Commentary - Acts 18:5-11

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks a crucial turning point in Paul's ministry in Corinth, and by extension, his entire mission to the Gentiles. After an initial period of reasoning in the synagogue, the arrival of his companions frees him to preach with greater intensity. This intensified preaching of the central fact of the gospel, that Jesus is the Messiah, leads to a decisive and hostile rejection by the Jewish leadership. In response, Paul makes a formal, symbolic break, declaring his own faithfulness and their culpability. He then strategically relocates his base of operations right next door to the synagogue, a move that is immediately blessed by God with the conversion of the synagogue leader himself. The entire episode is capped by a direct, personal vision from the Lord Jesus, who commands Paul to be fearless, promises him protection, and grounds that promise in the bedrock of sovereign election: "I have many people in this city." This divine encouragement is the foundation for Paul's extended and fruitful ministry in one of the most pagan cities of the ancient world.

In short, this is a textbook case of gospel advance. The word is preached faithfully, it is rejected by some, which in turn opens the door for it to be received by others. And underneath all the human activity, the conflict, the conversions, and the courage, is the sovereign hand of God who has already determined the outcome because He has already chosen His people.

Outline

Context In Acts

This section of Acts 18 finds Paul in the middle of his second missionary journey. He has recently come from Athens, where his ministry met with a rather muted response from the intellectual elites on Mars Hill. Arriving in Corinth, a bustling, wealthy, and notoriously licentious port city, he begins his standard pattern of ministry: starting in the synagogue. The events here provide the backstory for the founding of the Corinthian church, to whom Paul would later write at least two lengthy epistles. The formal rejection by the synagogue and the explicit turn to the Gentiles is a recurring theme in Acts (see Acts 13:46), demonstrating how the gospel, while offered first to the Jew, overflowed its banks to create a new, unified people of God from every nation. This passage provides the theological anchor for Paul's long stay in the city, showing that it was not his own tenacity but a direct command and promise from the risen Christ that kept him there.

Key Issues

Sovereign Encouragement in Sin City

One of the central questions for any Christian engaged in ministry is where true courage comes from. When the opposition is fierce, when the message is mocked, when the results seem meager, what keeps a man going? In this passage, the Lord Jesus gives His apostle Paul, and by extension all of us, the definitive answer. Courage is not manufactured by squinting your eyes and trying really hard. It is not based on positive thinking or a rosy assessment of the circumstances. True, rugged, persevering courage is a gift that flows directly from a right understanding of the sovereignty of God. Paul is commanded not to be afraid, and the reason given is not that the Corinthians are such nice people, but rather that God is with him and that God has already laid claim to many people in that wicked city. The doctrine of election is not a dusty theological specimen for the classroom; it is high-octane fuel for fearless evangelism in the darkest places.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly bearing witness to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

The arrival of Paul's ministry partners, Silas and Timothy, marks a shift in intensity. They likely brought financial support from the Macedonian churches (2 Cor. 11:9), which freed Paul from his tent-making labors to dedicate himself entirely to the work of preaching. The Greek says he was "constrained by" or "occupied with" the word. The gospel had him by the throat, and he had to get it out. And what was the message he was so constrained to deliver? It was a simple, explosive, and non-negotiable declaration: he was solemnly bearing witness, giving formal testimony as in a court of law, that Jesus is the Christ. This is the central hinge of all history. The long-awaited Messiah of the Jews had come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This was not a suggestion or a new philosophy; it was a royal announcement.

6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

The royal announcement was met with rebellion. They did not just disagree; they resisted and blasphemed. They set themselves in hostile opposition and spoke evil of the name of Jesus. Paul's response is not one of hurt feelings. It is a formal, covenantal action. Shaking out his garments was a symbolic gesture of separation and a declaration of innocence, much like shaking the dust from one's feet (Matt. 10:14). His words are a direct quotation of Old Testament legal responsibility (e.g., Ezek. 33:4). He is saying, "I have delivered the warning. I have fulfilled my duty as a watchman. Your condemnation is now entirely your own fault." He is clean. With his responsibility to them discharged, he announces a strategic shift. This is not a petulant storming off. It is a calculated redeployment of resources to a more receptive field. The gospel is a treasure, and it will not be endlessly trampled underfoot by those who despise it.

7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a God-fearer, whose house was next to the synagogue.

Paul's move is filled with a kind of glorious, tactical irony. He does not flee the city. He does not even leave the neighborhood. He moves right next door. The new headquarters for the kingdom of God in Corinth is established in the shadow of the synagogue that has just rejected the King. The host, Titius Justus, is a God-fearer, a Gentile who was attracted to the God of Israel but had not become a full proselyte. He represents the perfect bridge between the Jewish and Gentile worlds, the very man the synagogue should have been welcoming. Now his home becomes the beachhead for the gospel's advance into Corinth.

8 And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

The effectiveness of Paul's move is demonstrated immediately and dramatically. The first domino to fall is a big one: Crispus, the leader of the synagogue. The very man responsible for overseeing the institution that had just rejected Christ now embraces Him. This is a direct and public rebuke to his former congregation. And notice the pattern: he believed with all his household. This is the consistent pattern of the New Testament. The faith of the head of a house brings the entire household into the covenant community. This is the root of infant baptism. The family is the basic unit, not the autonomous individual. Crispus's conversion opens the floodgates. Many other Corinthians, hearing the same message, were also believing and being baptized, demonstrating their faith and incorporation into the body of Christ.

9-10 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

Despite the initial success, Paul was evidently afraid. The opposition had been fierce, and Corinth was a volatile place. So the Lord Jesus Himself intervenes with a direct vision. The command is clear: "Stop being afraid. Keep talking. Don't shut up." But commands like this require a foundation, and the Lord provides an unshakable one. First, the promise of His presence: I am with you. This is the great promise to God's people throughout the ages. Second, the promise of protection: no one would harm him. But the third reason is the bedrock for the other two. Why should Paul be fearless? Because, the Lord says, I have many people in this city. This is the doctrine of election, stated as plainly as possible. Before Paul even preached to them, before they had done anything good or evil, God had already designated a multitude in that pagan city as "My people." Paul's job was not to persuade the unwilling, but to announce the good news so that God's sheep would hear their Shepherd's voice and come. This is the truth that banishes the fear of man.

11 And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

The result of this divine commission is obedience. Grounded in the sovereign promise of God, Paul settles in for the long haul. A year and a half is a significant amount of time, indicating the planting of a deep and substantial church. He was not just evangelizing; he was teaching the word of God among them. He was building them up, discipling them, and establishing a solid foundation of truth in that community. The long-term health of the church in Corinth was a direct result of the short-term vision and the eternal decree it revealed.

Application

This passage is intensely practical for the church today. First, we must be clear, as Paul was, that our central task is to bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, the sovereign King. We must not muddy the waters with other messages. Second, we must be prepared for rejection. Not everyone will receive the word, and some will actively blaspheme. When this happens, we are not to take it as a personal failure. We are to recognize our responsibility is discharged, shake the dust from our feet, and look for more receptive soil. Sometimes the most strategic move is to set up shop right next door to where the opposition is loudest.

Third, we must take the biblical pattern of household faith seriously. God loves to work through families, and we should preach, evangelize, and disciple with that reality in mind. But most importantly, our courage for the task must be grounded where Paul's was: in the sovereign grace of God. We can be fearless in our proclamation because we know that God is with us and that He has His people everywhere, even in the most unlikely places. Our task is not to create faith out of nothing, but to cast the net wide, knowing that God has already filled the sea with His chosen fish. He has many people in your city. Therefore, do not be afraid, but go on speaking.