Acts 18:1-11 CSB
After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth, [2] where he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them, [3] and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked. [4] He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks. [5] When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. [6] When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, "Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." [7] So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. [9] The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, "Don't be afraid, but keep on speaking and don't be silent. [10] For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city." [11] He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.
1 Thessalonians 2:9 CSB
For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God's gospel to you.
Corinth
I remember as a young child in church, we received a new pastor. The community placed a special, deep trust in this man. He faithfully preached the Word of God and counseled others in Christ, but one specific characteristic truly stood out: he worked a demanding, forty-hour-a-week secular job while simultaneously spending his remaining hours serving as the shepherd of our local body of believers. To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a pastor being financially compensated as they use their spiritual gifts and God’s direction to oversee a congregation. Pastoring is an incredibly difficult job with long, exhausting hours; in fact, statistical studies show that approximately 24% to 38% of Protestant pastors have reported seriously considering leaving the ministry due to intense vocational strain. However, some churches are small and simply cannot afford to financially support a pastor. In those moments, you truly get to see the mettle of a leader who feels so undeniably called by God that they are willing to work two full-time jobs—supporting their family by day and doing the work of the Lord by night and the weekends.
In our modern culture, there is an overwhelming amount of skepticism directed toward church leaders due to the modern “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who have snuck into the body of Christ to amass personal wealth rather than to truly serve the Lord. Remarkably, this same issue was running rampant in the first-century church with false apostles. Paul made it explicitly clear to his listeners that he intentionally chose to support himself. This boundary served as a healing balm to those who heard him. It proved beyond a doubt that Paul was speaking truth directly from a pure heart, rather than trying to beguile people out of their coins.
We see this dynamic unfold as Paul leaves Athens and journeys to Corinth. There, he connects with a Jewish believer named Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, staying in their home to work with his hands in their shared trade of tentmaking. Corinth was an incredibly expensive metropolis to live in. There was even a well-known ancient Greek proverb that warned, “Not every man can afford a journey to Corinth.”
Beyond its vast wealth and booming commerce, Corinth was infamous for its staggering moral wickedness. The towering Temple of Aphrodite sat roughly a mile outside the city center, where historically, a thousand cultic priestesses served as sacred prostitutes. Every evening, these prostitutes would stream down into the city streets to sell their services. While it sounds shocking to us, pagan religions of that era regularly used the funds generated by ritual prostitution to financially support their temples—a dark practice that was common across many ancient lands.
Yet, this is exactly the kind of city to which God called Paul. As we walk out our Christian faith, it is vital to realize that our journey is not designed for our personal comfort. Instead, we are called to be a bright, piercing light in the darkest corners of the world to illuminate the hope of Christ. This is precisely where the Holy Spirit led Paul.
At first, Paul began his ministry in the local synagogue, as was his custom. But when Silas and Timothy finally arrived from Macedonia bringing financial support from the churches there, Paul was able to step away from the workbench and devote himself to full-time preaching. As always happened, however, intense opposition and blasphemy soon erupted from the critics. In response, Paul shook out his clothes—a dramatic symbolic witness to the synagogue that he had faithfully delivered the message to them first. Leaving them to their own chosen destiny, he declared that their blood was on their own heads, and turned his full focus to the Gentiles of the city. True forgiveness, brought about by the finished work of the resurrected Christ, would now be boldly proclaimed to the non-Jewish citizens of Corinth.
Paul relocated his ministry right next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. This new meeting place sat directly adjacent to the very same synagogue Paul had just walked out of. Remarkably, even though Paul had officially shifted his focus to the Gentiles, his presence right next door meant that the gospel still broke through the hearts of those attending the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of that exact synagogue, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, joining many other Corinthians who believed through the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Christ and were baptized.
How did Paul know he should stay in Corinth rather than packing up and fleeing such a disreputable, hostile environment? We often look back at Paul and view him as an untouchable, superhuman hero, but the reality is that he desperately needed encouragement. He later confessed in a letter to this very church that when he first arrived, he was with them “in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.” We frequently place the Apostles on an unrealistic pedestal. While they certainly suffered with immense courage for the gospel, they were still ordinary human beings navigating the exact same frailties that we face today. It was not their own perfection, but their raw, supernatural power and faith given by God that transformed them into lions.
Knowing his weakness, the Lord spoke to Paul in a midnight vision to strengthen his trembling legs, commanding him: “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. For I am with you.” Paul received the divine reassurance that his grueling labor would not be in vain, because Christ already had “many people” in that wicked city waiting to be gathered. Anchored by that promise, Paul remained in Corinth for eighteen months, teaching the Word of God and watching Jesus radically alter the eternal destination of countless souls.
It is so easy in our modern world to get completely caught up in our own routines, inadvertently turning our comforts and careers into little idols that rule over our faith. Paul, Silas, and Priscilla worked tirelessly in the trenches for the Kingdom. Through their gritty example, God is calling us to remove our eyes from the fleeting things that glitter in this world, and to fix our focus on sharing the life-changing message of Jesus with those around us.
Reflection Questions
- Paul willingly worked a grueling trade as a tentmaker to ensure that his financial needs never became a stumbling block to the gospel. What are some ways we can protect our own Christian witness from looking self-serving or transactional to a skeptical world?
- Corinth was widely known as a center of deep spiritual darkness and sexual immorality, yet God told Paul, “I have many people in this city.” How should this remind us not to write off certain communities, people, or workplaces as “too far gone” for the grace of God to reach?
- Even the great Apostle Paul experienced seasons of intense fear, weakness, and trembling. How does knowing that God uses fragile, fearful human beings comfort you when you feel inadequate to do the work He has called you to do?
Prayer
Father,
We praise You that Your light shines brightest in the deepest darkness. Thank You for the inspiring example of Paul, Silas, and Timothy who were willing to work in the trenches, laboring with their hands and risking their safety to plant Your truth in an infamous city. Deliver us from the subtle trap of making our own comfort, security, or worldly wealth into little gods that crowd out our devotion to You. When we feel weak, fearful, or ready to stay silent, let us hear Your voice reminding us that You are with us. Give us the courage to step into the difficult places of our world, trusting that You are already at work changing souls by Your pure grace. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
