Acts 18:1-23 - Paul shifts focus to the gentiles

  1. Theme
    1. Yet again, we see Paul state that his gospel mission will be going out to the Gentiles more than the Jews.
    2. We are responsible not for the response of those who hear, but we are responsible for preaching and teaching the gospel.
    3. This passage presents to us a few different details about Paul's ministry.
      1. It is in this chapter that we see him able to fully devote himself to the ministry, without need to continue on as a tentmaker in this city.
      2. We also learn that he shaves his head on account of a vow, showing he had taken the Nazirite vow. He continued to be a Jew to the Jews in ways such as this.
      3. Lastly, and what we will spend some more time on, he demonstrates in that his fervor for the gospel was paramount
    4. To grasp the weight of this passage, let's anchor ourselves in Romans 1:16, where Paul writes, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
    5. The gospel is God's mighty instrument, meant first for the Jews, then for the Gentiles, and we're called to proclaim it unashamedly.
    6. Paul wrote Romans a few short years after the events of Acts 18, and we can see how God may have used these experiences to guide Paul's pen.
    7. Both points of Romans 1:16 are demonstrated clearly in Acts 18, and throughout the earlier Acts of the apostles.
    8. If we can recall, in Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas were not ashamed to proclaim to the Jews that they had rejected the gospel and were "not worthy of eternal life", turning their attention to the Gentiles.
    9. We see a similar proclamation in this passage, with Paul refusing to any longer enter the Corinthian synagogue.
    10. When Paul shakes out his garments, he is publicly declaring where he stands and making clear that his commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than his commitment to a national identity with Israel.
    11. It is not for us to control how people respond. Whether hearts harden or open, we're responsible only to boldly proclaim the gospel, to work in gathering God's people from every corner of the Earth.