He
lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” He drove them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
Acts 18:11-17
Acts 18 [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. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
Acts 18 [11.] He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”
Acts 18 [14.] But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” He drove them from the judgment seat.
Acts 18 [17.] Then all the Greeks laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
Acts 18 [18.] Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; but taking his leave of them, and saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
Meaning:
The Lord had told Paul in a vision, “no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10). These verses show that promise kept. Paul stayed and taught, and when his opponents brought him to court, the case collapsed before he could say a word.
- “He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them”
This was one of Paul’s longest stays anywhere. The church at Corinth that grew in these months later received at least two of his letters. Steady teaching, not only the first proclamation, built the church.
- “When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia”
Gallio was the brother of the philosopher Seneca. An inscription found at Delphi places his term as proconsul around AD 51-52. This is one of the most important fixed dates for the life of Paul, and it shows Luke’s careful accuracy about officials and titles.
- “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law”
The charge was deliberately vague. “The law” could mean Jewish law or Roman law. Judaism was a recognized and protected religion in the empire, and the accusers seem to have wanted Gallio to rule that Paul’s message was a new, unlawful religion. A ruling against Paul from the governor of the province could have closed doors to the Good News across the region.
- “If they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves”
Gallio refused to hear the case. He saw it as an internal Jewish dispute about “words and names” (perhaps whether Jesus was the Messiah) and not a crime. His indifference served God’s purpose: by treating the faith in Christ as a matter within Judaism, he left Paul free to preach. Other officials in Acts reached similar verdicts. Claudius Lysias found Paul “accused about questions of their law” (Acts 23:29), and Festus spoke of “certain questions against him about their own religion” (Acts 25:19). Pilate too had said of Jesus, “I find no basis for a charge against this man” (Luke 23:4).
- “Then all the Greeks laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him”
Sosthenes seems to have replaced Crispus, who had become a believer (Acts 18:8). The crowd turned on the man who had led the failed prosecution, and Gallio “didn’t care about any of these things.” Interestingly, Paul’s first letter to Corinth opens with greetings from “our brother Sosthenes” (1 Corinthians 1:1). It may be the same man, later converted, though the name was common and the text does not say.
The Significance of Acts 18:11-17
- God keeps his promises
The Lord promised that no one would harm Paul, and he used a pagan judge’s indifference to keep that promise. God is able to use people who do not know him, even their lack of interest, to protect his servants.
- The value of lawful government
Gallio was no friend of the Good News, yet his refusal to punish people for questions of belief gave the church room to grow. Paul later taught that rulers are “a servant of God to you for good” (Romans 13:4). Fair government is a gift for which believers may pray and give thanks.
- Endurance in teaching
Eighteen months of steady teaching shaped a church that would face many problems but also show great gifts. Patient teaching of the word is still the way churches are built.
Cross-References:
Acts 18:10: "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city." The promise kept in Gallio’s court.
Romans 13:4: "for he is a servant of God to you for good." Paul’s view of governing authorities.
Acts 23:29: Another Roman official found that Paul was accused only about questions of Jewish law.
Luke 23:4: "I find no basis for a charge against this man." Pilate’s similar verdict on Jesus.
Conclusion: Paul taught in Corinth for a year and a half, and when his opponents brought him before Gallio, the proconsul dismissed the case as a dispute about words and Jewish law. The Lord’s promise of protection was kept through the decision of a judge who did not care about the matter. The passage shows God’s control over courts and rulers and the value of patient, faithful teaching.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible