Act 18:12 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord’s promise that no one would lay hands on him will soon be fulfilled. Gallio becomes proconsul of the Roman province of Achaia in the thirteenth year of Claudius Caesar, which is in the year 53. So Paul must have arrived in Corinth around the year 52. When in the person of Gallio a new proconsul arrives, the Jews see their chance to sue Paul. They will all convince the newcomer Gallio what a dangerous man Paul is. They believe that Gallio will support their plan because the man wants of course to keep the peace in his province. They offer to help him do so, by bringing this hostile gentleman before him. As in other cities, the citizens seem to have had the right to arrest someone and bring them to justice. This invariably concerned a threat to the established order. That is the accusation here as well. They accuse Paul of talking strongly to people in order to persuade them to worship God, which is very much against the law. The prosecutors wisely do not mention by which law. It is clear that they want to give a religious matter a political content, just as their tactics have been in Philippi ( ). When Paul wants to open his mouth to defend himself, he does not get the chance to do so. The Lord stands up for him through Gallio’s reaction to the Jewish action. The Jews have completely misjudged Gallio. Gallio is not only an amiable man – as historians characterize him – but also a totally indifferent man. He knows why the Jews are worried and that is exactly what he is not worried about at all. With that he also says that the gospel is not dangerous for the state. He is not interested in the gospel, but it doesn’t harm him either. So why would he take action against it? If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, he would certainly deal with the accusation of those whom he explicitly addresses with “O Jews”. By addressing them so emphatically he shows that he is well aware of the background of their intent. This he also declares when he states that it is nothing more than contentious questions about words and names and the law they have. He knows what it is all about. It also shows his total indifference toward the Lord Jesus and His work. He reduces the whole faith to a word, a few names and the law. Maybe he has heard a word like ‘resurrection’ or names like ‘Jesus’ and ‘Christ’ and has heard something about the Jewish law, but he is not interested in any of it. His total lack of interest is the blame of the Jews ( ), but it does not make Gallio any less guilty. Even today there are many of those indifferent people who are not interested in matters of faith because of the quarrels of Christians among themselves about peanuts. As Christians, we must confess our guilt. Yet for those who use the misbehavior of Christians as an excuse not to concern themselves with matters of faith, this misbehavior does not justify their indifference. Often such people also boast of their religious tolerance. As for Gallio, he does not let himself be tempted to pass judgment on the case brought before him. He doesn’t want to hear another word about it either and drives them all away from the judgment seat. However, the Jews do not give in and find a new victim in Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue. Out of frustration at the failure of their accusation against Paul, they treat him rougher than Paul, because they beat him in front of the judgment seat. If this Sosthenes is the same as the one that Paul mentions as co-sender of his first letter to the Corinthians ( ), it is plausible that at this moment he has already shown his interest in the Jesus preached by Paul as the Christ. Sosthenes, who probably succeeded Crispus as leader of the synagogue, is then in their eyes a new traitor. That must have made them even more angry. It doesn’t matter to Gallio. Just as he was not disturbed by their story about Paul’s alleged violation of the law, he remains indifferent about their violent action against Sosthenes. Gallio’s complete indifference also makes it clear how the acclaimed norms of Roman law were applied at the time. God used it here to protect His servants, but as an exercise of law it is done entirely arbitrarily.

‏ Acts 18:12

The Case Law of Gallio

The Lord’s promise that no one would lay hands on him will soon be fulfilled. Gallio becomes proconsul of the Roman province of Achaia in the thirteenth year of Claudius Caesar, which is in the year 53. So Paul must have arrived in Corinth around the year 52. When in the person of Gallio a new proconsul arrives, the Jews see their chance to sue Paul. They will all convince the newcomer Gallio what a dangerous man Paul is. They believe that Gallio will support their plan because the man wants of course to keep the peace in his province. They offer to help him do so, by bringing this hostile gentleman before him.

As in other cities, the citizens seem to have had the right to arrest someone and bring them to justice. This invariably concerned a threat to the established order. That is the accusation here as well. They accuse Paul of talking strongly to people in order to persuade them to worship God, which is very much against the law. The prosecutors wisely do not mention by which law. It is clear that they want to give a religious matter a political content, just as their tactics have been in Philippi (Acts 16:20-21).

When Paul wants to open his mouth to defend himself, he does not get the chance to do so. The Lord stands up for him through Gallio’s reaction to the Jewish action. The Jews have completely misjudged Gallio. Gallio is not only an amiable man – as historians characterize him – but also a totally indifferent man. He knows why the Jews are worried and that is exactly what he is not worried about at all. With that he also says that the gospel is not dangerous for the state. He is not interested in the gospel, but it doesn’t harm him either. So why would he take action against it? If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, he would certainly deal with the accusation of those whom he explicitly addresses with “O Jews”.

By addressing them so emphatically he shows that he is well aware of the background of their intent. This he also declares when he states that it is nothing more than contentious questions about words and names and the law they have. He knows what it is all about. It also shows his total indifference toward the Lord Jesus and His work. He reduces the whole faith to a word, a few names and the law. Maybe he has heard a word like ‘resurrection’ or names like ‘Jesus’ and ‘Christ’ and has heard something about the Jewish law, but he is not interested in any of it. His total lack of interest is the blame of the Jews (Rom 2:24), but it does not make Gallio any less guilty.

Even today there are many of those indifferent people who are not interested in matters of faith because of the quarrels of Christians among themselves about peanuts. As Christians, we must confess our guilt. Yet for those who use the misbehavior of Christians as an excuse not to concern themselves with matters of faith, this misbehavior does not justify their indifference. Often such people also boast of their religious tolerance.

As for Gallio, he does not let himself be tempted to pass judgment on the case brought before him. He doesn’t want to hear another word about it either and drives them all away from the judgment seat. However, the Jews do not give in and find a new victim in Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue. Out of frustration at the failure of their accusation against Paul, they treat him rougher than Paul, because they beat him in front of the judgment seat.

If this Sosthenes is the same as the one that Paul mentions as co-sender of his first letter to the Corinthians (1Cor 1:1), it is plausible that at this moment he has already shown his interest in the Jesus preached by Paul as the Christ. Sosthenes, who probably succeeded Crispus as leader of the synagogue, is then in their eyes a new traitor. That must have made them even more angry. It doesn’t matter to Gallio. Just as he was not disturbed by their story about Paul’s alleged violation of the law, he remains indifferent about their violent action against Sosthenes.

Gallio’s complete indifference also makes it clear how the acclaimed norms of Roman law were applied at the time. God used it here to protect His servants, but as an exercise of law it is done entirely arbitrarily.