Sharing Truth: Acts 19:35-40

We can learn several things from the town clerk’s message as he tried to quiet the mob in Ephesus, which were inciting violence against the Christians, especially against Paul. The clerk, once he quieted the rioters, made 6 main points about the accusations against the Christians. Basically he said that the assembled citizens of Ephesus were creating a riot over nothing and that the rioters were in danger of breaking the Roman laws.

I want to specifically look at one of the things the clerk said because it tells us about Paul and the other Christians in Ephesus. Acts 19:37 records one part of the clerk’s message: “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess . . .” The point the clerk was trying to make was point number four: “The persons accused were not guilty of breaking the civil laws.” What does this tell us about Paul and the other disciples who were preaching the Messiah message throughout Ephesus?

It tells us that Paul did not go about offending the inhabitants of Ephesus by forcibly destroying their goddess’s temple (Ephesus was the main place where the worship of Artemis was strongest) or ridiculing the people for their beliefs. What Paul and the others preached was the truth about Jesus Christ. And the truth was changing the people’s hearts. It wasn’t by force that the exorcists and evil-doers repented of their sins (see Acts 19:17-20 where it says that the “word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”) It was the message, the truth, and the God-ordained miracles Paul was espousing. No one was forcing them or directly confronting their goddesses and gods. They were just reasoning and speaking the truth to the people and those people responded favorably to the message.

(One statement made by Paul may have been directly aimed at the concept of multiple gods and goddesses. In verse 26, one of the rabble-rousers gave an example of Paul’s examples to the people: “. . . this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying, ‘that gods made with hands are no gods at all . . .” So Paul was questioning the reality of man-made gods, but he didn’t directly attack Artemis.)

This passage impressed upon me the idea that we need not be destructive or confrontational with unbelievers as we try to reason with them and show them the truth. We do not have to become aggressive and harsh. We do not need to ridicule sinners to get them to see the error of their ways. We can speak boldly with love and compassion. And, most importantly, we can speak the truth of Jesus’ death on the cross, His resurrection, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. None of those key truths attack anyone else. It’s just the sharing of the truth. It’s up to God’s Holy Spirit to convict and change people’s hearts.

The Examples of Apollos: Acts 18:23-28

There are two principles in the story of Apollos found in Acts 18. First a little background on Apollos. Acts tells us about him (verse 24 – 25):

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, and Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John . . .

Apollos was essentially speaking and teaching the characteristics of the Christ as told in the Old Testament. He knew what the Christ would be like from the Scriptures and was preaching that the Messiah was coming. Basically, he knew three things from listening to the teachings of John, the Baptist. He had learned John’s message well, but that was as far as his knowledge went. From John he had learned: 1. Forgiveness of sins on the basis of repentance, 2. Expression of repentance by baptism, and 3. One was coming who would complete their salvation. That was fine and good as far as it went.

When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching in Ephesus, they were impressed, but also knew his message was incomplete. So, in following the tradition, and obeying a principle we’ve seen throughout Acts, “they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Verse 26). They met him where he was in his knowledge and shared with him all about Jesus. They filled him in on the happenings since John.

They did this by sharing the key elements found in the messages of Peter and Paul throughout the book of Acts. The keys to the gospel message. They shared about what was missing from his preaching and teaching. These elements should be familiar to us all because they were, and continue to be, the keys to a complete gospel message. Priscilla and Aquila, in private, explained to Apollos, 1. The Cross (Jesus’ death), 2. The Resurrection, and 3. The Holy Spirit’s Baptism.

The result was that Apollos went to Achaia (Corinth) with the blessings and letters of introduction to the Corinthian church, and “helped greatly those who had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ” (Verses 27 – 28). The building up of the church in Corinth was accomplished through many, none-the-less of whom, was Apollos with a now complete message of salvation to bring to the people.

So the two principles? First, when sharing with other, we need to meet people where they are in their understanding of the gospel and the truth. Priscilla and Aquila did this by taking Apollos aside, in private, and giving him the rest of the story. And second, making sure the gospel message includes the death and resurrection of Jesus, because in doing that, we are proving that the Messiah of the Old Testament and Jesus are the same person.