What does Acts 18:26 mean?
When Paul left Corinth for Ephesus, he brought his new friends Priscilla and Aquila along. They stayed in Ephesus while Paul continued his return trip to Jerusalem and Syrian Antioch. While going to synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila hear the teaching of Apollos, a Jewish man from Alexandria. He is passionate about Jesus and boldly shares John the Baptist's baptism of repentance. But he has limited information about Jesus (Acts 18:19–25).The text doesn't explain what Apollos doesn't know. Alexandrians did know about the crucifixion and resurrection, and some brought Jesus' offer of salvation to Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:20). Likely, Apollos knew everything John the Baptist taught, including that Jesus is the Messiah (John 1:23, 29–34), but he hadn't experienced the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16).
Once Apollos fully understands, he's unstoppable. He goes to Corinth and continues Paul's work of showing how Jesus matches the description of the Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Acts 18:27–28). He makes such an impression, some of the Corinthian believers break into factions, some claiming to follow Paul and some Apollos. It gets so bad Paul is led to remind the Corinthian church that Jesus is their Savior, not these mortal teachers (1 Corinthians 1:12–13).
The story of Apollos is one of humility. We don't know why Priscilla's name is often mentioned before her husband's, but clearly, Apollos willingly takes correction from a woman. When Paul speaks of Apollos's work in Corinth, he does so without jealousy. He says, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:6). Because the early evangelists work as a team, the message of Jesus spreads rapidly throughout the Roman Empire, just as Jesus had planned (Acts 1:8).
Acts 18:24–28 records a short interlude featuring Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. Priscilla and Aquila became fast friends with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1–3). When Paul left Corinth, he brought the couple along and stationed them in Ephesus. Apollos is a Jewish teacher from Alexandria who preaches the baptism of repentance that John the Baptist taught (Mark 1:2–8). Apollos knows some about Jesus, but after Priscilla and Aquila explain how He is the Messiah who offers salvation, Apollos becomes a powerful evangelist and continues Paul's work in Corinth.
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.