Opening: What do you like the most about returning home after a long vacation or
business trip? What do you like the least?
Scripture: Read Acts 18:18-22.
Insights:
- Cenchreae was 6 east of Corinth and was Corinth’s main port to the Aegean Sea. The Roman harbor of Cenchreae is still visible (though largely submerged), and excavators have identified warehouses, fish tanks, and what they believe may be temples to Isis and Aphrodite.[1]
- When a Jew specially wished to thank God for some blessing, he took the Nazirite vow (see Numbers 6:1-21, also Acts 21:20-24). If that vow was carried out in full, it meant that for 30 days, he neither ate meat nor drank wine and he allowed his hair to grow. At the end of the 30 days, he made certain offerings in the Temple; his head was shaved and the hair was burned on the altar as an offering to God. No doubt Paul was thinking of all God’s goodness to him in Corinth and took this vow to show his gratitude.[2]
- Paul makes his first stop at Ephesus; however, it is brief. Though the people asked him to stay, he was insistent that he had to leave. It is possible that he wanted to return to Jerusalem for feast, probably of Pentecost.[3] We (and Paul) will come back to Ephesus later.
- Paul left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus. This brief stop and their presence laid the groundwork for the ministry yet to come.
- Paul returned home and briefed the Christian leaders in Jerusalem. This ended the Second Missionary Journey.
- If your version of verse 22 refers to going “up” to Jerusalem and “down” to Antioch, these are not references to directions but elevations. Jerusalem was at a higher elevation than Antioch. It would be as if we said, “We are going up to Denver then down to Dayton.” This is typical in the Bible. In fact, Psalm 120-134 are called Psalms of Ascent, because they were sung as people went “up” Mt. Zion to Jerusalem for worship.
Life
Questions:
- We don’t undertake vows in our Christian faith. I guess the closest thing might be abstaining from something during Lent. Maybe we should, but not to earn some special spiritual “Certificate of Achievement.” What we do when we take a vow is to take on some spiritual discipline (fasting, meditation, solitude, etc.). By doing so, our spiritual lives dig deep into the well-spring of God’s grace, majesty, presence, and direction for our lives. If you would like more information on spiritual disciplines, read Richard Foster’s book “Celebration of Discipline.”
Prayer
Focus: That we would seek a deeper spiritual life because
of our hunger for God.
