"And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized."
Acts 18:8
Part 2
Yesterday: The Nature of Salvation, One Sinner at a Time
Jesus saves sinners one at a time. Salvation is personal.
“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue.”
Crispus, the leader of the Jews in Corinth, listens to Paul’s teaching.
Today: Opposition to Jesus Christ and His Gospel
Crispus, the “chief ruler” of the synagogue in Corinth, has allowed the Apostle Paul to freely teach the Word of God to the Jews and Greeks for several Sabbaths.
After some weeks of Paul’s teaching, on one Sabbath, many of the Jews listening to Paul’s teaching exploded in anger when he testified, “that Jesus was Christ!” So great was their disgust at his words that they openly opposed Paul and reviled him,[1] flinging their insults at him.[2] The ancient text seems to imply that this opposition was “organized or concerted resistance”[3] (Vincent). Paul had faithfully given the Gospel to them, but once these Jews had rejected Jesus, it was at this point that Paul “shook off the dust of the synagogue” from his clothing and spoke these monumental words,
“Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6b).
Paul then moved to Justus’ home, next to the synagogue, where he proclaimed Christ for the next eighteen months.
Amazingly, after the Jewish worshippers in the synagogue rejected Paul’s preaching of Jesus Christ, Crispus, their Hebrew leader, did not! The difference was the Jews “rejected” Christ, but Crispus “embraced Him.”
“Believed on the Lord.”
Crispus believed! He had heard every word that Paul had spoken. The Gospel must have been clear in his thinking. His Jewish brethren have rejected any thought of Jesus being the Messiah, the “anointed of God.” Even as a religious man, Crispus’ need for redemption was evident to himself. These words were the logical and reasonable answer to his problem. “Jesus is the Christ!”
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Crispus made that life-changing confession. His sinful heart was now transformed by grace, through faith in Jesus the Christ, as he trusted in Him. Unbelievably, even with his brethren’s opposition in the synagogue, a Jewish ruler has acknowledged his sin and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior!
But this joyful story of God’s saving grace does not end here. Tomorrow we will see that God can save entire families. See you then.
Quote: “Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ”[4] (Andrew Murray).
[1] The KJV says they “opposed themselves and blasphemed.”
[2] See the Harvest Study Bible. Available at Harvest Ministries Guam.
[3] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword. Acts 18:6.
[4] Murray’s quote Downloaded: Monday, February 8, 2021. From: https://www.christianquotes.info/top-quotes/20-awesome-quotes-salvation/.