Acts 18:9-18
Chapter 18
for many people in this city are mine. I am with you so that no one will harm you.”
So Paul remained for a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.
When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews unified their attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him:
This man attempts to persuade us to worship God in illegal ways.
Paul was about to defend himself when Gallio told the Jews:
“If it were a matter of wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have to consider your complaint.
But since this is a dispute over teachings and divine names that are specific to your law, deal with it yourselves: I refuse to judge such matters.”
And he sent them out of the court.
Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention.
Paul stayed with the disciples in Corinth for many days; then he left them and sailed with Priscilla and Aquila to Syria. Since he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.
Commentaries
in Corinth – Heading Toward Antioch.
During that time, Corinth, the capital of Achaia province, was a city with two contrasting cultures—Greek before and Roman afterward. With over half a million residents, it was famous for its immorality and the stark divide between the wealthy and the poor. For Paul, it was a city of love and hardship, where he spent a year and a half evangelizing, making great efforts, and writing several letters. For Luke, it was the city where the Gospel was finally opened to the pagans and the Roman Empire, after being rejected by the Jews. Today, for Christians, Corinth is remembered as the birthplace of one of the most well-known and influential early Christian communities, whose life and energy continue to inspire us as we read the two letters Paul wrote to them.