Paul clarifies his next ministry endeavor and prepares for his third missionary trip. Meanwhile, Apollos has a significant “A ha!” moment and discovers Jesus on a whole new level.
Acts 18:23, 26; Matthew 11:2-6
Speechless, as if in another world, Apollos blankly stares back at Priscilla and Aquila. With eyes glazed over, Apollos ponders the impossibility of what he has just heard.
Trying to get a read of his face, Priscilla tilts her head and begins to nudge Aquila. “Honey,” She says. “I don’t know if he’s with us anymore.”
Absent from reality, Apollos continues to look beyond the two seated in front of him.
Aquila looks back at his wife with the moments more awkwardly passing by. Finally, with his foot, he gently pushes Apollos’ feet to get his attention.
Finally coming to, Apollos shakes his head and brings himself back to the reality in front of him. He smiles with a hint of embarrassment. “I must have left you for a moment.”
“You think?” Priscilla cracks. “I was about to have Aquila start pounding your chest.”
With a curious smile, Aquila asks. “What just happened right there? Where did you go?”
Apollos lets out a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you. It’s a blessing and a curse I suppose.”
“Wait.” Priscilla jumps in. “What are you talking about?”
“What you just witnessed.” Apollos shares. “Is more or less a retreat into the back of my head. I refer to it as a ‘mind retreat’. It’s something I did growing up, often to escape some rather challenging family dynamics.”
“Wish I could do that.” Aquila gibes.
Priscilla slugs him in the shoulder.
“I tease. I tease.” Aquila responds.
“One of my tutors noticed how I would often withdraw before an exam or before delivering an oratory. Said it focused me.” Apollos continues.
“You can tune out the rest of the world when you’re in that… that… What did you call it?” Priscilla asks.
In unison, Apollos and Aquila respond. “Mind retreat.”
Priscilla nods. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound half bad after all.”
Looking intently at the two, Apollos tries to grasp what had just been shared. “When the prophet John was baptizing the penitent Jews in the Judean desert, my father took me to see him, to learn from him.”
Both raise their eyebrows. “You were a part of John’s ministry?” Aquila asks.
Priscilla adds, “Did he baptize you?”
“Well…” Apollos begins. “Indirectly, I suppose. One of his disciples did.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, I share this story with you to explain how this moment marked my life. The need for repentance was impressed upon my father. It was also galvanizing for me. Repentance would bring reconciliation, but…”
Priscilla finishes his thought. “But it wouldn’t…”
Together Apollos and Priscilla say aloud. “Be enough.”
A moment of realization crosses his face. “That’s it!” He announces. “Of course! Reconciliation with a perfect God would require a perfect offering.”
Aquila smiles and offers. “A perfect lamb.”
“Yes!” Apollos exerts. “Precisely.”
“And a perfect priest.” Priscilla adds.
“That goes without saying.” Apollos thinks deeper.
Priscilla and Aquila exchange glances. “Stay with us, buddy.” Aquila prods him again.
“I assure you.” Apollos says. “I’m completely here.” He stands and paces back and forth in the room. “A perfect sacrifice with a permanent result.” He says. “Messiah’s body would, in fact, replace the altar. But… a risen Messiah would ensure the mediation required to keep the sacrifice as permanent. Yes, whoever conquers the grave will have the world at his feet.” Wild eyed, Apollos places his hands upon Aquila’s shoulders.
Feeling somewhat ill at ease, Aquila adds. “Seated at the right hand of the Father.”
“Yes!” Apollos agrees. “He would be the master of all.” He marvels. “Imagine, the fullness of God dwelling in a human body, setting up the one and only opportunity for humanity to be made alive in the likeness and incorruptibility of its maker. No fallible son of Aaron could make that happen. That would require a completely different priestly line. But… What line would grant authority to this role as high priest?” He puzzles. “How… does… that… fit?”
“Oh I don’t know…” Priscilla smirks. “Who mediated for Abraham?”
