Acts 18:4 says that Paul “was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath, persuading both Jews and Greeks.” Paul, of course, went to the Jewish synagogue gathering for the purpose of taking advantage of the opportunity to announce the word of God. He did not go there to keep the Sabbath, but to preach the gospel, persuading both Jews and Greeks. The mention of the Greeks in 18:4 indicates that some Greeks also attended the Jewish synagogues to listen to the word of God.
In 18:5-17 Paul preached to the Jews and encountered their opposition. Verse 5 says, “And when both Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was wholly occupied in the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.” The Greek words rendered “wholly occupied” may also be translated “pressed by” or “constrained by.”
It was at this time in Corinth that, after the coming of Silas and Timothy from Macedonia with some information concerning the church in Thessalonica (1 Thes. 3:6), Paul wrote his first Epistle to the church there (1 Thes. 1:1). From Corinth Paul wrote that lovely letter to the dear saints in Thessalonica for their encouragement.
In Corinth Paul testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. “But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, Your blood be upon your head; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (v. 6). The situation with the Jews in Corinth was the same as that of the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia, who thrust away the word of God and judged themselves unworthy of eternal life (13:46). In that situation also Paul declared, “Behold, we turn to the Gentiles.”
Acts 18:7 and 8 continue, “And he left there and went into the house of one named Titus Justus, who worshipped God, whose house was next to the synagogue. And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with his whole household; and many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.” As in 16:31, the word “household” in 18:8 indicates that the family of the believer is a complete unit for God’s salvation, like the family of Noah (Gen. 7:1), the families partaking of the Passover (Exo. 12:3-4), the family of the harlot Rahab (Josh. 2:18-19), the family of Zaccheus (Luke 19:9), the family of Cornelius (Acts 11:14), and the family of Lydia (16:15).
According to 18:9 and 10, “The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not fear, but speak and do not be silent, because I Myself am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” As in 16:9 and 10, the vision in which the Lord spoke to Paul during the night was neither a dream nor a trance. In a vision such as this definite objects are visible to human eyes.
Acts 18:11 tells us that Paul “settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” As we shall see, Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years. This indicates that the church in Ephesus was the leading church in Asia Minor. Likewise, the fact that Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half indicates that the church in Corinth was the leading church in Achaia. No doubt, during his time in Corinth Paul did a great deal of work.
As we read the book of Acts we see that the resistance, opposition, and attack from the Jewish people was very strong. We are told that the Jews wanted to do away with Paul (9:23; 23:12-15, 21; 25:3). Wherever Paul went, the Jews resisted and opposed him. In Thessalonica they “set the city in an uproar” (17:5). Concerning the opposition of the Jews in Corinth against Paul, 18:12 and 13 say, “While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up against Paul with one accord and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, This man incites men to worship God contrary to the law.” Using today’s terms, the proconsul in verse 12 was the governor. The Jews brought Paul to Gallic and accused him of teaching others to worship God in a way that is not according to the Mosaic law.
When Paul was about to speak, “Gallio said to the Jews, If it were indeed a matter of wrongdoing or crime, O Jews, I would for that reason tolerate you; but if it be questions concerning words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves! I do not intend to be a judge of these things. And he drove them away from the judgment seat” (vv. 14-16). Here Gallio seemed to be saying, “If a crime has been committed, I will be the judge in this case. But I have no interest in disputes concerning names and terminology and your law. I do not have time for such things. You take care of this yourselves.”
In a sense Gallio’s attitude was helpful to Paul. But in another sense it put Paul in a dangerous situation. After Gallio expressed his attitude so clearly to the Jews, they became bold. “They all laid hold of Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And Gallio was not concerned about any of these things” (v. 17). From this we see that the situation could have become very threatening to Paul.
The Sosthenes in 18:17 was probably not the same Sosthenes as in 1 Corinthians 1:1, because this Epistle was written in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:8) not long after the apostle left Corinth, where the other Sosthenes was a ruler of the synagogue when Paul was persecuted there. The Sosthenes in 1 Corinthians 1:1, as a brother in the Lord, must have joined Paul in his traveling ministry.