Paul Begins His Third Missionary Journey; Acts 18:23 – 28 Part 2

Church History: Date: A.D. 53–57

The sacred history of Paul’s travels continues; He leaves and goes to meet Apollos at Ephesus, and to give us an account of him. Apollos was a Jew, born at Alexandria in Egypt, but of Jewish parents; there was an abundance of Jews in that city, since the dispersion of the people, as it was foretold (Deuteronomy 28:68): The Lord shall bring you into Egypt again. His name was not Apollo, the name of one of the heathen gods, but Apollos, some think the same with Apelles, (Romans 16:10).
He was a man of excellent character, and well fitted for public service. He was an eloquent man, and learned in the scriptures of the Old Testament, in the knowledge of which he was, as a Jew, brought up. He had a great command of scripture-language, and this was the eloquence he was noted for. He came to Ephesus, which was a public place, to trade with that talent, for the honor of God and the good of many. He was not only ready in the scriptures, able to quote texts off-hand, and repeat them, and tell you where to find them (many of the carnal Jews were so, who were therefore said to have the form of knowledge, and the letter of the law); but he was mighty in the scriptures. He understood the sense and meaning of them, he knew how to make use of them and to apply them, how to reason out of the scriptures, and to reason strongly; a convincing, commanding, confirming power went along with all his expositions and applications of the scripture. It is probable he had given proof of his knowledge of the scriptures, and his abilities in them, in many synagogues of the Jews. He knew only the baptism of John; he was instructed in the gospel of Christ as far as John's ministry would carry him, and no further; he knew the preparing of the way of the Lord by that voice crying in the wilderness, rather than the way of the Lord itself. We cannot but think he had heard of Christ's death and resurrection, but he was not let into the mystery of them, had not had opportunity of conversing with any of the apostles since the pouring out of the Spirit; or he had himself been baptized only with the baptism of John, but was not baptized with the Holy Spirit, as the disciples were at the day of Pentecost.