Acts 18:18 says, “But Paul, having remained there yet a considerable number of days, took leave of the brothers and sailed away to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.” This was a private vow performed in any place by the Jews for thanksgiving, with the shearing of the hair. It differed from the Nazarite vow, which had to be carried out in Jerusalem with the shaving of the head (21:24; Num 6:1-5, 18; cf. 1 Cor. 11:6 where the difference between shearing and shaving is shown). Paul was a Jew and kept the vow, but he would not and did not impose it upon the Gentiles.
According to the principle of his teaching concerning God’s New Testament economy, Paul should have given up all the Jewish practices which belonged to the Old Testament dispensation. However, he still had such a private vow, and it seems that God tolerated it, probably because, being a private vow accomplished in a place other than Jerusalem, it would not have much effect on the believers.
Some expositions of Acts have tried to explain why Paul had the vow mentioned in 18:18. For the duration of the vow, his hair was allowed to grow long. When the vow was completed, his hair was shorn. According to 18:18, Paul’s vow was completed in Cenchrea with the shearing of his hair. Certain expositors say that Paul had this vow because he was grateful to the Lord for preserving his life. As a human being, Paul may have been afraid of losing his life at the hands of the Jews. He was constantly preaching and ministering. At the same time, he was always in danger of losing his life. On the one hand, Paul was willing to lose his life for the Lord’s sake. On the other hand, he was still human and was frightened. Therefore, according to some expositors, Paul had a vow of thanksgiving.
This understanding of Paul’s vow in 18:18 may be correct. When a Jew had something for which to thank the Lord, he could make a vow of thanksgiving. According to the context, Paul should have been thankful to the Lord for protecting him and preserving his life. Throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia, the Jews were opposing him and even seeking to do away with him. But all the way the Lord protected and preserved him. For this Paul must have been thankful.
When the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, He said to him, “Do not fear.” This word indicates that there was a fear within Paul. Therefore, the Lord came to him in an extraordinary way by night. Some may say, “Did Paul not have the Lord within him? Did he not have the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit?” Of course, Paul had the Lord within him, and he also had the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit. But there was still the need for him to be strengthened and assured. To meet this need the Lord came to Paul in a vision, saying, “Do not fear...I Myself am with you....” (18:9-10).
Paul may have had the vow because he was thankful for the Lord’s protection and preservation. This may have been the reason that, as he was on the way from Achaia to Syria, he stopped at Cenchrea to complete his vow.
After the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, he remained in Corinth a year and six months, teaching the word of God. He surely accomplished his commission in that city and eventually a sizable church was raised up and established there.
On the way to Syria Paul also stopped at Ephesus. As he did in many other places, “he entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews” (v. 19). They asked him to remain, but he did not consent. Instead, he took leave of them and said, “I will come back to you again, God willing” (v. 21).
Paul put out to sea from Ephesus (v. 21b). “And coming down to Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.” This verse indicates that Paul went to Jerusalem (cf. 21:15) and then went down to Antioch. His returning to Antioch was the end of his second ministry journey, which began in 15:40.
We may wonder why Paul did not go directly to Antioch from Caesarea instead of first going up to Jerusalem. He came down to Caesarea, and then he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church there. Why did Paul go up to Jerusalem and greet the church? He did this because of the problem that was solved in chapter fifteen. After the solution to that problem, Paul took his second journey of ministry. Now at the end of this journey he went to visit the church in Jerusalem.
Luke does not give us the details regarding this visit of Paul to the church in Jerusalem. But if we delve into the depths of the Word, we shall realize that in making this visit Paul was endeavoring to keep the oneness of the Body and also to maintain a pleasant feeling between him and all the saints in Jerusalem, especially Peter and James.
Paul could have gone straight to Antioch. There was no apparent reason for him to go to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, from Caesarea he turned to the south in order to visit the church in Jerusalem. Then from Jerusalem he made the long journey to Antioch. In 18:22 Luke does not even mention Jerusalem by name. Probably Luke thought that everyone would understand what was indicated by the words “went up,” that one went up to nowhere else except Jerusalem.
We need to be impressed that Paul went up to Jerusalem in 18:22 because he was endeavoring to keep the oneness of the Body in a happy and pleasant way. He was enthusiastic in doing everything possible in his sphere to maintain the oneness of the Body and also a pleasant feeling with the saints in Jerusalem. He knew that he was the factor that caused many Jewish believers to rise up and speak against his practice. He was a factor in causing an unpleasant situation. If there had not been such a person as Paul preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, then the vast majority of believers would have been Jewish, and there would have been no problem concerning circumcision. Because Paul was the factor in an unpleasant situation, he did his best to keep the oneness with all the saints. He especially endeavored to have a pleasant feeling with those in Jerusalem. Therefore, despite a long, hard voyage, he went up to Jerusalem to visit the church. Only then did he return to Antioch, thus ending his second journey. This is very enlightening, and we need to learn of Paul’s endeavor to keep the oneness of the Body and to preserve a pleasant feeling among the saints regarding our practice in carrying out the Lord’s ministry.