Great Unknown People of the Bible
Apollos
The Popular Preacher
Acts 18
1 Corinthians 1:1-17 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 2 Corinthians 10:1, 7-11 |
1 Corinthians 3:1-7
1 Corinthians 16:12, 19 Titus (1:5) 3:12-13 |
A month ago, when we began our series on the often overlooked people of the Bible, we started with Aquila and Priscilla, the husband and wife team who assisted the Apostle Paul financially in his ministry. And they carried on a quiet but effective behind the scenes ministry of their own in at least four different cities in the Roman empire. When we were introduced to Aquila and Priscilla, we were, by necessity, also introduced to a man named Apollos, a man whom Priscilla and Aquila introduced to Jesus.
I must confess that between the time I wrote that sermon and the time that I finally delivered it, I had to cut some pages out of my message. The problem was that when I got deeper into my study on all three of these people, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos, I found that I had bitten off far more than I could chew, which is why I skipped verses from the outline.
Well, today we get hear the rest of Apollos' story.
You may recall that we first met Apollos in the time intervening between Paul's second and third missionary journey. It was on his second journey that the Lord directed Paul to change his travel plans, and have him work in Greece, rather than in Turkey.
Starting off in Antioch, Paul and went virtually straight through Turkey, to Troas, where Dr. Luke joined the group. From there they went on to Macedonia, in northern Greece, where Luke stayed, and Paul continued on south to Athens, and then to Corinth. Here the story picks up in Acts chapter 18:
ACTS 18
I must confess that between the time I wrote that sermon and the time that I finally delivered it, I had to cut some pages out of my message. The problem was that when I got deeper into my study on all three of these people, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos, I found that I had bitten off far more than I could chew, which is why I skipped verses from the outline.
Well, today we get hear the rest of Apollos' story.
You may recall that we first met Apollos in the time intervening between Paul's second and third missionary journey. It was on his second journey that the Lord directed Paul to change his travel plans, and have him work in Greece, rather than in Turkey.
Starting off in Antioch, Paul and went virtually straight through Turkey, to Troas, where Dr. Luke joined the group. From there they went on to Macedonia, in northern Greece, where Luke stayed, and Paul continued on south to Athens, and then to Corinth. Here the story picks up in Acts chapter 18:
ACTS 18
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.
2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.
3 So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
7 And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshipped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.
9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;
10 "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia [the southern province of Greece], the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,
13 saying, "This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law."
14 And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you.
15 "But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters."
16 And he drove them from the judgment seat.
17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, [or in our way of stating it, we might say, other ruler of the synagogue, since there was very likely more than one] and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.
18 So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria [i.e. Antioch], and Priscilla and Aquila were with him....
19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus.
Aquila and Priscilla stayed behind in Ephesus to continue the ministry that Paul started.
So what does all this have to do with Apollos? Thus far, not much. But it all has very much to do with the church in Corinth, and as we shall soon see, it is the church in Corinth that has everything to do with Apollos. But it is not in Corinth where we first meet Apollos. As you may recall, it is here in Ephesus...
ACTS 18
So what does all this have to do with Apollos? Thus far, not much. But it all has very much to do with the church in Corinth, and as we shall soon see, it is the church in Corinth that has everything to do with Apollos. But it is not in Corinth where we first meet Apollos. As you may recall, it is here in Ephesus...
ACTS 18
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
Apollos is an odd name for a dedicated Hebrew. Is that the name his parents gave him? Or did he adopt it later in life as Paul had done with his name? What makes it so odd, is that it is a name akin to a god of Greek mythology.
Alexandria is where? Africa. Alexandria was like the Greek city of Athens, which should be no surprise, since it was founded by a Greek, Alexander the Great. Alexandria was noted as a center of learning - literature, art, medicine, astronomy, etc. The libraries of Alexandria were world famous. There was also a substantial Jewish population in Alexandria, and they were the ones two hundred years earlier, who were responsible for translating the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek Language. It was that Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which served as the Bible for both Jews and Christians in New Testament times. Apollos was no dummy, when it came to his academic credentials. He was a good speaker, and a good teacher. He not only knew the OT scriptures, but he knew how to teach it, and he apparently loved to teach.
