18:18
Paul clearly got on well with Priscilla and Aquila, taking them with him as they set sail for Syria. Luke then mentions that Paul “had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken”. This was probably a Nazirite type vow. Why does Luke mention this? It may be to show that Paul was not anti-Jewish. The gospel, and indeed Jesus Himself, were at odds with the Jewish understanding of God’s ways. But Jesus and the gospel are the fulfilment of the Old Testament Law and the Prophets, the natural (or supernatural!) outworking of all that the Old Testament says.
18:20
Paul left Priscilla and Aquila at Ephesus. It is possibly significant that Priscilla is named first. Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. So Paul’s declaration in Acts 18:6 seems to be limited to the situation in Corinth. He also seems to have got a more reasonable reception here, for they asked him to spend more time with them. However, Paul had other plans, so declined to do so.
18:21-23
Paul did promise to return to Ephesus, then he sailed on from Ephesus to Caesarea. He then visited Jerusalem, before going back to Antioch. The visit to Jerusalem seems to have been remarkably uneventful. After Antioch Paul embarked on another missionary journey, his third of these. The impact that Paul had in these three missionary journeys is quite remarkable. This mission trip focused on the region of Galatia and Phrygia.
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