jews.
MANY GENTILE ALAHIM-FEARERS WHO ATTENDED SOME OF THESE SYNAGOGUES WERE MORE OPEN TO THE GOSPEL OF YAHUSHA BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T AS INDOCTRINATED TO THE JEWISH TRADITIONS ABOUT THE EXPECTED NATURE OF THE MESSIAH AS THE JEWS WERE. THE TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVE WAS THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD LIKE KING DAVID WAS;
14Paul was ready to say something, but Gallio spoke to the Jews, saying, “I would listen to you if your complaint was about a crime or other wrong. 15But it’s only about words and names, arguments about your own law. Go and resolve this problem yourselves. I don’t want to be a judge of these petty matters.” 16So Gallio made them leave the court. 17Then they all grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the Synagogue and beat him before the court.
20They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. 21He left them and said, “I will come back to you again if YAHUSHA wants me too.” And so he sailed away from Ephesus. 22When Paul arrived at Caesarea, he went to Jerusalem and visited the Fellowship there. After that he went to Antioch. 23Paul stayed in Antioch for a while. Then he left there and went through the countries of Galatia and Phrygia. He traveled from town to town in these countries, helping all the followers of YAHUSHA grow stronger in their belief.
EVEN, PERHAPS, A REINCARNATION (OF SORTS) OF KING DAVID HIMSELF. THIS MESSIAH WOULD BE A WARRIOR LEADER WHO WOULD PROPEL THE JEWS TO A SUCCESSFUL REBELLION AGAINST ROME, FREE THE JEWISH NATION FROM ITS OCCUPIERS, INSTALL THE JEWISH MESSIAH AS THE NEW KING AFTER THE LINE OF DAVID - OF A NEW AND EXPANDED ISRAELITE KINGDOM, AND ESSENTIALLY REPLACE THE ROMAN EMPIRE AS THE NEXT WORLD POWER. BRINGING ISRAEL BACK INTO THE ZENITH OF WEALTH AND POWER THAT THEY'D ONLY HEARD ABOUT IN THE TIMES OF SOLOMON.
THIS WAS AN ERA WHEN THE SYNAGOGUE (NOT THE TEMPLE) WAS THE SOURCE OF JEWISH RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION, AND THE OVERSIGHT FOR PROPER OBSERVANCE AND BEHAVIOUR WAS PERFORMED BY THE SYNAGOGUE LEADERS WHO TOOK THEIR CUE FROM THE PHARISEES. THE TEMPLE WAS CONSIDERED BY MANY ORDINARY JEWS TO BE OF QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY, AND MANY CONSIDERED IT CORRUPT AND ILLEGITIMATE (I WONDER WHY?) SO PRIESTS WERE SIMPLY THERE AND TOLERATED BECAUSE OF THE TORAH-REQUIRED RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL FUNCTIONS THAT THEY (AND ONLY THEY) COULD PERFORM.
24A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. Born in the city of Alexandria, he was an educated man who knew the Scriptures well. 25He had been taught about the Master and was always excited to talk to people about YAHUSHA. What he taught was right, but the only immersion he knew about was what John the Immerser had taught. 26Apollos began to speak very boldly in the Synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they took him to their home and helped him understand the way of YAHUSHA (and His New Immersion) better.
AFTER A WHILE, NOT ALL BELIEVERS LOOKED TO JAMES AND PETER AS THEIR SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITIES. SOME BELIEVERS (NO DOUBT INCLUDING APOLLOS) WERE SO INTELLIGENT AND EDUCATED THAT THEY DIDN’T FEEL THE NEED TO HAVE A MENTOR OR TO BE GIVEN OFFICIAL PERMISSION TO TEACH ABOUT YAHUSHA AND THE GOSPEL. SO, THEY DIDN’T ALL BELIEVE THE SAME THINGS AND THEREFORE DIDN’T ALL TEACH THE SAME DOCTRINES (SOUND FAMILIAR TODAY?) THEY STUDIED ON THEIR OWN AND SOUGHT TO ENLIGHTEN OTHERS ON THEIR OWN. SO IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW WITH ANY CERTAINTY EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THAT APOLLOS WAS TEACHING ABOUT YAHUSHA. WHAT IS STARTLING, HOWEVER, IS THAT WHEN ASKED ABOUT IMMERSION HE SAID HE ONLY KNEW ABOUT JOHN’S IMMERSION AND KNEW NOTHING OF BEING IMMERSED INTO YAHUSHA. CLEARLY APOLLOS WAS A MOTIVATED SPEAKER AND TEACHER, SO AFTER SOME AMOUNT OF TIME HE TRAVELED TO ACHAIA TO SPEAK AND TEACH. HE APPARENTLY HAD GAINED ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE, AND NOW SUFFICIENTLY AGREED WITH THE DOCTRINES OF THE WAY, THAT LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION WERE SENT ON HIS BEHALF TO BELIEVERS IN ACHAIA TO WELCOME HIM.
27Apollos wanted to go to Achaia. So the believers in Ephesus helped him. They wrote a letter to YAHUSHA’S followers in Achaia and asked them to accept Apollos. So when he arrived there, he was a great help to those who had believed in YAHUSHA through the favour of the Father. 28He argued very strongly against the Jews before all the people. He clearly proved that the Jews were wrong and used the Scriptures, showing that YAHUSHA is infact the Messiah.
