Ministry in Corinth
TRANSLATION
(1) After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. (2) There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, (3) and, because he was a tentmaker like them, he stayed and worked with them. (4) Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
(5) When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. (6) But when they opposed and abused him, Paul shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” (7) He left the synagogue and went next door to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. (8) Crispus, the synagogue leader, believed in the Lord with his entire household. Many Corinthians believed after hearing Paul and were baptized. (9) One night in a vision the Lord told Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silent, (10) for I am with you. No one will attack you or harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” (11) So Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth, teaching them the Word of God.
OBSERVATIONS
During their extended stay in Corinth, Paul and Silas made a strategic shift in ministry focus at least for the time they spent in that important city. Instead of giving priority to reaching the Jews, they decided to devote themselves to ministering to the far more responsive Gentiles. This was due to the unremitting hostility they had faced from the Jews in the towns and cities where they had been seeking to establish churches, a hostility which came to a head when the Jews in Corinth “opposed and reviled him” (vs. 6). After shaking out his garments and declaring, “Your blood be on your own heads,” Paul transferred their outreach efforts from the synagogue to the house of Titius Justus, a Gentile who happened to live right next to the synagogue.
That Paul had made the right decision was confirmed in two specific ways. First, the synagogue ruler, Crispus, as well as his family, embraced the Gospel and became part of the Corinthian church (vs. 8). Then, in a vision, Paul received a direct message from the Lord to “keep on speaking” in spite of opposition (vs. 9). Repetitions in this segment included “Paul” (vss. 1, 5, & 8), “Jew/Jews” (four times in vss. 2, 4, & 5), “synagogue” (vss. 4, 7, & 8), “house/household” (vss. 7 & 8), and “believed” (both in vs. 8).
OUTLINE
I. Upon reaching Corinth, Paul at first plied his tentmaking trade with Priscilla and Aquila. (1-4)
II. After Silas and Timothy arrived and because of Jewish resistance, Paul moved their ministry from the synagogue to the house of Titius Justus located just next door. (5-7)
III. The conversion of Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, as well as Paul’s vision encouraged the team to remain steadfast in their efforts. (8-11)
IDEA STATEMENT
Due to the constant resistance of the Jews, Paul while in Corinth committed the team to ministering to the Gentiles, a decision confirmed by Crispus’ conversion as well as a direct message from the Lord.
APPLICATION
When learning to drive a car, a novice soon learns that no one can steer a car while it is standing still. One must first put the car in motion, and then it can be steered. That is precisely what happened in Corinth with Paul’s decision to prioritize ministry to the Gentiles. In leaving the synagogue and shaking out their garments because of Jewish resistance, Paul and his team signaled that they would, for the time being, devote their energies to those who had welcomed their ministry.
Once they had taken the initiative (putting the car in motion), God confirmed the appropriateness of their decision by two unmistakable signs. First, Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household became part of the new church plant. Then Paul received a direct communication from the Lord in a vision, affirming this new direction in ministry and promising a long and fruitful ministry in Corinth. While the Corinthian Church would endure many growing pains and would test Paul’s patience in many ways, it eventually became a mature body of faithful believers that would impact the entire region for Jesus Christ.