Saturday, May 15, 2010

Acts 18:24-28

24Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

27When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Alexandria & Apollos

Alexandria was a celebrated city that was one of the educationl centers of the world. It had the largest library in the world - almost 700,000 volumes. It was also a seaport of Egypt, located a few miles from the mouth of the Nile River. The city had been founded by and named after Alexander the Great. It also had a considerable Jewish population, it was estimated about 1/4 of the population was Jewish.

Paul & Apollos had similar backgrounds. Paul was born in Tarsus, also a center of learning. Both were extremely talented men who were dedicated to God. Further, both were in error when first mentioned in scripture. Apollos was a scholar, orator and debater. We see how God greatly used his gifts to strengthen and encourage the church. He used the gift of reason to convince many in Greece of the truth of the gospel.

Apollos had heard only what John the Baptist had said about Jesus, so his message was not not complete story. Apollos did not know about Jesus' life, crucifixion and resurrection. Nor did he know about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of salvation to him.

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