The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  16:14 Lydia…from the city of Thyatira. Her home city was located in the Roman province of Lydia, thus the name “Lydia” was probably associated with her place of origin. seller of purple. “Purple” fabrics. Because purple dye was extremely expensive, purple garments were usually worn by royalty and the wealthy. As a result, Lydia’s business turned a nice profit, which enabled her to have a house large enough to accommodate the missionary team (v. 15) and the new church at Philippi (v. 40). who worshiped God. Like Cornelius, she believed in the God of Israel but had not become a full proselyte (cf. 10:2). The Lord opened her heart. This is another proof of the sovereignty of God in salvation (see note on 13:48).

  16:15 household. See note on 11:14. Cf. v. 31.

  16:16 a spirit of divination. Lit. “a python spirit.” That expression comes from Gr. mythology; Python was a snake that guarded the oracle at Delphi. Essentially, this girl was a medium in contact with demons who could supposedly predict the future. See note on Deut. 18:9–12.

  16:17 the Most High God. El Elyon, the Absolutely Sovereign God, is an OT title (used about 50 times) for the God of Israel (see Gen. 14:18–22; Ps. 78:35; Dan. 5:18).

  16:18 I command you in the name of Jesus Christ. The demon left the girl in obedience to Paul’s command and his apostolic authority. The ability to cast out demons was a special ability of Christ’s apostles (Mark 3:15; 2 Cor. 12:12).

  16:20 Jews…trouble our city. Anti-Semitism was alive even then. The Emperor Claudius issued an order around that time expelling the Jews from Rome (18:2). This may explain why they apprehended only Paul and Silas, since Luke was a Gentile and Timothy half-Gentile.

  16:21 teach customs…not lawful for us…Romans. It was technically true that Roman citizens were not to engage in any foreign religion that had not been sanctioned by the state. But it was a false charge that they were creating chaos.

  16:22 magistrates. Every Roman colony had two of these men serving as judges. In this case, they did not uphold Roman justice: They did not investigate the charges, conduct a proper hearing, or give Paul and Silas the chance to defend themselves. beaten. This was an illegal punishment since they had not been convicted of any crime. The officers (v. 35) under the command of the magistrates administered the beating with rods tied together in a bundle. Paul received the same punishment on two other occasions (2 Cor. 11:25).

  16:24 inner prison…in the stocks. The most secure part of the prison. The jailer took further precautions by putting their feet “in the stocks.” This particular security measure was designed to produce painful cramping so the prisoner’s legs were spread as far apart as possible.

  16:27 prison doors open…about to kill himself. Instead of waiting to face humiliation and a painful execution. A Roman soldier who let a prisoner escape paid for his negligence with his life (12:19; 27:42).

  16:31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. One must believe He is who He claimed to be (John 20:31) and believe in what He did (1 Cor. 15:3, 4; see note on Rom. 1:16). you and your household. All of his family, servants, and guests who could comprehend the gospel and believe heard the gospel and believed (see note on 11:14). This does not include infants. Cf. v. 15.

  16:37 Romans. To inflict corporal punishment on a Roman citizen was a serious crime, and made more so since Paul and Silas did not receive a trial. As a result, the magistrates faced the possibility of being removed from office, and having Philippi’s privileges as a Roman colony revoked (see note on v. 12).

  Acts 17

  17:1 Amphipolis and Apollonia…Thessalonica. SW from Philippi along the Egnatian Way. “Amphipolis” was about 30 mi. from Philippi, and “Apollonia” another 30 mi. beyond. The narrative indicates that the travelers stopped only for the night in those cities. Forty mi. beyond “Apollonia” was “Thessalonica,” the capital city of Macedonia with a population of 200,000. It was a major port city and an important commercial center. synagogue. See note on 13:5. Luke refers to a synagogue only in Thessalonica, which may explain why Paul and his companions did not stay in the other two cities.

  17:2 as his custom was. Paul began his ministry in each town with the Jews (see note on 13:5). three Sabbaths. The length of his initial public ministry. The actual amount of time spent in Thessalonica would have been longer, extending perhaps to 4–6 months.

  17:5 the house of Jason. The mob assumed Paul, Silas, and Timothy were staying there. Nothing is known of Jason except that he was probably Jewish, since Jason was a name adopted by many of the dispersed Jews.

