Many Convincing Proofs by Stephen S. Liggins

Author:Stephen S. Liggins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Acts 18:1–18: Paul in Corinth

Paul travels to Corinth where, again, his evangelistic ministry commences in the synagogue, achieves a degree of evangelistic success, and attracts Jewish opposition. It seems that Paul was persuasive. His enemies subsequently complain: ‘This man […] is persuading (ἀναπείθει) the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law’ (18:13). This verb ἀναπείθω is often used of persuasion with ‘an improper objective in mind’ (e. g., Jer 29:8 [LXX 36:8]; 1 Macc 1:11; Herodotus, Hist. 3.148).645 From the perspective of his enemies, Paul’s persuasion was improper. As with the use of the similar term πείθω, it is used in Acts with reference to Paul and not Peter.

Luke writes: ‘Every Sabbath he reasoned (διελέγετο) in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks’ (18:4). This is the third of the seven occasions in Acts where διαλέγομαι is used within the context of Paul’s evangelistic ministry. Again, it may be taken to imply that he sought to explain and prove from the Jewish Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ and that he had to suffer and rise from the dead. This is reinforced by the subsequent description of him ‘testifying (διαμαρτυρόμενος) to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ’ (18:5).

The text mentions various people with whom Paul had some sort of relationship: Aquila and Priscilla (18:2), Titius Justus (18:7), Crispus and his household (18:8), and many Corinthians (18:8). Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half (18:11). This would have given time for close relationships to develop in the Christian community. When Paul leaves Corinth, the text states that he left ‘the brothers (τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς)’ (18:18). The idea of relationship is implied by both the familial nature of this term and, as noted in Chapter 4, by the contexts in which this term is used in the Acts narrative – many of which are highly personal. The cumulative picture suggests an appealing Christian community life.

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