THURSDAY September 21, 2023
An Evil Plan
Thwarted And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.” And he drove them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.
Acts 18:14-17
Paul was about to speak and give a defense, when Gallio put a stop to the whole situation. He had no patience with the Jews who were obviously stirring up trouble. By what he said to them, you can tell he thought to himself, You are wasting my time. Gallio wanted the Jews to take care of the issue themselves because it had to do with their Jewish Laws. He wanted nothing to do with it. As proconsul of Achaia, he did not want the responsibility.
Gallio made it absolutely clear to the Jews that he only wanted to take care of judgments and laws established for the lives of the Corinthians. Having nothing more to say on the matter, he drove the Jews from his presence. Thankfully, their evil plan to harm Paul was thwarted.
Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Greeks laid their hands on poor Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and began to beat him. He was just an innocent bystander! As they could not beat Paul, in frustration perhaps, they decided to grab him instead! Gallio, seeing the violence, ignored it. He did not involve himself––he turned a blind eye––he just walked away.
Later, Sosthenes became a believer in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1:1, we find his name mentioned: Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.... Through Paul’s ministry, this man became saved, he remained a good friend of Paul, and he became a tremendous man of God.
In God’s hands intended evil becomes eventual good.
~Max Lucado~
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