Acts 18:5

5 But when Sila and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Sha'ul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Yehudim that Yeshua was the Messiah.

Acts 18:5 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 18:5

And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia
Not from Berea in Macedonia, for from hence they came to the apostle while at Athens, and from whence he sent them, at least Timothy, to Thessalonica, to know the state of the saints there, as appears from ( 1 Thessalonians 3:1 1 Thessalonians 3:2 ) and from hence they now came to the apostle at Corinth: when

Paul was pressed in Spirit;
either by the Holy Spirit, by which he was moved and stirred up to preach the Gospel more frequently, and more powerfully; for he had not always the same measure of the Spirit, or was not always under the same influence; or else in his own spirit, and so the Arabic version renders it, "grief beset the spirit of Paul"; his soul was filled with trouble and sorrow, when he observed the nonrepenitence and unbelief, the contradiction and blasphemy of the greater part of the Jews; and being filled with zeal for their welfare, he continued preaching Christ unto them. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, instead of "in spirit", read "in speech", or "in word"; and the sense is, not that he was straitened in his speech, and knew not what to say to the Jews, or had not freedom of speech with them; but he was instant in preaching to them, and preached the word more frequently and fervently, upon the coming of Silas and Timothy to his assistance:

and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ;
he continued to produce more testimonies out of the writings of Moses, and the prophets, to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, or Messiah, prophesied of in those writings, and promised to the Jews, and whom they expected.

Acts 18:5 In-Context

3 and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers.

4 He reasoned in the synagogue every Shabbat, and persuaded Yehudim and Yevanim.

5 But when Sila and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Sha'ul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Yehudim that Yeshua was the Messiah.

6 When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Goyim!"

7 He departed there, and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.