A Holy Haircut before Hitting the Road
As Paul wraps up his stay in Corinth and begins making his way back to Antioch, we see a man completely devoted to serving Jesus. He was absolutely focused. He was on mission. Whether it's his holy haircut in Cenchreae or his insistence on reasoning in the synagogue or his acknowledgement that God is in charge of his itinerary, the apostle put his own wants and needs aside in order to fulfill his divine assignment.
We pick up the story in Corinth. Luke tells us, "Paul stayed may days longer" (v18). He has been in the city a year and a half (Acts 18:11). It's been quite an eventful stay. He met a couple of great new friends in Aquila and his wife Priscilla (Acts 18:2). He preached numerous times in the local synagogue proclaiming that Jesus is Messiah (Acts 18:3). This led to the a pair of strong reactions. First, several key Jewish leaders believed in Jesus (Acts 18:8). Second, a significant number of Jews opposed Paul so he moved his operation next door (Acts 18:6-7). Jesus appears to His apostle in a dream to encourage him to stay (Acts 18:9-11). The Lord's encouragement is no doubt important when the Jews drag Paul into court (Acts 18:12-13). But the local proconsul dismisses the charges (Acts 18:14-15).
There's one other thing that Luke doesn't mention. While Paul was in Corinth for these 18 months, he wrote a pair of letters to the church in Thessalonica. In three weeks, he had just gotten his ministry to the Thessalonians off the ground when jealous Jews formed a mob to shut him up (Acts 17:2-5). The Thessalonian church smuggled the apostle out of the city one night (Acts 17:10). Once in Corinth, he wrote two epistles of encouragement and instruction to them.
It was time for Paul to begin his journey back to Antioch in Syria. Priscilla and Aquila would make part of the trip with him. The three head for the port city of Cenchreae. Just 6.5 miles away, it served as Corinth's gateway to western oceans. From here, ships would have easy access to keys places such as Athens, Ephesus and Crete.
In Cenchreae, Paul got a haircut. But this wasn't just any haircut. He didn't just swing by Super Cuts or Sport Clips for a quick trim before the trip. This was a holy haircut. Paul had taken a Nazirite vow (Num 6:2-5, 13-21). He had dedicated himself to special season of service to the Lord. There are a handful folks in Scripture who were actually Nazirites for life: Samson (Jg 13:5), Samuel (1Sam 1:11) and John the Baptizer (Lk 1:15). But the apostle's holy haircut in Cenchreae tells us that his vow was for a season of ministry, most likely this second missionary journey.
We don't know much else about Cenchreae from the Bible except for a tidbit Paul writes in his letter to the Romans. He encourages Roman believers to open their homes to "Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae" (Rom 16:1-2). Paul describes how she has been a great help to a number of people, including himself. Paul probably planted this Cenchrean church during his year-and-a-half stay in nearby Corinth.
Paul, Aquila and Priscilla land in Asia at the city of Ephesus. This is THE most significant city in the region. He had tried to get to Ephesus earlier in his trip, but Jesus Himself prevented it (Acts 16:6-7), sending him to Europe. Ephesus will play a major role in Paul's later ministry. He will make a three-year stay there on his next trip (Acts 20:31). And he will write the church a key letter after that.
But this trip to Ephesus is short. Paul does take the time to swing by the local synagogue where he "reasoned with the Jews" (v19). The Greek verb here is dialegomai. It's where we get our English word dialogue. It means to ponder a new idea, to discuss it and talk it over. Despite being the God appointed apostle to the Gentiles, Paul still made a point of dropping into the local Jewish congregations and explaining how Jesus is their long-awaited Messiah. He does this in every city that has large enough Jewish population to have a synagogue.
The Ephesian Jews receive this amazing news with great enthusiasm. They beg Paul to hang with them "for a longer period of time" (v20). This is quite a different reaction that he's received after preaching to local Jews. But the apostle feels the need to get back to Antioch and politely declines their invitation to stay.
Meanwhile, Priscilla and Aquila stay in Ephesus. They set up shop here and eventually host a church in their home (1Cor 16:19). At some point, the couple moves back to Rome (Rom 16:3).
Paul pledges to return to visit his new Ephesian friends on one condition, "I will return to you if God wills" (v21). The apostle understood that his itinerary and his life were not his own (1Cor 6:19-20). He belonged to Jesus. He absolutely submitted his life to whatever His Lord had for him. And with that, the apostle "set sail from Ephesus."
The apostle is a picture of complete and utter devotion to Jesus. He is willing to go anywhere, do anything for Christ. Paul has taken a vow of dedication (v18). He never strays from the Lord's assignment, continually telling everyone about the Good News, including the Jews of Ephesus (v19). And he acknowledges God's sovereign control of his schedule when leaving for home (v20).
Am I willing to go for God like Paul? Only when I completely submit my life to Jesus and let Him fill me with His Spirit can this happen. Can I do it? Not on my own. But IN CHRIST, I can!
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