Apollos releases his firm grip on Aquila’s shoulders and turns to meet Priscilla’s face. His face contorts, as he thinks aloud, “God’s first promise to Abraham took place in Ur and would be reaffirmed after rescuing Lot from his captors.”
“By whom?” Priscilla prompts.
Apollos reels in his thoughts and finally lights up. “Melchizedek!”
Aquila looks over at his nodding wife and teases. “Boy… that was intense.”
…
Dusk rapidly approaches, and the evening needles uncomfortably between cool and biting. Paul wraps his mantle closer around his neck, as he, Barnabas, Titus and Niger sit around a warming fire.
As the chit chat wanes, Barnabas looks at the others and over at Paul. “So, is the verdict in?”
“Is what verdict in?” Paul asks.
“Where have you decided to go?” Barnabas asks.
Paul slumps further in his chair.
Barnabas shares a wry look at Titus. “Oh, that’s the game we’re playing now?”
Paul breaks a smile and says, “Hey, I had you going though.”
Niger impatiently rolls his eyes and says, “Out with it.”
“You sure you don’t want me to get you anything to eat?” Paul playfully asks.
All three roll their eyes.
“What about something to dri…?” Paul nearly finishes.
“Out with it!” The three bark in unison.
“Alright, alright.” Paul concedes. “I’ve thought about this a lot, but Barnabas, God love you, you… you… super encouraging guy.” Paul drips with sarcasm. “You’re right. I’ve mentioned how deeply concerned I am over how the others in Jerusalem are playing with fire.”
“But…” Barnabas says.
“But…” Paul continues. “My calling isn’t to the Jews in Jerusalem.” He says as he points at Titus. “It’s with guys like Titus.” He then looks at Barnabas and explains further. “When you and I went to Pisidia, Iconium and Lystra…”
“You mean,” Barnabas corrects. “When you nearly got us killed in Pisidia, Iconium, and Lystra.”
“Potato, potahto.” Paul shrugs indifferently.
“Get out of here!” Barnabas exclaims. “They may not be so nice next time.”
“Kidding.” Paul says. “Look, I just know that the believers in those towns plus many others like them have few teachers and fewer to lead them towards life in the Spirit. Besides, Silas is back in Jerusalem now. He and John Mark will have to advocate for us.”
Barnabas raises an eyebrow while the other two nod.
Niger asks, “Will you do a repeat tour then?”
“I think so… I’ll visit some of the towns in Galatia.” Paul replies. “But, I want to move further towards Phrygia and Ionia.”
“Ahhh. Ephesus.” Niger says.
“They were open there.” Paul agrees. “They were hungry to learn more. To add, both Aquila and Priscilla have relocated there to rebuild their business and start meetings with other believers. They are going to need some help.”
“Will you move onto other cities?” Barnabas asks.
“Eventually, I think so.” Paul replies. “There are so many working parts now.”
…
We’re going to stop here for today.
So many working parts indeed. By this time in Paul’s ministry, he had a network of disciples roving about their respective provinces while carrying out ongoing ministry throughout the larger cities in modern day Turkey, Macedonia and Greece. To name a few, Priscilla and Aquila are in Ephesus (Paul has yet to meet Apollos), Sopater in Berea, Aristarchus in Thessalonica, Gaius and Luke might still be in Philippi, and of course, Timothy is in Corinth. To add, there were many faithful individuals running ministries within their own local communities. But… this is only the beginning. By the end of his third trip, Paul had envoys in every metropolitan area from Achaia (West of Corinth) to Antioch in Syria.
Switching Gears… Did Apollos Write the Letter to the Hebrews?
