“One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
Acts 18:9-10 (NAB)
The vision or dream that Paul had couldn’t come at a better time. All Jewish people were ordered to leave Rome in 49 A.D. Roman authorities grew tired of all the Jewish disputes over Jesus and His messiahship. Even though Jesus had long left the earth and ascended to heaven, He was still shaking up the world He left behind.
Many Jewish believers who were forced out of Rome, moved to the cities in Greece, which also required a huge adjustment. We learn that Paul felt totally exasperated in Athens, which was a city full of idols. (Acts 17:16)
He preached the gospel but was confronted with pagan cults and lots of opposition. Leaving Athens, he went on to Corinth, another city full of strange religions, cultish customs, and the same opposition to Jesus.
It was a difficult period of time for Jewish believers. Paul and the other Jewish Christians felt outnumbered by the pagan Corinthian natives. While reeling from the culture shock of Corinth, Paul had a dream one night, where Jesus appeared to him in a vision and reassured him that He has many other people who believe in Him, right there in the city of Corinth. Jesus also told Paul not to be afraid, and that no one would harm him there.
The reality is that being in the place where God wants us is the safest place to be. Being expelled from Rome, appeared to be a negative event, but in God’s divine direction, the news of salvation would be spread to gentiles who had never heard of Jesus.
While in Corinth, Paul met a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, Italian Jews, who were also expelled from Rome. Aquila was a tent maker like Paul, so they had a lot in common, especially being mutual believers in Jesus. They helped Paul as missionaries in Corinth, and their home became the church for all the believers there.
(1 Corinthians 16:19)
The Jewish faith was going through birth pangs at the time, with some resisting belief in Jesus while others embracing Him as their Messiah.
Since the first century church was mostly made up of Jewish people, believing in Jesus as the Messiah wasn’t a different religion, but rather a sect of Judaism. Sending Jewish Christians to Corinth was all part of the providence of God.
We all have a Corinth in our lives.
It’s a place or a situation that makes us feel outnumbered or uneasy. It may be some new adjustment in our lives, that God is using for good. Our Corinth may be a workplace, a difficult group of people to deal with, or a new and unfamiliar environment. Corinth may even feel wrong at first, but it is the right place, and God is in it with us.
Jesus appeared to Paul to assure him that he was in the right place, for a right purpose and that He would be with him all the way through it.
He proved it by leading Aquila and Priscilla to help him in Corinth. He will do the same for us.
I’m dealing with a new era of having an adult son living in a Nursing Home. It’s the Corinth that I have been adjusting to, but I have also received many signs from God that He is with me.
I already shared how a total stranger at the bank, months ago, overheard me talking about Jon’s accident, and asked my son’s name so she could pray for him. Then there was the ICU nurse, two weeks ago, who asked to pray for Jon as he was lying in his ICU bed.
Last week, someone I don’t even know, messaged me, saying that he was an old friend of Jon’s from a youth group many years ago. He heard what happened to him and although he lives in another state, he wanted me to know that he and his wife and family were all praying for Jon.
We may not have a dream or a night vision like Paul, where Jesus speaks directly to us, but He knows how to sustain, strengthen and encourage us through other people.
Wherever or whatever represents our Corinth, Jesus is in it with us, sending others to help us. He keeps assuring us, as if to say,
“I am with you, I have people for you to meet, and people who are praying for you, so don’t be afraid, because you are not alone.”
Lord, thank you for reassuring us that you are always with us in whatever Corinth we are in. Help us to grow in confidence through your love and grace, knowing you are working all things together for good. Amen