desired = asked. Greek. erotao. App-134 . tarry . Greek. meno. See p. 1511. longer time = for (Greek. epi. App-104 .) more time. consented . Greek. epineuo, to nod towards. Only here. Used in medical read more
And when they asked him to abide a longer time, he consented not; but taking his leave of them, and saying, I will return again unto you, if God will, he set sail from Ephesus. read more
Acts 18:19-22. And he came to Ephesus,— For the short time that the apostle now continued at Ephesus, which seems to have been but one sabbath-day, he went into the synagogue, and discoursed with the Jews, and with such Gentiles as usually attended the synagogue service, concerning the Christian doctrine; but when they desired him to stay longer with them, he refused, and took his leave of them, telling them, Act 18:21 that he must by all means go up to Jerusalem, upon the account of his being... read more
20. when they desired him to tarry—The Jews seldom rose against the Gospel till the successful preaching of it stirred them up, and there was no time for that here. read more
4. The beginning of ministry in Asia 18:18-22Paul had attempted to reach the province of Asia earlier (Acts 16:6). Now the Lord permitted him to go there but from the west rather than from the east. Luke recorded his initial contact in Ephesus in this section to set the scene for his ministry there when he returned from Syrian Antioch (ch. 19). read more
Ephesus was the capital and chief commercial center of the province of Asia. [Note: See Cole, pp. 25-30.] At this time it boasted a population of between 200,000 and 250,000 and was the largest city of Asia Minor. [Note: Witherington, p. 563.] It stood near the coast of the Aegean Sea. Priscilla and Aquila remained in Ephesus, but Paul moved on to Syria after he had done some evangelism in the synagogue. The openness of the Jews to Paul’s preaching there encouraged him to return. Paul’s... read more
St Paul's Second Missionary Journey, 49, 50 a.d. (Act 15:36 to Act 18:22)Having secured the formal recognition by the Twelve of Gentile Christianity, St. Paul was free to resume his missionary labours. He first revisited the Churches founded on the First Journey, and then carried the gospel to Europe, preaching at Philippi, Thessalonica, Berosa, Athens, and Corinth, He then returned to the Syrian Antioch, and visited Jerusalem.Act 15:36 to Acts 16:5. The Galatian and other Churches... read more
Second Missionary Journey (concluded)1-18. St. Paul at Corinth. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. The ancient town had been entirely destroyed in 146 b.c. by the Roman general Mummius, but it had been refounded as a Roman colony in 46 b.c. by Julius Cæsar. Situated on the Corinthian isthmus, it had two ports, Cenchreæ on the Ægean, and Lechaaum on the Gulf of Lepanto. The traffic between Italy and Asia chiefly passed through Corinth, which rapidly became a populous and... read more
(20) When they desired him to tarry longer time with them.—This was, obviously, a hopeful sign, the earnest of the fruitful labours that followed. Nowhere, among the churches that he founded, does St. Paul seem to have found so great a receptivity for spiritual truth. While he looked on the Corinthians as being children requiring to be fed with milk (1 Corinthians 3:2), he saw in the Ephesians those to whom he did not shun to declare “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), to whom he could, at... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Acts 18:18-22
Return to Antioch (18:18-22)Paul then prepared to return home. At Cenchreae, from where the ship sailed, he fulfilled a vow (probably a Nazirite vow; see Numbers 6:1-21) which for some reason he had taken upon himself (18). He sailed across to Ephesus where he stayed a short while. His preaching created much interest and probably resulted in the start of a church in that city. Then, leaving Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus, he sailed for his home church in Antioch, though he hoped to return to... read more