Like many, I’ve wondered who is responsible for such an elegant work of prose. While Paul certainly had the capacity to reason, Paul had no trouble identifying himself as the author or the one communicating to the author who wrote on his behalf. Some assert that it was Paul due to the legal nature of the letter and the fact that Timothy was a trusted companion mentioned at the end of the letter (Hebrews 13:23). But there is no indicator that Paul is the author. Some have suspected Barnabas to write this letter. After all, Barnabas had the inside scoop about Jesus and was closely affiliated with the apostles in the Jerusalem church from the very beginning. As to whether Barnabas had the legal training, we know he was a Levite and had to at least have some basic understanding of the levitical duties. The problem? There seems to be no indicator that Barnabas ever made it to Rome. In fact, Christian tradition indicates that he died a martyr in Salamis (Cypress).
As a side note, history is chalk-full of examples of well meaning (perhaps some not-so-well meaning) believers who claimed to have an apostle or well known figure, such as Mary, Mark, Peter, or John, show up and conduct ministry, or possibly even die, in their communities. In many cases, these claims were made hundreds of years later and were often done for political and financial gain. After all, what benefit might there be for a town that claims to have an apostle’s grave in its city center? Considering that within a few hundred years, the entire continent of Europe has been Christianized… Let’s just say there might be some tourism, political and economic advantages. For Rome, which was on the verge of losing its leverage to the much larger community in Constantinople, this was a really big deal.
While I can’t say for sure that Apollos wrote the letter to the Hebrews, he would’ve been a great candidate who well understood the Jewish sacrificial system, was well trained in Alexandria under a school of more analogous thought, and was quite well read on account of having access to the largest library in the world at that time.
At its peak before a fire burned a portion of it down in 48 BC, the library in Alexandria was reported to have anywhere between 500,000 to 1,000,000 scrolls available for public access. As a quick sidenote, the library of Celcus in Ephesus reportedly had over 12,000 scrolls available for public viewing, which could have been an additional incentive for Apollos, a lifelong student in his own right, to include Ephesus in his speaking tour. Later on, he would venture to Corinth and eventually Rome.
Who better to draw the comparisons between Christ as Lord over all humankind–even angelic beings would serve him… as a sympathetic, yet flawless High Priest in the order of Melchizedek… as the fully human son of God… as the fulfillment of the New Covenant promises… as the bearer of God’s perfect sacrificial requirement… as the supreme temple as well as the source and rightful recipient of all worship… as the future judge over all… as the originator and perfecter of the faith found within all believers… and the escort of those who do not turn away into his unshakeable kingdom… Who better to write such a persuasive and systematic apologetic than Apollos?
Furthermore, we know Timothy was in Corinth to greet Apollos after his tour in Ephesus. Timothy would have been the one to receive the letters of recommendation from Aquila and Priscilla regarding Apollos’ credibility (18:27). The writer of Hebrews later mentions Timothy when writing from Italy and expresses how they are both excited to reunite with the receiving audience (possibly here in Ephesus where Timothy would later come to oversee the church) (Hebrews 13:23).
Sorry for the longer digression, but it’s been a point of much debate over the years. One thing for sure in our passage today is that Apollos peels back the multi-layered dimensionality of Christ as Messiah. While the Hebrew bible (Tenahk) gives us many glimpses of the Messiah’s identity, especially in light of that future day where God comes to judge the earth (The Day of the Lord), our view is limited in scope. Like a shadow of things to come, Israel knew Messiah was coming, but they weren’t too sure what He would look like. So, when Jesus steps on the scene, for several reasons, Israel’s leadership rejected him as a candidate and elected to wait for someone else. Even John the Baptizer scratched his head and had to have confirmation:
John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
— Matthew 11:2-3
Jesus responded this way:
Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.
— Matthew 11:4-6
In other words… The proof is in the putting. What those have seen me do should be enough to satisfy your inquiry.
God has a bottom line for us: What you do with Jesus will determine what God will do with you.
This idea of being “Pro Jesus” speaks not only to the reality of being a resident in the Kingdom of Heaven, but it also deals with your willingness to come under the leadership of Jesus and allowing yourself to be transformed by the Spirit of God here and now.
May you… be “Pro Jesus”, not only in receiving Jesus as Lord but in allowing him to change you from the inside out one day at a time.
With that, let’s move forward together!