- Covered In His Dust
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- Acts Chapter 18 (part 2)
"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."
May you be covered in His dust.
If this is your first time getting Covered in His Dust, WELCOME!
👉🏽 Read Chapter 18 HERE before reading my notes. If you don’t, my notes won’t make sense.
You can access previous notes on Acts and Luke HERE.
Hope you’ve had a blessed day, saints! ☀️
When we left off in Acts 18, Jesus came to Paul in a vision,
“Do not be afraid,
but go on speaking and do not be silent,
for I am with you,
and no one will attack you to harm you,
for I have many in this city who are my people.”
Before we get into it, I want to pause. Right here. Let’s soak in what the Lord is saying.
Just maybe…
He’s talking to you today.
Do not be afraid. I am with you.
Do not be afraid. I am with you.
Do not be afraid. I am with you.
If that’s for you, I pray it reaches deep—straight to your heart, down to your bones. That it fills you, strengthens you, and reminds you that you’re not alone.
Let’s get into it.
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”
Historical records show that Gallio was just getting started. New to the job, still settling in as proconsul of Achaia.
[A proconsul was a Roman official who governed a province on behalf of the Senate. Think of it like a governor, but with a military background and significant authority.]
And the Jews saw their chance. Maybe they figured he’d be easier to sway—catch him before he had a firm grip on things, push him to rule in their favor.
So they hauled Paul in, standing him before the tribunal. Expecting Gallio to take their side.
But that’s not how it played out. Not even close.
What historical records?
There’s an inscription in a letter from Emperor Claudius that mentions Gallio as proconsul of Achaia around AD 51–52. That’s how the timeline’s pinned down.
Then there’s Seneca, his younger brother. He wrote about Gallio, describing him as easygoing and well-liked.
So between Acts, Roman records, and archaeology, we know Gallio was a real historical figure and that his term in office lines up with Paul’s ministry.
Wait. Who was Seneca? He sounds familiar.
For those who didn’t pay attention in High School history (me!)
Seneca was a Roman philosopher—one of the big names in Stoicism. He wrote a lot about self-control, resilience, and how short life is. One of his most famous works is On the Shortness of Life, where he basically says we waste most of our time on things that don’t matter.
But he wasn’t just a philosopher. He was also a politician and ended up as Emperor Nero’s advisor. At first, he had a lot of influence, but as Nero got more power-hungry and unhinged, Seneca started pulling back.
And… he was the younger brother of Gallio.
But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal.
This is so rich.
A few verses earlier Jesus had told Paul,
“Do not be afraid,
but go on speaking
and do not be silent,
for I am with you,
and no one will attack you to harm you,”
And here it is. Exactly as Jesus said.
Paul didn’t even have to defend himself. He was about to speak—but Gallio shut it down before he could get a word out.
The Jews had dragged Paul in, hoping to silence him, but instead, they were the ones dismissed. They had no case. No power. And Paul? He walked away, untouched, just as Jesus had promised.
God’s protection isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes, it looks like a Roman governor who just doesn’t care about religious disputes. But behind it all, God’s hand was at work—just like it always is.
And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
Sosthenes was the synagogue leader, probably taking over after Crispus became a Christian. If he was the one pushing the case against Paul, and Gallio shut it down immediately, that had to be humiliating.
We don’t know for sure who beat him, but if it was the Jews, they were probably just frustrated—maybe blaming him for botching the case or wasting their time.
But.
This isn’t the last time we see Sosthenes! We see him mentioned briefly 3-4 years later in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
"Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,"
He gets saved???
Sosthenes' story has shades of Saul turned Paul—an enemy of the gospel who somehow ends up transformed, standing on the other side.
Both were deeply entrenched in Jewish leadership. Both likely saw Christianity as a threat to Judaism. Both tried to shut it down. Both got humbled—one by a blinding light, the other by a public beating. And both ended up serving the very Jesus they once opposed.
Sosthenes' shift isn't as dramatic as Paul's, but it's just as powerful. Paul doesn’t say much—just “our brother Sosthenes.” But that one line says it all.
He went from standing in front of the tribunal, trying to take Paul down… To standing beside Paul, working to build the church.
It’s a reminder that no one is too far gone for Jesus to reach.
Even the ones fighting against Him.
After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
Two things stand out to me in this verse.
First, Priscilla and Aquila are one of the few married couples in Scripture who truly lived out the gospel.
They traveled with Paul.
They made their home a sanctuary for believers.
