Paul at Corinth

“They have mocked

At Heaven’s high messenger, and he departs

From the mad circle. Athens! is it so 1

Thou who didst smile to find the admiring world
Crouch as a pupil to thee, wert thou blind?
Blinder than he, who, in his humble cot,
With harden’d hand, his daily labour done,
Turneth the page of Jesus and doth read]
Yet shall that poor wayfaring man lie down
With such a hope as thou couldst never teach
Thy kingdike sages!” f

“His letters (say they) are weighty and powerful.” — 2 Cor. x. 10.

“St Hierom cries him up as a great master of composition; that as oft as he heard him, he seemed to hear, not words, but thunder.” — Cave, 1676.

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‘■^ e must now follow our Apostle to another renowned capital of Greece. On the narrow isthmus which, like a bridge, connected the northern and southern divisions of this ancient kingdom, was situated the city of Corinth, well called, by an old writer, “the city of the two seas.” Again and again had Corinth been strongly fortified by high walls to resist invaders from either side. Nature, too, supplied her with noble fortifications. There is one lofty rock especially, on the south, called Acro-corinthus, with the temple of Venus on its summit, which still towers to a height of two thousand feet above the level of the sea, overlooking the city. From its ridge a magnificent view is obtained on every side. At a distance of forty-five miles the Athenian Acropolis might be distinctly seen,* and appearing in that clear atmosphere

* Couybeare and Howson.

not to be nearly so far off as it really was. There was a spacious harbour on either side of the isthmus, in which ships of commerce from every shore might be seen riding at anchor, Cenchrea in the east, and Lechasum in the west. Lechteum was nearest the city, and was very much to Corinth what the Pirceus was to Athens, a range of long walls connecting them together. Corinth itself was more especially noted for its metals, dyes, and porcelain; * while the far-famed Isthmian Games attracted thousands upon thousands every year from all parts of Greece, and gave a celebrity to the spot, independent of every other claim.

The ancient city had been entirely destroyed before Paul’s time. The citadel on Acro-corinthus had been burnt to ashes, and the numerous statues that studded the rock being melted on that occasion by the heat, formed in their fused state the well-known and highly-prized “Corinthian brass.” The town lay thus in ruins for one hundred years; but Julius Ccesar, seeing its maritime importance, built it afresh, and peopled it with a Roman colony of freedmen, among whom doubtless were many Jews.t When Paul, therefore, now visited it, it had been restored to its former splendour; not only were its buildings gorgeous, and its wealth great, but its population was vast and varied, consisting of Jews, Greeks, and Romans.

We cannot imagine a greater contrast than existed, at the period of which we write, between the cities of Athens and Corinth. The one was the renowned centre of learning, venerable with age, art, and worldly wisdom; the other was a magnificent mercantile capital, far exceeding the former in wealth and population,

* Conybeare and Howson. t Strabo, viii. 6.

but without any pretensions to learning or philosophy. In its splendid harbours would be seen riding the ships of all nations, and particularly Roman vessels, — the town being included in the empire of the Caesars.

We may picture the Great Apostle approaching this city after his residence at Athens. As he travels along the isthmus, he must have witnessed, in passing, the celebrated Stadium and Theatre where those famous games were celebrated, to which he has such frequent reference in the course of his writings. If his mind had not been so familiarised with the splendid sculpture of Athens, he could not fail to be struck with the long line of busts and statues erected along the road in honour of the victors in these world-renowned meetings, — the temple of Neptune, with its sacred grove, overlooking them all.* Avenues, or clumps of pine, shaded or beautified the highway, — those very trees which yielded the “corruptible” wreaths which, in an after letter to Corinth, he so touchingiy contrasts with the better “crowns of glory,” in the Christian race, which “never fade away.” t Close to the gate was a monument to the memory of Diogenes the cynic. The traveller entered the city, and the market-place opened to his view. In the centre was a bronze Minerva, and around were temples and statues, and a fountain gushing from “the mouth of a dolphin supporting the figure of Neptune.” J Corinth, at that time, was one of the most expensive places to reside at in the east of Europe, — so much so, that it was a common proverb, “Not every man can go to Corinth.” Alas! alas! if Paul’s spirit was stirred within him in Athens, because it was wholly given to idolatry, much more must

* See the picture. f 1 Cor. ix. 25. J Lewin, vol. i. p. 299.

he have mourned and grieved over a city wholly given to vice in its most debasing form. If we have likened Thessalonica to our modern Liverpool, the comparison made by a writer, of Corinth to modern Paris (in its worst aspect) is perhaps an equally truthful one. It was the world’s fashionable capital — full of show and glitter — but all this gilding covering corruption in its worst form.

What perhaps at first attracted the Apostle the more to it, was the number of Jews who, on account of a severe edict of Claudius Caesar, had been recently expelled from Rome, and had there taken up their abode. The Hebrew population in Borne had for long — as, we know, is still the case there — occupied a “Jewish Quarter,” where they were allowed to have their own “oratories,” similar to what we found in the neighbourhood of Philippi. The cause of their present expulsion we give in the remarkable words of the historian Suetonius: — “The Jews, who were constantly exciting tumults (Chrestus being the mover), he banished from Rome.” The word “Chrestus” is more than probably intended for Christus, or Christ. The Roman historian, who was not intimately acquainted with the Jewish religion, might easily fall into the mistake of speaking of a tumult occasioned under Christ, when it was only about Christ.* There were other causes, however, which operated in rousing the jealousy of the emperor. Judea itself had been in a state of revolt from the Roman power at this very time. Tacitus informs us, among other acts of violence, of a royal servant, named Stephen, being assaulted by a gang of Jewish thieves, the baggage

* Lactantius.

plundered, and the Roman soldiers killed who were appointed to guard it* When so great an enmity existed bet wen the nations, the authorities deemed it unsafe to permit so many of the Hebrew people to remain with the walls of the capital; — hence the edict for their expulsion, which had brought so many of them at present to Corinth. Among these banished Jews were two natives of Pontus, Aquila and Priscilla. As we learn afterwards that they returned to the city of the Tiber, we may gather that the latter formed their regular place of residence. They were by trade tent-makers, and probably had made money by their profession. In consequence of their expulsion, like others, they had been making their way to their native place, Pontus, in Asia, by way of the Corinthian isthmus, when all at once, for reasons we are not told, they paused at the Grecian capital, and hired a house and workshop. Perhaps the riches and extent of Corinth gave promise of a nourishing trade.

It is more than likely that it was their trade also which induced Paul to take up his abode with them, that he might the more easily obtain his own livelihood. As there were Jews from Pontus who heard Peter preach his first sermon,t it is very possible Aquila and Priscilla may have first heard of the Messiah from the lips of that apostle. Be this as it may, it does not seem that they were converted to the truth when Paul first went to reside with them; but it was while carrying on their joint labours at their tentlooms, that they were led cordially to embrace the salvation of the Gospel. It does indeed give us a beauti-

* Whitby’s Annotations. t Acts ii. 9.

ful specimen of Gospel humility, as well as a pattern for duty in every sphere of life, to see this great man, who had so lately been keeping company with Athenian philosophers, now plying his needle on the rough hair-cloth along with two refugee Jews; and, at the same time, during these hours of hard and laborious toil, unfolding the riches of the great salvation! If, as some suppose, Aquila and Priscilla had a workshop at Corinth, with a number of workmen employed, we may well believe that Paul would form among them his “church in the house,” — preaching, as he advised another, “in season and out of season,” — “becoming all things to all men, if by any means he might gain some.” At all events, with Aquila and Priscilla he now commenced a sacred friendship, which lasted till the Apostle’s death. This is not the last time we shall find their names and Christian deeds mentioned together.

