“Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus,” Romans 16:3.
In the year 52 AD, Emperor Claudius issued an edict expelling all Jews from the city of Rome. The Roman historian Suetonius said they were persecuting their Christian neighbors and causing a disturbance in the city. Claudius cared little about the reason for the trouble or who the guilty people were. He knew they were Jews, so all were uprooted and banished from Rome, the innocent as well as the guilty.
So it was that Aquila, a Jew originally from the province of Pontus, packed his belongings and sailed for the city of Corinth, along with his wife Priscilla (proper name was Prisca). We don’t know for certain if they were Christians at this time, but we do know they were together. They were a team, one name never occurs without the other. In Corinth, they set up shop as tentmakers and it was there the Apostle Paul came in contact with them. Paul lived in Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila for 18 months teaching and preaching the word of God. If they had not known Christ before, they met him now! This husband/wife team lived together, worked together, suffered exile together, came to know and love Jesus Christ together and grew in the Word together. It made their marriage complete! True oneness can only be found in Christ!
When Paul left Corinth for Ephesus, he took Aquila and Priscilla with him. They set up a tentmaking business and stayed there after Paul left for Jerusalem. We next see them meeting a “certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian, an eloquent man, mighty in the scriptures, but knew only the baptism of John.” This dear couple took him into their home and taught him the scriptures more adequately.
Aquila and Priscilla may not have been highly trained speakers, but they loved the Word and served the Lord together by teaching others. They opened their home to people who were hungry to hear the Good News that “Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Cor. 15:3-4. Paul returned to Ephesus where he stayed three years. During that time, he wrote 1 Corinthians and mentioned, “The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house,” 1 Cor. 16:19. Their home became a meeting place for the Ephesian church! And that was not the last time their home was a church! Soon after, Emperor Claudius died, so they felt it safe to go back to Rome, a gospel witness was needed there. So, off they went! Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans from Greece and said, “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles: also greet the church that is in their house.” Romans 16:3-5. Their home became a beacon of light in the city of Rome!
I have a small group from my church that meets in my home twice a month. In our last meeting, there were 41 people of all ages! We get together to worship in song, enjoy a devotional from God’s Word, pray together and fellowship over food. It’s a precious time! It dawned on me as I sat in our prayer group, that I actually have “the church that is meeting in my house!” It brought such joy to my heart to realize as a single woman, I can encourage others through my home!
Your friend, Jean