What does Acts 18:22 mean?
Having completed his second missionary voyage, Paul is home. He set sail from Ephesus, on the western coast of modern-day Turkey, and lands in Caesarea Maritima, the major port of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean where the Romans rule over Samaria and Judea.The text says he goes "up" to greet the church. This doesn't refer to the church in Caesarea but in Jerusalem; Jerusalem is about 2,600 feet in elevation and Caesarea is at sea level. The "church" is the original church, started by the disciples on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on 3,000 people (Acts 2), and pastored by James, the half-brother of Jesus (Galatians 2:9).
The text doesn't say why Paul goes to Jerusalem. He may need to complete the requirements for a Nazirite vow (Acts 18:18) which includes sacrificing at the temple (Numbers 6:13–20). Although Paul relies on Jesus for salvation, he has no problem participating in Jewish rituals (Acts 21:23–26). Another possibility is that he wants to be there for the Passover. Or, he could be reporting how he planted churches in Macedonia and Greece and getting any new instruction the apostles may have for him (Acts 15:2; Galatians 2:1–2).
When Paul leaves Jerusalem, he will return to Syrian Antioch in the far northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. After an extended visit, he will set out for his third missionary journey, visiting the same places as the second. This time, however, when he returns to Jerusalem, he will be arrested and imprisoned (Acts 19—28)—but he will finally reach Rome where he has been longing to go for years (Romans 1:11–15).
Acts 18:22–23 quickly records the hiatus after Paul's second journey and the beginning of his third. He sails from Ephesus to Caesarea Maritima and travels to Jerusalem, then his home base of Syrian Antioch. After an extended stay, he returns to the churches he and Barnabas had planted in the district of Galatia in modern-day Turkey. Next, he will go to Ephesus for three years before revisiting the churches in Macedonia and Greece. After very short stops in Troas and Miletus, Paul will go back to Jerusalem. An altercation at the temple will lead to his arrest and eventual voyage to Rome for trial (Acts 19—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.
