Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 18:5
And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews [that] Jesus [was] Christ.
5. And ( But) when Silas and Timotheus were come ( came down) from Macedonia ] The particle at the beginning of the verse is better regarded as adversative. We have in this verse an account of a change in the character of the Apostle’s preaching after the arrival of Silas and Timothy, who had been left at Bera (Act 17:14). It may well be that he had encouragement by their presence in his work, and also that it was not so necessary for him to consume his whole time on his craft because the Philippians had sent a contribution for his support (Php 4:15; 2Co 11:9).
Paul was pressed in spirit ] The best texts read, was constrained by the word (so R. V.) and the Vulg. “instabat verbo” is evidence in its favour. The sense seems to be, he was earnestly occupied in preaching the Word, and felt himself more urged on, and also more able, to preach, because of his freedom from the necessity of constant labour. It was apparently only on the Sabbath that he had reasoned with the people before. The usus loquendi favours the passive meaning. Meyer (3rd ed.) renders “he was apprehended, seized by the word” in the sense of internal pressure of spirit.
testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ ] This sentence which is of the participial form in the original intimates the manner in which the greater earnestness of the Apostle was exhibited. He gave in all its fulness his solemn testimony, no doubt confirmed from Scripture and by the narrative of his own miraculous conversion, that this Jesus, whom he had formerly persecuted, was the Christ, the Messiah whom the Jews had long expected.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And when Silas and Timotheus … – They came to Paul according to the request which he had sent by the brethren who accompanied him from Thessalonica, Act 17:15.
Paul was pressed – Was urged; was borne away by an unusual impulse. It was deeply impressed on him as his duty.
In spirit – In his mind; in his feelings. His love to Christ was so great, and his conviction of the truth so strong, that he labored to make known to them the truth that Jesus Was the Messiah.
That Jesus was Christ – That Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. Compare Act 17:16. The presence of Silas and Timothy animated him; and the certainty of aid in his work urged him to zeal in making known the Saviour.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 18:5-8
And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit (R.., By the Word).
Enthusiasm justified
1. Different effects are produced in different minds by the proclamation of the same truths. Some may accept it with a languid spirit, assured of its verity, but wholly indifferent to its real import; others may receive it with all gladness, rejoicing to repeat it with enthusiastic delight. A lighted match falling on a granite rock or pile of sand is extinguished; but the same, when applied to wood, kindles a genial glow, or, to powder, creates a flame and explosion. So with truth. Even Christian minds are affected by the same truth very differently at different times.
2. Paul was familiar with these varying experiences. When he was at Athens his spirit was stirred within him as he saw the prevailing idolatry. At Rome he felt the power of her imperial greatness, and was not ashamed of the gospel of the Son of God. But now at Corinth, though he preached in the synagogue, it does not seem that he was putting forth any special effort to reach the people. He may have been disheartened. But the vision was at hand, and with it the emphatic command, Speak! Even now was he straitened. The same word is used by the Saviour (Luk 12:50) and by Paul (Php 1:23), when he says that he is in a strait betwixt two. Now that the help brought him by Silas and Timotheus released him from labour, he yielded to an urgent and imperative impulse, testifying that, Jesus was Christ. Opposition did not deter. When the Jews blasphemed, he shock his robe, and said (Act 18:6).
3. We are apt to regard the great apostle as a flaming star that burned incessantly. We forget his human moods, though he records them. We rejoice in these recorded imperfections of the good, so far as they show the triumphs of Divine grace, for they encourage us to trust in the same ennobling and overruling grace in the midst of our own infirmities. Rising from his apparently passive condition, urged by the assurance, I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee, he boldly and ardently proclaimed the truth as it is in Jesus.
I. This enthusiasm was justifiable; his inertness was not. Moods like this might have led him to say that he was not meet to be an apostle; but when he reflected upon the truth, it filled and thrilled him. Now he was ready to preach to prince or peasant. Man was great in his possibilities. Sin was a terrific evil. He saw, too, the power of the gospel to save man. He believed that eternal life and death hinged on the acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ. These were the springs of his enthusiasm, and they justified it. A man drops from an ocean steamer into the sea. You shout aloud for help to save him. The occasion justifies your excitement. A trivial occurrence would not warrant an outcry. Fanaticism is sometimes shown in its disproportionate zeal for unimportant matters; but Paul was pressed by an imminent and awful truth that menaced the ungodly. His enthusiasm would be ours if his convictions were.
II. There is an enormous power in such an enthusiasm.
1. So it proved at Corinth when Pauls soul flamed forth in eager utterance. The power of truth is measured oftentimes by the resistance it awakens. So bitterly did the Jews hate him, they were ready to invoke the aid of Rome–another hated power–to crush Paul. We ought not to be cast down because today atheists assault Christianity. This is but the answer of mans rebellious will to Gods authoritative voice. Were there no opposition to the Bible we might think that there was no power in it.
2. The work Paul did at Corinth showed that his enthusiasm had a vital energy. Even in that wicked city Paul gained much people to the Lord. Did we feel the pressure he felt, we, too, would be eloquent in our advocacy of the truth. The burden of the spirit is relieved by earnest speech; and this secret, subtle power of soul is contagious. Rome felt it, as thousands of martyrs gave up their lives for the Lord Jesus. Mediaeval ages felt it, as Christian missionaries carried to savage tribes the gospel that became the seed of Christian commonwealths. Germany and England felt this intrepid and heroic enthusiasm of the Reformers. Puritan civilisation, modern missionary enterprises–in short, all self-sacrifice founded on conviction of the truth of God, illustrate the abiding and triumphant power of this element of life.
III. We infer, then, what is our great lack. It is the pressure of the Word. We do not have it as we ought. We are trying to push a steamer across the sea, only using tepid water. Without this full and mighty pressure of consecrated enthusiasm, our example, teaching, and giving are all defective in impulse and in power.
IV. Therefore we see the duty of prayer for the holy ghost. Kindled as at Pentecost, out love will then make our life vocal with a Divine message. Our inertness will be rebuked as we contemplate the devotion of Paul under the pressure of his illuminated sense of truth and duty. Baptized anew, the Church will go on from conquest to conquest. (R. S. Storrs, D. D.)
Encouragements–Divine and human
1. In Act 18:5 we read that Paul was pressed in the spirit; in chap. 17:16 we read that Pauls spirit was stirred in him. In both cases it was not a little transient excitement, it was agony. Would God we could recall our early enthusiasm, our first burning hate of sin. We are familiar with it; we pat its black head. Paul was a man of conviction. He really believed that there was no other name given under heaven among men whereby they could be saved but the name of Christ. That faith will not lodge in the same heart with indifference.
2. In Act 17:6 we read, From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. Paul was not the man to lay hold upon the plough and to turn back; Paul would not even keep company with a young man who had broken faith with him in the Christian work. He went clear through with it to the end. Let us never give up the work. We may turn in vexation of soul from stolid unbelief and preach to ignorant and bewildered heathenism, but do not let the work have less of our energy because we have been disappointed in this or that particular circle.
3. A little encouragement would cheer us now. Here it is in Act 17:7-8. Paul entered into a certain mans house, named Justus, one that worshipped God–is there any greater phrase in all human speech? And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed, and many of the Corinthians thought they would believe too. Great men are the looking glasses into which ordinary men look to see what they ought to be like. What we want, then, is courage on the part of those whose influence is extensive. If you, the head of the house, could say, Let us worship God, many within the house might respond So be it. We must have leadership–may that leadership always be in an upward direction.
4. We have encouragement in Act 17:9 in another form. These words were not spoken once for all; they are spoken every day to every earnest labourer. God took the census of Corinth from a religious point of view. Apparently there was not a saint in the whole place. As Athens was wholly given to idolatry, so Corinth was, apparently, wholly given to sensuality. We cannot tell where Gods people are. The ancient prophet thought that he alone was left; but God told him that He knew of seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. God is looking for His own; and one of the most gracious surprises in store for the Church is that there will be more people in Gods pure home than it may have entered into the most generous human heart to conceive.
5. But Act 17:12 seems to contradict the vision. What a violent transition! At night, lost in the ecstasies of Divine fellowship, in the morning dragged before the judgment seat by an incensed mob! Is it thus that Providence contradicts itself? Apparently so, but not really. Evil shall be overruled for good; for the outcome was the Church at Corinth.
6. But we are told by Mr. Buckle, e.g., that Christian missions have failed. He sets side by side with missionary reports the testimony of impartial, independent, well-instructed travellers, who say that whilst many heathen populations have taken upon themselves Christian forms of worship, they are destitute of the spirit of Christianity. It is beautiful to notice the verdant simplicity of men who have just discovered that nominally converted and baptized people are not angels. Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized; but impartial and independent travellers testify that even after that they were not so good as they might have been. Did Paul set them forth to be perfect men? Read his Epistles to the Corinthians. We must not give up missionary work simply because some impartial and independent travellers interrupt their geographical business by little scrutinies into the spirit and manners of people who had been baptized into the name of Christ. We do not expect a man to grow in a night. If they have been arrested; if their attention has been turned in the right direction; if they have expressed a desire to enter even into the veriest elementary lines of discipleship, let us be glad, and report at home that the battle is moving towards victory. Things are seen most by contrast. What is black is blackest when seen upon a white surface, and so many of our shortcomings and failures look very black because of the background of the holy Name which we profess to have accepted as our symbol and our hope–the spotless name of the Son of God! (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. When Silas and Timotheus were come] We have seen, Ac 17:13, that when Paul was obliged to leave Berea, because of the persecution raised up against him in that place, he left Silas and Timotheus behind; to whom he afterwards sent word to rejoin him at Athens with all speed. It appears, from 1Th 3:10, that, on Timothy’s coming to Athens, Paul immediately sent him, and probably Silas with him, to comfort and establish the Church at Thessalonica. How long they laboured here is uncertain, but they did not rejoin him till some time after he came to Corinth. It appears that he was greatly rejoiced at the account which Timothy brought of the Church at Thessalonica; and it must have been immediately after this that he wrote his first epistle to that Church, which is probably the first, in order of time, of all his epistles.
