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Acts 18:24-28  APOLLOS A MIGHTY WITNESS FOR THE LORD

Introduction:

	Back in Acts 1:8 Jesus instructed the members of the church at Jerusalem 
to be witnesses for Him.  He said that they were to witness for Him in 
Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  
From this we learn that this is the will of God for all Christians.  
	In the earlier chapters of the Book of Acts the emphasis was the witness 
of the Jerusalem church in the city of Jerusalem.  Then when the Jerusalem 
church was scattered under the persecution of Saul of Tarsus, the emphasis was 
upon the witness of the scattered Christians to other parts of Judea and 
Samaria.  After Saul of Tarsus was saved and sent out to do mission work he 
became known as the Apostle Paul and Luke focused his attention chiefly upon 
Paul’s witness to the Gentiles.  
	In our text today Luke temporarily turns his attention to a disciple by 
the name of Apollos and shows him to be a mighty witness for the Lord among the 
Jews in the Gentile cities of Ephesus and Corinth.  

I.  Apollos, a man mighty in the scriptures

	V. 24, “And a certain Jew...”  Luke informs us that Apollos was a Jew.  
That is, he was of Jewish ancestry.  He was of the Hebrew bloodline.  He had 
Jewish parents.  
	(V. 24), “...named Apollos...”  Apollos was not a Hebrew name.  It was a 
Greek name.  It was not all that uncommon for a Jewish baby to be given a Greek 
name when he was born among Greek people.  Apparently the Jewish parents of 
Apollos had come to admire some Greek man by the name of Apollos and had given 
him this Greek name in tribute to their Greek friend.  
	(V. 24), “...born at Alexandria...”  Apollos was born in a city in which a 
sizable number of Greek people dwelt.  He was born in Alexandria, Egypt.  This 
is a large city on the northern coast of Egypt.  It was named after Alexander 
the Great, who was a Greek and who had conquered most of the known world of his 
day and had established the Greek Empire.  Alexander established the Greek 
language as the official language of all nations within his empire and a school 
there which was assigned the task of translating the Hebrew Old Testament into 
the Greek language.  He did this --- not to promote the Jewish religion---, but 
to strengthen his own hold over the Jews.  He felt that having the Hebrew 
Scriptures made available to the Jews in the Greek language would bring about a 
stronger tie between himself and the Jews.  In order to accomplish this task 
Alexander brought a large number of Hebrew and Greek scholars to dwell in the 
city of Alexander and to work in the school.  The school with its Hebrew and 
Greek scholars continued to exist in Alexandria long after Alexander, himself, 
was dead.      
	(V. 24), “...an eloquent man, [and] mighty in the scriptures...”  It is 
believed that Apollos was a result of that school.  It is probable that he was 
the son of one of the professors who taught in that school.  It is also possible 
that he, himself, had been a student in that school.  If so, he would have 
received the best training in Old Testament Scriptures that the world had to 
offer in his day.  This kind of training would not only have familiarized him 
with the Old Testament records and history, but would have especially made him 
familiar with all of the prophecies pertaining to the coming of the Christ which 
are recorded in the Old Testament.  This idea most certainly is in keeping with 
the language that Luke uses here to describe him.  Luke said that he was an 
eloquent man and that he was “mighty in the scriptures.”