Alexandria is where? Africa. Alexandria was like the Greek city of Athens, which should be no surprise, since it was founded by a Greek, Alexander the Great. Alexandria was noted as a center of learning - literature, art, medicine, astronomy, etc. The libraries of Alexandria were world famous. There was also a substantial Jewish population in Alexandria, and they were the ones two hundred years earlier, who were responsible for translating the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek Language. It was that Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which served as the Bible for both Jews and Christians in New Testament times. Apollos was no dummy, when it came to his academic credentials. He was a good speaker, and a good teacher. He not only knew the OT scriptures, but he knew how to teach it, and he apparently loved to teach.
25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord [or the Lord Jesus, as several manuscripts say], though he knew only the baptism of John.
26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
To simply capsulize what we covered about this in our earlier study, Apollos comes to town, having heard and believed the message of the John the Baptizer, and repeating John's message, "The Messiah is coming! The Messiah is coming!" And as Dr. Luke tells us in Acts, Apollos does not merely repeat John's message that the Messiah is coming, but he defends and documents this message from the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures. Only there's one problem with this message. Apollos is a little behind the times in his information about the coming Messiah. So Aquila and Priscilla have the joy and privilege of taking Apollos aside and informing him that the Messiah has come, that His name is Jesus, and that He fulfilled those prophecies with His own suffering and death on the cross on our behalf, with His bodily resurrection three days later, His ascension 40 days after that, and with the gift of the Holy Spirit ten days later on Pentecost, and He will return one day to finish the fulfillment of those prophecies.
Now Apollos was no gullible dunce. He didn't simply swallow everything Aquila and Priscilla told him simply because they told him. He weighed their testimony against the evidence of Scripture which he already knew and had committed to memory, and the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to see it was true. Not simply historically true, Not only doctrinally true, but Apollos saw that it was true for Apollos. Jesus was more than that Redeemer of Israel. Jesus was Apollos' redeemer. Jesus was Apollos' Messiah. His Lord. His Savior... Just as Jesus your Redeemer, your Lord, your Savior. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's promises to you.
So Apollos believed.
Gifted teachers such as Apollos are vulnerable to one glaring weakness: They are hard to teach. But Apollos, with the Spirit's help, laid aside his pride, and showed himself to be teachable in the presence of this couple who were more knowledgeable and wiser than he. Popular teachers don't usually like to be told they are wrong. So in my book, Apollos gets high marks for humility.
Now Apollos was no gullible dunce. He didn't simply swallow everything Aquila and Priscilla told him simply because they told him. He weighed their testimony against the evidence of Scripture which he already knew and had committed to memory, and the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to see it was true. Not simply historically true, Not only doctrinally true, but Apollos saw that it was true for Apollos. Jesus was more than that Redeemer of Israel. Jesus was Apollos' redeemer. Jesus was Apollos' Messiah. His Lord. His Savior... Just as Jesus your Redeemer, your Lord, your Savior. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's promises to you.
So Apollos believed.
Gifted teachers such as Apollos are vulnerable to one glaring weakness: They are hard to teach. But Apollos, with the Spirit's help, laid aside his pride, and showed himself to be teachable in the presence of this couple who were more knowledgeable and wiser than he. Popular teachers don't usually like to be told they are wrong. So in my book, Apollos gets high marks for humility.
27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren [i.e. Aquila, Priscilla, and others we will meet in a moment] wrote, exhorting the disciples [in Corinth] to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;
28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Now, I do not recommend that new converts to the Christian faith be immediately thrust into a teaching role. Not only do I not recommend it, but the Bible itself commands that we do not put new converts up on a pedestal and adorn them with the awesome responsibility of publicly representing the faith. In Apollos' case, however, he had one thing going for him that equipped him for this responsibility, namely a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures which protected him from imbalanced teaching and immaturity. And, in truth, we do not know the duration of time between his conversion and his mission trip to Corinth. Whatever that length of time, it is clear that the time was filled with continued counsel and instruction from Aquila and Priscilla.
And so Apollos embarked to Corinth, to pick up where Paul had left off. Paul was forced to leave Corinth by hostile unbelievers. Apollos was able to encourage the Christians with the clear evidence of Scriptures that what Paul had taught them about Jesus was absolutely true. The fact that Apollos had never met Paul wasn't important. Both Paul and Apollos had each in their own separate conversions met Jesus, and both Paul and Apollos taught about Jesus from the same prophetic Scriptures.
And in the book Acts, that is the last we see of Apollos. However, that is not the end of his story.