Paul was pressed in spirit] , or he was constrained by the Spirit of God, in an extraordinary manner, to testify to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. Instead of , in the spirit, , in the word or doctrine, is the reading of ABDE, three others; both the Syriac, Coptic, Vulgate, Basil, Chrysostom, and others. Griesbach has received this reading into the text, and Bp. Pearce thus paraphrases the verse: “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul set himself, together with them, wholly to the word; i.e. he was fully employed, now that he had their assistance, it preaching the Gospel, called the word in Ac 4:4; Ac 16:6; Ac 16:32; Ac 17:11. St. Luke seems to have intended to express here something relating to St. Paul which was the consequence of the coming of Silas and Timotheus; and that was rather labouring with them more abundantly in preaching the word than his being “pressed in spirit.” This appears to be the true sense of the word, and that is the genuine reading there can be no doubt. , which we translate pressed, and which the Vulgate translates instabat, Bp. Pearce thinks should be translated una cum illis instabat, he earnestly strove together with them, , in preaching the word. The true sense is given by Calmet, Paul s’employoit a precher encore avec plus d’ardeur, Paul was employed with more ardour in preaching, and testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. From this time we hear no more of Silas; probably he died in Macedonia.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Were come from Macedonia; according as was ordered by him, Act 17:14,15.
Pressed in the spirit; more than ordinarily affected, the Spirit of God influencing his spirit, so that he felt an anguish or pain at the heart, as 2Co 2:4; such was his grief for the contumacy of the Jews, so great was his desire that they might be saved.
Jesus was Christ:
1. The Christ, or anointed, that excelled all other Christs or anointed ones, being anointed with oil above measure.
2. The Christ that was promised by the prophets.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5, 6. And when Silas and Timotheuswere come from Macedoniathat is, from Thessalonica, whitherSilas had probably accompanied Timothy when sent back from Athens(see on Ac 17:15).
Paul was pressed in thespiritrather (according to what is certainly the true reading)”was pressed with the word”; expressing not only his zealand assiduity in preaching it, but some inward pressure whichat this time he experienced in the work (to convey which more clearlywas probably the origin of the common reading). What that pressurewas we happen to know, with singular minuteness and vividness ofdescription, from the apostle himself, in his first Epistles to theCorinthians and Thessalonians (1Co 2:1-5;1Th 3:1-10). He had comeaway from Athens, as he remained there, in a depressed and anxiousstate of mind, having there met, for the first time, with unwillingGentile ears. He continued, apparently for some time, laboring alonein the synagogue of Corinth, full of deep and anxious solicitude forhis Thessalonian converts. His early ministry at Corinth was coloredby these feelings. Himself deeply humbled, his power as a preacherwas more than ever felt to lie in demonstration of the Spirit. Atlength Silas and Timotheus arrived with exhilarating tidings of thefaith and love of his Thessalonian children, and of their earnestlonging again to see their father in Christ; bringing with them also,in token of their love and duty, a pecuniary contribution for thesupply of his wants. This seems to have so lifted him as to put newlife and vigor into his ministry. He now wrote his FIRSTEPISTLE TO THETHESSALONIANS, in whichthe “pressure” which resulted from all this strikinglyappears. (See Introduction to FirstThessalonians). Such emotions are known only to the ministers ofChrist, and, even of them, only to such as “travail in birthuntil Christ be formed in” their hearers.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia,…. Not from Berea in Macedonia, for from hence they came to the apostle while at Athens, and from whence he sent them, at least Timothy, to Thessalonica, to know the state of the saints there, as appears from 1Th 3:1 and from hence they now came to the apostle at Corinth: when
Paul was pressed in Spirit; either by the Holy Spirit, by which he was moved and stirred up to preach the Gospel more frequently, and more powerfully; for he had not always the same measure of the Spirit, or was not always under the same influence; or else in his own spirit, and so the Arabic version renders it, “grief beset the spirit of Paul”; his soul was filled with trouble and sorrow, when he observed the nonrepenitence and unbelief, the contradiction and blasphemy of the greater part of the Jews; and being filled with zeal for their welfare, he continued preaching Christ unto them. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, instead of “in spirit”, read “in speech”, or “in word”; and the sense is, not that he was straitened in his speech, and knew not what to say to the Jews, or had not freedom of speech with them; but he was instant in preaching to them, and preached the word more frequently and fervently, upon the coming of Silas and Timothy to his assistance:
and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ; he continued to produce more testimonies out of the writings of Moses, and the prophets, to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, or Messiah, prophesied of in those writings, and promised to the Jews, and whom they expected.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Was constrained by the word ( ). This is undoubtedly the correct text and not of the Textus Receptus, but is in my opinion the direct middle imperfect indicative, not the imperfect passive as the translations have it (Robertson, Grammar, p. 808). Paul held himself together or completely to the preaching instead of just on Sabbaths in the synagogue (verse 4). The coming of Silas and Timothy with the gifts from Macedonia (1Thess 3:6; 2Cor 11:9; Phil 4:15) set Paul free from tent-making for a while so that he began to devote himself (inchoative imperfect) with fresh consecration to preaching. See the active in 2Co 5:14. He was now also assisted by Silas and Timothy (2Co 1:19).
Testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ ( ). Paul’s witness everywhere (Acts 9:22; Acts 17:3). This verb occurs in 2:40 (which see) for Peter’s earnest witness. Perhaps daily now in the synagogue he spoke to the Jews who came. is the infinitive in indirect discourse (assertion) with the accusative of general reference. By Paul means “the Messiah.” His witness is to show to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Was pressed in the spirit [ ] . Instead of spirit the best texts read logw, by the word. On pressed or constrained, see note on taken, Luk 4:38. The meaning is, Paul was engrossed by the word. He was relieved of anxiety by the arrival of his friends, and stimulated to greater activity in the work of preaching the word.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when Silas and Timotheus,” (hos de hote Silas kai ho Timotheus) “Then when or (as) both Silas and Timothy,” companions on this missionary tour with Paul, Act 15:22; Act 15:39-41; Act 16:1-5.
2) “Were come down from Macedonia,” (katelthon apo tes Makedonias) “Came down from Macedonia,” or were having arrived from Macedonis, where Paul had left them behind to strengthen the brethren there, at least in Berea; Some believed they also had returned to Thessalonica to encourage the church, Act 17:13-14.
3) “Paul was pressed in the spirit,” (suneichetp to logo ho Paulos) “Paul was pressed by the word,” thru the spirit, as true ministers of God are, anxious that sinners be saved and “Christ be formed” in their hearers, in new disciples, that they “put on the Lord-Jesus Christ,” in their pattern of living, Rom 12:1-2; 1Jn 2:15-17; Gal 4:19.
4) “And testified to the Jews,” (diamarturomenos tois loudaiois) “Solemnly witnessing to the Jews,” evangelically and fervently witnessing to the Jews of his own race, that they might receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, as he had done, Rom 9:1-3; Rom 10:1-4.
5) “That Jesus was Christ.” (einai ton Christon lesoun) “Jesus to be (exist as) the Christ,” as related Act 18:28, as he had done before the Jerusalem brethren, Act 9:22, and as he had done in the synagogue at Thessalonica, Act 17:3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act. 18:5. Pressed in spirit.According to the oldest authorities this should be was held together by the word, i.e., either earnestly occupied with the business of preaching (Bengel, Holtzmann, and others), or wholly seized upon and constrained by the word within him (R.V.).
Act. 18:6. Your blood be upon your own heads.Compare 2Sa. 1:16; 1Ki. 2:33; Eze. 3:18; Eze. 3:20; Eze. 33:4; Eze. 33:6; Eze. 33:8.
Act. 18:7. Justus.The oldest MSS. waver between Titus Justus (R.V.), Titius Justus, and simply Justus, who, however named, is not to be identified with Titus (Wieseler).
Act. 18:9. By a vision.Compare Act. 16:9; Act. 23:11. The words addressed to Paul remind one of Isa. 62:1.
Act. 18:11. A year and six months.Pauls whole sojourn in Corinth was three years (Act. 19:31).
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.Act. 18:5-11
A Year and Six Months in Corinth; or, Three Significant Experiences
I. Renewed activity in preaching.
1. Brought about by the coming of old friends. Though Paul was of more heroic mould than to sink beneath the pressure of external circumstances, however severe (Php. 4:13), though he could testify for Christ without other aid than that Christ extended, whether in the Areopagus before Athenian philosophers (Act. 17:22), or at Csarea before Festus and Agrippa (Act. 26:1), or at Rome before Nero (2Ti. 4:16), he was nevertheless in a high degree dependent on the sympathy of others. During the absence of Timothy and Silas he felt lonely both in Athens and in Corinth, while there is good ground for thinking that his strength was at this time somewhat weakened through his thorn or stake in the flesh (1Co. 2:3), and perhaps also through the severe privations he chose to endure rather than accept support from his friends in Corinth, where his enemies were numerous (2Co. 11:8; 2Co. 12:13 et seq.; 1Co. 9:12). Consequently, though he never for a moment dreamt of abandoning his holy work of preaching, he nevertheless toiled along as if a heavy burden lay upon his spirit. Accordingly when, after the lapse probably of some weeks, or it might be months, Timothy and Silas arrived from Macedonia, the former from Thessalonica bringing cheering tidings of the faith and charity of his dear friends in that city and perhaps also such material assistance from them as helped to relieve him from the necessity of manual labour (1Th. 3:6), and the latter from Bera (Act. 17:14), possibly with equally cheering intelligence about the Church there, and with gifts of love from Philippi (Php. 4:15; 2Co. 11:9), the load lifted from his heart so that he bounded forward in his work with revived alacrity and zeal, as if the word had seized upon him (see Critical Remarks) and constrained him with a holy violence, impelling him to greater diligence, fervour, and prayerfulness than before (compare 1Co. 9:16).
2. Manifested in special efforts to gain his countrymen. Though designated specially as the minister of Christ to the Gentiles, Paul never could forget the fact that the Jews were his kinsmen according to the flesh, or neglect an opportunity of seeking their salvation. Hence this fresh outburst of missionary zeal which seized upon him was directed specially to them. With redoubled energy and impassioned earnestness he laid before them the proofs from Scripture that Jesus was the Christ. (For the manner of his preaching see 1Co. 2:4; and for its matter 1Co. 15:3.) Not that he neglected others; but these were his first care (Luk. 24:47; Rom. 1:16).
