They Took Him Aside and Explained the Way of God - September 22

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 78:1-39; PM Psalm 78:40-72; Esther 5:1-14; Acts 18:12-28; Luke 3:15-22

Today’s Reflection

­Many accounts of Paul’s mission and ministry as he traveled around the Mediterranean and Near East depict him teaching in synagogues or defending himself in the public forum. But even more important to Paul’s mission was the way he invested time in people and, in turn, built ongoing relationships that nurtured them in their faith.

As we read in Acts 18, when the consul Gallio dismissed Paul’s case, Paul didn’t just set off for the next place. Instead, he stayed “for a considerable time,” which scholars tell us was about 18 months. While he said his farewells to all the believers there, two of the believers in whom he had invested his time and care in there, Priscilla and Aquila, decided to travel on with Paul and help him spread the Gospel elsewhere. Once they reached Ephesus, Paul visited the local synagogue to do some teaching amongst those gathered there. But when they asked him to stay, he turned them down, saying that “I will return to you, if God wills,” and he continued on toward Antioch, Galatia, and Phrygia, “strengthening all the disciples.”

But Paul did not leave the believers in Ephesus without support. Priscilla and Aquila stayed on to nurture the Ephesian believers in their shared faith. The time Paul had invested in developing Priscilla and Aquila meant that they were now equipped to encourage others in their faith. And that is exactly what we find them doing in Acts 18: 24-28.

Ephesus, as a crossroads of trade in the ancient world, attracted people from all around the Mediterranean region. Another person who made his way to Ephesus was Apollos, who hailed from Alexandria, Egypt, a major center of learning in the ancient world. Luke describes Apollos as “an eloquent man, well-versed in the Scriptures” who “had been instructed in the Way of the Lord.” Apollos “spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus.”

However, we also learn that, while Apollos was a well-educated man and a gifted orator, his formation was not complete, as he “knew only the baptism of John.” In other words, Apollos’ heart was in the right place and he had learned some important things, but there was still room for growth as Apollos continued to be formed as a believer.

Enter Priscilla and Aquila. As they settled into Ephesus and getting acquainted with the community of believers there, they heard this enthusiastic new believer, Apollos, speaking with great boldness and passion about his faith. And what they recognized is that Apollos needed to grow in his knowledge, so that what he shared with others was not just passionate teaching, but also correct doctrine. Apollos knew some of the story, but Priscilla and Aquila, as believers a bit further along in their learning, saw that Apollos still needed to hear the rest of the story.

But instead of calling Apollos out in public, sparking some kind of contentious public debate about the baptism of John versus the baptism of Jesus, Priscilla and Aquila made a more enlightened move: “they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately.” And then later, when Apollos felt ready to travel on to Achaia, in Corinth, his fellow believers in Ephesus “encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.”

Paul invested his time in building relationships with and teaching the believers in Corinth, among them Priscilla and Aquila—who in turn invested time in building relationships with and teaching believers in Ephesus, including Apollos. And once Apollos was nurtured along to a more mature point in his faith, he continued the cycle—by returning to Achaia, where he, in turn, “greatly helped those who through grace had become believers… showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.”

Each time a follower of the Way of God takes time to invest time in another pilgrim on the way, the faith of both will be strengthened. Faith is not something we are meant to experience by ourselves. Faith is something we are meant to experience together, helping to nurture one another as we learn together. Taking someone aside and investing that extra time and care goes a long way toward encouraging them to have a faith that continues to grow—and one that they, too, will want to share with someone else.

—Becky+

Questions for Self-Reflection

Can you recall a time when someone took you aside to check on you or help you learn something new? How did it feel to have someone notice you and take the time to care for you in that moment?

Daily Challenge

Next time you are in a discussion—whether in-person or online—and hear someone saying things you believe are incorrect or unhelpful to others, pause. After the pause, then find a way to connect with the person away from the main discussion forum so that you can have a one-on-one conversation about the points on which you differ.