Focal Passage: Acts 18:24-28
Each of us has our own story of how we came to follow Jesus.
My own story goes like this: raised in church, early profession of faith, some
years of spiritual lethargy, and then a time of inner spiritual revival.
What made a huge difference for me was reading and getting
into the Bible.
It became a passion, and it still is. But, it wasn’t a solo
journey. Whoever originally said “there are no lone ranger Christians” was
absolutely right.
I had a support system which consisted of some peers and
some wiser, more experienced adults.
Every day I am thankful for those lay men and women and
those pastors who invested in my life.
My life story is not so radically different from that of
Apollos, the man who is featured in this lesson.
Apollos was from Alexandria,
Egypt. He was a Jew in a
city of about 100,000 Jews. Apollos also grew up with educational opportunity.
Alexandria was
home to the largest library of its time, so it is reasonable to expect that
Apollos would have made the most of his opportunity to read the writings of
many great philosophers and thinkers.
But at some point in his life, Apollos decided to become a
Christian. We’re told that he knew something of the baptism teaching of John
(the Baptist), but lacked a full understanding of Jesus’ ministry and the
working of the Holy Spirit. We’re also told that Apollos was an excellent
speaker. He “knew his Bible.”
I expect he had excelled at scripture memorization, public
speaking, and debate in school.
He was formidable in the pulpit.
Furthermore, he was bold in his conversation and witnessing
to his people, the Jews. He did not shy away from confrontation, whether in
private or public.
At the time we meet Apollos he was in Ephesus,
probably taking care of some business matters.
While speaking in the synagogue, he was fortunate to be
heard by Priscilla and Aquila. They were impressed, but
they also saw a young man who could be far more effective if he was tutored or
mentored properly.
Expediently, they talked to Apollos and made him an offer,
saying something like this: “Let us help you. We can teach you things that Paul
has taught us. We can tell you things about Jesus that you have not had the
opportunity to know. We can teach you, and with our help, you can be even more
effective as a Christian teacher and leader.”
Apollos said “yes,” and years later he would become one of
the trusted leaders of the Corinthian church.