II. Renewed opposition by the Jews.
1. Its secret spring. Nothing local, or accidental, or personal to Paul such as his contemptible presence or speech (2Co. 10:10); but the innate hostility of the human heart to a gospel of salvation by grace and through faith without works (1Co. 2:14), and the irreconcilable antagonism of the Jewish heart to everything and every one that challenged the validity of Moses law, as understood and practised by them, or accused them of ignorance and sin in rejecting Jesus as Messiah.
2. Its bitter violence. Like defeated controversialists generally when they cannot answer their opponents, and like their co-religionists at Antioch (Act. 13:45) and afterwards at Ephesus (Act. 19:9), they betook themselves to abusive language, railing against the apostle and blaspheming God and Christ (compare 1Co. 12:3).
3. Its necessary consequence. Paul discontinued his efforts to persuade them.
(1) His symbolic action. He shook, or shook out, his raimenti.e., shook out the dust from its folds, as in Antioch of Pisidia he had shaken the dust from his feet (Act. 13:51), for a testimony against them.
(2). His solemn declaration. Your blood be upon your own heads; I am pure; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. By this he gave them to understand that the responsibility for their destruction, both as a people and as individuals, would rest entirely with themselves, that he regarded himself as in no way involved in their guilt, and that henceforth he would preach exclusively to the Gentiles (compare Act. 20:6; Eze. 33:5-9).
(3) His public withdrawal. From that day forward he no more frequented their synagogue, no more proclaimed to them the words of eternal life, no more invited them to believe. Having made their election, they were now by him left to the tender mercies of Heaven. So far from being again pressed to accept salvation, they would no more be troubled. Practically by Christs ambassador they were judicially abandoned.
III. Renewed consolation from God.
1. The opening of a new door. When the synagogue was closed against the apostle, the house of a Greek proselyte, Justus, or Titus Justus (R.V.), opened to give him welcome, as afterwards at Ephesus the school of Tyrannus was placed at his disposal, when excluded from the synagogue (Act. 19:9). There does not appear to be sufficient ground for identifying this individual who befriended the apostle in Corinth with Titus, or supposing that Paul left Aquilas house and went to lodge with Justus. What Luke designs to say is rather this, that while Paul continued lodging and working with Aquila, he preached on the Sabbaths in the house of Justus, who resided hard by the synagogue, so that the Jews and proselytes, if they chose, might still come to hear him. In the action of Justus Paul would undoubtedly delight to see the guiding hand of his glorified Master (Rev. 3:7).
2. The accession of a new friend. Whether Justus was at this time a believer or not cannot with certainty be inferred from Lukes words. If, as is most likely, he was not, the probability is that he ultimately became a convert. But the withdrawal or exclusion of Paul from the synagogue led to the decision of Crispus its ruler to cast in his lot with the new cause, in which act he was followed by his whole house. Already Paul had gathered converts in Corinth, of humble and most probably of slavish origin, the first of these beingnot Epnetus (Rom. 16:5), where the true reading is of Asiabut the household of Stephanas (1Co. 16:15). The conversion, however, of one so prominent as Crispus and of his family, whom, as well as the household of Stephanas, Paul baptised with his own hand, either because of their importance or because of the absence of his assistants (1Co. 1:15-16), could not fail to exert a powerful and happy influence on the side of the gospel and on the heart of Paul. Most likely this contributed to the success of Pauls ministry in Justuss house, many of the Corinthians who heard him there having believed and been baptised, which again led to the prolongation of his ministry in Corinth for a year and six months.
3. The enjoyment of a new vision. In some respects this differed from each of the other visions granted to Paul. The vision at Damascus (Act. 9:12), like that in the temple at Jerusalem (Act. 22:18), occurred at midday; this, like the vision at Troas (Act. 16:9), took place at night. In the vision at Troas a man of Macedonia appeared; whereas in this, as in the Damascus and Jerusalem visions, it was the form of the glorified Redeemer that was seen. The purpose of the Jerusalem vision was to counsel Paul to flee from the city; the object of this was to make him stay in Corinth.
(1) The Lord exhorted him to banish fear and preach the gospel with all boldness: Be not afraid, but speak, etc., a suitable word for one whose ministry had been up till then carried on in weakness and in fear and in much trembling (1Co. 2:3).
(2) The Lord assured him of His constant presence and protection, saying, I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, or if they do their purpose shall be defeated (compare Act. 18:12-17). The like promise had Christ given to the twelve (Mat. 28:20).
(3) The Lord revealed to him that many would be converted by his ministry: I have much people in this city, not already, but about to be converted, a cheering announcement for one who was probably beginning to think his labours in the gospel might be in vain.
Learn.
1. The impassioned earnestness with which the word of God should be preached.
2. The certainty that a faithful minister, should he not convert others, will at least clear himself.
8. The fearful retribution that will eventually overtake those who oppose themselves and blaspheme.
4. The justification of preachers in leaving those who persistently refuse to accept the gospel.
5. The extreme unlikelihood of faithful preaching having no saving result.
6. The consolation God can give His discouraged servants.
7. The assurance that such have of Gods presence with, and assistance of them in their work.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act. 18:6. I am Clean; or Thoughts About Ministerial Responsibility.A minister may hold himself free from responsibility for his hearers.
I. When he has faithfully preached the gospel to them.
1. Clearly, so that they can understand it.
2. Fully, so that they are made acquainted with the whole counsel of God contained in it.
3. Fervently, so that they are impressed with a sense of its importance and urgency.
II. When he has solemnly warned them of their danger in rejecting it.When he has reminded them
1. Of their guilt in refusing to believe.
2. Of their certain condemnation unless they do believe.
3. Of the possibility of being abandoned because of declining to believe.
III. When he has exhausted every available means for securing their acceptance of the truth.Though Paul turned himself to the Gentiles he did not entirely desert the Jews. They were still at liberty to visit the house of Justus. Doubtless many of them did this. So ministers should never cease to labour even for those who reject and oppose the truth.
Act. 18:8. The Conversion of Crispus.
I. Unexpected.Because of his being a Jew and its occurring after Paul had left the synagogue.
II. Scriptural.Brought about by the preaching of the word.
III. Influential.Leading to the conversion of all his house and of many of his neighbours.
IV. Sincere.Proved by being baptised and opening his house to Paul.
Act. 18:10. Gods Hope for His Workers.For I have much people in this city. It is very evident that the apostle came to Corinth in a state of great depression. His work had seemed almost a failure in Athens; and should he fail likewise at Corinth? He says afterwards, writing of his entrance among them, I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling (1Co. 2:3). Nor was his early experience in that city calculated to dispel his fears; for the Jews, to whom first he preached the gospel, bitterly opposed, and blasphemed. It was, therefore, with a heavy heart that he turned to the Gentilessuch Gentiles as had mocked at the gospel in the city which he had just left.
I. Both human instinct and Divine guidance had led the apostle Paul to concentrate his efforts on the populations of great cities.Damascus, Antioch, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athensthese had already been his spheres of labour; and Ephesus, Jerusalem, and Rome were to feel his power. Meanwhile, the great city of Corinth was to absorb his time and care for some eighteen months. Great cities have played a very important part in the history of the world, both in ancient and in modern times. Nineveh and Babylon, Memphis and Thebes, Athens, Carthage, Romehow much do these names stand for, as representative of the changing fortunes of the world in the ages of the past! And to-day great cities are of more and more account, as affording home and industry and power to the thronging populations. Great cities have had, and have still, their various objects of interest and wonderment, affording almost inexhaustible material for the entertainment of the curious, and the research and study of more serious minds. So Corinth had its Isthmuscalled the bridge of the sea, and the gate of the Peloponnesusacross which, about the time of the apostles visit, the Emperor Nero attempted to cut the canal which, left incomplete through all the centuries, has just been opened from sea to sea; the great rock Acropolis, rising abruptly from the shore to the height of two thousand feet; the two harbours, of Cenchre and Lechum; the temple of Neptune, hard by; and all that beauty of situation and structure which led to its being called the Star of Greece.
II. But though the apostle would not be insensible to these things, the attraction of Corinth, as of the other great cities that he visited, was not in any way external or adventitious greatness or charm.Nor is it any such attraction that makes the great cities of to-day of so absorbing an interest to the thoughtful mind. Said Dr. Johnson, of the London of a hundred and thirty years ago, If you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists. And his biographer, commenting on the remark, says, wisely enough, I have often amused myself with thinking how different a place London is to different people. They whose narrow minds are contracted to the consideration of some one particular pursuit view it only through that medium. A politician thinks of it merely as the seat of government in its different departments; a grazier, as a vast market for cattle; a mercantile man, as a place where a prodigious deal of business is done upon, Change; a dramatic enthusiast, as the grand scene of theatrical entertainments; a man of pleasure, as an assemblage of taverns. But the intellectual man is struck with it, as comprehending the whole of human life in all its variety, the contemplation of which is inexhaustible. So it was the quick, busy, eager, multifarious human life of Corinth that made the city of such interest to the apostle; that made it, if we may say so, of such interest to Him who spoke to Paul of the much people there.
III. It was not, however, even the human interest of Corinth, under such aspects as would present themselves to other visitors, that made the supreme demand on the apostles regard and care; nor, vast and various as they were, did these more secular interests of the city call forth the emphatic declaration of the Lord Christ. But there was one interest which was indeed supreme, in the regard alike of Christ and of Paul; an interest which, wherever men do congregate, is still so paramount in the eyes of all who have learned anything of the true import of human history and human destinythe relation of men to duty, to God, to eternity. And it is the vision of these invisible but so real relations, mens relations to the infinite, that invests with so thrilling an interest all the doings, and aims, and desires of the multitudes that make up the teeming life of our great cities.