  17:7 contrary to the decrees of Caesar. One of the most serious crimes in the Roman Empire was to acknowledge allegiance to any king but Caesar (cf. John 19:15).

  17:9 taken security. A pledge or bond, which would be forfeited by Jason should Paul and his companions cause more trouble. As a result, they had no choice but to leave Thessalonica.

  17:10 Berea. An important town that was not on a main route. synagogue. See note on 13:5.

  17:15 Athens. The cultural center of Greece. At its zenith, Athens was home to the most renowned philosophers in history, including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who was arguably the most influential philosopher of all. Two other significant philosophers taught there: Epicurus, founder of Epicureanism, and Zeno, founder of Stoicism—two of the dominant philosophies in that day (see note on v. 18).

  17:16 given over to idols. Athens was also the religious center of Greece—virtually every deity known to man could be worshiped there. Paul viewed Athens as a city of lost humanity, all doomed to a Christless eternity because of rampant pagan idolatry.

  17:17 synagogue. See note on 13:5.

  17:18 Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Epicurean philosophy taught that the chief end of man was the avoidance of pain. Epicureans were materialists—they did not deny the existence of God, but they believed He did not become involved with the affairs of men. When a person died, they believed his body and soul disintegrated. Stoic philosophy taught self-mastery—that the goal in life was to reach a place of indifference to pleasure or pain. babbler. Lit. “seed picker.” Some of the philosophers viewed Paul as an amateur philosopher—one who had no ideas of his own but only picked among prevailing philosophies and constructed one with no depth.

  17:19 The Areopagus. A court named for the hill on which it once met. Paul was not being formally tried; only being asked to defend his teaching.

  17:22 religious. Lit. “in fear of Gods.”

  17:23, 24 TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. The Athenians were supernaturalists—they believed in supernatural powers that intervened in the course of natural laws. They at least acknowledged the existence of someone beyond their ability to understand who had made all things. Paul thus had the opportunity to introduce them to the Creator-God who could be known (Deut. 4:35; 1 Kin. 8:43; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps. 9:10; Jer. 9:24; 24:7; 31:34; John 17:3). When evangelizing pagans, Paul started from creation, the general revelation of God (cf. 14:15–17). When evangelizing Jews, he started from the OT (vv. 10–13).

  17:24 God, who made the world. This teaching flatly contradicted both the Epicureans, who believed matter was eternal and therefore had no creator, and the Stoics, who as pantheists believed God was part of everything and could not have created Himself. Paul’s teaching finds its support throughout Scripture (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 146:5, 6; Is. 40:28; 45:18; Jer. 10:12; 32:17; Jon. 1:9; Zech. 12:1; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16; Rev. 4:11; 10:6).

  17:26 one blood. All men are equal in God’s sight since all came from one man, Adam. This teaching was a blow to the national pride of the Greeks, who believed all non-Greeks were barbarians (see note on Rom. 1:14). determined their preappointed times. God sovereignly controls the rise and fall of nations and empires (cf. Dan. 2:36–45; Luke 21:24). the boundaries of their dwellings. God is responsible for establishing nations as to their racial identity and their specific geographical locations (Deut. 32:8) and determining the extent of their conquests (cf. Is. 10:12–15).

  17:27 seek the Lord. God’s objective for man in revealing Himself as the creator, ruler, an
d controller of the world. Men have no excuse for not knowing about God because He has revealed Himself in man’s conscience and in the physical world (see notes on Rom. 1:19, 20; 2:15).

  17:28 in Him we live and move and have our being. A quote from the Cretan poet Epimenides.

  17:29 the offspring of God. A quote from Aratus, who came from Paul’s home region of Cilicia. not…like gold or silver. If man is the offspring of God, as the Greek poet suggested, it is foolish to think that God could be nothing more than a man-made idol. Such reasoning points out the absurdity of idolatry (cf. Is. 44:9–20).

  17:30 times of ignorance God overlooked. See note on Rom. 3:25.

  17:31 Man whom He has ordained. Jesus Christ (John 5:22–27).

  17:32 resurrection of the dead. Gr. philosophy did not believe in bodily resurrection.

  17:34 the Areopagite. A member of the Areopagus court (see note on v. 19).

  Acts 18

  18:1 Corinth. See Introduction to 1 Corinthians. The leading political and commercial center in Greece. It was located at a strategic point on the isthmus of Corinth, which connected the Peloponnesian peninsula with the rest of Greece. Virtually all traffic between northern and southern Greece had to pass through the city. Because Corinth was a trade center and host to all sorts of travelers, it had an unsettled population that was extremely debauched. It also housed the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. One thousand temple priestesses, who were ritual prostitutes, came each evening into the city to practice their trade.

