Why was Apollos able to speak so boldly in the synagogue?
Apollos spoke boldly in the synagogue because he was intelligent, well taught, and eloquent, having been instructed in the Old Testament and in John the Baptist's message that Jesus was the Christ. The context notes he had a right to speak boldly, and his knowledge and eloquence enabled that boldness.
Les explains that Apollos spoke boldly because he had been instructed by someone else in the Old Testament. He knew only what took place under John the Baptist's preaching—that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. In Acts 18:26, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, and Les says he had a right to do so: he was intelligent, well taught, and eloquent. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly or completely. So his initial boldness rested on his education and his grasp of the Messiah truth, though he later received fuller understanding.
And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
More Questions
What did Apollos know before Aquila and Priscilla taught him the way of God more completely?
At first Apollos knew only what had happened under John the Baptist’s preaching, namely that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.
How did Paul’s gospel knowledge compare to Apollos’s?
Paul operated by direct revelation from the Lord, whereas Apollos operated by instruction from other people.