While Apollos was away, Paul came to Ephesus, his first stop on his third missionary journey. And during Paul's nearly three-year stay in Ephesus, he and his new Christian friends exchanged a series of letters back and forth. And it is in those letters that the story of Apollos continues.
1 CORINTHIANS 1
And so Apollos embarked to Corinth, to pick up where Paul had left off. Paul was forced to leave Corinth by hostile unbelievers. Apollos was able to encourage the Christians with the clear evidence of Scriptures that what Paul had taught them about Jesus was absolutely true. The fact that Apollos had never met Paul wasn't important. Both Paul and Apollos had each in their own separate conversions met Jesus, and both Paul and Apollos taught about Jesus from the same prophetic Scriptures.
And in the book Acts, that is the last we see of Apollos. However, that is not the end of his story.
While Apollos was away, Paul came to Ephesus, his first stop on his third missionary journey. And during Paul's nearly three-year stay in Ephesus, he and his new Christian friends exchanged a series of letters back and forth. And it is in those letters that the story of Apollos continues.
1 CORINTHIANS 1
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who was Sosthenes? Remember, he was the synagogue ruler of Corinth who got beaten up outside Gallio's court room after Gallio literally threw the case out of his court. It appears that Sosthenes left Corinth with Paul and Aquila and Priscilla and Silas and Timothy (it is understandable why Sosthenes might want to leave town), and that Sosthenes stayed in Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla. Or it is also possible that Sosthenes at first stayed in Corinth, but then later went to Ephesus after he had heard that Paul was there.
As I mentioned, while Paul was in Ephesus, he and the Christian leaders in the Corinth sent letters back and forth, in order to clarify some of the confusion that the Corinthian church had about doctrine and practice. Paul wrote this letter, which today we call First Corinthians, in response to a previous letter which the leaders of the Corinthian church wrote, listing some of their concerns and questions. No, I am sorry that we don't have today any copies of the letters the Corinthians wrote to Paul, but Paul, in this letter, makes reference to the questions that the Corinthians asked in their letter. There is also some evidence in First and Second Corinthians that these two letters are not the only letters which Paul had written to the church in Corinth, that there were others that preceded these.
The very first controversy that Paul addresses in 1st Corinthians is conflict in the church over the issue of leadership, apostleship, if you will. And guess who is in the middle of that controversy?
As I mentioned, while Paul was in Ephesus, he and the Christian leaders in the Corinth sent letters back and forth, in order to clarify some of the confusion that the Corinthian church had about doctrine and practice. Paul wrote this letter, which today we call First Corinthians, in response to a previous letter which the leaders of the Corinthian church wrote, listing some of their concerns and questions. No, I am sorry that we don't have today any copies of the letters the Corinthians wrote to Paul, but Paul, in this letter, makes reference to the questions that the Corinthians asked in their letter. There is also some evidence in First and Second Corinthians that these two letters are not the only letters which Paul had written to the church in Corinth, that there were others that preceded these.
The very first controversy that Paul addresses in 1st Corinthians is conflict in the church over the issue of leadership, apostleship, if you will. And guess who is in the middle of that controversy?
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now I say this, that each of you says,
"I FOLLOW PAUL"
"I FOLLOW APOLLOS"
"I FOLLOW PETER"
"I DON'T FOLLOW ANY HUMAN AUTHORITY. I ONLY FOLLOW CHRIST."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus [the other Synagogue ruler] and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.
Paul then dedicates the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians to this issue alone, trying to get the folks to unite in their worship of Christ, and not divide over their worship of the Lord's servants, and he wanted them to unite in their appreciation of the various ways God has ministered to them through those same servants.
There is ample evidence in Scripture that Apollos was the better public speaker than Paul.
1 CORINTHIANS 2
There is ample evidence in Scripture that Apollos was the better public speaker than Paul.
1 CORINTHIANS 2
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
2 CORINTHIANS 10
1 Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ; who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you....
7 Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ's, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ's, even so we are Christ's.
8 For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed; 9 lest I seem to terrify you by letters.
10 "For his letters," they say, "are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."
11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.
Inferring from Luke's description of Apollos over in Acts, and from Paul's response to criticisms leveled against himself, I surmise that Apollos was a much more eloquent than Paul. Apollos was more convincing, possibly even more entertaining, than Paul. Clearly, Apollos was quite an effective communicator of truths of Scripture, leading many scholars today to wonder if perhaps it is Apollos who is the unidentified author of the New Testament book of Hebrews. He sure fits the profile.
