The Jewish crowd buzzes, a hornet’s nest of heated discussion. Some of the men, visibly upset after the debate, can’t seem to beat the visiting Alexandrian’s arguments proving Jesus is the Christ.
One man stands off to the side, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He heard the Alexandrian teach from the Scriptures before, when he took a trip to Ephesus a few months ago. Apollos’ words flowed with compelling eloquence even then.
But something is different today.
A new authority rings in Apollos’ tone. Somehow, he’s gained greater understanding about this Jesus, tying in elements he didn’t bring up before.
Already well-spoken and learned, he argues more convincingly than ever. This is surprising enough—but if the thoughtful listener knew where the Alexandrian received his new insights, he’d be shocked.
Along with her husband, a woman taught Apollos the way of Jesus more accurately.
The second woman whom Paul commends in Romans 16 is Priscilla.
“Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches. Greet also the church that meets in their home (Rom. 16:3-5a).”
Prisca (the formal name), or Priscilla (the diminutive form),[i] and her husband Aquila hosted house churches together in both Rome and Ephesus.[ii]
This couple is mentioned six times in the New Testament, and Priscilla’s name listed first four times in the oldest Greek manuscripts.[iii]Husbands were nearly always mentioned first in antiquity, yet both Luke and Paul purposefully recognize Priscilla’s prominence.[iv]
Despite the patriarchal nature of first-century Greco-Roman society, some wealthy women were well educated and could be found in various roles such as patrons, heads of households, and sometimes even teachers.[v]
Lucy Peppiatt notes hosting a church in one’s home included leadership responsibility in that gathering of believers.[vi]
Given that a church met in Priscilla and Aquila’s home (Rom. 16:5) and leaders of households generally served as leaders of church gatherings in their homes, we may view Priscilla as a house church leader, just like Nympha, Chloe, and Lydia (Acts 16:13-15, 40).[vii]
Besides leading house churches alongside her husband, Priscilla took aside the eloquent Alexandrian Jew Apollos, “and explained the way of God to him more accurately (Acts 18:26).”
Thus, Priscilla exercised the role of teaching (a man) and the well-educated Apollos showed no hesitation about receiving theological instruction from a woman.[viii]
Paul calls both Priscilla and Aquila his “fellow workers” (sunergos), indicating they share in the same kind of ministry involvement as Paul himself.[ix] The praiseworthy Priscilla is also commended for risking her life for Paul’s sake (Rom. 16:3).
Significantly, after being instructed in the way of Christ by these two, Apollos became
“…a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah (Acts 18:27b-28).”
Priscilla helped powerfully equip Apollos in gospel apologetics, which in turn benefitted the whole church.
Today, women still benefit the church with their spiritual gifts and leadership capabilities—provided we don’t stand in their way.
***
This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Prophesying Daughters: How Prophetic Ministry and Women in Leadership Strengthen the Church, releasing this month.
[i] Wendy Cotter, “Women’s Authority Roles in Paul’s Churches: Countercultural or Conventional?” Novum Testamentum 36, no. 4 (1994), 352.
[ii] Mary Ann Beavis, “I Commend to You Our Sister: Women in Romans XVI,1-16,” The Bible Today 46 (4): (2008), 231.
[iii] Marg Mowczko, “A List of the 29 People in Romans 16:1-16,” Marg Mowczko (blog), May 18, 2019, https://margmowczko.com/list-of-people-in-romans-16_1-16/?fbclid=IwAR0wNotsBr4ca2_tZ5qPZBz-dpQmqgfktSs09tFarJfct5adSCR1W3f15BM.
[iv] Keener, Paul, Women and Wives, 241.
[v] Peppiatt, 128.
[vi] Peppiatt, 127.
[vii] Peppiatt, 127. Of these women, Peppiatt remarks, “It is no stretch to say that as leaders of their households that constituted the church, they were church leaders!” See also see Col. 4:16, 1 Cor. 1:11.
[viii] Beavis, 230.
[ix] Keener, Paul, Women and Wives, 241. See Rom. 16:9, 21; 1 Cor. 16:16. Philip Payne explains that “fellow worker” connotes someone who is also commissioned by God, and labors alongside Paul, in the shared work of preaching the gospel and spreading the mission. (Philip B. Payne, Man and Woman: One in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 64.
Photo by Jennifer Martin on Unsplash
