Acts 18:5-11
5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized.
9 And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;
10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11 And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Corinthian Evangelism (5)
Priority of Jewish evangelism (v 6)
At this stage, Paul was focused on evangelizing the Jews. The message was that “Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures,” and it was rooted in Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus. This message became a stumbling block for the Jews: “But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23). “But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’” What was the reaction of the Jews? (1) Paul have begun to speak more powerfully. (2) The Jews resisted Paul’s message in an organized opposition. (3) They blasphemed the name of Jesus, speaking false and slanderous things about Him. (4) This was a repetition of what had occurred in Pisidian Antioch and Thessalonica.
Paul’s response to the unfaithfulness of the Jews
(1) Paul shook the dust from his garments, a symbolic act indicating that he was absolving himself of responsibility. It was similar to shaking the dust off one’s sandals. (2) “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean.” This statement is rooted in Ezekiel 3:17–20: “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his blood I will require from your hand.’” (see also Ezek. 33:2–9). (3) From this point onward, Paul’s ministry in Corinth shifted to focus on the Gentiles. (a) This marks the end of his evangelism to the Jews in the city of Corinth. (b) However, if a Jew sought him out, Paul would still engage in dialogue with them. (c) In other towns, Paul would resume his principle of beginning with evangelism to the Jews. Paul understood well that salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit. “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). Let us remember that the Holy Spirit is the primary agent in evangelism and seek to grow as servants of Christ.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, please guide me to grow as a servant of Christ and to proclaim the gospel through the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ., I pray. Amen.