CRITICAL REMARKS
Acts 18:18. Having shorn his head at Cenchrea, for he had a vow.—The uncertainties connected with this passage are three:
1. Whether Aquila (Kuinoel, Meyer, Wendt, Zöckler) or Paul (Augustine and most moderns) is here referred to.
2. Whether the hair shaving signified the assumption of or releasing from a vow.
3. Whether the vow was a regular Nazarite or simply a private vow, analogous to that. Most interpreters hold that Paul was the person who shaved his head; that he did so in order to release himself from a vow he had taken in Corinth; that the vow was, if not in all respects a Nazarite vow, at least a private vow analogous to that which bound him along with abstinence to let his hair grow for a certain period—in this case till he left Corinth; that if it was a Nazarite vow Paul might have taken it without compromising his Christian liberty (compare Acts 21:24), and might have been able to release himself from it without waiting till he reached Jerusalem (see further in “Homiletical Analysis”). That such vows were practised among the heathen numerous instances show. Diodorus (Acts 1:18) mentions them among the Egyptians; while Homer (Iliad, xxiii. 140–153) records similar acts of Peleus and Achilles. Josephus (Wars, II. xv. 1) notices a like vow which Agrippa’s sister Bernice paid in Jerusalem.
Acts 18:19. Ephesus.—On the Cayster, which falls into the bay of Scala Nova on the western coast of Asia Minor. Dating back probably to B.C. 1044, Ephesus from its foundation “increased in importance till it became the chief mart of Asia Minor”; while its magnificent temple of Diana “never ceased to attract multitudes from all parts.” It ultimately fell into the hands of the Romans B.C. 41 (Modern Discoveries on the Site of Ancient Ephesus, pp. 13–17).
Acts 18:21. And he left them there.—Not meaning that Paul left Aquila and Priscilla in the town while he went into the synagogue (Alford), or that he henceforth quitted their society and devoted himself to the heathen (Wendt, Holtzmann), but signifying that he left them behind in Ephesus when he set sail for Cæsarea. The best MSS. omit the words I must by all means keep this feast which cometh at Jerusalem, and they are now commonly regarded as an insertion modelled after Acts 20:16. But as they occur in some important texts, and explain the phrase “having gone up” in Acts 18:22, it will do no harm to retain them—the feast being in this case either Passover (Ewald, Renan) or Pentecost (Wieseler).
Acts 18:22. The Church.—In Jerusalem is meant, not in Antioch (Kuinoel, Blass). An impossible interpretation, for two reasons:
1. The phrase “went down” is never used of a journey from a coast town to an inland city like Antioch. One regularly goes down to a coast town (compare Acts 13:4, Acts 14:25, Acts 16:8, etc.).
2. The terms “going up” and “going down” are used so frequently of the journey to and from Jerusalem as to establish this usage (Ramsay). The historic credibility of this journey to Jerusalem is challenged (Weizsäcker, Wendt, Pfleiderer, Holtzmann, and others) because it does not appear to be mentioned in Galatians, and along with that the truthfulness of the narrative which speaks of a first brief sojourn in Ephesus (Acts 18:19) and a second longer visit at a later date (Acts 19:1). But neither does Galatians mention the journey in Acts 11:30, unless this be that referred to in Galatians 2:1, in which case Galatians omits all mention of the visit in Acts 15:2. Yet both of these are historical.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 18:18-22
Paul’s Return to Antioch; or, the Close of his Second Missionary Journey
I. Departure from Corinth.—
1. After a somewhat prolonged stoy. At the time of Sosthenes’s attempt to persecute Paul, the apostle, according to one view (Meyer), had been eighteen months in Corinth, when the failure of that attempt, the consequent notoriety his cause obtained, and the success which attended his labours, induced him to “remain yet many days” with his converts. According to the common interpretation (Alford, Lechler, Wendt, Hackett, Spence) the year and six months of Acts 18:11 embraced the whole period of his residence in that city. In either case, in addition to preaching and founding churches in the town and neighbourhood (2 Corinthians 1:1)—as, e.g., in Cenchrea (see Romans 16:1)—he occupied a part of his time in writing letters to the Thessalonians (the First and Second Epistles).
2. With affectionate leave takings.
(1) Of his colleagues, Silas and (most likely also) Timothy, though the latter is found with him again in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19:22).
(2) Of his new friends—Stephanas and Crispus, with their households, whom he had baptised with his own hands (1 Corinthians 1:14); Gaius, whom he also baptised (1 Corinthians 1:14), and with whom he lodged on his next visit (Romans 16:23); Fortunatus, Achaicus, and Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11; 1 Corinthians 16:17); with Erastus, the city chamberlain, and Quartus, a brother (Romans 16:23).
(3) Of the general body of converts, among whom were not many wise, or mighty, or noble, but only weak, ignorant, humble, and poor people (1 Corinthians 1:26-27), whom he had tended as babes in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:2), whom he regarded as his spiritual children (2 Corinthians 6:13), and for whose welfare he continued ever after to be solicitous.
3. Accompanied by dear friends. What induced Aquila and Priscilla to leave Corinth is not recorded. Perhaps they desired to enjoy longer the society of Paul, or to proceed to their home in Pontus, though circumstances, guided by providence, led to their being detained at Ephesus (Acts 18:26); but whatever may have been the motive which prompted them, their company would, without question, be helpful to Paul.
II. Embarkation at Cenchrea.—
1. The harbour of Corinth. Cenchrea, Kichries, ten miles distant from Corinth, formed its eastern port, from which ships sailed to Asia; Lechæum, its western, for vessels bound to Italy, lay upon the other side of the Isthmus. At Cenchrea a Christian Church was early planted, presumably by the apostle’s labours (Romans 16:1).
2. An incident before sailing. Either Aquila (Grotius, Kuinoel, Meyer, Conybeare and Howson) or Paul (Augustine, Calvin, Bengel, Olshausen, Neander, Alford, Hackett, Plumptre, Spence, and others) shaved his head in consequence of having a vow. The only reasons for supposing that Aquila was the person who thus released himself from his vow are that the name Aquila immediately precedes the participle “having shorn,” and that one feels a difficulty in perceiving why Paul should have entangled himself with such a worn-out Jewish custom while founding a Christian Church in Corinth. But
(1) There does not appear sufficient cause for Luke recording anything about Aquila’s vow, the principal actor in the story being Paul.
(2) If Aquila had been under such a vow as is here referred to he must have proceeded to Jerusalem, and either shaved there in the temple, or, if the modification of the law permitted him to shave at Cenchrea, he must still have carried the hair to the temple and burnt it in the altar fire (Numbers 6).
(3) If the vow spoken lay on Paul, it need only be remembered that Paul, though a Christian,” was still a Jew, and delighted, when able, without compromising his evangelical liberty, to observe Jewish customs—thus to the Jew becoming a Jew in order to gain the Jews (1 Corinthians 9:20-22).
(4) It is not certain that Paul’s vow was that of a Nazarite; but even if it was, the act performed was intended not as an assumption, but as a discharge of the vow.
(5) More than likely the vow bound him to a modified asceticism as a sign and means of more earnest spiritual consecration, and was assumed as a visible expression of gratitude for the protection and success he had experienced at Corinth.
3. The destination of the voyagers. Immediately Syria, ultimately for Paul Jerusalem and Antioch.
III. Sojourn in Ephesus.—
1. The sail across the archipelago. With a favourable wind this may have been accomplished in two or three days, though Cicero once spent fifteen on a voyage from Athens, to Ephesus, and thirteen on the return trip. As the ship threaded its way among “the Isles of Greece” many ancient historical associations may have presented themselves to the mind of the apostle; but if they did (which is doubtful), the thoughts they occasioned have not been recorded, and probably were not expressed.
2. The landing at Ephesus. The ship, which was seemingly bound for Syria, would not stay long in the harbour of Ephesus, but Paul and his companions disembarked, and made their first acquaintance with the famous ancient capital of Ionia, at that time the metropolis of proconsular Asia, the seat of a flourishing trade, the centre of the worship of Diana (Acts 19:14, which see), and afterwards the Christian metropolis of Asia Minor (see “Critical Remarks”).
3. The work in the city. Priscilla and Aquila no doubt followed their ordinary calling as they had done at Corinth, but Paul betook himself to preaching in the synagogue and reasoning with the Jews—according to his work, losing no opportunity of making known the gospel of the grace of God to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Though not stated there would doubtless be here, as elsewhere, proselytes attached to the synagogue.
