[1] After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. [2] And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. [3] So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. [4] And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. [5] When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews [that] Jesus [is] the Christ. [6] But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook [his] garments and said to them, "Your blood [be] upon your [own] heads; I [am] clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." [7] And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain [man] named Justus, [one] who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. [9] Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; [10] "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city." [11] And he continued [there] a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.1
Indeed it seems to be the case that the greater the preacher the more hesitant he has generally been to preach. Oftentimes such men have had to be persuaded by ministers and elders and others to do this; they so shrank from the dread responsibility.6
Endnotes:
1. | Acts 18:1-11, NKJV |
2. | Ref-0063, 70 |
3. | Ref-1499, 418n5 |
4. | Ref-1499, 418n5 |
5. | Ref-0436, 314 |
6. | Ref-1369, 107 |
7. | Ref-0197, 150 |
Sources:
Acts 18:1-11 | Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture references are from the New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
Ref-0063 | Tim Dowley, ed., The History of Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995). |
Ref-0197 | Erich Sauer, The Dawn Of World Redemption (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Publishing Company, c1964, 1951). |
Ref-0436 | Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996, c1989). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.). New York: United Bible societies. |
Ref-1369 | Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preachers and Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1971). ISBN:0-310-27870-8d. |
Ref-1499 | Wilbur Pickering, The Greek New Testament: According to Family 35, 2nd ed. (n.p.: Wilbur N. Pickering, 2015). ISBN:978-0-989-82737-9e. |