PRISCILLA & AQUILA: PARTNERS IN MINISTRY
Acts 18:1-28
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: FINALLY GOOD MANNERS
1. "Grandpa, I'm really proud of you," said his granddaughter. "What's to be proud of?" asked the old man.
2. She replied, "I noticed that when you sneeze, you've learned to put your hand in front of your mouth."
3. "Of course," explained Grandpa. "How else can I catch my teeth???"
B. TEXT
Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 21 Then he set sail from Ephesus. 24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 Apollos…28 vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
C. THESIS
1. Tonight we’re looking at the impact that simple, unknown Christians can make with their lives. Sometimes we don’t feel like we can do much for God, but that’s not true.
2. We’re going to look at a couple who you’ve probably never heard of and we’re going to see how God especially used the wife to carry out a key role in the N.T. era.
3. The title of this message is “Priscilla & Aquila: Partners in Ministry.”
I. UNSUNG HEROES OF THE CHURCH
A. CELEBRITY CULTURE VS. REALITY
1. Today we live in celebrity culture. Our sports heroes are those who command outrageous fees.
2. Alex Rodriguez (baseball-Yankees), $27.5 million/yr
Sebastian Vettel (auto racing), $80 million/yr
Floyd Mayweather (boxing), $72 million/yr
Anthony Davis (basketball), $29 million/yr
Aaron Rodgers (football), $22 million/yr
3. Even within the church the celebrity culture dominates. We cater to people who woo the crowds, who are in sync with the culture, and have their ministries named after themselves!
4. The hard workers of the faith are ignored, overlooked or even considered non-essential.
5. Consider - most churches in the world are under 100 people (70-86 on avg.) and in America around 80% of the Christians attend churches considered small to medium size churches. (Churches 0-300).
B. UNSUNG HEROES’ REWARD
1. The gift of “helps” is not very glamorous and will never make millions of dollars. Can you imagine the shock when a superstar athlete appears before the Lord?
2. “So what did you do you for the Kingdom of Heaven?” “I played basketball or baseball!” Do you think the Lord’s going to be impressed?
3. But say this to Him – “I was a helper in the church – I served others!” For us this doesn’t sound like a big wow but for the Lord it is.
4. He will smile and applaud that kind of life and all of Heaven will rejoice along with Him! Jesus loves the unsung heroes of the church.
5. I think their reward will be greater in the Heaven than a person who lives in the limelight or had a public ministry of some sort.
6. That’s the kind of person we’re looking at today – Priscilla & Aquila!
II. PAUL’S CONVERTS TO JESUS
A. JEWS WHO BECAME CHRISTIANS
1. The Bible says they were Jews, not believers. Some scholars have assumed they were already Christian Jews before they arrived at Corinth.
2. But Luke doesn’t say that. If he’d meant that, he would have called them “believers.” Luke simply calls them Jews. 3. They were tentmakers, like Paul, so he started working and living with them every day for 18 months. The outcome was that they became Christians.
B. BECAME THOROUGHLY CONVINCED
1. For a Jew to become a Christian was a big deal, a huge shift in doctrine. Jesus was no longer just a man and a prophet, He was the Son of God, the Christ!
2. They came to believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus, His sinless life, His substitutionary death for mankind as the Lamb of God, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension!
3. You say, “What’s your evidence that they believed all these things?” Because they won over other people who believed these things.
4. Furthermore, if you’re going to be a genuine Christian, YOU need to believe them too. All these tenets are not derived from myths, but are true & necessary for Christ to be able to atone for all sins, AND these tenets were prophesied in the Old Testament.
C. THEY FOLLOWED PAUL TO EPHESUS
1. HUMOR: LONG WAY AROUND
a. A family moved to a new neighborhood. 6 weeks later, the six-year-old girl missed her school bus.
b. Her father agreed to take her to school if she gave him directions. After 20 minutes of going in circles they finally arrived at the school, which turned out to be only a few blocks away from where they lived.
c. Steaming, her dad asked the girl why she’d made him drive all over the place when the school was so close to home.
d. "We went the way the school bus does," she said. "That's the only way I know." [Word for Today 13-6-08]
2. When Paul decided to leave Greece and go to Asia Minor (modern Turkey) for ministry, Priscilla and Aquila decided to uproot their business & lives and go with him.
3. Why? Because they wanted to be in the middle of the spiritual action. They had seen how God worked in the life of Paul and wanted to continue to be a part of that revival!
4. Are you hungry for revival? Are you willing to be flexible, even to pick up and move if that’s what God wanted you to do?
III. THEY BECAME DISCIPLERS OF OTHERS
A. THE CONVERSION OF APOLLOS
1. In Acts 18:24-28, Luke tells about a very gifted Jewish teacher named Apollos, who had been exposed to the ministry of John the Baptist, came to Ephesus and began teaching in the Synagogues.