There was another new kind of ministerial labour St Paul undertook in the midst of his handicraft. His mind often wandered back in fond solicitude to his beloved Thessalonian converts. He is prevented seeing them or visiting them; but he resolves to write them a Letter; and this brings us to a most interesting period of the Apostle’s history, — the composing of the first of those inspired Epistles, which have so cheered and comforted the Church in every age. “You yourself,” says an able living writer, who inherits much of the great Apostle’s spirit, “have never had any connexion with St Paul but by his writings, and yet you seem to know him personally. So much of life and heat palpitate in his words, that it only seems necessary to touch the hand in order to feel the pulsations of that heart which has ceased to beat for eighteen hundred years.” * What a blessed consolation every Christian feels it, at a time of bereavement or sorrow, to receive a letter of sympathy and solace from a loved friend! How interesting for us to read the first of such letters ever written! It is from the great Apostle of the Gentiles to the Church at Thessalonica. It would do well for my young readers to take up their Bibles and peruse this Epistle for themselves. I shall merely tell you the circumstances in which it was composed: — Timothy and Silas, you will remember, had been left in Macedonia; Paul — alone in Athens — had been wearying much for their return; and his anxiety for their coming was increased, as he dreaded lest his converts in Thessalonica might be beginning to fall away, and be forgetful of their “first love.” He tells us he was now among the Corinthians “in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.’* He may have felt the almost hopeless wickedness of this dissolute city, and despaired of making any progress in his great work. At last Timothy and his companion did return. The Apostle was indeed glad to see them. In addition to his other trials, he must have been suffering much from the famine at that time prevalent in Greece; and we know he refused to his dying day to receive any pecuniary assistance from the Corinthian Church, lest they might accuse him of unworthy motives. These two faithful brethren brought him relief from Macedonian Christians. We find him thus referring afterwards to his circumstances, in a letter to the Corinthians: —” And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for

* A. Monod’s Discourses, p. 31.

that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied; and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.“* Timothy and Silas also brought the Apostle cheering tidings about the spiritual condition of those he had so recently left. Paul, with a joyful heart, employed what time could be spared from his other labours in writing “The First Epistle to the Thessalonians.” In it he expresses his joy and affectionate regard for them; and sends some salutary warnings, urging them still to remain faithful in the midst of all the persecutions which, for the sake of Christ, they were called to endure.

He had commenced his labours in Corinth by preaching to the Jews; but here, far more than in any other place, was their envy and hatred manifested against him, and against that holy Name he loved to proclaim. So much so, that at last, with a heavy heart, he was obliged to leave their synagogue altogether, shaking off the dust from his garment — the expressive testimony used in these times against the hardened and reprobate. “And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.” t

He and his two friends, who had now joined him, and were strengthening his hands, set themselves to procure another place of meeting where they might address the Gentiles, and such Jews as still chose to attend their ministrations. There was a house or room, next door to the synagogue, which belonged to a proselyte called Justus. This became hereafter the

* 2 Cor. si. 9. t Acts xviiL 6.

place of the Apostle’s preaching. He seemed still to continue his residence with Aquila and Priscilla; but their house had probably no space to contain the increasing worshippers. Among those who became converts, under his instructions, were Stephanas and his family, who is called by him “the first-fruits of Achaia unto Christ.” A more important and influential convert still, was Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, whose high character and office must have added great weight and influence to his adoption of the religion of Jesus. These, and other things, caused the rage of the Corinthian Jews to increase. It bowed down Paul’s spirit with grief, to see that his worst foes were those of his own brethren and household. It was at this trying time he wrote his “Second Epistle to the Thessalonians” in which he refers to (what he seldom cares dwelling upon) his own vexations and sorrows on their account, and requests an interest in the prayers of this distant church.

