THE JEWISH INSURRECTION IN CORINTH

Acts 18:12-15 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: but if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.

In the preceding verses 9 and 10, God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, assured Paul with these words that he had nothing to fear from the people of Corinth: Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee. Taking refuge in this promise, Paul continued to preach the gospel message of eternal salvation through the Son of God, Christ Jesus, to all in Corinth that willing heard, believed, and obeyed his Holy Spirit-inspired teaching. At this time in Paul's ministry, Gallio was the deputy of Achaia. That is, he was the governor that ruled over this Roman province, of which Corinth was the capital city. More than likely, while he was delivering one of his sermons on salvation through Christ, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul. All Jews that rejected Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah opposed the teaching of Paul with complete unity - they were all with one accord.

Most often we think of an "insurrection" being made against an established governmental authority. However, the word merely means a tumult, a noisy commotion, uproar, or agitation. In other words, the Jews stirred up the people of Corinth creating a great emotional disturbance against the apostle Paul, restraining him, and bringing him before the judgment seat of Gallio. Their accusation was that Paul's teaching persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. Which law? Roman authorities did recognize both the pagan laws of worship by Gentiles and Jewish laws of worship by those that had chosen to leave Israel and settle in Roman provinces, such as Achaia. And it was true that the Christian worship of God was certainly contrary to both the worship of God under Jewish law, as well as the idolatrous worship of idols under the pagan religions that existed throughout most of the Roman Empire.

However, Gallio was not impressed or swayed by the accusations of these riotous, agitating Jews. We know this because when Paul was now about to open his mouth in his defense of their accusations, Gallio knew immediately that their charges were intended to maliciously persecute Paul for preaching Christian doctrine - a doctrine which did not deny Jewish doctrine, but instead fulfilled it. According to Gallio, no civil law had been violated. It is evident that Gallio understood a conflict existed between Paul's teaching and the Jewish doctrine, and that it was a question (or disagreement about) words and names. For instance, under Jewish doctrine, the Savoir of the world would one day be born as the Messiah, but under the Christian doctrine taught by Paul, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, had already come and His name was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Therefore he refused to allow the accusation against Paul to be brought before him, saying, I will be no judge of such matters. The conflict, as Gallio saw it, was a matter of semantics - a difference between the meaning of words and names, and that they should settle it among themselves. Then, as it should be in the present age, governmental officials should not control the religious doctrines of mankind to the extent that it does not infringe on the inalienable rights of others.

This being the ruling of Gallio, the following verse tells us that he drave (drove) them from the judgment seat - he ordered all parties of this matter to leave his courtroom. Then verse 17 tells us how the Greeks regarded the matter and the actions they took against the leader of this Jewish insurrection. Notice in verse 8 above, that the chief ruler of the synagogue was Crispus, who left his Jewish position, accepted the gospel of salvation, accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior, and was baptized for the remission of his sins. Sosthenes became the new chief ruler of the synagogue. He was directly responsible for creating this insurrection and bringing these charges against the apostle Paul. The contentious manner Sosthenes brought this matter before Gallio, greatly riled the Greek witnesses. They carried out revengeful punishment against him before Gallio, who did nothing to prevent it. And Paul continued preaching the gospel of Christ in Corinth.