IV. This brings us to what is indeed Gods hope, as held forth in gracious encouragement to all who work in behalf of the gospel of the kingdom for their fellow-men.Gods hope? And who but the Divine Christ could have had hope of Corinth? So busy, so wealthy, so gayand so utterly wicked, in its unblushing sensuality of sin, that to Corinthianise meant to give ones self up to the worst abominations of immorality! But, I have much people here, said Christ; for, through all their eager alertness of industry and commercial enterprise, and beneath their superficial gaiety, and even deep down in the reeking corruption of the peoples sin, did He not see that many hearts were weary of self-seeking, and aching despite their gaiety, and sick of the sin to which, nevertheless, they were selling themselves body and soul? Ah, their very despair of any good was the secret of Christs hope for that people. For over against their utmost sin and shame the apostle was to set forth Gods utmost and most holy love, as manifested in the Cross. Nor could any inferior power avail to move them. Christ for England, and England for Christthis must be our watchword, and we shall not watch, and work and wait in vain. And in like manner, when we look out upon the seething millions of the great cities of the world, and equally when we regard the needs of those who live in smaller towns, and in villages, and in remote, solitary places, we must listen, as Christ says, I have much people here.T. F. Lockyer, B.A.
Act. 18:5-10. Great Things in Corinth.
I. Fervent preaching.Constrained by the word Paul testified.
II. Violent unbelief.On the part of the Jews.
III. Solemn judgmentPronounced against the opposers. They were self-destroyed.
IV. Glorious mercy.The gospel offered to the Gentiles.
V. Unexpected deliverance.Justuss house opened.
VI. Marvellous success.Many hearing believed, and were baptised.
VII. Heavenly consolation.Pauls vision of the Lord by night.
Act. 18:9-10. Thoughts for the Night of Ministerial Despondency.
I. The heavenly master from whom the faithful minister holds his commission. The Lord (compare Act. 27:23).
II. The holy duty which that Master has imposed on His servants. To speak and hold not their peace (compare Act. 5:20; Isa. 58:1).
III. The encouraging arguments against fear supplied by the Master to His servants.
1. His presence with them (compare Mat. 28:20).
2. His protection of them (Mat. 16:18).
3. His preparation for them. Having souls waiting to receive their word.
4. His prospering of them. Promising their labours should be successful.
Pauls Midnight Vision at Corinth; or, The Lords interview with His servant.
I. A sublime manifestation: The Lords appearance to Paul.
1. The reality of this appearance. Unless on priori grounds of objection to the supernatural the historic credibility of what is here narrated cannot be assailed.
2. The timeliness of this appearance. It came when Paul was in some degree depressed. Mans extremity is ever Gods opportunity.
3. The object of this appearanceto cheer the heart and embolden the spirit of the apostle.
II. A magnificent exhortation: the Lords commandment to Paul.
1. Not to be afraid. Either of himself suffering injury or of his cause suffering defeat. Paul, though habitually courageous and hopeful, obviously laboured at the moment under some apprehension as to both of these contingencies.
2. But to speak. Manfully, openly, continuously, holding not his peace, but, like an old Hebrew prophet, crying aloud and sparing not, lifting up his voice like a trumpet, showing the Jews their transgression and the Gentiles their sins (Isa. 58:1).
III. A cheering consolation: the Lords assurance to Paul.
1. Of companionship. I am with thee: a promise which had been given of old to Abraham (Gen. 26:3), to Isaac (Gen. 26:24), to Jacob (Act. 28:15), to Moses (Exo. 33:14), to Joshua (Jos. 1:5), to Israel in exile (Isa. 43:2); a promise which had been renewed to the disciples by Christ before His ascension (Mat. 28:20).
2. Of protection. No man shall set on thee to harm thee. This promise also had been given to ancient Israel collectively (Psa. 46:1; Pro. 2:7; Isa. 32:2; Isa. 32:18; Isa. 33:16; Isa. 33:20; Zec. 2:5; Zec. 2:8), was renewed to the Church of Christ (Luk. 21:18), and is now repeated to the apostle.
3. Of success. I have much people in this city. As Elijah of old, in a time of despondency, had been assured that Jehovah had seven thousand faithful adherents who had never bowed the knee to Baal (1Ki. 19:18), so is Paul now informed that Jesus had many souls in Corinth who were only waiting to be gathered into His kingdom by the preaching of His gospel.
Act. 18:11. The Secret of Ministerial Success.
I. Much prayer.
II. Much patience.
III. Much trust in God.
IV. Much diligence in work.Quesnel.
The Word of God.
I. In complete sense the Word of God is alone the living, historical person, Jesus Christ, understood and explained in the Divine spirit, and according to His own word and will. On this account are also the words and discourses of Jesus, since these are inseparable from His person and activity, to be included and considered as the Word of God.
II. Whilst, however, Jesus Himself in His person, in His works and words, as in His sufferings and death, is the Word of God, at the same time also in a derived sense is the proclamation of Him the Word of God. That is, the gospel of Christ and of His kingdom (Act. 28:31), at first only orally diffused, later also laid down in writing, becomes recognised in Christendom as the Word of God in a special sense, in distinction from all preparatory, prophetic words of God as from all sorts of subordinate revelation. In this sense has Jesus Himself often and clearly spoken, and the whole New Testament agrees therewith. This gospel is, in its contents, firm and unassailable, homogeneous and all-embracing; in its formulation manifold and many-formed, as every really living, spiritual great thing is; and exactly, because it is homogeneous and living, also in every individual part somehow germinally contained. Hence it can be shortly described as the divine and gracious will which has appeared in Christ, as the proclamation of Gods salvation work, as the Word of Christ the crucified (1Co. 1:23), as the Word of grace (Act. 14:3; Act. 14:7; Act. 20:24; Act. 20:32), as the Gospel of grace and repentance (Act. 20:21), as the Word of reconciliation (2Co. 5:19), or as the Revelation of the divine mystery (1Co. 4:1; Eph. 6:19); or otherwise designated according to some one particular item of its contents. According to its peculiar contents, therefore, is it not so much a theoretic doctrine, as a joyous message adapted to the actualities of life, and consists principally of promises and assurances of heavenly rights and possessions, conjoined with admonitions and serious warnings which correspond to those gifts and promises.
III. Consequently in derived sense is every oral and written proclamation, which teaches men to understand the person and work of Christ, inasmuch as it prepares them for this, speaks of it, leads to it, and teaches men to use it, Revelation or the Word of God. Hence also of preaching in public worship, as of every written or printed exposition of the gospel, the expression Word of God can be used. But above all does the title Word of God belong both to the whole of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and, according to its inner sense or its understanding in graduated fashion, to particular scriptures or to their particular expositions. This meaning of the Biblical canon also becomes through this clear and practical, that in the public church doctrinal preaching the Holy Scriptures must in some way be constantly assumed asits basis.Bornemann, 47.
Act. 18:5-11. Pauls preaching at Corinth.
I. The place of his preaching.
1. The Jewish synagogue. According to his custom. Dictated probably by three motives.
(1) To find a proper starting ground for his work. The Jews knew the Scriptures, and were looking for the Messiah.
(2) To secure the conversion of his countrymen. Paul loved his kinsmen, and longed for their conversion.
(3) To prevent misunderstanding of the nature of Christianity. Christianity not antagonistic to, but development and completion of Old Testament religion.
2. The house of Justus. To this Paul withdrew when expelled from synagogue. In so doing Paul
(1) followed the example of Christ;
(2) showed that Christianity was not confined to special places (Joh. 4:21); and
(3) kept within earshot of his countrymen.
II. The subject of his preaching.That Jesus was the Christ, Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1Co. 3:2), which signified
1. That Jesus of Nazareth had been the Messiah promised to the fathersto Abraham as a seed, to David as a son, to Israel as the Lamb of God.
2. That salvation was attainable only through His Cross. Not through his teaching alone, though Never man spake like this man (Joh. 7:46), or through His example alone, though He left us an example that we should walk in His steps (1Pe. 2:21), but through His blood (Eph. 1:7).
III. The manner of his preaching.
1. Biblical. Out of the Scriptures. The proper basis of all right preaching.
2. Reasoning. Addressing himself to the intellect. Paul knew the value of great ideas. The road to the heart lies through the understanding.
3. Fervent. Paul was no drone or dullard, no merely formal talker or polite essay reader, but a speaker aglow with holy enthusiasm.
4. Fearless. Resulting from
(1) his confidence in the message he delivered;
(2) his reliance upon Gods promise of protection; and
(3) his hope of ultimate success.
IV. The result of his preaching.Twofold.
1. Opposition. Jews resisted. Not difficult to see why. If Paul was right then Jesus had been their Messiah, and they had been guilty of awful sin in rejecting Him.
2. Success.
(1) He gained a friend in Justus.
(2) He secured a large number of converts, amongst whom were Aquila and Priscilla, Titus Justus, Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes, Crispuss successor, Stephanas and his house, Gaius, Pauls host, Erastus, the city chamberlain.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(5) And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia.We learn from 1Th. 2:18, that the latter had come to St. Paul at Athens, but had been almost immediately sent back to Thessalonica to bring further news about the converts, for whose trials the Apostle felt so much sympathy and anxiety. They brought a good report of their faith and love (1Th. 3:6), possibly also fresh proofs of their personal regard, and that of the Philippians, in the form of gifts (2Co. 11:9). This may, however, refer to a later occasion. The First Epistle to the Thessalonians was probably sent back by the brethren who had accompanied Silas and Timotheus on their journey to Corinth. The reader will note the parallelism (1) between the passage in 1Th. 4:16-17, which treats of the Second Advent, with the teaching of 1Co. 15:51-52, and (2) between the few words as to spiritual gifts, in 1Th. 5:19-21, with the fuller treatment of the same subject in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Paul was pressed in the spirit.The better MSS. give, he was constrained by the Word. The words describe something of the same strong emotion as the paroxysm of Act. 17:16. The Word was within him as a constraining power, compelling him to give utterance to it. His heart was hot within him, and while he was musing the fire kindled (Psa. 39:4). Whether there was any connection between the arrival of Silas and Timotheus and this strong feeling is a question which there are no sufficient data for answering. It is hardly satisfactory to say, as has been suggested, that they probably brought pecuniary supplies from Macedonia (2Co. 11:9), and that he was therefore relieved from the obligation of working for his livelihood, and able to give himself more entirely to the work of preaching. There is no indication of his giving up tent-making, and 1Co. 9:1 is decidedly against it. A more probable explanation may be found in the strong desireof which he says, in Rom. 15:23, that he had cherished it for many yearsto see Rome and preach the gospel there. Now he found himself brought into contact with those who had come from Rome, who formed, in fact, part of its population, and the old feeling was stirred to a new intensity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. From Macedonia (See note on Act 17:14; Act 17:16.) The arrival of Silas and Timothy reanimated the apostle. Thence he learns that his Churches stand fast in the truth, and that Thessalonica’s faith sounds, like a trumpet, out into the world. And, reinforced in courage by their cooperation, he was pressed with an urgent spirit to preach Jesus the Messiah with a new and fearless force. The day of conciliation was now past, and the usual outbreak of the Jews accordingly followed.
