“People to meet in heaven: Priscilla”
Acts 18:1-4
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Ever heard of a man named Don Gummer? Probably not. He isn’t famous. Never has been and probably never will be. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky and attended school at Yale, concentrating on art, especially sculpture. Since the 90s, he’s used mediums such as stainless steel, aluminum, and even stained glass.
He’s a very interesting man and a very talented man. Still, he’s a man you would probably never know if it were not for his rather famous wife, Meryl Streep. They met back in 1978 and have been together ever since. Thirty-eight years and four children later, they’re still together. Not bad for Hollywood.
Back in 2012, at the Oscars, she even took a moment to thank him. She said: “I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you’ve given me.”
Or how about Adam Shulman? You’ve probably never heard of him either. He was born in Brooklyn, then studied acting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. And after doing a few bit parts, he settled into making his own line of jewelry.
But he isn’t famous. Never has been and probably never will be. The only reason you might hear of him is because of his rather famous wife, Anne Hathaway. They met back in 2008 and have been together ever since. It was of him that she said: “I was really actually looking forward to a little time alone, and then I fell in love.”
Famous women married to not so famous men. So it was for two people—one named Priscilla and the other Aquila--in the book of Acts chapter 18.
Please turn with me in your Bible to page 1179 as I read the words of our text. I’ll start at chapter 18, verse 1: “After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.”
Apparently, as history tells us, in the year 52 A.D., a Roman emperor named Claudius issued an edict, expelling all Jews from the city of Rome. Word had it that they were persecuting their Christian neighbors and causing quite a lot of trouble in the city.
Now Claudius didn’t really care who was at fault or even why, but enough was enough. Every single one of them—both Christians and Jews--must go. So he ordered that every one of them should leave their homes, the innocent along with the guilty, and he banished them from the city of Rome.
And somewhere in the middle of that massive exodus was a man named Aquila and his faithful wife, Priscilla. And just as soon as they left town and made that long, three thousand mile journey to a new home, they settled in and began to make a new life for themselves, for they were tentmakers by trade.
Just so we’re clear, tentmakers didn’t only make tents. They made (and mended!) sails for ships, linens for bedding and awnings for shops, theaters and homes. And Corinth, a seaport, was a perfect place to be. After all, in that time and place, everyone’s life depended, one way or another, on tentmaking. It was one of the most valuable trades a man or woman could find.
And one day, as they were plying their trade, who should walk in but the apostle Paul, for he was also a tentmaker by trade. He had already been to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, Greece. Now, for the next eighteen months, he would make Corinth his home.
Can you imagine? Standing right on their doorstep was the apostle Paul—teacher, theologian, and evangelist, the one who once persecuted the church and who now suffered beatings, imprisonments and floggings for the faith he once tried to destroy.
And when Aquila and Priscilla met him, what did they do? They welcomed him, with open arms, into their home.
And for the next year-and-a-half, eighteen months, he lived with them and worked with them. And not only that, verse 4 says: “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.”
Think of it! For eighteen months, Aquila and Priscilla, sat at the feet of the apostle Paul, listening to him and asking him questions--the greatest Bible teacher the world has ever known! How incredible it must have been to sit with him, day after day and night after night, and talk about Jesus.
And as they came to know the Lord so deeply and so well, they opened their home not only to Paul, but also to the church. That’s what he wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians: “The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets in their home.”
Even more, think of what they did for him. He wrote to the Romans: “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house.”
Neither of them might have been great in the eyes of the world or accomplished public speakers (like Paul!), but they were diligent doers, and they loved to share the Lord.
Which brings us to the first lesson we should learn from this text. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. You could be a farmer, an accountant, a teacher, a toolmaker or a stay-at-home mom. Whoever you are and whatever you do, put the Lord first. Aquila and Priscilla did. Every one of us should too.
Also, if you’d look closely at the text, you’d notice something rather peculiar about Aquila and Priscilla. Of the six times the Bible mentions them by name, four of those times it mentions her first. It’s not Aquila and Priscilla, it’s Priscilla and Aquila.
And, if you don’t mind me saying, that’s a little strange. After all, in Bible times, the world was dominated by men. A wife’s name never came first. Even in our equality-minded, politically correct society, we never say, “Mrs. and Mr.” It’s always, “Mr. and Mrs.” So why would Paul would write, “Priscilla and Aquila”?
Did she have a stronger character or more energy? Was she a more passionate believer? Whatever the reason, the Bible chooses to mention her first.
So there’s a second lesson to learn from this text. If you’re a woman, don’t feel as though you have to sit in the background and take second place. Paul valued Priscilla for her work in the church. God values you too!
Is it any surprise? It shouldn’t be.
Women were always an important part of Jesus’ ministry. It was a woman who once washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, then wiped them with her hair. Women wept as He made His way out to the cross, women stood at the foot of His cross, and women came to anoint His body for burial. And on Easter morning, a woman was the first to greet Him, then bring the news to His disciples that He was risen from the dead.
No wonder Paul commended not Aquila and Priscilla, but Priscilla and Aquila to the Lord and to the church.
What a faithful, amazing, dedicated couple they must have been. Which is why we want to meet them in heaven!
I don’t know about you, but growing up in Sunday School was sometimes a little more frustrating than inspiring. Each week’s lesson told of Bible heroes, champions of God, the next more amazing than the last.
We squirm a little when hear about David killing Goliath with one smooth stone or Daniel spending the night in a lions’ den. Moses divided the Red Sea with a stick and Elijah called down fire from heaven. And let’s not forget about Noah and his ark, Gideon and his three hundred men, Solomon’s wisdom, Samson’s strength, Peter’s preaching or Stephen’s courage in the face of death. And a husband and wife, Aquila and Priscilla, stood side-by-side with the apostle Paul.
But you know, they weren’t born that way. God took them as they were--plain, simple, ordinary women and men--and He used them in an extraordinary way.
That’s what it says in Acts chapter 4: “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.”
And he wrote: “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the all-surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
So why did God choose such plain, ordinary women and men? He wrote: “He chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.”
And even today, twenty-one centuries later, He’s doing it again—turning ordinary into extraordinary.
It’s my guess you don’t have many credentials. None of you are superheroes or megastars. We’re all just ordinary women and men, completely dependent on God.
But even though our task might seem so overwhelming, the One who’s called us has given us a recipe for success—take a big bowl, pour in our weakness, add His strength, stir and serve.
“Is it good?” you ask.
It’s not good. By God’s grace, it’s perfect.
We thank You, dear Father, for calling two tentmakers, Priscilla and Aquila, to sit at the feet of the apostle Paul. Call us in our time and place, that even we, by Your grace, may do Your will. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen