Pelajaran Sekolah Sabat 9, Khamis 30 Ogos 2018

Pelajaran Sekolah Sabat 9
Khamis 30 Ogos  2018

Paulus Di Korintus

Dalam Kisah 18:1-11, menceritakan tentang pengalaman Paulus di Korintus, di mana dia tinggal selama satu setengah tahun. Akwila dan Priskila telah menjadi sahabat karib Paulus (Roma 16:3; 2 Timotius 4:19). Keterangan tersebut menunjukkan bahawa mereka telahpun menjadi Kristian apabila mereka tiba di Korintus, mungkin kerana orang-orang Yahudi dihalau keluar daripada Roma oleh Maharaja Klaudius. Pakar sejarah Roma, Suetonius, nampaknya menunjukkan pengusiran berlaku disebabkan oleh gangguan dalam kumuniti Yahudi yang dikaitkan dengan nama “Kristus” (Claidius 25.4), yang mungkin hasil daripada khutbah terhadap Injil oleh orang-orang percaya tempatan Yahudi. Dengan itu, adalah mungkin bahawa Akwila dan Priskila, mereka berdua terlibat dalam aktiviti-aktiviti tersebut. Dalam apa juga keadaan, disamping mengongsikan iman yang sama dan latarbelakang orang Yahudi yang sama, Paulus dan teman-teman baharunya juga mengongsikan perniagaan yang sama.

Sila baca Kisah 18:4-17. Apakah hasil aktiviti-aktiviti penginjilan Paulus di Korintus?

Apabila Silas dan Timotius tiba dari Makedonis, mereka membawa bantuan kewangan daripada gereja-gereja di sana (2 Korintus 11:8, 9), yang membolehkan Paulus mengabdikan dir sepenuhnya untuk berkhutbah. Polisi Paulus ialah hidup berasaskan belanja sendiri semasa pelayanannya, sekalipun dia juga berpendapat “bahwa mereka yang memberitakan Injil, harus hidup dari pemberitaan Injil itu” (1 Korintus 9:14).

Walaupun pembangkang orang Yahudi kuat terhadap mesej Paulus, beberapa orang Yahudi menjadi percaya, demikian juga beberapa penyembah Tuhan daripada orang-orang bukan Yahudi. Di antara yang menjadi saudara baharu ialah Krispus, pemimpin rumah ibadah dan seluruh keluarganya. Ramai orang Korintus menjadi percaya dan dibaptis. Bagaimanapun, keadaan di kalangan orang Yahudi sebaliknya tegang, sebagaimana ditunjukkan dalam episod berikutnya (Kisah 18:12-17), kemungkinan perancangan Paulus ialah segera keluar daripada Korintus, tetapi, pada penglihatan malamnya, dia menerima dorongan ilahi supaya tinggal terus (Kisah 18:9-11).

Dalam perjalanan kembali ke Antiokhia, Paulus membawa Akwila dan Priskila bersama dan meninggalkan mereka di Efesus, di mana tinggal beberapa hari sebelum meneruskan perjalanannya. Sementara di sana, dia telah berpeluang untuk berkhutbah di dalam rumah ibadah orang-orang Yahudi tempatan. Maklum balas positif yang membuatnya berjanji bahawa dengan kehendak Tuhan, dia akan kembali (Kisah 18:18-21). Ini benar berlaku dalam perjalanan seterusnya.

Paulus, kecewa dengan penerimaannya, memerlukan dorongan daripada TUHAN berhubung dengan keselamatan jiwa-jiwa di sana. Apa kata TUHAN kepadanya (Kisah 18:10) katakan kepada kita apabila mungkin kita merasakan sesuatu yang serupa dengan apa yang Paulus rasakan?

Sabbath School Lesson 9
Thursday August 30

Paul in Corinth

Acts 18:1-11 recounts Paul’s experience in Corinth, where he would stay for one and a half years. Aquila and Priscilla would become Paul’s lifelong friends (Rom. 16:3, 2 Tim. 4:19). The account implies they were already Christians when they came to Corinth, probably because of the deportation of Jews from Rome by the Emperor Claudius. Roman historian Suetonius seems to indicate that the deportation occurred due to disturbances in the Jewish community associated with the name of “Christ” (Claudius 25.4), which would perhaps be the result of the preaching of the gospel by local Jewish believers. Thus, it is possible that Aquila and Priscilla themselves had been involved in such activities. In any case, besides sharing the same faith and the same Jewish background, Paul and his new friends also shared the same trade.

Read Acts 18:4-17. What was the result of Paul’s missionary activities in Corinth?

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, they brought some financial support from the churches there (2 Cor. 11:8, 9), which allowed Paul to devote himself entirely to preaching. Paul’s policy was to live at his own expense during his ministry, though he also taught that “those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14, NKJV).

Despite the strong Jewish opposition to Paul’s message, some Jews did believe, as well as some Gentile worshipers of God. Among the converts were Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household. Many Corinthians also believed and were baptized. The situation among the Jews, however, was rather tense, as the following episode demonstrates (Acts 18:12-17), and Paul was possibly planning to leave Corinth soon, but in a night vision he received divine encouragement to stay on (Acts 18:9-11).

On his way back to Antioch, Paul took Aquila and Priscilla with him and left them in Ephesus, where he spent a few days before resuming his trip. While there, he had the opportunity to preach in the local Jewish synagogue, whose positive response made him promise that, God willing, he would come back (Acts 18:18-21). This happened right in his next journey.

Paul, frustrated by his reception, needed encouragement from the Lord in regard to the salvation of souls there. What do the Lord’s words to him (Acts 18:10) say to us when we might feel something similar to what Paul felt?