  18:2 Aquila…Priscilla. This husband and wife team were to become Paul’s close friends who even risked their lives for him (Rom. 16:3, 4). Priscilla is listed first 4 times in Scripture (NU), which could imply she had a higher social rank than Aquila or that she was the more prominent of the two in the church. They probably were Christians when Paul met them, having come from Rome where a church already existed (Rom. 1:7, 8). Claudius. See note on 11:28. commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. The decree that forced Priscilla and Aquila to leave Rome ca. A.D. 49 (see note on 16:20).

  18:3 tentmakers. This could also refer to leatherworkers.

  18:4 synagogue. See note on 13:5. Greeks. Gentile God-fearers in the synagogue (see note on 10:2).

  18:5 Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia. As Paul desired, Silas and Timothy joined him in Athens (17:15). From there he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:1–6). Paul evidently sent Silas somewhere in Macedonia, possibly Philippi (cf. 2 Cor. 11:9; Phil. 4:15), since he returned to Corinth from that province.

  18:6 Your blood be upon your own heads. Paul held his opponents completely responsible for blaspheming Christ and rejecting his message (cf. Josh. 2:19; 2 Sam. 1:16; 1 Kin. 2:37; Ezek. 18:13; 33:4; Matt. 27:25).

  18:7 house of…Justus. A Gentile who showed interest in the God of Israel and was associated with the synagogue next door. His name indicates he was a Roman, and since Romans usually had 3 names, his may have been Gaius Titius Justus, meaning he was the same Gaius mentioned in Rom. 16:23 and 1 Cor. 1:14. one who worshiped God. See note on 16:14.

  18:8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue. The conversion of this respected leader must have sent shock waves throughout the Jewish community (see note on 6:9). all his household. See note on 11:14.

  18:9, 10 This was the third of 6 visions given to Paul (cf. 9:3–6; 16:9, 10; 22:17, 18; 23:11; 27:23, 24).

  18:10 I have many people in this city. God had appointed a number of people in Corinth for salvation, who had not yet heard the gospel (cf. 13:48; Rom. 10:13–15). The effect of Paul’s preaching would be to bring the elect to faith (Titus 1:1).

  18:11 a year and six months. Paul’s longest stay in any city, except Ephesus (20:31) and Rome (28:30).

  18:12 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia. From July, A.D. 51 to June, A.D. 52. judgment seat. A large, raised stone platform in the marketplace, situated in front of the residence of the proconsul, where he would try public cases.

  18:13 contrary to the law. While Judaism was not an official religion, it was officially tolerated in the Roman world, and Christianity was viewed as a sect of Judaism. The Jews in Corinth claimed that Paul’s teaching was external to Judaism, and therefore should be banned. Had Gallio ruled in the Jews’ favor, Christianity could have been outlawed throughout the Empire.

  18:14–16 Gallio was no fool and saw through the Jews’ plan. He refused to get caught up in what he viewed as an internal squabble within Judaism. In essence, he rendered what would be called a summary judgment—he officially ruled that no crime had been committed, that the dispute was over semantics, and threw the case out.

  18:17 Sosthenes…beat him. The Greeks had reasons for being hostile to Sosthenes; they were venting general hostility toward Jews on him, or they may have been angry with his unsuccessful attempt, as leader of the Jews, at prosecuting the case against Paul. Since he was the ruler of the synagogue, he would have presented the case to Gallio. Later, he converted to Christ (1 Cor. 1:1).

  18:18 Priscilla and Aquila. See note on v. 2. That they could accompany Paul means there was sufficient leadership in Corinth, with men such as Gaius, Sosthenes, Stephanas, and Crispus. He had his hair cut off…he had taken a vow. To show God his gratitude for helping him through a difficult time in Corinth, he took a Nazirite vow—a special pledge of separation and devotion to God (cf. Num. 6:2–5, 13–21). The vow generally lasted a specific period of time, although Samson (Judg. 13:5), Samuel (1 Sam. 1:11), and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15) were Nazirites for life. In Paul’s day, if someone made the vow while away from Jerusalem, at the termination of his vow he would shave his head, as Paul did, and afterwards present the shorn hair at the temple within 30 days. Cenchrea. The eastern port of Corinth.