There was One, at least, who was at this moment no unconcerned witness of His servant’s struggles and conflicts: God himself had seen how sorely and heavily his spirit had been weighed down. He appeared to him in the middle of the night in a vision, and spake “comforting words” — telling him not to be afraid, nor to hold his peace, for that He would uphold and strengthen him in the midst of every difficulty; and all the more so, “as He had much people in that city.”*

It may be well here to peruse the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. The messenger he had sent with the First Epistle, had just returned with the singular

* Acts xviii. 10.

tidings that the Thessalonians had taken up the strong impression that the end of the world was at hand. You will find that one of the main objects of this second letter was to correct these erroneous views which many of the converts had been entertaining about the second coming of Christ; some of whom were even giving up their daily trades, under the impression that the Lord was about to appear. The Apostle assures them how false this expectation was; for that great advent could not take place until sundry events had occurred, of which he had often before r spoken.

We need only further add, with reference to the Apostle, that he seems to have continued his residence in Corinth for the space of eighteen months; during that time visiting various places in Achaia, and particularly Cenchrea, the busy seaport on the opposite shore of the isthmus. It was an important and interesting period in his history, and an important spot in the civilised world. It was either from Corinth, or to Corinth, that his choicest epistles were written. The numbers of his converts there seem to have been very considerable. He speaks, in his Epistle to the Romans, of the churches in Corinth; and there would appear to have been a special church in Cenchrea, for Phoabe is described as deaconess of it.*

It was near the end of this year and a-half to which we have referred, that Gallio was made governor (or proconsul) of the province, by Claudius Csesar. He was the adopted son of Junius Gallio. Who had been in the office before him, we are not told; but whoever he was, he must have been lenient towards the Chris-

* Rom. xvi. 1.

tians, else Paul could not have continued undisturbed in his teaching and preaching for so long a period as eighteen months. I need not say that the comfort and well-being of the inhabitants of a Roman province greatly depended on their governor. The Corinthians and Achaians had obtained in Gallio one who was remarkably distinguished for his kindness, integrity, and honour. Roman writers tell us, just what we should have expected from what we know of him in sacred story, that he was a man of gentle and amiable disposition, besides being of superior abilities. Seneca, his own brother, who had the responsible office of tutor to the young Emperor Nero, speaks of him as “without a fault, whom every one loved too little, even he who loved him to the utmost. In him there was such a natural power of goodness, that there was no semblance of art or dissimulation.” * The Jews, whose envy we have already found was stirred up against Paul, were anxious to test what the feelings of the new proconsul were to themselves and their religion; or knowing perhaps his easy and obliging temper, they thought they might presume upon it for the overthrow of an adversary they hated. They resolved, therefore, to accuse the Apostle at Gallio’s judgment-seat. They were enabled with greater plausibility to do so, as their religion was protected to them by Roman statute, and they could charo-e him with doing violence to the laws of the state. “This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.” t It was wisely ordered that so kind and benignant a ruler had been sent to Corinth. Had Gallio been stern and rigorous — had he been fired, as many others were, with hatred to the Christian cause, the Apostle

* Lcwiu and Barnes. f Acts xviii. 13.

might have been expelled, or imprisoned, and the flourishing little church left to droop in sadness. But Gallio’s verdict contributed greatly to the strengthening of the Gospel cause; for after Sosthenes (probably the successor of Crispus in the Jewish synagogue) had led the accusation, the governor, without even allowing ‘Paul to speak a word of defence, dismisses the case. He tells the Jews that he was not sent there to act as judge in their petty quarrels, and to be the settler of religious disputes. Had it been a question affecting the peace of the province, his conduct would have been different; but he would certainly not meddle with matters of mere party violence and feeling. “And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, 0 ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: but if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.”* The Greeks were standing around the tribunal, anxiously waiting the decision; they heard it with gladness and satisfaction; they even laid hands on Sosthenes and beat him. It is evident, moreover, that Gallio’s feelings were by no means of a friendly kind towards these accusing Jews; for we are told that he “took no notice of any of these things.” t Paul, therefore, on account of this important decision, was allowed to remain in safety in the Isthmian city. The assurance he received in the night vision was

* Acts xviii. 14, 15.

t This seems to be the true meaning of what is rendered in our version, “And Gallio cared for none of these things.” “This has been usually charged on Gallio as a matter of reproach, as if he were wholly indifferent to religion. But the charge is unjustly made.” — Barnes On Acts; note in Olshausen, &c.

