Text: Acts 18:24-28 (NKJV)
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
Of all the people in the Bible that I identify with, I think Apollos is #1. Passionate, opinionated, eager to learn, and a helper. At least at this stage in my life, I am not really a Number One sort of guy, more of a Lieutenant to help the Number One. There are three important lessons that I think one should take from this passage.
We see that Apollos was a wise, eloquent man (ok, so the comparison with me isn't perfect) who was passionately preaching what he thought to be the truth. In fact, what he was teaching was not wrong. Not just a classic Old Testament Jew, he had adopted the teachings of John the Baptist about repentance. The first lesson we can take from this passage is to be passionate about what you teach. This is certainly true in any field if one is to be an effective teacher, but how much more important it is in the things of God! Though speculation, I would assume that his reception in the synagogue was mixed. Yes, he was a wise, educated man so he should be heeded; however, what he would have been saying would have been really edgy for the Jews- not a foul ball but certainly hugging the left field line. His fervor came from knowledge of what he spoke and a love for his God.
Next, we see a confrontation with the truth. This educated man from one of the intellectual centers of the world at that time (think someone with a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard) is being corrected by a couple of lowly tentmakers? Not just common tentmakers but they made tents for shepherds and country travelers, an even lower rung on the social ladder. These people would have possessed no formal higher education like what Apollos had. Still, pulled aside and corrected by a couple of makers of shepherd tents, what does the mighty Apollos do? He showed us our second lesson, which is to be eager to learn, even if that means correcting our errors. Humility. Wisdom. Patience. All characteristics he must have possessed. When confronted with correction from God's Word, he easily received it.
In the same section, we should learn another lesson, but this time from the confronters. Our third lesson is to speak the truth of God's Word boldly, regardless of the mitigating circumstances. These tentmakers had no intellectual right to question Dr. Apollos, yet they did it because it was the right thing to do. If American Christians today had the boldness of Aquila and Priscilla, what mighty things might be done for Christ!
Last here, I want to point out Apollos as a helper. More than a generic helper, he was a discipler. An apologist (defender) of Christianity and an encourager of the church, he inspired people to grow in faith through his words and actions. This is a burden on my heart and something that I am very passionate about.
Applications:
So, I basically wove the applications into the devotional thoughts. To summarize: be passionate about what you preach, have an eagerly teachable spirit, and boldly speak the truth from Scripture.
Also, if you have a burden for helping Christians grow and encouraging them, do it! If not, you need to do it anyway.
Other Studies from Acts
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