Sensing our group needed to get our ancient warfare fix, our guide took us by the site of the Battle of Salamis of 480 BC—the largest naval battle of the ancient world, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes. (Linkage to the Bible: Queen Esther was the Jewish heroine who replaced Vashti as Xerxes’ queen and famously saved her people from a planned genocide in the Persian Empire.) The Battle of Salamis resulted in a victory for the outnumbered Greeks and marked a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian Wars. One hundred years later, Alexander the Great used the concept of revenge against Persia—specifically for the destruction wrought by Xerxes in 480 BC, which included the Battle of Salamis and the burning of Athens—as primary justification for his massive campaign.
Our first actual stop of the day was the Corinth Canal, the 4-mile long, 80.7-foot wide canal connecting the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese peninsula from the Greek mainland. After looking straight down into the canal from the bridge, I didn’t know whether to high-give or ground my sons for bungee jumping into this abyss while studying abroad years ago. I would eat eggplant before I would do something so crazy.
Next, we paused for pictures at Diolkos, a paved trackway near Corinth which enabled boats to be moved overland across the Isthmus of Corinth, prior to the building of the canal. The shortcut enabled boats to avoid the long and dangerous circumnavigation of the Peloponnese peninsula.
We then arrived at our main destination for the day, Ancient Corinth, where the Apostle Paul lived and established a thriving church. It is widely believed that he wrote at least three epistles from Corinth (Romans and 1 & 2 Thessalonians) and also wrote at least four letters to the church at Corinth. The timing of this visit couldn’t have been better as we’ve been involved in two Bible studies this year focused on Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth.
Ancient Corinth is a fascinating site archaeologically, geographically, and biblically. It’s home to the legendary Jason of the Argonauts, stealer of the Golden Fleece, and was once walked by Pausanias, the 2nd-Centry AD Greek traveler and geographer. More importantly, the Apostle Paul taught the gospel here.
Let’s jump right into the text, Acts 18:1-3 – “After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.”
In Paul’s day, Corinth was already an ancient city standing at an important crossroads of trade and travel, a la Miami or Los Angeles. It was a commercial center with two harbors and had long been a rival to its northern neighbor, Athens. It was a city with a notorious reputation for loose living and especially sexual immorality and hedonism. In classical Greek, to act like a Corinthian meant to practice fornication, and a Corinthian companion meant a prostitute. This sexual immorality was permitted under the widely popular worship of Aphrodite (also known as Venus, the goddess of fertility and sexuality).
In 146 B.C. Corinth rebelled against Rome and was brutally destroyed by Roman armies. It lay in ruins for a century, until Julius Caesar rebuilt the city. It quickly re-established its former position as a center for both trade and immorality of every sort.
Paul knew that because people from all over the Empire passed through Corinth, a strong church there could touch lives all over the Empire. He knew Corinth was a tough city, but he wasn’t only interested in planting churches where he thought it was easy. It is implied, though not clearly stated, that Aquila and Priscilla were at this time Christians. But it is possible that Paul led them both to Jesus as they worked together as tentmakers (those who worked with leather).
This began one of the important friendships of the New Testament – Paul and Aquila and his wife Priscilla. Paul called them his fellow workers who had risked their own necks for my life (Romans 16:3-4). Paul’s tentmaking was an important part of his ministry. Though he recognized his right to be supported by those he ministered to (1 Corinthians 9:7-14), he voluntarily supported himself in his missionary and preaching work so that no one could accuse him of seeking converts for the sake of enriching himself (1 Corinthians 9:15-18). In modern missions, people call any work that a missionary does to support himself on the mission field tentmaking. In Judaism it was not considered proper for a scribe or a rabbi to receive payment for his teaching, so many of them practiced a trade in addition to their study and teaching of the law.
Acts 18:4-6 – “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.”
Paul was effective as he reasoned (discussed, debated) among the Jews and Greeks. The Greeks present in the synagogue were Gentiles interested in and sympathetic with Judaism. Paul later described the character of his bold preaching in Corinth: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-16).
When Timothy came, he brought news about how the Christians in Thessalonica were remaining steadfast in the faith (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10). This brought Paul great joy, spurring him on in ministry (Paul was compelled by the Spirit). He answered back by writing 1 Thessalonians from Corinth. According to 2 Corinthians 11:8-9, while Paul was in Corinth, financial support arrived from the Christians in Philippi, and he was able to put aside tentmaking for a while and concentrate more fully on the task of building the church in Corinth.
Acts 18:6-8 – “And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’ And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
Paul strongly sensed his responsibility to preach to the Jews first (Romans 1:16), but when his message was rejected, he wasted no time in going to the Gentiles. (Cf. Matthew 7:6) When people are determined to reject the gospel, we shouldn’t keep trying with them until the door is open again. Even though Paul shifted his focus to Gentiles, he didn’t give up on the Jews, as evidenced by his outreach to Crispus.
Acts 18:9-11 – “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.’ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
The implication behind this message was that Paul was afraid, fearing that here in Corinth his work would be cut short by either opposing Jews (as in Thessalonica and Berea) or by the highly-charged worldliness around him. There had been culture shock in Athens, and now Paul experienced moral shock in Corinth. The solution to his fear was to obey Jesus’ command to not be afraid and to keep on preaching the Word! Paul’s 18-month stay in Corinth shows his heart was in ministry. He was no “in and out” evangelist, but a man committed to making disciples.
Acts 18:12-17 – “But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, ‘This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.’ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.’ And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.”