already fulfilled, that no man would be allowed to hurt him, and that he might fearlessly proclaim the cause of his Divine Master. A judgment-day only will reveal the fruit of these many months’ devoted labour. We know, however, that he had in that city many souls for his hire. Wicked Corinth, with all its dreadful sins, became a striking comment on Paul’s own words elsewhere, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

It may just be worthy of notice here, that Sosthenes, who appears at this trial a leader of the Jews, and the bitter opponent of St Paul, himself became a convert to the faith of Jesus. He has his name joined with that of the Great Apostle in the 1st verse of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Nay, as Paul was himself unable to write his own letters, and always employed a scribe, it is more than likely Sosthenes penned that Christian epistle from Ephesus to his old fellow- citizens of Corinth!

At the end, however, of “a year and six months,” our Apostle was desirous of paying a visit to Jerusalem, and there keeping one of the great annual feasts, most probably the Feast of Pentecost. He avails himself of the opportunity of his two friends, Aquila and Priscilla, going to Ephesus. They embark together in the same vessel, taking, doubtless, many affectionate farewells, with the solemn feeling that they might never again meet in the flesh. Their road first conducted them to the Eastern port of Cenchrea, where an occurrence took place we must not pass by without notice. It was customary for the Jews, whenever they had experienced any great mercy or deliver Q ance at the hand of God/“’ to take the” vow of the Nazarite,” which you will find particularly described in the 6th Chapter of the Book of Numbers. It consisted in abstaining for thirty days from the use of wine, the hair and beard being left to grow, and at the end of this period the head was shaven. There were also several appointed sacrifices; but as they could only be offered in Jerusalem, it was customary for those who made the vow at a distance, to defer presenting them till their next visit to the Holy City. Paul, though he looked in no degree to the law of Moses for salvation, still loved to retain any Jewish custom which the higher claims of Christianity would admit of. It has been supposed, indeed, that one great object he had at present in making this vow was, to convince the Jews that he was no enemy to their law, but that he still looked with the veneration of a child of Israel to the rites of the old dispensation; and feeling at this time the great goodness of God in his merciful preservation from the hands of his accusers, he had made, thirty days before arriving at Cenchrea, the vow which I have referred to. The period of keeping it had just expired, and his head was shorn before taking ship from the port of Corinth. It may be worth while further noticing, that Eastern travellers find similar customs, regarding vows, prevalent to this day.” An usage, similar to the vow of the Nazariteship, exists in Persia now. It frequently happens, after the birth of a son, that if the parent be in distress, or the child be sick, or any other cause of grief, the mother makes a vow that no razor shall come upon the child’s head

* Josephus, book i, 2, 15.

for a certain portion of time, and sometimes for his whole life, as Samuel was (1 Sam. i. 11). If the child recovers, and the cause of grief be removed, then the mother shaves his head at the end of the time prescribed — makes a small entertainment’ — collects money and other things from her relations and friends, which are sent as netzers or offerings to the mosque at Kerbelah, and are there consecrated.” *

We may imagine St Paul, with his two Corinthian friends, also Silas, Timothy, and a third apostle, Titus, here named for the first time, bidding adieu to the coast of Achaia — obtaining now and then, as they sail along, a glimpse of the Athenian Acropolis and the glittering statue of Minerva. Probably, instead of continuing a direct easterly course, he would have preferred sailing northwards again, between the island of Eubcea and the mainland, and coming ashore at the base of Olympus, to have visited his beloved church at Thessalonica. He tells us, indeed, how much he wished to do so; but something in God’s good providence “hindered him” for the present, and many years were to elapse till they were to meet again face to face. Soon the voyagers are threading their way among the islands of the Archipelago, — the lovely “isles of Greece,” — and reach in safety the city of Ephesus, the great capital of Asia, as Corinth was of Achaia. Here the Apostle paused only for a day or two at this time; the ship in which they were sailing being destined for the coast of Syria. He had an opportunity, however, to hold a discussion with the Jews of Ephesus, in their synagogue, on Sabbath. It