  18:19 Ephesus. The most important city in Asia Minor (see Introduction to Ephesians). left them there. Priscilla and Aquila remained in Ephesus to establish their business. Apparently they lived in Ephesus for several years—a church met in their home (1 Cor. 16:19)—before they returned to Rome (16:3–5). synagogue. See note on 13:5.

  18:22 gone up…went down to Antioch. Although Luke does not mention it in detail, his description of the geography indicates Paul went to Jerusalem to greet the church. Because Jerusalem was elevated over the surrounding region, travelers had to go “up” to get there and “down” to any other place. Paul also had to return to Jerusalem so he could fulfill his vow. This ended the second missionary journey.

  18:23 some time there. Possibly from the summer of A.D. 52 to the spring of A.D. 53. Galatia and Phrygia. See note on 16:6. Paul’s return to those regions marked the beginning of his third missionary journey.

  18:24 Apollos. An OT saint and follower of John the Baptist (v. 25). After further instruction by Aquila and Priscilla (v. 26), he became a powerful Christian preacher. His ministry profoundly influenced the Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor. 1:12). Alexandria. An important city in Egypt located near the mouth of the Nile. In the first century, it had a large Jewish population. Thus Apollos, though born outside of Israel, was reared in a Jewish cultural setting. mighty in the Scriptures. Used only here, this phrase refers to Apollos’ knowledge of the OT Scriptures. That knowledge, combined with his eloquence, allowed him to crush his Jewish opponents in debate (v. 28).

  18:25 the way of the Lord. This did not include the Christian faith (cf. v. 26). The OT uses the phrase to describe the spiritual and moral standards God required His people to observe (Gen. 18:19; Judg. 2:22; 1 Sam. 12:23; 2 Sam. 22:22; 2 Kin. 21:22; 2 Chr. 17:6; Pss. 18:21; 25:8, 9; 138:5; Prov. 10:29; Jer. 5:4, 5; Ezek. 18:25, 29; 33:17, 20; Hos. 14:9). baptism of John. Despite his knowledge of the OT, Apollos did not fully understand Christian truth. John’s baptism was to prepare Israel for the Messiah’s arrival (cf. Luke 1:16, 17; see notes on 2:38; Matt. 3:6). Apollos accepted that message, even acknowledging that Jesus of Nazareth was Israel’s Messiah. He did not, however, understand such basic Christian truths as the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the c
hurch as God’s new witness people. He was a redeemed OT believer (v. 24).

  18:26 the way of God more accurately. Aquila and Priscilla completed Apollos’ training in divine truth by instructing him in the fullness of the Christian faith.

  18:27 Achaia. See note on v. 12. Apollos planned to cross from Asia Minor (modern Turkey) to Corinth on the Greek mainland (19:1). the brethren wrote. Such letters of commendation were common in the early church (cf. Rom 16:1, 2; 1 Cor. 16:10; 2 Cor. 3:1, 2; Col. 4:10). The Ephesian Christians wrote to inform their Corinthian brethren that Apollos was now a fully informed Christian.

  18:28 the Christ. The Messiah of Israel.

  Acts 19

  19:1 the upper regions. The area of Asia Minor N of Ephesus, where Luke left Paul before the interlude describing Apollos’ ministry (18:23). By going through that area, Paul took the direct route to Ephesus, not the more common trade route. Ephesus. See Introduction to Ephesians. some disciples. They were of John the Baptist (v. 3); hence OT seekers. That they did not yet fully understand the Christian faith is evident from their reply to Paul’s question (v. 2). The word “disciple” means “learner,” or “follower,” and does not always refer to Christians (cf. Matt. 9:14; 11:2; Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33; 7:18, 19; 11:1; John 1:35; 6:66). Followers of John the Baptist, like this group, existed into the second century.

  19:2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” The question reflects Paul’s uncertainty about their spiritual status. Since all Christians receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (see notes on Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13), their answer revealed they were not yet fully Christians. They had not yet received Christian baptism (having been baptized only “into John’s baptism”) which further evidenced that they were not Christians (see note on 2:38).

  19:4 baptism of repentance…believe on…Christ Jesus. These disciples did not realize Jesus of Nazareth was the One to whom John’s baptism pointed. Paul gave them instruction not on how to receive the Spirit, but about Jesus Christ.