-
Apollos—An Eloquent Proclaimer of Christian TruthThe Watchtower—1996 | October 1
-
-
“Well Versed in the Scriptures”
In about the year 52 C.E., according to the Bible writer Luke, “a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent man, arrived in Ephesus; and he was well versed in the Scriptures. This man had been orally instructed in the way of Jehovah and, as he was aglow with the spirit, he went speaking and teaching with correctness the things about Jesus, but being acquainted with only the baptism of John. And this man started to speak boldly in the synagogue.”—Acts 18:24-26.
Alexandria, Egypt, was the second-largest city in the world after Rome and was one of the most important cultural centers of the time both for Jews and for Greeks. Likely, Apollos acquired his sound knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures and a certain eloquence as a result of an education in the large Jewish community of that city. Where Apollos had learned of Jesus is more difficult to surmise. “He was evidently a traveller—perhaps an itinerant merchant,” suggests scholar F. F. Bruce, “and he could have met Christian preachers in any one of a number of places which he visited.” In any case, even though he spoke and taught with correctness about Jesus, it seems that he had been witnessed to prior to Pentecost of 33 C.E., since he was “acquainted with only the baptism of John.”
As the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist had given a powerful witness to the whole Israelite nation, and many were baptized at his hands as a symbol of repentance. (Mark 1:5; Luke 3:15, 16) According to a number of historians, among the Jewish population of the Roman Empire, many people’s knowledge of Jesus was limited to what had been preached on the banks of the Jordan. “Their Christianity was at the same point at which it had stood at the commencement of our Lord’s ministry,” say W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson. “They were ignorant of the full meaning of the death of Christ; possibly they did not even know the fact of His resurrection.” It seems that Apollos was also ignorant of the outpouring of holy spirit at Pentecost 33 C.E. Nevertheless, he had acquired some correct information about Jesus, and he did not keep it to himself. In fact, he boldly sought opportunities to speak of what he knew. However, his zeal and enthusiasm were not yet according to accurate knowledge.
-
-
Apollos—An Eloquent Proclaimer of Christian TruthThe Watchtower—1996 | October 1
-
-
Luke’s account continues: “When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him into their company and expounded the way of God more correctly to him.” (Acts 18:26) Aquila and Priscilla must have recognized that Apollos’ faith had much in common with their own, but wisely they did not attempt to correct his incomplete understanding in public. We can perhaps imagine that they had a number of personal conversations with Apollos, with the aim of helping him. How did Apollos, a man “powerful . . . in the Scriptures,” react? (Acts 18:24, Kingdom Interlinear) In all probability, Apollos had been preaching his incomplete message in public for some time before meeting Aquila and Priscilla. A proud person could quite easily have refused to accept any correction, but Apollos was humble and grateful to be able to complete his knowledge.
-