The report made by Silas and Timothy induces Paul now to write from Corinth the FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS, (A.D. 53,) which were not only the first of Paul’s canonical epistles, but perhaps the first written documents of the entire New Testament.
The second epistle was written to guard the Thessalonians from imagining from any thing said or written by Paul that Christ’s second advent was nigh at hand. (See note on Act 17:4.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.’
The arrival of Silas and Timothy from Macedonia, no doubt at his request, must have encouraged him, especially as they brought from Thessalonica encouraging news about the progress of the Christians there (see 1Th 3:6-10), although he also learned of their problems (1Th 2:3-6; 1Th 4:13 to 1Th 5:11). It was during this time at Corinth that he wrote the letters to the Thessalonians. Many consider that gifts from Macedonia enabled him to concentrate more time on the ministry in Corinth without looking to that church for support. He was determined not to receive any gifts or support from the church in Corinth itself. He wanted to combat their mercenary approach to life.
Heartened by the arrival of Silas and Timothy he was ‘constrained by the word’, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. The phrase ‘constrained by the word’ is a powerful one, demonstrating that the word was so pressing on him that in spite of his illness he felt that he could do nothing but proclaim it and reason from it. Thus he could later write ‘My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of men’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’ (1Co 2:4). He had become acutely aware that anyone converted in the atmosphere of Corinth would need to be strong, and he wanted to be sure that their faith did not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1Co 2:5). In his weakness the word had become his slave-master, and he was preaching with power and with urgency.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 18:5. And when Silas and Timotheus were come, &c. St. Paul was at Corinth some time before his two assistants came up to him, and so long he frequented the synagogue; but when Timothy was come from Thessalonica, and Silas from Berea, and they had told him what success they had met with in watering the gospel which he had planted in Macedonia, he was pressed in the spirit, and grieved that he had hitherto preached to the Jews in Corinth with so little success; for which reason he resolved to push the matter in the synagogue there; and therefore, instead of merely reasoning and persuading in a more cautious manner, he asserted in the most bold, pointed, and awakening terms, that Jesus was actually the Messiah; which holy freedom, plainness of spirit, and flaming zeal, presently made the unbelieving Jews discover themselves. See the next verse, and Eze 33:4; Eze 33:8. 1Ki 2:33. Mat 27:25. Some explain the phase, which we render pressed in spirit, by “He was borne away by an unusual impulse in his spirit.” Compare Act 18:25; Act 19:21. Rom 12:11.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 18:5 . This activity on his part increased yet further when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia (Act 17:14 f.), in whose fellowship naturally the zeal and courage of Paul could not but grow.
The element of increased activity , in relation to what is related in Act 18:4 , is contained in : he was wholly seized and arrested by the doctrine , so that he applied himself to it with assiduity and utmost earnestness. Comp. Wis 17:20 , and Grimm in loc . So in the main, following the Vulgate (“instabat verbo”), most modern interpreters, including Olshausen, de Wette, Baumgarten, Lange, Ewald. Against my earlier rendering: he was pressed in respect of the doctrine (comp. on Phi 1:23 ), he was hard-beset (comp. Chrysostom, reading : , ), it may be decisively urged, partly on linguistic grounds, that the dative with is always the thing itself which presses (comp. Act 28:8 ; Luk 8:37 ), [77] partly according to the connection, that there results in that view no significant relation to the arrival of Silas and Timothy.
, as in Act 18:28 .
[77] Comp. also Thuc. ii. 49. 3, iii. 98. 1; Arrian, vi. 24. 6; Plat. Soph . p. 250 D; Xen. Oec . i. 21, and many other passages; Heind. ad Plat. Soph . 46; particularly Wis 17:20 ; Herodian i. 17, 22; Ael. V. H . xiv. 22.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
And when Silas and Timothy 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. (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.
If the Reader wishes to enter into a more particular account of Paul’s preaching at Corinth than what is here stated, he will be able very easily to gather the chief sum and substance of what he discoursed upon, by referring to his Epistles to this Church. Indeed, it would be always profitable, when reading at any time in this part of the scripture history, the life and ministry of the Apostle; to consult and read with it, his both Epistles, which he afterwards sent to the Church at Corinth, when his personal labors among them were ended. One point in particular, we know Paul mostly dwelt upon, for he hath said as much; namely, Christ, and his cross. For, (said he) I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ; and him crucified, 1Co 2:2 . There were a thousand subjects of holy joy and delight, the Apostle discovered in his adorable master. His Person, his Godhead, his manhood, his union of both: His Offices, Characters, Relations; all, and everyone of these topics, Paul could have dwelt upon forever. But, when speaking to poor, ruined, lost, and perishing sinners, like those Corinthians he knew Christ crucified was the one persuasive remedy of God’s own providing, and the only one suited to their then-state and circumstances of ignorance and darkness: and therefore, here Paul fixed his eye, and here he found ample subject for his heart to enlarge upon, and recommend: and having in his own example found the blessedness of it, he labored to enforce and recommend it to all others. And how sweetly, and persuasively he did it, those beautiful Epistles still shew?
It should seem, by what is here said, of the blasphemy of those Jews who opposed Paul’s preaching, and the manner of shaking his raiment upon the occasion; that the Apostle was hardly put to it, and felt the bitterness of their persecution. And it should seem, that for the moment, he paused over the matter, as if more than half disposed in his own mind to leave Corinth. And yet he had enough to encourage him to abide there, in the conversion of Crispus, the chief ruler of the Synagogue, with all his house; and many Corinthians also. But, I pray the Reader not to lose sight of the grace and loving kindness of Jesus, in this night vision shewn Paul. For, that it was the Lord Jesus himself which so spake to the Apostle, is beyond all question. And, oh! how sweetly, powerfully, and persuasively, the Lord spake to him. How must it have refreshed and animated the Apostle? What new courage must it have inspired?
Reader! fail not to take to yourself, the consolation, such a view of the Lord’s watching over his people brings, for every emergency! Oh! could the faithful but behold things visibly as they are, how often, like the Prophet’s servant, should we see ourselves surrounded with horses of fire, and chariots of fire; when to our poor, timid, and apprehensive minds, like him, through fear of man, we have been crying out: Alas! how shall we do, 2Ki 6:14-17 . Precious Jesus! do I not hear thee say, and do I not know, and at times feel the sweet power of thy words, while my Lord is saying it: Sing ye to her a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it. I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day, Isa 27:2-3 . I entreat the Reader to turn to those sweet scriptures also, Isa 51:7-13 ; Psa 37 throughout.
And chiefly, ye faithful servants of my God, who minister in his sacred Name! (If peradventure one of that sacred order should glance at these my writings.) Oh! let this most interesting view, of the Lord Jesus comforting and encouraging his servant Paul, in this vision of the night, strengthen your hands and hearts with the same assurance. Jesus speaks as much now, as he did then. Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, See Jer 1:17-19 . And, no doubt, but in this our day, and in the midst of the present Christ despising generation, the Lord hath much people to gather from the Midst of this our sinful land. Oh! that the consciousness of these things may stir up the hearts of his sent servants, to do as Paul did, tinder the Lord’s blessing; and remain as he did, if need be a whole year and six months, teaching the word of God among the people. And surely the Lord will defend, all that labor in his name, and are sent by him to the service, amidst all the conflicts they may sustain. Persecuted they may be, but not forsaken: cast down, but not destroyed, 2Co 4:9 .
I hope the Reader will allow me to dwell a moment longer on a subject so truly interesting, as it concerns the Lord’s people, as well as the Lord’s ministers. If Jesus told Paul that in a city like Corinth he had much people there; may we not hope, though sinful as a nation we are, yet many of God’s hidden ones are among us. And, by the much people, let it not be supposed that Jesus meant his people by right of creation. For, although indeed the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof and all are his, as well by creation as redemption; yet there would have needed no vision of the night to have informed Paul of this, had that been all, for he knew it before. But very evidently, by the much people Jesus told Paul he had in Corinth; he meant his Church, his Chosen, according to Covenant settlements. That people whom the Holy Ghost spake of, as a people near unto him, Psa 148:14 . Whom the Lord said, he had formed for himself, and they should skew forth his praise, Isa 43:21 . A people by gift, Joh 17:6 , by purchase, Isa 42:1 , by conquest, Psa 110:3 . And Jesus knew them all by name, Joh 10:3 . And they must all be gathered out, Eze 34:13 , and all pass again under the hand of him that telleth them: Jer 33:13 .
Reader! let us indulge the thought, for it is most pleasing. Paul knew them not. But Jesus did. Elijah was as unconscious in his day, what numbers the Lord had, when he thought himself single and alone, 1Ki 19:181Ki 19:18 . But, the Lord knoweth them that are his, 2Ti 2:19 . And what makes the subject so very interesting and precious is, that while they are in the unregeneracy of their Adam-nature, and to all human observation alike indiscernible, as the ungodly among whom they dwell; yet Jesus hath his eye upon them for good, he keeps them from the unpardonable sin amidst all their sinning, he keeps them from going down to the pit, preserves them from death and the grave, watches over them for good in all their ungodliness, until the day of their effectual calling, when he brings them out by his Holy Spirit; so that not one of them is lost for whom he died, and whom he hath received from his Father; but all are brought at length savingly home, where he comes to make up his Jewels, Mal 3:17 . Precious Lord Jesus! I bless thee for this gracious vision to thy servant, the Apostle! And last thou not, dearest Lord, much people in the present day, in the city of this world? Lord! gather them out, and make them willing in the day of thy power! Take comfort my soul! He that conquered thy stubborn nature, can subdue others. No heart of stone, but Christ can take away, since he hath taken away thine!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Ver. 5. And when Silas and Timothy ] Good people one kindle another. Paul was much heated with the zeal of God by the company of these two good men. Two flints, though both cold, yet yield fire when smitten together. Billets one kindle another. Iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the face of a man his friend.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5 .] See ch. Act 17:15 ; 1Th 3:6 .