IV. Voyage to Cæsarea.—
1. After a brief stay in Ephesus. So favourable an impression had he made upon his countrymen in that large commercial and intellectual but superstitious city, that his hearers would willingly have persuaded him to remain amongst them some time longer. This, however, they were unable to do, “He consented not.”
2. With kindly farewells to his countrymen. Amongst these he had presumably made numerous friends and perhaps not a few converts, and from these he tore himself only under the constraint of a higher duty. For reasons not explained he deemed it incumbent on him to be present at the approaching festival in Jerusalem—either the Passover (Ewald, Renan), or more likely Pentecost (Wieseler), rather than Tabernacles, which would have made the voyage too late—and so he told his kinsmen.
3. Promising to return. If God should permit (compare James 4:15). A promise soon after fulfilled (Acts 19:1).
4. Unattended by his recent companions. That Priscilla and Aquila remained behind in Ephesus appears to be the import of the clause—“and he left them there” (see “Critical Remarks”); and that they stayed behind the context shows.
V. Visit to Jerusalem.—
1. The certainty of this visit. Having landed at Cæsarea (see Acts 8:40), he went up, not from the harbour to the town (Kuinoel, Blass), but from Cæsarea to Jerusalem. Compare the usual mode of expression (Acts 11:2, Acts 15:2, Acts 21:12; Acts 21:15, Acts 24:11, Acts 25:1; Acts 25:9; Galatians 2:1-2; Matthew 20:18; Mark 10:32-33; Luke 2:42; Luke 23:31; Luke 19:28; John 2:13; John 5:1; John 7:8; John 7:10; John 11:55; John 12:20). It forms no valid objection to this visit that it is not mentioned in Galatians 2. The number of this visit. The fourth; the others having been—the first (Acts 9:26), the second (Acts 11:30), the third (Acts 15:2).
3. The object of this visit.
(1) To keep the feast (see “Critical Remarks”). Whether he arrived in time for this is not told.
(2) Perhaps to complete his vow by burning his hair in the temple.
(3) Possibly to salute the Church there, which he did.
VI. Return to Antioch.—
1. How long he had been absent. Uncertain. According to one computation (Wieseler) about three years, giving six months for Paul’s journey between Antioch and Troas, six months for his work in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berœa, eighteen months for his stay in Corinth, and six months for the voyage from Corinth to Ephesus and Cæsarea, and the travel to Jerusalem and back to Antioch. 2. Why he returned. Because Antioch was the place from which he had been sent out, and was now practically become the Church’s missionary centre.
3. When he left. After a brief stay. When he did depart it was probably for ever. No intimation is preserved of his having ever again visited the city. Antioch is not again mentioned by Luke.
Learn.—
1. That earthly friendships should never be allowed to hinder the onward movements of God’s servants and Christ’s missionaries.
2. That legitimate vows voluntarily undertaken should be religiously paid.
3. That promises made by Christian people should be faithfully kept.
4. That missionaries ought to stir up the home Churches by frequent rehearsals of missionary intelligence.
5. That for the true apostle of Jesus Christ there can be no rest so long as it is day.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Acts 18:18. Vows in the Religious Life.
I. Are perfectly legitimate under the gospel.—Though not enjoined in the Scriptures of the New Testament, Paul’s example may be regarded as giving them a quasi sanction.
II. Concern things which are, in themselves, morally indifferent.—Whatever is already commanded lies outside the province, within which a vow is permissible.
III. Should never be undertaken rashly.—Otherwise unnecessary burdens may be laid on weak consciences.
IV. When made should be faithfully performed.—Better not vow than having vowed neglect to pay.
Acts 18:21. Keeping the Feast—a Communion Sermon. “I must by all means keep this feast” (the Lord’s Supper) “which cometh at Jerusalem.”
I. Because of the commandment I have received.—“This do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
II. Because of the company I shall meet.—Christ and His friends who are also my brethren (John 15:14).
III. Because of the benefit I shall receive.—Spiritual nourishment and growth in grace (John 6:55).
IV. Because of the good I shall do.—By
1. Confessing Christ before His Church and in sight of the world.
2. By encouraging my fellow-disciples to be steadfast in the faith.