In approaching Gallio, the Jews of Corinth tried to stop Paul’s preaching work in the entire province. If Gallio had accepted the Jewish charge and found Paul guilty of the alleged offense, provincial governors everywhere would have had a precedent, and Paul’s ministry would have been severely restricted. As it was, Gallio’s refusal to act in the matter was tantamount to the recognition of Christianity as a religio licita (approved/permitted religion). His ruling helped determine how the rest of New Testament history played out.
Acts 18:18 – “After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. “
Unlike previous cities, Paul wasn’t forced out of Corinth. He stayed there a good while, fulfilling the promise Jesus made to him in Acts 18:9-10.
As we gathered under a shade tree at Corinth, Mike Justus shared some devotional thoughts. He began by calling our attention to “The Last Lecture”. When a professor is leaving or retiring from Carnegie Mellon University, they are encouraged to give a “last lecture”—to think deeply about what matters most to them, and then give a hypothetical “final talk”, i.e., “What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?” One such professor, Randy Pausch, gave his last lecture, wrote a book about it, and then died of pancreatic cancer. It was truly his last lecture.
Mike contemplated the Apostle Paul giving his “last lecture” to the people of Corinth and by extension to us. What would he say? What themes would he emphasize? He might tell them about the persecuted life he had endured. Despite that, he was content that God had given him everything he needed and would continue to do so. He might share that he is concerned about the church at Corinth (and the congregation you’re a part of). Paul might remind them that time is running out—we’re all on the clock. Perhaps he’d reaffirm that they have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus. He might tell them to be aware—on guard—and to aim for perfection. Perhaps Paul would ask them (and us) to remember who they are and whose they are. There’s no telling what Paul might say to us in a last lecture—there are so many important spiritual themes he had emphasized throughout his ministry. I’m confident he would tell us, one final time, to fight the good fight, keep the faith, and finish the race.
We followed in his footsteps by visiting the Temple of Apollo (5th Century BC), the Peribolos of Apollo, the huge agora (a market bounded on its southern side by the foundations of an enormous 71-column stoa (long colonnaded building)), and the ancient theater. The highlight for me was standing with our group atop the bema (also called the “tribunal” or “judicial bench”)—the elevated platform on which a judge would sit as the people brought their cases before him while standing in the plaza below. This is one of the few specific places where we can say that a certain biblical event took place. This place of judgment is where Paul was brought before Gallio, as discussed above.
After walking the grounds, we toured the site’s excellent, must-see museum. It has main rooms that contain finds from the area (including their prized pieces, two kouros statues that were stolen and retrieved). Two other rooms exhibit fine Greek and Roman statues, mosaics, figurines, and reliefs.
Opposite the site entrance is the fairly ruinous ancient theater, constructed in the 5th century BC for up to 15,000 spectators, and the Roman odeion (indoor theater), from the 1st century AD.
As Janet and I approached the bus, we spotted Dr. McLarty descending a really long flight of stone steps to a level of ruins below the parking lot. I knew this meant he either got lost trying to find the WC or was on to something archaeologically significant. Since he was part of a cadre of people who kept my sons relatively in line during their time at Harding University, I felt obliged to follow him. If his plan was to hike to the nearest Grecian gelato vendor, I wanted in.
Instead, he led us to THE Erastus Stone! Are you kidding me! I’ve talked about this stone in various Christian Evidence courses I’ve taught, mostly to high school students, and now I was standing in front of it! The Erastus Sone (or Erastus Inscription) is a famous, first century archaeological artifact discovered in 1929. It’s highly significant in biblical history because it provides concrete, physical evidence corroborating a figure mentioned in the New Testament. Carved deep into the stone in Latin, the letters were originally filled with bronze. It reads (in English): “Erastus in return for his aedileship laid (the pavement) at his own expense.”
Erastus was a wealthy city official who held the title aedile (commissioner of public or city treasurer). The inscription aligns perfectly with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, where he writes, “Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you” (Romans 16:23). While it is impossible to absolutely confirm that the politician who paved the road is the exact same Erastus who traveled with Paul, the rare name, the specific title, and the geographical location provide strong circumstantial evidence for the historical reliability of the New Testament. Less historically certifiable, Aristotle once said, “If Dr. McLarty can’t lead us to gelato, may he lead us to the Erastus Stone.”
As for Corinth, it was raised to the ground by the Romans in 146 BC and then rebuilt in 44 BC. The large city became the capital of Greece in the Roman era, then declined after it was plundered in 1147.
On our way back to Athens, we drove by Cenchra and saw the spot where Paul departed for Ephesus and where there are ruins of an early Christian 5th century basilica.
Before dinner that night, I went for a 2.75-mile run through the National Garden, a lush 38-acre botanical oasis located in the heart of Athens, across the street from our hotel. The maze-like park features 5,000 species of plants, trees, and vibrant flowers from all over the world, small ponds and a small zoo area, along with ancient ruins, mosaics, and busts of prominent Greek figures and poets. It was easily the most interesting city run I’ve ever done—part labyrinth and part Garden of Eden.
A final thought to close the day:
During Mike’s devotional at Ancient Corinth, he asked, “Who would God say that you are?” I thought about that during the return bus ride today. Isn’t that the most important question? If God were to describe your life—your purpose—your ministry—would He have good things to say? We seem to care so much about what the world thinks of us—what our friends and neighbors and family think of us. But what does God think us? If God gave a “last lecture” using your life as a case study, would he have material to work with? Would he say, “That guy/gal was all-in on their faith! Well done, good and faithful servant!” I hope so! Those are words we should all long to hear.