II.  The arrival of Apollos at Ephesus

	(V. 24), “...came to Ephesus.”  So this man, Apollos, this man who was 
mighty in the Old Testament scriptures, came to the city of Ephesus.  You will 
remember that the Apostle Paul had visited the city of Ephesus in the close of 
his second missionary tour as he was on his way to Jerusalem and then on to 
Antioch of Syria.  Perhaps you will also remember that in the short time that 
Paul was there he visited the Jewish synagogue and was very well received.  Even 
his message about Jesus being raised from the dead and being the Son of God, the 
Savior of men was well received.  He was so well received that even after a very 
brief stay in Ephesus, he left a new church behind when he left.  He was so 
well received that the Jews of the synagogue begged him to stay longer and to 
tell them more about Jesus.  It is at this point of time when the Jews of 
Ephesus were hungry to learn more about Jesus that Apollos came into their city.  
	Apollos was just what the Jews of Ephesus wanted.  He was just what they 
needed.  V. 25, “This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being 
fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, 
knowing only the baptism of John.”  Paul left and went on to Jerusalem, but 
Apollos came on the scene.  Apollos was a man who believed in the Christ.  He 
was a disciple of John the Baptist.  He had made a profession of faith in the 
coming Christ under the preaching of John and had been baptized by him.  
	Luke says that he knew only the baptism of John.  By this Luke was not at 
all trying to discredit the baptism of John as some modern day critics claim.  
Rather, Luke was informing us that Apollos had never sat under the teaching of 
any of the apostles nor under teachings of any of the disciples of the Lord.  
All that Apollos knew about the Christ was what the Old Testament scriptures 
teach and what he had learned from John the Baptist.  From the Old Testament 
scriptures Apollos had learned that the Christ would come and how He would come.  
From John the Baptist he had learned that the Christ would soon come.  That was 
enough for Apollos to believe in the Christ and be saved.  It is probable that 
Apollos might not have been present when John the Baptist announced that Jesus 
is the Christ.  Whether he knew that Jesus is the Christ or not we cannot be 
sure, but he had most certainly trusted in the Christ as Savior and he was 
learned in the Old Testament scriptures which spoke about the Christ.  
	
III.  Apollos speaking in the synagogue at Ephesus

	V. 26, “And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue...”  So now we see 
Apollos, this man who was mighty in the Old Testament scriptures which prophecy 
about the coming of Jesus and who was a convert of John the Baptist who had 
proclaimed that the Christ was about to come on the scene, following right on 
the heels of Paul the Apostle going into the same synagogue which had been so 
receptive to Paul’s message about Jesus being the Christ and he speaks out in 
the synagogue boldly declaring that the promises that God had made through the 
prophets of old that the Christ would come.  As a disciple of John the Baptist 
he echoed the message of John the Baptist, who was now dead, that the Christ was 
soon to appear.  The only weakness to his message is that in all likelihood, 
Apollos was uninformed that Jesus is the Christ.  
	But God had a remedy for the weakness in the witness of Apollos.  God had 
already arranged for Aquila and Priscilla, who had been the comrades of the 
Apostle Paul back in the city of Corinth and had traveled to Ephesus with Paul, 
to still be on the scene when Apollos arrived in Ephesus.  Luke tells us that 
when Aquila and Priscilla heard Apollos speak so mightily and so convincingly 
about the prophecies of the coming Christ and about the testimony of John the 
Baptist saying that the Christ was about to come, Aquila and Priscilla took 
Apollos and became his teachers bringing him up-to-date on the matter of the 
coming Christ.  (V. 26), “...whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took 
him unto [them], and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.”  
	I take this to mean that Aquila and Priscilla assured Apollos that he was 
correct in his understanding that the Old Testament scriptures foretold that the 
Christ would come some day.  Aquila and Priscilla assured Apollos that he had 
rightly understood John the Baptist that the Christ was about to come.  But they 
also assured him that the Christ had already come and that Jesus of Nazareth is 
that Christ.  
	I also take this to mean that Aquila and Priscilla also taught Apollos all 
of the doctrines pertaining to Christ and New Testament church work which they 
had learned from the Apostle Paul.  Apollos already had an excellent knowledge 
and understanding of the Old Testament scriptures about the Christ.  He already 
had an excellent understanding from John the Baptist that the Christ would soon 
be on the scene.  But now he has been personally tuttored by a great Christian 
husband and wife team teaching him about the New Testament church system of 
worship and its related New Testament doctrines.  Apollos was already a good 
witness for the Lord when he arrived at Ephesus, but when Aquila and Priscilla 
got through with him, he was a much better witness because he was trained in New 
Testament doctrines.  
  
