Acts 18:9
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One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Then spake the Lord to Paul . . . by a vision, Be not afraid . . . no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, &c.--From this it would seem that these signal successes were stirring up the wrath of the unbelieving Jews, and probably the apostle feared being driven by violence, as before, from this scene of such promising labor. He is reassured, however, from above.
Open source ↗In this chapter we have, I. Paul's coming to Corinth, his private converse with Aquila and Priscilla, and his public reasonings with the Jews, from whom, when they rejected him, he turned to the Gentiles (Act 18:1-6). II. The great success of his ministry there, and the encouragement Christ gave him in a vision to continue his labours there, in hopes of further success (Act 18:7-11). III. The molestations which after some time he met with there from the Jews, which he got pretty well through by the coldness of Gallio, the Roman governor, in the cause (Act 18:12-17). IV. The progress Paul made through many countries, after he had continued long at Corinth, for the edifying and watering of the churches which he had founded and planted, in which circuit he made a short visit to Jerusalem (Act 18:18-23). V. An account of Apollo's improvement in knowledge, and of his usefulness in the church (Act 18:24-28).
Open source ↗18:9-10 Paul had experienced real opposition in Corinth (18:6) and apparently was afraid of being attacked again, so the divine message was a comfort to him (cp. 23:11; Ps 34:4, 7, 19; Matt 28:20), encouraging him to persist in his public ministry and promising God’s protection (cp. Ps 91:11; 2 Tim 4:17).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”
Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.
As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”
and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’