Now take a peek at that next verse in 2 Corinthians 10:
Now take a peek at that next verse in 2 Corinthians 10:
12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
Is Paul here talking about Apollos? Did Apollos stayed in Corinth, to build his own reputation at Paul's expense, to take credit for the foundational work that Paul had done for the Gospel? I can say in all confidence, and unequivocally, the answer is No. While Paul was unashamed to defend his apostleship, he would not say one word in criticism of Apollos. Why?
1 CORINTHIANS 3
1 CORINTHIANS 3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
Now, where was Apollos as Paul was writing this? The last we had seen of Apollos thus far was the Ephesian church bidding him farewell to go preach in Corinth. Was he still there in Corinth? Or had he moved on to some other city? Answer: Neither.
1 CORINTHIANS 16
1 CORINTHIANS 16
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.
After Paul arrived in Ephesus, Apollos finished up his teaching tour in Corinth, and returned to Ephesus and finally met Paul himself. Not only did he meet Paul, he became one of Paul's lifelong assistants. This speaks highly of the humility of both men, humility motivated by their singular focus on Christ and His mission to save the lost. If I may read between the lines in what Paul says to those who participate in the "who's the best Christian teacher on TV and Radio" game, or "who's the best preacher in the pulpit": "Apollos and I are on the same team. We are friends. So what's your problem?"
Who else in on the team?
Who else in on the team?
19 The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
We catch one more glimpse of Apollos later in Paul's ministry. Although Luke does not report this, it appears that Apollos continues to work as Paul's assistant and as an extension of Paul's ministry, as so many others whom we have met in this series had done. The only other time we see Apollos cited is in Paul's letter to Titus ... and who is he? Ah, that will have to be another sermon on another day.
Paul wrote this letter some time after the conclusion of the events in the book of Acts. Acts closes with Paul taken as a prisoner to Rome, where he stayed under house arrest in his own apartment for two years. Then what? The evidence is clear from Paul's own letters and the documentation of the earliest church historians that Paul was released and continued to travel and do mission work for several years before his final arrest and execution. It was during that time of travel Paul wrote this letter to his young assistant Titus.
TITUS 1
Paul wrote this letter some time after the conclusion of the events in the book of Acts. Acts closes with Paul taken as a prisoner to Rome, where he stayed under house arrest in his own apartment for two years. Then what? The evidence is clear from Paul's own letters and the documentation of the earliest church historians that Paul was released and continued to travel and do mission work for several years before his final arrest and execution. It was during that time of travel Paul wrote this letter to his young assistant Titus.
TITUS 1
4 To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders [or pastors] in every city as I commanded you;
...and Paul goes on to describe the qualifications for pastoral leadership.
The verses that interest us are...
TITUS 3
The verses that interest us are...
TITUS 3
12 When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.
13 Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing.
Now, I don't know who Artemas is. I do know who Tychicus is. You have already seen his name at least three times in our series thus far. Zenas the lawyer? Sorry, I don't know him. But it seems that Zenas and Apollos are not out preaching and teaching, but simply serving as the courier of Paul's letter to Titus, and Paul is here asking that Titus give them what they need in the way of supplies for their return trip.
There is a whole lot more we can glean from this references and others Paul makes in other letters that helps chart his course of travel during this period of his ministry... but that's another study for another day.
And that's it for Apollos - a gifted teacher who never lost his love of learning about the Lord, and never lost his zeal for helping others to grow in faith, who, in spite of his abilities and popularity, kept his focus not on himself, but on the Lord Jesus Christ. His delight was to have others know Jesus, too. In whatever our individual areas of service, may the Lord give us such a focus, such a sense of mission for Him.
Amen
There is a whole lot more we can glean from this references and others Paul makes in other letters that helps chart his course of travel during this period of his ministry... but that's another study for another day.
And that's it for Apollos - a gifted teacher who never lost his love of learning about the Lord, and never lost his zeal for helping others to grow in faith, who, in spite of his abilities and popularity, kept his focus not on himself, but on the Lord Jesus Christ. His delight was to have others know Jesus, too. In whatever our individual areas of service, may the Lord give us such a focus, such a sense of mission for Him.
Amen