IV.  Apollos at Achaia

	V.  27, “And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia...”  For some 
reason, what his reason may have been, Apollos let it be known to the brethren 
of the church at Ephesus that he wanted to go into Achaia.  Achaia was the name 
of the province in which the city of Corinth was located.  And in verse 1 of the 
next chapter we will see that when he did go to into Achaia it was to the city 
of Corinth that he went.  But here in this verse he only lets it be known that 
it his desire and intentions to go there.  
	(V. 27), “...the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive 
him...”  The brethren of the church at Ephesus wrote a letter to the church at 
Corinth informing them that Apollos was worthy of being received into their 
fellowship.  No doubt they also recommended that the church at Corinth assist 
him in whatever way they could in his personal needs.  But most important they 
recommended Apollos as one of God’s preachers who was worthy of being listened 
to.  
	(V. 27), “...who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed 
through grace,”  You will note first that Luke says that Apollos helped those 
who were already saved.  He helped the saved members of the church of Corinth.  
He helped them by his knowledge and understanding of the scriptures.  He helped 
them by his own testimony faith in the Christ.  He was able to give a good 
testimony saying that under the preaching of John the Baptist he had placed his 
faith in the Christ.  He was able to help them by strengthening them in the New 
Testament doctrines which he had just recently learned form Aquila and 
Priscilla.  
	In addition to this, he was able to help them by being able to go to the 
Jews in the synagogue at Corinth and to publicly take the scriptures which they 
professed to believe and to show convincingly that Jesus is the Christ which the 
prophets of old had promised.  V. 28, “For he mightily convinced the Jews, [and 
that] publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”  The Apostle 
Paul had laid the groundwork for the ministry of Apollos at Corinth.  While Paul 
was at Corinth for several sabbath days he had gone into the Jewish synagogue 
and had declared to them that Jesus is the Christ.  But he had been unable to 
convince many of them of the truth that he preached and Paul had been compelled 
to stop going to the synagogue at Corinth to witness to them.  Instead he set up 
church services to compete with the synagogue.  But God did not stop dealing 
with the Jews at Corinth.  He arranged for a different Christian man to come to 
them.  He was a man who was mighty in the scriptures and could show them very 
clearly that Jesus is the Christ.  

V.  The lessons for us today

	There are numerous lessons for us to observe from this passage of 
scripture.  They are too numerous for us to try to enumerate each of them.  But 
I do want to point you to just a few of the more important lessons.  First of 
all, I want you to take note of the love of God for the unsaved people, 
especially for the unsaved Jews at Corinth.  The Jewish leadership had 
successfully stopped the Apostle Paul from winning many of those Jews to the 
Lord.  But the Lord still loved those Jewish people and when one door was closed 
to His gospel message, God moved to open another door right there in that same 
Jewish synagogue. 
	 Let me say to you that God is just persistent in trying to reach lost 
souls with the gospel today.  When lost people close their ears to the witness 
of one Christian, God often sends another to whom they will listen.  God has 
done that with some of us right here in this service.  There are some of us who 
are saved today who would never have been saved if God had not been so persisted 
in trying to get the gospel message through to our hearts and minds.  Aren’t you 
glad that God kept on keeping on to reach us with the gospel?
	Note also that God uses the Holy Scriptures to reach the hearts of men, 
women, boys and girls and to convince them of the truths of God.  In Romans 
10:17 we read, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” 
	Furthermore please note that God uses Christians to witness for Him and 
His truth.  Jesus commanded the church at Jerusalem to be witnesses for Him.  
God used Paul to teach and train Aquila and Priscilla .  God then used Aquila 
and Priscilla to teach and train Apollos.  God used Apollos both and Ephesus and 
at Corinth to strengthen the church and to reach the Jews of the synagogue with 
the gospel message.  God used someone to witness to those of us who are saved 
and to win us to Jesus.  God has used some of you to win somebody else to the 
Lord and has used some of you to teach and train other Christians in the will of 
God.  God wants to use every Christian here to witness to somebody else 
concerning the way of salvation and the way of Biblical truth.  

Conclusion:
 
	Paul was willing to be used of God and to witness for Him.  Aquila and 
Priscilla were willing to be used of God and to witness for Him.  Apollos was 
willing to be used of God to witness for Him.  Are you?
	Some of those Jews at Corinth were willing to listen to the truth of God 
concerning Jesus.  They were willing to hear the word of God.  They were willing 
to believe the word of God.  Are you?