Acts 18:12-17 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one mind against Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God against the law.” 14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If this were wrongdoing or a vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15But 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.” 16And he drove them from the tribunal. 17And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio had no concern for any of this.
After eighteen months of ministry and church growth, Paul faced a united front of Jews who attacked him before Gallio, the proconsul. Paul’s work must have become substantial and noticeable, even after only a year and a half. This growth implies God’s blessing and Paul’s courage and faith. The mention of Gallio is important in the study of Paul’s ministry because a lot has been discovered about him. Gallio was proconsul of the province of Achaia from around A.D. 51-52. This means that Paul spent time in Corinth from around 50 to 52. From this time, other events of Paul’s ministry can be put on a timeline. A Roman tribunal was the court for civil and criminal cases.
Luke records the Jews’ accusation against Paul in verse 13. They blamed Paul of worshiping God against the law. The question is which law? Gallio interpreted “law” to be Jewish customs and an internal matter among themselves. Paul had not broken any Roman law. The Romans were fairly open-minded about religion and allowed people to worship whatever god in their large pantheon of deities.
Paul was ready to defend himself and likely preach the gospel to the proconsul, but much to the disappointment of the Jews, Gallio refused to take the case. His response was similar to what Pilate first said to the Jews about Jesus, but the Jews in that case kept pushing until Pilate finally responded by having Jesus crucified. In the case of Paul, the Jews could do nothing more from a legal perspective. Gallio likely could not have done anything if Paul had made known his Roman citizenship, but he did not at this point since there was no need.
After kicking the Jews out of his court for brining a trivial internal matter to him, the Jews were so upset, they beat up Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue. This attack was apparently right out in the open before the court so that Gallio would have noticed it. Whether the Gentile observers or other Jews beat up Sosthenes is not clear. Nothing more is said in Acts about who Sosthenes was, but Paul listed someone by the same name as co-author in 1 Corinthians 1:1. If they were the same person, Sosthenes may have become a believer when Paul was in Corinth. Paul’s ministry among the Jews was not a waste of time. Sosthenes may have traveled with Paul, possibly to Ephesus, where Paul may have been when he wrote that letter.
Paul’s popularity had risen to the point that the highest Roman official of the province at least heard of his name and what he was doing. This fact is remarkable in such a relatively short time. It indicates how the message of the gospel was impacting the lowest slaves to the highest officials. Paul’s journeys and interaction with high officials was only getting started, as Luke will record in the coming chapters.