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Acts 18:22-24
New Catholic Bible
Acts 18:22-24
New Catholic Bible
22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the Church,[a] and then he went down to Antioch.
Ephesus[b]
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey[c]
23 Paul Strengthens the Churches. After spending some time there, he departed and traveled through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
24 Apollos.[d] Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria and an eloquent speaker, came to Ephesus. He was well-versed in the Scriptures,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 18:22 He went up and greeted the Church: although this could refer to a congregation in Caesarea, the words “he went up” indicate that it was the Church at Jerusalem, which was about 2500 feet above sea level.
- Acts 18:23 According to the author of Acts, Ephesus is the third center for the spread of God’s word. The city was a great center of commerce, and in it the cultural and religious currents of the Greco-Roman world and the East came together. Paul remains there for more than two years, and it is thought that he there wrote the Letters to the Corinthians, the Philippians, and perhaps the Galatians. Later on, the Letter to the Ephesians, one of the imprisonment letters, would be addressed to this community.
The early Church was now encountering other religious currents (besides the Judaic), and non-Jewish life was coming to the fore. The essence of the faith had to be brought out in the face of multiple cultural influences. - Acts 18:23 Paul remains at Syrian Antioch for some time, probably through the spring of 53, and then starts his third missionary journey. Setting out for Ephesus, some 1500 miles to the west, he revisits the Churches around Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The account of this third journey focuses on his work at Ephesus (Acts 19:1—20:1).
- Acts 18:24 Apollos is a talented preacher who knows the Scriptures and instructs in the new Way of the Lord. He speaks and teaches accurately about Jesus, although he knows only of John’s baptism. He, too, begins to express himself fearlessly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila hear him, they take him home and explain to him God’s new Way in greater detail. Some scholars believe that he was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews.