] ‘ When Silas and Timotheus arrived [see ch. Act 17:15 note] from Macedonia, they found Paul anxiously occupied in discoursing to the Jews .’ This I believe to be the meaning: that they found him in a state of more than ordinary anxiety, more than usually absorbed in the work of testifying to the Jews (see reff.): a crisis in the work being imminent, which resulted in their rejection of the word of life. (On the whole character of his early preaching at Corinth, see notes, 1Co 2:1-5 .) Thus only, the in Act 18:5 and that in Act 18:6 will both be satisfied: he discoursed in the synagogue, &c. but when Silas and Timotheus arrived, he was earnestly occupied in discoursing, &c. But, as they opposed themselves and blasphemed, &c . Wordsworth adopts the view that after the arrival of Silas and Timotheus with supplies from Macedonia, Paul gave up his tent-making and gave himself up ( ) to preaching. But surely this is ungrammatical. The aor. ( ) and imperf. ( ) require the rendering ‘when they arrived, they found him .’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 18:5 . See note on Act 17:15 ; McGiffert, Apostolic Age , p. 269, recognises this among the striking points of contact between Acts and the Epistles to the Corinthians. Here Silas and Timothy are said to have been with St. Paul in Corinth, cf. St. Paul’s own statement in 2Co 1:19 , to the fact that the same two names occur in the salutations of 1 and 2 Thess., both of which were written from Corinth, see also Paley, Hor Paulin , iv., 6, 7, and viii. 4. : “he was wholly absorbed in preaching,” , so Ramsay; “in teaching the word,” Grimm-Thayer, cf. Wis 17:11 ( cf. 2Co 5:14 ). The verb occurs frequently in Luke, six times in his Gospel, three times in Acts, twice in St. Paul, only once elsewhere in N.T., but nowhere as in the particular phrase here. It looks as if St. Paul’s preaching in Corinth was specially characterised by “greater concentration of purpose and simplicity of method,” cf. 1Co 2:2 . The philosophic style in which he had addressed the Athenians is now abandoned, and so too, at least primarily, the proclamation of the living and true God, and of the coming of His Son to save His people in the day of wrath, with which apparently he had commenced at Thessalonica, 1Th 1:9-10 . Such methods and truths had their place, but in Corinth “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” was to be preached as the power of God and the wisdom of God, and in both his Epistles all that the Apostle says about the duties of the Christian life is brought into relation with this fundamental truth (see McGiffert, u. s. , p. 266). Silas and Timothy found him wholly possessed by and engrossed in the word (so the imperfect, Page, Alford, Wendt). On the other hand it has been maintained that the arrival of Silas and Timothy brought St. Paul help from Macedonia, and that on the account, Phi 4:15 , 2Co 11:9 , he was able to give himself up to preaching, as he was thus relieved from the strain of working for his bread (so Wordsworth, Lewin, Rendall). But 1Co 9:1 seems to imply that St. Paul still continued to work for his livelihood at Corinth. Blass seems to find in the uniqueness of the phrase a reason for its alteration; see critical note for his view. Plumptre refers the words to the Apostle’s desire to see Rome, which the Apostle cherished for many years, and which had been further kindled by finding himself in company with those who came from Rome; and the announcement of a journey to Rome, Act 19:21 , after the Apostle had been some time in the company of Aquila and Priscilla both at Corinth and Ephesus, is emphasised by Ramsay, St. Paul , p. 255. But on the whole, Ramsay’s interpretation is very striking, p. 252, cf. the remarks of McGiffert much to the same effect, Apostolic Age , pp. 263 266. ., see above on p. 92. . .: “that the Anointed One is Jesus,” cf. Act 17:3 , so Ramsay, St. Paul , p. 226. So far the message was evidently for Jews. See critical note for reading in .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts
PAUL AT CORINTH
‘CONSTRAINED BY THE WORD’
Act 18:5
The Revised Version, in concurrence with most recent authorities, reads, instead of ‘pressed in the spirit,’ ‘constrained by the word.’ One of these alterations depends on a diversity of reading, the other on a difference of translation. The one introduces a significant difference of meaning; the other is rather a change of expression. The word rendered here ‘pressed,’ and by the Revised Version ‘constrained,’ is employed in its literal use in ‘Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee,’ and in its metaphorical application in ‘The love of Christ constraineth us .’ There is not much difference between ‘constrained’ and ‘pressed,’ but there is a large difference between ‘in the spirit’ and ‘by the word.’ ‘Pressed in the spirit’ simply describes a state of feeling or mind; ‘constrained by the word’ declares the force which brought about that condition of pressure or constraint. What then does ‘constrained by the word’ refer to? It indicates that Paul’s message had a grip of him, and held him hard, and forced him to deliver it.
One more preliminary remark is that our text evidently brings this state of mind of the Apostle, and the coming of his two friends Silas and Timothy, into relation as cause and effect. He had been alone in Corinth. His work of late had not been encouraging. He had been comparatively silent there, and had spent most of his time in tent-making. But when his two friends came a cloud was lifted off his spirit, and he sprang back again, as it were, to his old form and to his old work.
Now if we take that point of view with regard to the passage before us, I think we shall find that it yields valuable lessons, some of which I wish to try to enforce now.
I. Let me ask you to look with me at the downcast Apostle.
Now notice that in the verses preceding my text his conduct is extremely abnormal and unlike his usual procedure. He goes into Corinth, and he does next to nothing in evangelistic work. He repairs to the synagogue once a week, and talks to the Jews there. But that is all. The notice of his reasoning in the synagogue is quite subordinate to the notice that he was occupied in finding a lodging with another pauper Jew and stranger in the great city, and that these two poor men went into a kind of partnership, and tried to earn a living by hard work. Such procedure makes a singular contrast to Paul’s usual methods in a strange city.
Now the reason for that slackening of impulse and comparative cessation of activity is not far to seek. The first Epistle to Thessalonica was written immediately after these two brethren rejoined Paul. And how does the Apostle describe in that letter his feelings before they came? He speaks of ‘all our distress and affliction.’ He tells that he was tortured by anxiety as to how the new converts in Thessalonica were getting on, and could not forbear to try to find out whether they were still standing steadfast. Again in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, you will find that there, looking back to this period, he describes his feelings in similar fashion and says: ‘I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.’ And if you look forward a verse or two in our chapter you will see that a vision came to Paul, which presupposes that some touch of fear, and some temptation to silence, were busy in his heart. For God shapes His communications according to our need, and would not have said, ‘Do not be afraid, and hold not thy peace, but speak,’ unless there had been a danger both of Paul’s being frightened and of his being dumb.
And what thus brought a cloud over his sky? A little exercise of historical imagination will very sufficiently answer that. A few weeks before, in obedience, as he believed, to a direct divine command, Paul had made a plunge, and ventured upon an altogether new phase of work. He had crossed into Europe, and from the moment that he landed at the harbour of Philippi, up to the time when he took refuge in some quiet little room in Corinth, he had had nothing but trouble and danger and disappointment. The prison at Philippi, the riots that hounded him out of Thessalonica, the stealthy, hurried escape from Beroea, the almost entire failure of his first attempt to preach the Gospel to Greeks in Athens, his loneliness, and the strangeness of his surroundings in the luxurious, wicked, wealthy Greek city of Corinth-all these things weighed on him, and there is no wonder that his spirits went down, and he felt that now he must lie fallow for a time and rest, and pull himself together again.
So here we have, in this great champion of the faith, in this strong runner of the Christian race, in this chief of men, an example of the fluctuation of mood, the variation in the way in which we look at our duties and our obligations and our difficulties, the slackening of the impulse which dominates our lives, that are too familiar to us all. It brings Paul nearer us to feel that he, too, knew these ups and downs. The force that drove this meteor through the darkness varied, as the force that impels us varies to our consciousness. It is the prerogative of God to be immutable; men have their moods and their fluctuations. Kindled lights flicker; the sun burns steadily. An Elijah to-day beards Ahab and Jezebel and all their priests, and to-morrow hides his head in his hands, and says, ‘Take me away, I am not better than my fathers.’ There will be ups and down in the Christian vigour of our lives, as well as in all other regions, so long as men dwell in this material body and are surrounded by their present circumstances.
Brethren, it is no small part of Christian wisdom and prudence to recognise this fact, both in order that it may prevent us from becoming unduly doubtful of ourselves when the ebb tide sets in on our souls, and also in order that we may lay to heart this other truth, that because these moods and changes of aspect and of vigour will come to us, therefore the law of life must be effort, and the duty of every Christian man be to minimise, in so far as possible, the fluctuations which, in some degree, are inevitable. No human hand has ever drawn an absolutely straight line. That is the ideal of the mathematician, but all ours are crooked. But we may indefinitely diminish the magnitude of the curves. No two atoms are so close together as that there is no film between them. No human life has ever been an absolutely continuous, unbroken series of equally holy and devoted thoughts and acts, but we may diminish the intervals between kindred states, and may make our lives so far uniform as that to a bystander they shall look like the bright circle, which a brand whirled round in the air makes the impression of, on the eye that beholds. We shall have times of brightness and of less brilliancy, of vigour and of consequent reaction and exhaustion. But Christianity has, for one of its objects, to help us to master our moods, and to bring us nearer and nearer, by continual growth, to the steadfast, immovable attitude of those whose faith is ever the same.
Do not forget the plain lesson which comes from the incident before us-viz., that the wisest thing that a man can do, when he feels that the wheels of his religious being are driving heavily, is to set himself doggedly to the plain, homely work of daily life. Paul did not sit and bemoan himself because he felt this slackening of impulse, but he went away to Aquila, and said, ‘Let us set to work and make camel’s-hair cloth and tents.’ Be thankful for your homely, prosaic, secular, daily task. You do not know from how many sickly fancies it saves you, and how many breaches in the continuity of your Christian feeling it may bridge over. It takes you away from thinking about yourselves, and sometimes you cannot think about anything less profitably. So stick to your work; and if ever you feel, as Paul did, ‘cast down,’ be sure that the workshop, the office, the desk, the kitchen will prevent you from being ‘destroyed,’ if you give yourselves to the plain duties which no moods alter, but which can alter a great many moods.
