After Paul left Athens - the intellectual capital of Greece, he travelled east to Corinth - the trading capital of Achaia province, in the south of Greece. We do not know how he travelled; either some 60 miles overland or by sea. His ministry team of Silas and Timothy were still in Berea on the west coast of Greece (Acts 17:14-15), so he went to the Corinthian marketplace.
Paul came to Corinth as a tent-maker. Working in the market and living above the shop with Priscilla and Aquila, also tent-makers, Paul learned the dynamics of the city - very different from the university mentality of Athens (Acts 18:1-3). Corinth was an international trading hub, lying in the isthmus between the southern port of Cenchea on the Aegean Sea, and northern Lechaion on the Adriatic Sea.
Paul's missionary journeys were punctuated by violence. His preaching about Jesus so angered Jews and Gentiles that his missions in most cities were halted; he was threatened, beaten, imprisoned and stoned. However, God's Word brought people to repentance; they received Christ and churches were formed.
The Lord had promised that He would keep Paul safe in Corinth (Acts 18:9-11): this was not one of those cities where a short mission, ending in violence against the Apostle, would establish a church. God had many people to reach in the city and most would come with religious and cultural baggage. That was why Paul needed to stay a long time there; to disciple the new believers so that their faith would be securely founded on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Paul's second missionary journey from Antioch to Corinth via Troas and Athens took about three years. About half of that time he was in Corinth establishing the church there (Acts 18:11), and writing two letters to the Thessalonian church. But the time came when he knew that it was time to go. It was time to let the churches in Jerusalem and Antioch (the centre for world mission at that time) know how the gospel had been received, despite opposition, in many other cities.
God has His way of moving people: the right people into the right place at the right time. Only He knows the end from the beginning; so He is the only One who can position His servants strategically – to proclaim the gospel and build up the church to serve Him. Paul had been away from Antioch in Syria (the mission base for the church) for about three years, on his second missionary journey, through what is now Turkey and Greece.
Apollos was a devout Jew from Alexandria in Egypt. The Lord had opened his heart to believe in Jesus: how that happened or who was involved in leading him to Christ, we do not know. But we do know that he was willing to travel all the way across the Mediterranean Sea to Ephesus in order to share this good news.
The Lord had moved Apollos from Egypt to Ephesus, before Paul started his missionary journey from Antioch to Ephesus. By the time Paul arrived, the Lord had moved Apollos on to Corinth and we assume that Priscilla and Aquila may have moved back to Rome (Acts 18:2) as there is no further mention of them in Ephesus (Romans 16:3).
Paul knew that people would only be saved if they understood the gospel message (Romans 10:14). So his time in Ephesus was focussed on ensuring that as many people as possible heard the good news about Jesus, God the Son, the Saviour of the world. As a Jewish teacher, he would always go first to the synagogue. They honoured the Scriptures which spoke prophetically of Jesus; so there was a natural starting point for the gospel, for those who wanted to listen and understand.
Paul's miracles in Ephesus were extraordinary. The English word 'extra-ordinary' sums up the meaning of the original, and is important. These 'works of power' were not routine or a normal part of ministry, but were the Lord's way of communicating to the people of Ephesus, at that time, that Paul was an apostle who had the personal authorisation of Jesus; and that Jesus has power over everything (John 13:3).