2. Apollos had heard something about Jesus, but hadn’t heard the “rest of the story” – that he was to trust in Jesus personally. So Apollos was NOT a Christian, but a follower of John the Baptist. (In Acts 19 Paul encounters 12 men at Ephesus who were just like Apollos, followers of John!)
3. It was Priscilla and Aquila who taught Apollos about Jesus and he converted to Christianity. Many in the early church considered Apollos equal to Paul and Peter (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4-6,22). Apollos must have gotten a strong dose of Jesus through this wonderful couple!
B. PROMINENCE OF PRISCILLA
1. Due to male dominance throughout ancient history, the man was always mentioned first when couples were mentioned; e.g., Adam and Eve, Ananias and Sapphira, etc.
2. But contrary to this practice, Luke and Paul mention Priscilla first in 5 of the 7 mentions of this couple. Bible scholars believe this is because Priscilla was the more prominent “minister” of the two.
3. Paul later referred to Priscilla as a celebrated missionary and co-worker in Christ Jesus (Rom. 16:3-5).
The role of women in leadership is well attested.
4. In the O.T. were such famous women as the prophetess Deborah, who judged Israel (Jud. 4:4); the Shunammite woman who took in Elisha (2 Kgs. 4:8); Queen Esther, who saved Israel from annihilation (Es. 4:16).
5. In the N.T., women were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. A woman was the first person the Resurrected Christ appeared to, and the women were instructed by Him to go tell the men apostles that He was risen (Mt. 28:5-10; John 20:15-17; Mk. 16:9-11)!
6. Paul praised the women who served with him as co-laborers—women such as Phoebe (called a “deacon,” Rom. 16:1-2), Junia (also called an apostle, Rom. 16:7) and Priscilla, who helped lay foundations in the early church (see 1 Cor. 16:19). In Phil. 4:2-3, Paul expresses solidarity with two women leaders, Euodia and Syntyche. And he refers to other women who obviously led churches, such as Chloe (1 Cor. 1:11) and Nympha (Col. 4:15), and he does not try to silence or restrict them.
7. Though we acknowledge Paul’s teaching of 1 Tim. 1:12 that women are not to teach or have authority over men, this may be the ideal but not practical in all situations.
8. If no man will answer the call to preach, can’t God call a woman to preach the gospel? Of course! God used a rooster to preach to Peter and a donkey to Balaam.
C. CHURCHES IN THEIR HOUSE
1. Twice Paul referred to Priscilla & Aquila as having a church meeting in their house (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19). This most likely indicates they were functioning as ‘Pastors.’ So they had moved into official ministry.
2. Tradition (Apostolic Constitutions 7.46) says that Paul made Aquila Bishop of Asia Minor. Further accounts state that Aquila & Priscilla both were martyred for their faith.
3. Paul had already said, “They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them” Rom. 16:4. Great is their reward in heaven!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: COMPASSION'S REWARD
1. Born August 26, 1910 in Yugoslavia, she responded to God’s call on her life while still a teenager. A missionary’s strong challenge to give her life to teaching in India resulted in her appointment to the city of Calcutta.
2. Some months later she saw a sight which completely revolutionized her life, and would ultimately bring her world-wide fame as Good Housekeeping magazine’s "Most-Admired-Woman" selection. What was the sight?
3. A homeless, dying woman lying in the gutter, being eaten by rats. Compassion compelled her to beg an abandoned Hindu temple from the government, and convert it into a crude make-shift hospital for the dying.
4. A comment of hers became her life’s thrust: "If there is a God in heaven, and a Christ we love, nobody should die alone."
5. This woman who established colonies for over 10,000 lepers in 28 cities was interviewed by Malcolm Muggeridge from the BBC News. "Mother Teresa, the thing I noticed about you and the hundreds of sisters who now form your team is that you all look so happy. Is that a put-on?"
6. She replied, “Oh no, not at all. Nothing makes you happier than when you really reach out in mercy to someone who is badly hurt.”
7. Service is its own reward. True mercy begets genuine joy. SOURCE: Robert Schuller, The Be-Happy Attitudes, pages 135-137. Bantam Books, Reissue edition (July 1, 1987).
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you want to make a difference in your world for Jesus Christ?
2. The first thing we must do is make a firm commitment to accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Have you done that?
3. Next we need to decide we will actually get involved in the work of the Lord in some way. You don’t have to go into ministry to do that. You can disciple others like Priscilla and Aquila or comfort others like Mother Teresa. There are always needy people to encourage.
4. How many of you would be willing to encourage others? Let’s pray.
[Section one is derived from a message by Michael McCartney]
