Acts 18:23-19:7 And he departed there, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God… Most of us like to come suddenly upon the record of a famous man in the Scriptures. Apollos comes quite abruptly on the stage of action, like Elijah, unannounced and unattended; but in the end it is evident he proves to be one of the master spirits of the age. I. HIS QUALIFICATIONS AS A RELIGIOUS TEACHER WERE BY NO MEANS SLIGHT. 1. He was "mighty in the Scriptures." He could take prophecy, psalm, history, and the ritual, and make the Jewish congregations feel that the great longing of the world for four thousand years had at last found its answer in the advent of Jesus as the Christ. Some modern scholars declare he wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. So here is our lesson: One who is only partly instructed can do much in bringing souls to Christ. Let him tell what he knows. Truth augments its volume and increases its value by extensive distribution. 2. He was "an eloquent man." It is a prodigious and priceless gift, that of being able to wield language with skill and success. Tact in teaching is worth d hundred libraries to a Christian worker. The usefulness of any young Christian will depend not upon the many things about which he is ignorant, but upon the vigorous few things he is sure of. Talent is extirpated by disuse. He that hears ought to say, Come. 3. He was "fervent," boiling "in spirit." A modern scholar talks about "a dry light, in which subjects are viewed, without any predilection, or passion, or emotion, simply as they exist." Most likely Apollos did not know what such a thing was. Some so-called great preachers erect their themes as if they desired them to stand like feudal castles in moonlight, with every tower and turret drawn sharply outlined against the cold sky. We do not believe that Apollos had anything of that sort of artistic finish. Things were real to his fervent soul, not just picturesque and pretty. Intellectual deficiency can best be atoned for by a great warmth of heart for Jesus the Master. Let the young Christian cling to the two or three things he positively knows; and let him press them with love and tears; and God will give him his answer. 4. He was industrious. He "spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord." Yet his list of themes was very scant. John the Baptist told him only two things: Christ was coming and sinners must repent. But that lasted this young man awhile. If one is all afire for work, and is satisfied with his Bible, he only wants two subjects to talk about: "repentance" and "Jesus Christ." Then let him go and look up Aquila and Priscilla, and get experience. II. HOW WAS IT THAT THIS TEACHER WENT TO BE TAUGHT AND CAME BACK A WISER AND BETTER MAN? 1. Aquila and his wife spent the time in "expounding," not in expostulating. There was untold force in Apollos. He was like a mountain torrent — a magnificent water power needing only a flume and a fresh sort of wheel. These friends did not "take him down"; they "took him unto them." They did not carp nor criticise nor discourage him; they did not talk about his "way;" but about "the way of God." 2. It is better for young people to take help gracefully. Aquila and Priscilla dared a good deal when they took him up. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. |
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