What does Acts 18:20 mean?
Paul doesn't usually stay very long in any given town, but it seems he is in Ephesus for only a day. He is on his way back to Syrian Antioch after trekking through modern-day Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Athens, before staying in Corinth for eighteen months. When he reaches Ephesus, he has just enough time for a quick stop at the synagogue to explain that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah.After Paul visits Jerusalem and goes home to Syrian Antioch (Acts 18:22), he will return to Ephesus and stay for three years (Acts 20:31). Though many of the Jews do reject his message and drive him from the synagogue, they don't harass him after he leaves. Instead, Paul is threatened by the silversmiths. The Gentiles so thirst for Jesus' offer of forgiveness and reconciliation with God that they abandon their worship of Artemis and burn valuable magic books. In response, the silversmiths, who make a living selling idols, start a riot and threaten Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions (Acts 19).
For now, Paul will board a ship and continue his voyage home. Ephesus is near the west coast of Asia, the western-most province in Asia Minor. Paul leaves Priscilla and Aquila there and sails to Caesarea Maritima on the Judaean coast. From there, he visits the church in Jerusalem, possibly so he can complete a vow (Acts 18:18), but perhaps for Passover. After an extended stay in Syrian Antioch, Paul will go north again for his third missionary trip (Acts 18:22–23).
Acts 18:18–21 starts with a short account of Paul's final days in Corinth. He works there, where he met Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:2–3), for eighteen months (Acts 18:11) before taking the couple with him to Ephesus. He apparently spends only one day in the synagogue before sailing to Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Judea. He stops briefly in Jerusalem before returning home to Syrian Antioch, then travels north and west again into modern-day Turkey. Meanwhile, Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos in Ephesus and teach him the truth about Jesus, thus equipping another powerful witness for the church (Acts 18:24–28).
Acts 18 recounts the end of Paul's second missionary journey. He leaves Athens for Corinth, in southern Greece, and works with Priscilla and Aquila as a tentmaker until Silas and Timothy rejoin him. The team stays eighteen months with no significant pressure. Eventually, Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila sail east to Ephesus. Paul leaves a short time later for Judea and Syrian Antioch before returning to Galatia for his third missionary journey. Meanwhile, Priscilla and Aquilla host the church in Ephesus and train a talented speaker named Apollos to be a minister of Christ.
