Missing One Ingredient

Acts 18:24-28

Paul had been accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila as far as Ephesus on his journey to Jerusalem. While he went on to Jerusalem, and then to visit the other churches, they remained in Ephesus, plying their trade as tent makers.

“And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.” (Acts 18:24)

Because of resettlement programs and persecution as far back as the Assyrian occupation of Israel over six hundred years before, colonies of Jews had developed in many other countries and cities. Some of the Jews in these colonies were very devout Jews, regularly going to Jerusalem to worship and study. Apollos was from the colony in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a good public speaker, but he had also spent a great deal of effort learning what the scriptures taught. It appears that he was concerned about the deterioration of Jewish practices in the colonies.

“This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.” (Acts 18:25)

John the Baptist had preached, between 20 and 25 years before that the Jews needed to repent of their sin and begin to truly worship God instead of just performing the rituals. He preached that they should be baptized as a sign of their repentance, and refused to baptize those who he suspected of merely putting on a show until they demonstrated a repentant heart.

One morning while my parents were away, I fixed biscuits and gravy for my siblings. The biscuits were hard as a rock. I forgot to put in the baking powder, and they didn’t raise. That missing ingredient completely changed the results.

While Apollos had been thoroughly taught in the Old Testament, and in John’s teachings and was very sincere in his belief, he knew little about Jesus or his teachings. He was carrying John’s message to the various colonies, but he was missing a very important ingredient.

“And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” (Acts 18:26)

One of the things John had focused on was that the Messiah would be coming shortly and that the Jews following him were to prepare for Messiah’s coming. Unfortunately, whoever taught Apollos had not known or informed him of John’s announcing Jesus as the Messiah. Recognizing that Apollos was sincere, and sincerely trying to teach the people, but that he lacked some information, Aquila and Priscilla taught him the rest of what they had learned from Paul, so his message could be complete.

I had had music classes periodically throughout my schooling, but really didn’t understand how to use the things I knew. While I could count out timing to lead singing and get people to sing, I knew my singing was not good. A lady came to our church and offered to teach anyone who was interested a very simple method for playing the piano. I took the class, partly because I was hoping it would encourage others. She explained that she had always played by ear, and gone to college on a music scholarship. The longer she listened to the professors, the more confused she became, and almost dropped out as a result.

Finally she set down and began to experiment with what they were teaching her. In the process, she realized that the she had been doing what they were trying to say all along, but she was confused by their explanations. As a result, she realized that many times the problem many people had in learning music was that they were given a lot of relatively minor information and did not receive the most essential teachings. Her class focused on learning the essential information and putting it to practice then adding as skill developed. As I learned those basics, many of the more advanced things I had learned over the years suddenly became clear, and I learned very fast. Apollos probably had a some what similar experience, as Aquila and Priscilla filled in the gaps in his knowledge. It was immediately apparent that this was what he’d lacked.

Cornelius had been used by to Holy Spirit to draw many together to hear the Gospel even though he wasn’t save himself. Apollos was used of the Holy Spirit to prepare others to receive Christ. Neither was saved when they started. Many have made the mistake of assuming that people are saved because they bring others to the gospel failing to realize God can use both saved and unsaved people. Paul refers to this in I Corinthians 9:27, saying, “lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Both Cornelius and Apollos accepted Christ when they understood who he was.

“And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.” (Acts 18:27-28)

Because of her experience in college, the lady who taught me to play piano was able to show me the things I had not gotten and thus teach me more effectively. Because of Apollos’ experience, he was aware of things the Jews had not learned and was able to reach them more effectively than Paul was. Where they failed to receive Paul’s teaching, they readily understood and accepted Apollos’.

What if he’d refused to listen because Priscilla and Aquila had no special education or reputation? They were just ordinary Christians, working full time at a normal trade. As I study the book of Acts, I am constantly troubled by our modern substitution of education and position for spiritual leadership. As I Corinthians 1 tells us, God has not chosen those with great education or power to spread his gospel. While Paul and Apollos were highly educated, Peter and John were not according to Acts 4:13. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” I fear our faith is too often based on human wisdom rather than the power of God. In effect, we left out the baking powder, and the results aren’t very satisfactory.