“After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. ”
Acts 18:1-3

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MARCH 25, 2025

In A.D. 49, the Roman emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from the city of Rome. He did this because the Jews were protesting and rioting, instigated by “Chrestos,” believed to be a mispronunciation of Christos (Christ). At that time, Christianity was a subsect of Judaism. To Claudius, the Jews were fighting amongst themselves.

Pricilla and Aquila were among the Christians expelled from Rome. They were strong believers in Christ and perhaps among the leaders of the church in Rome, a church started not by Paul or any of the disciples, but by those who had heard the gospel as it spread throughout the empire.

It is possible they were among the believers filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Jerusalem, and they took their faith with them back to Rome. Paul even writes that when Apollos, someone with “a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures” and who “taught about Jesus accurately” visited them, it was Pricilla and Aquila who, “explained to him the way of God more adequately.” (Acts 18:24-26).

Paul likely met Pricilla and Aquila in the synagogue in Corinth. Paul went first to the synagogue in every city he visited. In the synagogue, it was customary for the Jews to sit together by occupation. Paul, being a tentmaker, may have sat with other tentmakers and in Corinth, perhaps Pricilla and Aquila were among the first to greet Paul.

This was the beginning of a life-long friendship. They would work together in their trade, eat together, pray together, and witness together. When Paul left Corinth, Pricilla and Aquila went with him.

In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest and his friend Bubba were in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. They walked in the rain for several days and everything around them was wet and muddy. When they stopped to rest for the night, Bubba said to Forrest, “I’m gonna lean up against you, and you lean right back up against me. That way we don’t have to sleep with our heads in the mud.”

This was the kind of friendship Pricilla and Aquila had with Paul. They were fellow workers who held each other up amongst the “mud” of religious hostility and cultural decadence.

Paul would call them “my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.” (Romans 16:3-4).

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Who are your life-long friends and what do you have in common?
  • When have you been in a strange place only to find others who shared your faith?
  • How important is the support of friends when going to a dangerous or “dark” place?

 

Church Reading Plan: Exodus 36; John 15