II. And now note the ‘constraining word.’
The word constrained him. What to do? To declare it. Paul’s example brings up two thoughts-that that impulse may vary at times, according to the pressure of circumstances, and may even be held in abeyance for a while; and that if a man is honestly and really a Christian, as soon as the incumbent pressure is taken away, he will feel, ‘Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.’ For though Paul’s sphere of work was different from ours, his obligation to work and his impulse to work were such as are, or should be, common to all Christians. The impulse to utter the word that we believe and live by seems to me to be, in its very nature, inseparable from earnest Christian faith. All emotion demands expression; and if a man has never felt that he must let his Christian faith have vent, it is a very bad sign. As certainly as fermentation or effervescence demands outgush, so certainly does emotion demand expression. We all know that. The same impulse that makes a mother bend over her babe with unmeaning words and tokens that seem to unsympathetic onlookers foolish, ought to influence all Christians to speak the Name they love. All conviction demands expression. There may be truths which have so little bearing upon human life that he who perceives them feels little obligation to say anything about them. But these are the exceptions; and the more weighty and the more closely affecting human interests anything that we have learned to believe as truth is, the more do we feel in our hearts that, in making us its believers, it has made us its apostles. Christ’s saying, ‘What ye hear in the ear, that preach ye on the housetops,’ expresses a universal truth which is realised in many regions, and ought to be most emphatically realised in the Christian. For surely of all the truths that men can catch a glimpse of, or grapple to their hearts, or store in their understandings, there are none which bring with them such tremendous consequences, and therefore are of so solemn import to proclaim to all the children of men, as the truth, which we profess we have received, of personal salvation through Jesus Christ.
If there never had been a single commandment to that effect, I know not how the Christian Church or the Christian individual could have abstained from declaring the great and sweet Name to which it and he owe so much. I do not care to present this matter as a commandment, nor to speak now of obligation or responsibility. The impulse is what I would fix your attention upon. It is inseparable from the Christian life. It may vary in force, as we see in the incident before us. It will vary in grip, according as other circumstances and duties insist upon being attended to. The form in which it is yielded to will vary indefinitely in individuals. But if they are Christian people it is always there.
Well then, what about the masses of so-called Christians who feel nothing of any such constraining force? And what about the many who feel enough of it to make them also feel that they are wrong in not yielding to it, but not enough to make their conduct be influenced by it? Brethren, I venture to believe that the measure in which this impulse to speak the word and use direct efforts for somebody’s conversion is felt by Christians, is a very fair test of the depth of their own religion. If a vessel is half empty it will not run over. If it is full to the brim, the sparkling treasure will fall on all sides. A weak plant may never push its green leaves above the ground, but a strong one will rise into the light. A spark may be smothered in a heap of brushwood, but a steady flame will burn its way out. If this word has not a grip of you, impelling you to its utterance, I would have you not to be too sure that you have a grip of it.
III. Lastly, we have here the witness to the word.
It is a way that we can all adopt if we will. Christian men and women can all say such things. I do not forget that there are indirect ways of spreading the Gospel. Some of you think that you do enough when you give your money and your interest in order to diffuse it. You can buy a substitute in the militia, but you cannot buy a substitute in Christ’s service. You have each some congregation to which you can speak, if it is no larger than Paul’s-namely, two people, Aquila and Priscilla. What talks they would have in their lodging, as they plaited the wisps of black hair into rough cloth, and stitched the strips into tents! Aquila was not a Christian when Paul picked him up, but he became one very soon; and it was the preaching in the workshop, amidst the dust, that made him one. If we long to speak about Christ we shall find plenty of people to speak to. ‘Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord.’
Now, dear friends, I have only one word more. I have no doubt there are some among us who have been saying, ‘This sermon does not apply to me at all.’ Does it not? If it does not, what does that mean? It means that you have not the first requisite for spreading the word- viz. personal faith in the word. It means that you have put away, or at least neglected to take in, the word and the Saviour of whom it speaks, into your own lives. But it does not mean that you have got rid of the word thereby. It will not in that case lay the grip of which I have been speaking upon you, but it will not let you go. It will lay on you a far more solemn and awful clutch, and like a jailer with his hand on the culprit’s shoulder, will ‘constrain’ you into the presence of the Judge. You can make it a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. And though you do not grasp it, it grasps and holds you. ‘The word that I speak unto him, the same shall judge him at the last day.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 18:5-11
5But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. 9And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Act 18:5 “Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia” They apparently brought a love offering from the believers at Philippi, which allowed Paul to preach full time (cf. 2Co 11:9; Php 4:15). Timothy also brought news about the church at Thessalonica in response to which Paul wrote I and 2 Thessalonians (cf. Act 17:14). It seems that, just as Luke had been left in Philippi to disciple the new believers, Timothy was left at Thessalonica and Silas at Berea. Paul was very concerned with the training of new Christians (i.e., the Great Commission is making and teaching disciples, not just decisions). He wanted to leave an active, growing, reproducing church in every city he visited.
NASB”Paul began devoting himself completely to the word”
NKJV”Paul was constrained by the Spirit”
NRSV”Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word”
TEV”Paul ave his whole time to preaching the message”
NJB”Paul devoted all his time to preaching”
There is a Greek manuscript variant in this phrase. The oldest and best texts have the dative of Logos (cf. MSS P74, , A, B, D, E, along with the Vulgate, Peshitta, and Coptic translations). The UBS4 rates it “B” (almost certain). The Textus Receptus has “Spirit” (pneumati), which is found only in much later Minuscule Greek manuscripts (three from the tenth century are the oldest).
“solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ” Compare Act 9:22 with Act 17:3 concerning Paul’s method of persuasion (imperfect passive indicative of sunech, which means to constrict or press), which was very much like Stephen’s method and enthusiasm (cf. Acts 7). See note at Act 2:40. This often repeated theological assertion (i.e., Jesus is the Messiah, see note at Act 17:3) is the key to all others!
Act 18:6 “resisted and blasphemed” These are both present middle participles, which emphasize continuing personal involvement. Unfortunately this became the all too common response from the Jews of the Diaspora.
“he shook out his garments” This was a Jewish symbol for rejection (cf. Neh 5:13; Act 13:51; Luk 9:5; Luk 10:11). See complete note at Act 13:51.
“Your blood be on your own heads” This OT idiom has several connotations.
1. the responsibility of a watchman, both individually and collectively, Eze 3:16 ff; Eze 33:1-6
2. a personal responsibility, Jos 2:19; 2Sa 1:16; Eze 18:13; Act 18:6; Act 20:26
3. a corporate responsibility of the ancestors or nations, 2Sa 3:28-29; 2 Kgs. 2:33
4. NT combination of # 2 and #3, Mat 27:25
Life was in the blood (cf. Lev 17:11; Lev 17:14). The shedding of blood made someone responsible to God for that death (cf. Gen 4:10; Gen 9:4-6).
“I am clean” This is an OT sacrificial metaphor of personal responsibility. Paul was no longer spiritually responsible (cf. Ezekiel 33) for the Jews to hear the gospel in this city. He shared the message and they would not respond. Are we clean?
“From now on I will go to the Gentiles” This evangelistic procedure and curse became normative for Paul (cf. Act 13:46; Act 18:6; Act 26:20; Act 28:28). Paul felt obligated to preach to the house of Israel first, following Jesus (cf. Mat 10:6; Mat 15:24; Mar 7:27). He explains this theologically in Rom 1:3; Rom 1:5; Rom 1:9-11 and emotionally in Acts 9; Acts 15; Act 22:21; Act 26:17 (cf. Rom 11:13; Rom 15:16; Gal 1:16; Gal 2:7-9; Eph 3:2; Eph 3:8; 1Ti 2:7; 2Ti 4:17).
Act 18:7 “Titus Justus” There are several possibilities as to the identity of this “worshiper of God” who lived next to the synagogue in Corinth.
1. His full name is Gaius Titus Justus and the church in Corinth met in his home (cf. Rom 16:23)
2. He may be the Gaius mentioned in 1Co 1:14 who was baptized by Paul
3. There is a Greek manuscript variant connected with this name.
a. Titiou Ioustou, MSS B, D2 (UBS4 gives this a “C” rating)
b. Titou Ioustou, MSS , E, P
c. Ioustou, MSS A, B2, D*
d. Titou, Peshitta and Coptic translations
“a worshiper of God” An inscription from Aphrodisias (3rd century), uses the phrase “worshiper of God” for those Gentiles attached to and attending the synagogue. So “God fearers” (Act 10:1-2; Act 10:22; Act 13:16; Act 13:26) is synonymous to “worshiper of God” (cf. Act 13:50; Act 16:14; Act 18:6-7).
This phrase is hard to define. The same phrase is used of Lydia in Act 16:14 and several Greeks at Thessalonica in Act 17:4 and in Berea in Act 17:17. They seem to be Greeks who were attracted to Judaism, attended the synagogue when possible, but were not full proselytes. However, the phrase “a God-fearing proselyte” is used to describe full proselytes at the synagogue in Perga of Pamphylia in Act 13:43.
Act 18:8 “Crispus” This man was the organizer and superintendent of the local synagogue (cf. 1Co 1:14).
“believed in the Lord with all his household” Acts records several instances where the head of a house converts and the entire extended family is baptized (cf. Act 11:14; Act 16:15; Act 16:31-34; Act 18:8, See SPECIAL TOPIC: BAPTISM at Act 2:38). Westerners forget the place of the extended family in the ancient Mediterranean world. Family was priority. Individuality was not emphasized. Although this is different from our individualistic understanding of evangelism, that does not make it inappropriate or less real.
However, it is also to be noted that not all the members of saved families who attended church were saved. Onesimus was a slave in Philemon’s house where the church met, but he was not saved until he met Paul in prison.
For “believed” see Special Topics at Act 2:40; Act 3:16.
“many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized” Many at Corinth readily accepted Paul’s message, but Paul was discouraged and had to be energized by a special divine vision (cf. Act 18:10 b). The Corinthian churches (house churches) were Paul’s most difficult, problematic congregations. He loved them, but they caused him great personal pain (cf. I and 2 Corinthians).
