In the last lesson we left Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1). In verse 2 Paul makes the acquaintance of Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They had recently come to Corinth from Italy. Luke tells us it was because Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome. This happened in 52 AD and was a result of the constant riots there caused by Jews objecting to those who were preaching Jesus Christ. Paul and Aquila were evidently drawn to one another because they were both tentmakers, so they worked together (verse 3).
That Paul worked as a tentmaker (skenopoios, from skene, a tent, and poieo, to make) was consistent with the Jewish culture. He was a Pharisee with the best education available at that time. And it was expected that he would use that knowledge to teach the law. But rabbis were not allowed to charge for teaching the law. They were expected to work at a trade to support themselves.
So, every Jewish boy was trained in some handicraft. Working with your hands was considered to be honorable and was an asset. If a man did not train his son in this way, it was said that he was raising him to be a robber. Paul was from Tarsus in Cilicia where the main export was a particular cloth made of goat’s hair (called cilicium) that was used to make tents.
And, since there is no account of their conversion, it must be assumed Aquila and Priscilla were believers. Their connection to Paul and his ministry continue up until the time just before Paul is executed in Rome. They’re mentioned in I Corinthians 16:19, along with the church that meets in their house (probably in Ephesus at this time, around 55 AD). We see them mentioned again in Romans 16:3, and they’re back in Rome (this is at least 57 AD). Then some time later (about 66 AD) they’re mentioned one last time by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:19. This letter was written from Rome during Paul’s second imprisonment there to Timothy, who was in Ephesus (so, apparently Aquila and Priscilla were back in Ephesus by then).
So, as we go on to verse 4, Paul is “reasoning” in the synagogue every Sabbath. Some versions have “argue” or “discoursed”. The original is dialegomai, and is sometimes rendered, reason, dispute and speak. Paul would not have been allowed to go into a synagogue and preach a message, while those in attendance simply sat in silence and listened. Instead, he was allowed to reason with them.
A good example is Paul’s experience in Berea back in Acts 17:11-12 when they listened to what he had to say, searched the scriptures to see if he was right and then believed. It was a back and forth, two-sided discussion or dialogue. Of course, “argue” or “dispute” would be accurate in some instances, when the unbelieving Jews would oppose him. However, verse 4 ends with “and (Paul) persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.”
In the next verse (5) Silas and Timothy join Paul in Corinth. Remember, for some reason they had stayed behind in Berea when Paul went to Athens and were just now catching up with him (17:13-15). Here the KJV says he was “pressed” in spirit. This is sunechomai, from the intensive preposition sun, and echo, to have or to hold fast. Here it is used to describe Paul’s mental state, that he had become totally focused on his dialogue with the Jews in the synagogue. The Amplified Bible says he was “completely engrossed” with it.
And, where the KJV has “spirit” (other subsequent versions even have Spirit, indicating the Holy Spirit), the original has logos, and should be translated “word”. When you take verses 3, 4 and 5 together, you can easily conclude that when he first arrived in Corinth he met Aquila and began to work with him in the tent making trade. But then he got involved with the Jews in the synagogue and some of them believed. Then, by the time Silas and Timothy got to Corinth, Paul had abandoned his tent making and was completely given over to the word in “testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”
Then in verse 6 Paul tires of the Jews constant opposition and abuse (both verbs, antitassomai, opposing oneself to, and blasphemeo, to rail against or revile, are present participles indicating continuous action) and vows to go to the Gentiles from this point on (however, he does still go to the synagogue in several places, but never invests the same time and energy as he had in the past). So Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of Titus Justus, just next door to the synagogue.
And the next verse (8) tells us Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed, along with his whole household, and as a result of this many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized. In the next several verses (9-11) the Lord encourages Paul in a vision to not be afraid, that no one will harm him; and Paul settles in and stays in Corinth teaching the word for the next year and a half.
The Lord is always true to His word. In verses 12-16 we meet Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia (the province of southern Greece), when the unbelieving Jews brought a united attack against Paul and brought him to the judge’s seat. We can’t know for sure, but this probably doesn’t take place until most, if not all, of Paul’s stay in Corinth has ended. So, there could very well be a significant time gap between verses 11 and 12.
Here we find the same charge against Paul; teaching people to worship God in violation of Roman law. But Gallio saw through their deceit, knew their complaint was a religious dispute and before Paul even opened his mouth to defend himself, Gallio dismissed them altogether. Actually, verse 16 says, “he drave them away from the judgment seat.” This is the KJV old English. Other translations say he “drove them away” or “he had them ejected”. The word is apelauno, to drive away by force. Apparently the mob tried to bully Gallio into judging Paul and kept insisting, so Gallio tired of their game and had his soldiers drive them out by force.
“Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in
front of the judgment seat. But Gallio ignored them and showed no concern for any
of this.” (Verse 17) So, what’s this all about? The only other mention of Sosthenes is found in 1 Corinthians 1:1, where Paul calls him “our brother”. So, first off, the “Greeks” are those who had converted to Judaism, and as I have explained before, Gentile converts were considered second-class Jews. They were generally used as violent mobs doing the bidding of Jews in the synagogue (where they were not even allowed to go).
What we see in verse 17 is the result of a building frustration in the unbelieving Jews. Back in verse 8, their leader, Crispus, believes in Christ, along with his household, and “many” others follow. Then the Jews finally tire of Paul and whip up the mob to take him to Gallio for judgment. But Gallio won’t cooperate. After that, Sosthenes, the newly appointed leader of the synagogue, believes. This drives them into a frenzy, and to show their contempt for Gallio’s dismissive attitude, they beat Sosthenes right in front of the judgment seat.
In the next verse Paul stays in Corinth for a time and then turns towards Ephesus.