Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. — Romans 16:3
Aquila and Priscilla are the ultimate examples of how a marriage should work. Their names are always mentioned together. They are always working for Jesus and always helping others.
We first meet them, as Paul does, in Acts 18. Paul has suffered many things during this second missionary journey — stoning, whipping, mobbing. The jealous Jews followed him everywhere he went and stirred up trouble.
When they followed him to Berea, the new believers sent him to Athens to escape the danger, hoping things would calm down. From Athens Paul went to Corinth.
There he met Aquila and Priscilla. They had recently arrived in the city. The emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome where they lived. These two took Paul into their home and into their business.
They were tentmakers, as was Paul. Paul must have been weary from all the trials he had encountered along the way. Paul’s weariness and fear are shown to us by Jesus’s words to him, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”
How kind these two were to take him in and give him a chance to work and earn his own way. It is worth noting that Paul did not have a problem working with a woman to earn a living.
Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. He apparently stayed with Aquila and Priscilla during this time. He worked with them and preached the gospel on the Sabbath. Their tender care of him must have helped heal his body and spirit.’
When Paul left Corinth, he took them with him. He went to Cenchrea and then to Ephesus. He stayed there only a short time because he wanted to go to Jerusalem to a feast. He left Aquila and Priscilla at Ephesus. He would later return and live there about three years.
A man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and knew his Bible well. He spoke with great enthusiasm in the synagogue.
When Aquila and Priscilla heard him preach in the synagogue, they realized his knowledge of Jesus was accurate, but incomplete. They took him aside and taught him the things he didn’t know so he could preach more accurately. It does not seem to be a problem that a woman was helping to instruct him. He eventually went to Corinth and greatly helped those believers in that city.
In writing Romans, Paul asks them to give his greetings to Priscilla and Aquila. He says these two risked their own necks for my life, “to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
We are not told any details. We only know they risked their lives to save Paul. They must have been back in Rome at that time and then returned to Ephesus because Paul later sends greetings to the Corinthians from Aquila and Priscilla and all who gather in their home for church meetings.
In Paul’s last epistle, written to Timothy, he knew his end was near. Near the end of the letter, he asks him to greet Aquila and Priscilla for him.
This couple had been exiled from their home and business in Rome. They simply moved to a new place, obtained a new home and started a new business.
When Paul arrived, they gave him a home and brought him into their business. They helped Paul in his ministry. He called them his co-workers in the ministry for Jesus Christ.
When Apollo arrived with gaps in his knowledge, they lovingly taught him all he needed to know. He went and shared it with others. They opened their home for church meetings. They somehow saved Paul’s life. The love they had for God showed in every part of their lives.
What an extraordinary couple they were!
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