They even stepped in to guide Apollos toward a fuller understanding of the truth (later in this chapter). Their marriage was about kingdom work. And they did it together.
Second, Paul cut his hair. Why is that important?
Cenchreae was a port city near Corinth. Before setting sail, Paul shaved his head because he was “under a vow.”
This was probably a Nazirite vow (Numbers 6). In a Nazirite vow:
A person would avoid wine and cutting their hair as a way of dedicating themselves to God. When the vow ended, they would shave their head and offer a sacrifice (usually in Jerusalem). Paul might have taken this vow as an act of gratitude—maybe for God’s protection in Corinth???
Bottom line: Paul wasn’t under the law, but he still followed some Jewish customs, especially when they helped his witness.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
He honored this vow, likely as a personal commitment to God, and then got back to work—preaching Jesus, the Messiah.
And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
Surprised? Man, Paul was consistent. As soon as his feet hit the ground he’s off to the synagogue.
When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
It’s so interesting that most of the time, the Jews ran him out of town. Now, they’re asking him to stay and he’s like, “Sorry. Gotta go.”
I love his answer.
“I will return if God wills.”
It sounds a lot like James the half brother of Jesus,
"Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
Paul and James lived with a deep awareness of God’s sovereignty over their lives.
Paul wasn’t just making travel plans based on his own desires or circumstances—he understood that his future was in God’s hands. Even when he had an open door to stay in Ephesus, he didn’t assume it was the right move. Instead, he submitted it to God: “I will return if God wills.”
Man, that hit me right between the eyes. My plans, my goals, my opportunities—I can’t hold them too tightly. I’ve got a lot of room to grow.
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Wow. Do you see it? The Easter Egg?
An Easter egg in a movie is a hidden detail, reference, or inside joke that filmmakers include for fans to discover. It can be a nod to another movie, a secret message, a hidden character, or a subtle connection that adds depth to the story.
When I was studying the maps of Paul’s second and third missionary journeys, something jumped out at me. His second journey ended in Antioch at the end of verse 22 (see HERE), and his third journey begins in Antioch in verse 23 (see HERE).
So as it turns out, 'After spending some time there,' WAS ABOUT A YEAR.
You have to get up pretty early to notice that verses 24-28 aren’t a continuation of the story.
It’s more like a camera panning to another part of the action—zooming in on Apollos in Ephesus while Paul is still in Antioch.
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Apollos is Jewish, but his name is Greek.
Alexandria is in Egypt, but in Paul’s time, it was a Greek-speaking, Hellenistic city. It was founded by Alexander the Great and became one of the most important cultural and intellectual centers of the ancient world.
Even though it was in Egypt, Greek influence dominated—philosophy, education, architecture, even the language (Hellenism). And it had a huge Jewish population. The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) was translated there because so many Jews in Alexandria spoke Greek instead of Hebrew or Aramaic.
So, Apollos was Jewish, but he grew up in a place shaped by Greek culture. That’s why he had a Greek name, knew the Scriptures, and was a powerful speaker.
When it says Apollos "knew only the baptism of John," it means that his understanding of Jesus and the gospel was incomplete.
What did Apollos know?
He knew about John the Baptist's message—repentance and preparing for the coming Messiah.
He understood Old Testament Scriptures well and could teach them accurately.
He even taught about Jesus, but his knowledge was limited—likely knowing Jesus as the expected Messiah but not fully grasping His death, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Priscilla and Aquila saw Apollos’ potential, but instead of correcting him publicly, they took him aside, taught him, and helped him grow.
It’s the perfect picture of humble, hands-on ministry as a couple—not competing, but complementing each other to advance the gospel.
And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.
Apollos didn’t wait to be perfectly prepared. He stepped out with what he knew and preached boldly. He had gaps in his understanding,
but
that
didn’t
stop
him.
Apollos went straight to Corinth—Sin City of the ancient world. It’s a reminder that God sends His people into the hardest places—not to avoid them, but to shine light in the darkest cities.
Un gran saludo a mis buenos amigos que están pastoreando y compartiendo el Evangelio en Cuba. Estoy orando por ustedes. Los amo. Y nos vemos pronto.
(Shout out to my good friends who are pastoring and sharing the Gospel in Cuba. I’m praying for you. I love you. And I’ll see you soon.)
I want to leave you with one thought tonight, in the words of our Lord,
Do not be afraid. I am with you.
One Minute Inspiration
I love you,
George
Uncovering Scripture
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George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.
He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 26 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.
In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.