Luke the beloved physician shared how Paul, “reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed from there, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshiped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue”, and in chapter eighteen and verse eight of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house” where we read:
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.
The verse reads, “And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house;”: Luke began with the words, “and Crispus” whose name means “curled and was the ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth”, “the chief ruler of the synagogue” or “the principal director or leader of sacred worship place where an assembly of Jews formally gathered together to offer prayers and listen to the reading and expositions of the scriptures”, “believed on the Lord” which means “trusted in, relied upon, clung to and had confidence in the One to whom a person or thing belongs about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah” “with all his house” or “along with each, every, the whole and everyone of the people in Crispus' home”. Luke shared how the main leader of the “synagogue” in Corinth whose name was “Crispus” trusted in and relied upon the “Lord Jesus” along with everyone else in his home.
The verse continues, “and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.” Luke added the words, “and many of the Corinthians” or “and a great number or numerous amount of people who were from the city of Corinth” “hearing believed” which means “being endowed with the faculty of hearing, perceiving and discerning the gospel of Jesus Christ trusted in, relied upon, clung to and had confidence”, “and were baptized” or “and were immersed and submerged in water as and outward demonstration of their inward cleansing from their sins”. Luke shared how a large number of the people from “Corinth” trusted in and relied upon the “Lord Jesus” and demonstrated their belief by being “baptized” to make a public declaration of their faith in Him.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Paul's” message of the gospel was effective in “Corinth”. Not only did the “chief ruler and his household”, “Crispus”, in the “synagogue” believe in Jesus, but also a numerous amount of the “Corinthians” believed. God's good news was not only being shared, but also being received by the people in “Corinth”, and because He loves everyone in the world, He wants everyone to believe in His Son Jesus. Anyone who yields themselves to “Jesus” will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with God, and those who are wise will join the people who believe and trust in Jesus and enjoy Heaven together for all eternity.
Next time Luke shares how the Lord spoke, “to Paul in the night by a vision”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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