There is a relevant parallel to this context in 1Co 1:14-17. I have included here one of my notes from my commentary on 1 Corinthians. See it online free at www.freebiblecommentary.org
“1Co 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach” This is not meant to disparage baptism, but to react to the factious spirit in the church of Corinth that was lifting up certain leaders. However, this statement does indicate that baptism was not seen as a “sacramental” agency of grace. It is surprising that some interpret Paul’s writings in a sacramental sense when in all his writings he specifically mentions the Lord’s Supper only once in 1 Corinthians 11 and baptism twice, in Rom 6:1-11 and Col 2:12. However, baptism is the will of God for every believer.
1. it is the example of Jesus
2. it is the command of Jesus
3. it is the expected, normal procedure for all believers
I do not believe it is the channel for receiving the grace of God or the Spirit. It was that public opportunity for new believers to express their faith in a very public and decisive way. No NT believer would ask, “Must I be baptized to be saved?” Jesus did it! Jesus commanded the church to do it! Do it!” Baptism is still a major decisive public declaration of one’s personal faith, especially in non-Christian cultures.
Act 18:9 “Do not be afraid any longer” This is a present middle imperative with a negative particle, which usually means to stop an act already in process. This may be an allusion to Gen 26:24 or Deu 1:29-33; Deu 20:1, where Isaac was afraid. Paul was afraid and needed Christ’s encouragement. Luke records these special visions of encouragement in Act 22:17-18; Act 23:11; Act 27:23-24. If a man like Paul grew weary in well-doing, does it surprise you that you do, too? Jesus is with us also (cf. Act 18:10; Mat 28:20)! The Great Commission is still the guiding goal, the main thing (cf. Mat 28:18-20; Luk 24:47; Act 1:8).
“but you go on speaking and do not be silent” These are both imperatives (present active and aorist active). Fear must not silence the gospel proclaimer! Our emotions go up and down, but Act 1:8 is still the guiding light (cf. 2Ti 4:2-5).
Act 18:10 “I am with you” There is no greater promise (cf. Gen 26:24; Exo 3:12; Exo 33:4; Psa 23:4; Mat 28:20; Heb 13:5). Notice He is with us, not for our personal comfort or security, but for evangelistic boldness (so too, the purpose of the filling of the Spirit in Acts). The Spirit’s presence is for proclamation, not personal peace alone.
“for I have many people in this city” The phrase “I have many people” is an allusion to the OT use of this term for Israel (i.e., the people of God), but now in the NT it refers to those in Corinth (Jews and Gentiles) who would respond to the gospel message. There is no more Jew or Greek (cf. Rom 3:22; 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). The church is now called by OT titles (cf. Gal 6:16; 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6).
This is an emphasis of God’s predestination and foreknowledge (cf. Romans 9; Ephesians 1). Oh, if we could only see the book of Life now! The church’s witness is effective (cf. Rev 13:8). Personal assurance is for evangelistic boldness, not the confirmation of a ticket to heaven when believers die!
Act 18:11 This verse helps establish a possible chronology for Paul’s missionary travels. Although the phrase is ambiguous, it implies a preaching mission of eighteen months in Corinth.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
And = Now.
were come = came down.
was pressed, &c. Read, was engrossed with or by (Greek. en) the word, i.e. his testimony.
spirit. All thetexts read “word” (Greek. logos. App-121.10).
and testified = earnestly testifying. Greek. diamarturomai. See note on Act 2:40.
Jesus. App-98.
was = is.
Christ = the Messiah. App-98. Compare 1Co 1:23. This was to the Jews a horrible “scandal”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5.] See ch. Act 17:15; 1Th 3:6.
] When Silas and Timotheus arrived [see ch. Act 17:15 note] from Macedonia, they found Paul anxiously occupied in discoursing to the Jews. This I believe to be the meaning: that they found him in a state of more than ordinary anxiety,-more than usually absorbed in the work of testifying to the Jews (see reff.):-a crisis in the work being imminent, which resulted in their rejection of the word of life. (On the whole character of his early preaching at Corinth, see notes, 1Co 2:1-5.) Thus only, the in Act 18:5 and that in Act 18:6 will both be satisfied: he discoursed in the synagogue, &c. but when Silas and Timotheus arrived, he was earnestly occupied in discoursing, &c. But, as they opposed themselves and blasphemed, &c. Wordsworth adopts the view that after the arrival of Silas and Timotheus with supplies from Macedonia, Paul gave up his tent-making and gave himself up () to preaching. But surely this is ungrammatical. The aor. ( ) and imperf. () require the rendering when they arrived, they found him .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 18:5. , was constrained by the word) The power of the word within urged Paul: comp. Jer 20:9; Jer 23:9, wherein there is added the parallelism, , I became as a man constrained or PRESSED by wine. Instead of , some have written , from Act 18:25, or else from ch. Act 17:16.-[, a striking reading.-Not. Crit.[109]] Each one ought to observe even in his own soul such a , or constraining force, and, when he feels it what is right, to follow it. To do so causes the greatest joy; but to neglect doing so, the greatest sorrow. The tidings which Silas and Timothy had announced, stimulated Paul.
[109] ABDEde Vulg. support : Rec. Text, without any very old authority, .-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
pressed
Or, constrained by the Word. Cf. 2Co 5:14.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Silas: Act 17:14, Act 17:15, 1Th 3:2
was: Act 4:20, Act 17:16, Job 32:18-20, Jer 6:11, Jer 20:9, Eze 3:14, Mic 3:8, Luk 12:50, 2Co 5:14, Phi 1:23,*Gr.
and testified: Act 18:28, Act 2:36, Act 9:22, Act 10:42, Act 17:3, Act 20:21, Joh 15:27, 1Pe 5:12
was Christ: or, is the Christ, Dan 9:25, Dan 9:26, Joh 1:41, Joh 3:28, Joh 10:24
Reciprocal: Eze 3:19 – if thou Eze 33:9 – if thou Amo 3:13 – and testify Luk 14:18 – all Luk 24:47 – among Act 8:25 – when they had Act 13:46 – It was Act 15:22 – Silas Act 16:1 – named Act 16:9 – Macedonia Act 19:22 – Macedonia Rom 2:9 – of the Jew Rom 16:21 – Timotheus 1Co 1:6 – the 1Co 15:1 – I declare 2Co 1:19 – even Eph 4:17 – testify 1Th 1:1 – Silvanus 1Th 3:6 – when 1Jo 4:14 – we have
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
Act 18:5. The original for pressed is defined by Thayer, “to urge, impel.” Silas and Timotheus finally reached Paul (chapter 17:15), and their arrival encouraged him to put all the more pressure in his preaching of the Gospel, affirming in the ears of the Jews that Jesus was Christ (the Anointed).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 18:5. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. The older MSS., instead of the words , in the spirit, read in the word, the translation would then run, Paul was constrained by the word,that is, when his two friends Silas and Timotheus came, their presence gave him a new impulse: he was able to work with better heart than when all alone he had to toil for his daily bread, and then, all weary and solitary, to meet the various checks and discouragements which so often perplex Gods true servants in their work. It is not improbable that the assistance Timotheus brought him from his dear converts at Thessalonica in part, at least, freed him from the necessity of hard, unremitting labour (see 2Co 11:9). The word translated was pressed is a singular one; it was used once very solemnly by the Lord Himself (see Luk 12:50 : I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened (or pressed) till it be accomplished). The word tells of an intense Divine impulse, urging to a work which brooks no delay or hesitation.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Act 18:5-6. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia Silas seems to have stayed a considerable time at Berea; but Timotheus, having come to the apostle while he was at Athens, and having been sent back by him to comfort and confirm the church at Thessalonica, now left that city to join Paul at Corinth; and in his way calling upon Silas at Berea, they travelled together to Corinth, where they found the apostle, and gave him the agreeable information that the Thessalonian brethren stood firm in the faith, bare the persecution of the unbelievers with exemplary fortitude, and entertained a grateful remembrance of him their spiritual father, 1Th 3:5-6. These tidings, it seems, filled the apostle with joy, and encouraged him to deal more plainly with the Jews at Corinth than he had hitherto done. For he was pressed in spirit And the more probably from what Silas and Timotheus related; and testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ Confirming his testimony by arguments brought from the Scriptures, and by the miracles which he wrought. And when they opposed themselves To his doctrine; and blasphemed Jesus, by affirming that he was not the Christ, but an impostor; he shook his raiment To signify that from that time he would refrain from them, and that God would soon shake them off as unworthy to be numbered among his people; and said, Your blood That is, the guilt of your destruction; be upon your own heads: I am clean From it, agreeably to Gods declaration, Eze 33:2-9. By this wilful impenitence and unbelief, you are your own murderers; and, as God and man can testify that I have done all in my power to prevent so sad an event, I now desist from any further attempts of this kind; from henceforth While I continue in this city, leaving the synagogue, I will go and preach to the Gentiles Who will readily receive that gospel which you so ungratefully reject.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
See notes on verse 4
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
5. When Silas and Timothy arrive from the North, Paul was straightened in the Word, testifying to Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ. The meaning of that statement is simply this: he has preached till he has developed a positive issue, so that something has to break, and the prophetic eye of Paul saw what was coming, as we have described in the next verse.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 5
And when Silas and Timotheus were come, &c., as directed by Paul. (Acts 17:15.)
Acts 18:9,10. Paul seems to allude to the anxiety and fear which he suffered on this occasion in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians. (1 Corinthians 2:1-3.)
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
18:5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul {c} was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews [that] Jesus [was] Christ.
(c) Was very much grieved in mind: by which is signified the great earnestness of his mind, which was greatly moved: for Paul was so zealous that he completely forgot himself, and with a wonderful courage gave himself to preach Christ.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul’s year and a half ministry in Corinth 18:5-11
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Maybe Paul was able to stop practicing his trade and give full time to teaching and evangelizing if Silas returned from Philippi with a monetary gift, as seems likely (cf. Php 4:14-16; 2Co 11:9). Timothy had returned from Thessalonica with encouraging news about the Christians’ progress there (cf. 1Th 3:6-10), but they were also having problems (1Th 2:3-6; 1Th 4:13 to 1Th 5:11). Paul evidently wrote 1 Thessalonians soon after Timothy’s return and 2 Thessalonians shortly thereafter also from Corinth, probably in the early A.D. 50s (cf. Act 18:11).