Some time after Paul wrote his second letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he had a pretty severe conflict arise during his ministry in Corinth. Paul had already alluded to an increase in opposition in his letter (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2) – “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” He probably already senses that a major conflict is about to erupt. Luke tells us about it in Acts 18:12-21.

“But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, ‘This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.’ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.’ And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.“

Luke’s mention of Gallio being the proconsul (chief judge) of the region is a valuable tool for dating this event because we know from Roman records that he was proconsul in A.D. 51-52. His judgment also serves as a precedent in future trials of Christians by indicating that their beliefs were not in violation of Roman law but only at odds with Jewish beliefs. This argument would be used again later in Acts. As a reminder, there is some thought that Acts was written by Luke to serve as part of the legal defense for Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome for his preaching.

It’s also interesting to note that the Jews, in their anger at being rejected by Gallio, turned on the ruler of the synagogue – Sosthenes – and beat him. We’re not told why, but we have a clue from Paul’s first letter to the church here in Corinth, which he would write in just a few years’ time. The first verse of that letter identifies that Sosthenes is a co-author. If that’s the same person, he probably became a Christian and supported Paul as he was being accused by the Jews. Perhaps the Jews would have gotten in trouble with Gallio if they beat up the person that had been brought to trial, but he apparently wasn’t as concerned with their attack on someone else. It’s also interesting to note that Sosthenes is the second synagogue leader to have converted to Christianity in Corinth. We were told back in Acts 18:8 that “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household.“

“After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.

It is important to note here that even though Paul was a Christian missionary, his identity as a Jew was still strong. The vow that he had taken, apparently while in Corinth was very possibly a Nazirite vow, described for us in Numbers 6:1-21. A Jew could specially commit themselves to the Lord for a specific time period. During this special vow of dedication, the person could not consume anything produced from grapes, they could not cut their hair, and they could not come near a dead person. At the conclusion of the time period allocated to the vow they would have a ceremony signifying the conclusion of the vow.

We’re not told specifically who accompanied Paul as he left Achaia. Luke definitely identifies Priscilla and Aquila. I presume that Luke was also in the company, along with Silas and Timothy. Sosthenes may have joined them here, or turned up in Ephesus at a later time. There may have been others from the Corinthian church who accompanied them as well but we’re not told that.

And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.“

Paul left Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus, spoke in the synagogue, and then continued on his return trip. Luke says, “When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch.” This return to Jerusalem and then back to his home church in Antioch brought his second missionary journey to a close.

And even though this entry was shorter than some, I’ll bring this one to a close as well. Next time we’ll tag along as Paul embarks on his third missionary journey.