18:24 Now a certain Jew
named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the
Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the
Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of
the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak
boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him
aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he
desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to
receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed
through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the
Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Fascinating. Apollos shows up in Ephesus (where Paul left
Priscilla and Aquila) seemingly out of nowhere. He was from Alexandria, a Greek
city in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great. His name ironically means 'the
destroyer'. Why he had become a travelling preacher we don't know. How he ended
up in Ephesus at the same time as Priscilla and Aquila seems to be a
coincidence only God could arrange. He was a talented preacher but as yet
didn't have the message. Far removed from Judah he had not yet heard or at
least not yet understood that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. God took his
talents, introduced him to "the rest of the Story" through Priscilla
and Aquila and suddenly the cause of Christ had a new and very capable voice.
Now Apollos was fitted and ready to destroy the myth that the Jews needed to
keep looking and waiting for their Messiah. He had already come.
What are we to take from this whirlwind arrival of Apollos in
Ephesus? How does it apply to our time? The most striking thing I notice is
that Paul was not even there. You see when Acts began the main characters were
the disciples leas by Peter. Then they sort of took a back seat and Saul the
killer of Christians emerged as the new gospel champion. Now Paul is travelling
elsewhere on his way to Jerusalem and a new preacher of the cross emerges. He
is not even mentored by Paul. Rather he gets his training from Jewish tent
makers from Corinth that at one time Paul almost wrote off simply because they
were Jewish.
Do you see the point? We are not the central figures or the
heroes in the Story. As Jesus said when riding into Jerusalem on a colt
"If they stop the rocks will cry out."
God does not need me to preach. He doesn't "need"
any of us. He has a thousand ways to get things done that we don't know
anything about. Apollos came out of nowhere. Paul was the greatest enemy of
Christ. The great reformer Martin Luther was a Catholic priest. God will never
be stuck without people to share the truth. Being a part of His team is not a
favour to Him. It's a privilege for us. We may be great orators like Apollos or
humble tent makers like Priscilla and Aquila. We may have a dark shameful past
like Paul. Whoever we are and wherever we are from God is willing to grant us
the privilege of being on His team, not because He needs us but because He
wants us.
Never think a man is the hero. God is the Hero.
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