* Morier’s Second Journey, quoted by Home in his Introduction, vol. ii. p. 329.

was more encouraging than any recent meetings with his brethren; they even urged him to prolong his stay, which, however, he declined, as either the vessel which had brought him thither or another was about to sail, and he had a divine call to attend the approaching festival at Jerusalem — “I must by all means keep this feast j” * but he gave the promise of a speedy return, if God’s will so ordered it. Again embarking, and leaving Aquila and Priscilla at Ephesus, we may follow him and his three companions in thought past the Island of Rhodes and Cyprus, till they land at the military port of Cesarea, with which we are already familiar.

The sacred oracles are silent about Paul’s visit at this time to Jerusalem. It has been supposed his purpose of being present at the feast was by delay frustrated, as he merely speaks of “saluting the church,” and then departing. He would doubtless repair to the temple, offering there the accustomed sacrifices in fulfilment of his vow, and anew tell with a joyous heart to his fellow- Christians and brethren all that the Lord had done in distant heathen lands. He bends his steps once more (probably along the coast road) to the Syrian Antioch, to which town the present was in all probability his last and closing visit. You, doubtless, have not forgotten that this was the church which first sent him out on his missionary work. He must have had towards it the feeling of a child to a parent. He had gone forth from them but a few years before, “bearing precious seed,” and he had now come again “with rejoicing,” bringing the tidings of sheaves with him, reaped in the great mission Harvest.

* Acts xviii. 21.

Is he here now to rest? is the “good soldier” to repose on the laurels he has won, and, ungirding his missionary armour, to spend the remainder of his days in inglorious ease on the banks of the Orontes? Having done so much himself, may he not now leave tho work to others 1 He has borne “the burden and heat of the day,” — who could wonder if he wished to spend the evening of his life in quiet and peace, and send out younger and hardier warriors to fight the battles of the faith? This great standard-bearer in “the glorious company of apostles” had no such thought; he only comes to Antioch to gird on his armour for fresh conquests. “Not as though I had already attained,” was the motto of his public as well as his private life. He prepares to set out from this city on his Third Missionary Journey*

He begins his new pilgrimage by fulfilling the promise we have just found him making to the church at Ephesus, going direct thither across the interior of Asia Minor. With the exception of Titus, we cannot exactly say who were his travelling companions. Silas he seems to have left behind him at Jerusalem; perhaps Erastus, Gaius, and Aristarchus, accompanied him.t We have every reason to believe Timothy still continued at his side. Travelling through Cilicia, the Great Apostle might possibly once more visit his native Tarsus, and have the fond memories of his boyhood again revived. Similar, too, must have been the feelings of Timothy as he passed with his “father in the faith” through the place of his birth and childhood. Paul must have, on this journey, also “saluted” his Galatian churches. You cannot have forgotten the kind-

* See now the vermilion line on the map. f Acos xix, 29, ness he received, on his first visit, from this singular people. I fear, however, by this time, judging from what he says afterwards in his “letter” to them, that they had been corrupted from the purity of the Gospel, and that “strifes, seditions, heresies,” had taken the place of unity and brotherly love. One of the obj ects the Apostle had in this new missionary tour, was to gather collections in behalf of the poor saints and brethren in Judea, and his old friends in Galatia were not behind in their liberality. After visiting the churches in Phrygia, and getting from them similar contributions, he and his companions probably pursued the great highway in the direction of Colosse. Though we have no means of determining the precise route they adopted, we have little doubt that they travelled now the region he was “forbidden of the Holy Ghost” to visit before, and that he passed through so me of those seven cities which were afterwards made famous as the sites of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation. We shall not, however, pause to describe their journey, but at once take our readers to the town of Ephesus; or rather we shall leave for a little the newly-arrived missionaries there, until we speak of a new character who presents himself to our notice In connexion with the same place.