“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 Jews were ordered to leave Rome in 49 A.D. after Roman authorities grew tired of religious disputes over Jesus. Even though Jesus ascended to heaven long ago, He was still shaking up the world He left behind.
The Jewish believers who were forced out of Rome, moved to cities in Greece, which required a huge adjustment. Paul was totally exasperated, living in Athens, which was a city of idol worship. (Acts 17:16)
He preached the gospel but was confronted with opposition by the pagan cults. Leaving Athens, he went on to Corinth, another city full of strange religions, cultish customs, and strong opposition to Jesus. It was a difficult period of time for all believers in Jesus. Christians were a minority, outnumbered by the Corinthian natives.
While Paul was reeling from the culture shock in Corinth, Jesus appeared to him in a vision and reassured him that He has many other people in Corinth, who also believe in Him. Jesus told Paul not to be afraid, that no one would harm him and he was where he was meant to be.
Being where God wants us to be is the safest place of all. Being expelled from Rome, appeared at first to be a negative event, but in God’s divine plan, the gospel was meant to be brought to the gentiles who had never heard of Him.
While in Corinth, Paul met a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, Italian Jews who believed in Jesus and also were expelled from Rome. Aquila was a tent maker like Paul, so they had much in common. He and Priscilla became Paul’s close friends and fellow missionaries in Corinth, as their home became a church. (1 Corinthians 16:19)
The Jewish faith was going through birth pangs, with groups who were resistant to Jesus as well as those who believed and embraced the One sent to be their redeemer and the final Passover Lamb.
The believers who migrated to Corinth, found it very stressful at first, but later it proved to be the providence of God. We all have a Corinth in our lives. It’s a place or a situation that makes us feel alone or outnumbered. It could be a new residence or a workplace, or a difficult group of people to deal with, or adjusting to an unfamiliar environment. Corinth is a place that feels wrong at first, but it’s the right place, because the providence of God brought us there.
Jesus appeared to Paul to assure him that he was in the right place, and that He would be with him all the way through it. He led Aquila and Priscilla to him, as his helpers in the ministry at Corinth.
I remember a Corinth in my life, it was a new era of having an adult son living in a Nursing Home. It felt strange at first but with God’s grace, I’ve adjusted to it. As I think back to the very beginning, the Lord sent people to me, to lift my spirit and confirm that He was with me from the very start.
When Jon was first hospitalized in the ICU, a nurse I didn’t know, one day surprised me by asking if she could pray for him while he lied in a coma. A week after that, I received a text message from a stranger, who said he was an old friend of Jon’s from youth group many years ago. He heard what had happened and now lives in another state, but he wanted me to know that he and his wife would be praying for Jon. After two weeks of being in a coma, Jon woke up.
We may not have a dream or a night vision like Paul, where Jesus appears and speaks directly to us, but He encourages us through the words or prayers of other people, sometimes even total strangers.
Whatever our Corinth is, Jesus is with us, and sends others to 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.”
Lord, thank you for comforting us in our Corinth, and help us grow in faith and confidence to know that you are always with us and working for our good. Amen
