Paul,
having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; but taking his leave of them, and saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. Having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples.
Acts 18:18-23
Acts 18 [17.] Then all the Greeks laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
Acts 18 [18.] Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; but taking his leave of them, and saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
Acts 18 [22.] When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. Having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Acts 18 [27.] When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Meaning:
These verses close Paul’s second missionary journey and open his third. In a few lines Luke covers a voyage across the Aegean, a short visit to Ephesus, a trip to Jerusalem and Antioch, and a new journey through the churches of Galatia. Behind the brief summary lie a Jewish vow, a promise to return, and Paul’s constant care for the disciples.
- “Together with Priscilla and Aquila”
The couple who had given Paul work and a home in Corinth (Acts 18:1-3) now moved with him to Ephesus. Luke names Priscilla first here, as Paul often did. They became key co-workers: Paul wrote that they “for my life, laid down their own necks” (Romans 16:3), and a church met in their house.
- “He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow”
Cenchreae was Corinth’s eastern harbor. A vow with uncut hair recalls the Nazirite law: “no razor shall come on his head, until the days are fulfilled” (Numbers 6:5). At the end of a Nazirite vow, the hair was shaved and offered at the sanctuary (Numbers 6:18). Paul’s vow may have been a private vow of thanksgiving, perhaps for the Lord’s protection in Corinth, ended in the cutting of his hair. Most readers take “he” to be Paul, though some think the sentence refers to Aquila. Either way, Paul did not see Jewish customs as forbidden for Jewish believers. Later, in Jerusalem, he paid the costs of men completing a vow (Acts 21:24). He wrote, “To the Jews I became as a Jew” (1 Corinthians 9:20).
- “I will return again to you if God wills”
In Ephesus Paul was welcomed in the synagogue and asked to stay, but he declined, wanting to reach Jerusalem for the coming feast (some think Passover, others Pentecost). His promise to return depended on God’s will. James teaches the same humility: “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that” (James 4:15). God did will it: Paul returned and stayed in Ephesus for more than two years (Acts 19:10).
- “He went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch”
Landing at Caesarea, Paul “went up,” which usually means to Jerusalem, and greeted the church there. Then he went down to Antioch in Syria, the church that had sent him out (Acts 13:2-3). Paul stayed connected to both the mother church and his sending church.
- “Establishing all the disciples”
The third journey began, like the second, by revisiting earlier converts (Acts 16:5). Paul’s concern was not only to win new believers but to strengthen those already won, as he had done before, “confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith” (Acts 14:22).
The Significance of Acts 18:18-23
- Plans held humbly
“If God wills” is more than a pious phrase. It recognizes that our plans depend on God. Paul planned carefully, but he held his plans in an open hand.
- Freedom and sensitivity
Paul’s vow shows that a believer free from the law as a way of salvation may still keep customs that honor God and help others hear the Good News.
- Strengthening believers
Paul returned again and again to the churches he had planted. Spiritual growth requires ongoing care, teaching and encouragement.
Cross-References:
Numbers 6:18: "The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Meeting," The background of vows marked by the hair.
James 4:15: "If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that." Humility in planning.
Romans 16:3: "Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus," Paul’s tribute to the couple.
Acts 14:22: "confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith," Paul’s ongoing care for the churches.
Conclusion: Paul left Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila, completed a vow at Cenchreae, visited Ephesus briefly and promised to return if God willed. He then went to Jerusalem and Antioch before setting out again to strengthen the disciples in Galatia and Phrygia. The passage shows a missionary who planned carefully, submitted his plans to God and never stopped caring for the churches.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible