What does Acts 18:8 mean?
The synagogue in Corinth has heard enough from Paul. He's likely had several weeks–or months—to explain to them how Jesus is the Messiah they've been waiting for—how Jesus' life is spelled out in the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. His message is too much for them. They oppose and revile him, and he responds by relieving himself of responsibility for them (Acts 18:6).Fortunately, some do believe him. First, Stephanas and his family (1 Corinthians 16:15). The Gentile God-fearer Titius Justus not only believes, he offers his home, next door to the synagogue, as an alternate meeting place. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, follows.
"Believed in the Lord" means that Crispus believes that Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth as a human and died to cover his sin. Crispus believes that Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepts Jesus' sacrifice, and that it is Jesus' work, not his own, that will reconcile him to God.
Crispus' story provides a testimony against household salvation: the belief that if the head of a household is saved, the rest of the family automatically are, or, that if parents are saved, their children are automatically saved, as well. When Paul and Silas explain the gospel to the jailor in Philippi, casual reading of the passage suggests if he believes his household will be saved (Acts 16:31). There are other passages where the head of the house believes in Christ and the whole family is baptized (Acts 16:15). Here shows that Crispus and his family members believe. Baptism isn't even mentioned, although, later, Paul will remind the Corinthian church that Crispus is one of the few people Paul baptized (1 Corinthians 1:14).
Acts 18:5–11 describes Paul in Corinth, making tents with Priscilla and Aquila. He is waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive from Macedonia (Acts 18:1–3). Once they come, Paul can spend more time teaching about Jesus. As usual, the synagogue eventually rejects him, and he moves to the home of a Gentile God-fearer to continue his work. Despite the harassment of the unbelieving Jews, Jesus gives Paul a message that he is to stay in Corinth, which he does for eighteen months. Even when the Jews bring him to court, the proconsul will reject their charges as irrelevant religious squabbles (Acts 18:12–17).
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.
