Paul In A Vision

 "One night, in a vision, the LORD said to Paul, 'Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are MINE.  I AM with you, so no one will harm you.'  So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of GOD among them.

When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court.  And they accused him, 'This man tries to persuade us to worship GOD in ways that are against the law.'

Paul was about to speak in his own defense when Gallio said to the Jews, 'If it were a matter of a misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint.  But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to 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 to it.

Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria.  And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae." - Acts 18:9-18 

(A vision: there are not many in this book.  Perhaps Paul was wondering whether it would not be better for him to retire for a time as he had already done and as JESUS had advised in case of persecution [Matthew 10:23].  The devil increases the opposition when someone sets foot on his field: in this center of corruption, grace would triumph.

The Jews brought him before the court.  Here we have a new example of the problems of Paul met in the great Roman centers.  Different people co-exist and many conflicts are settled within communities according to their proper laws and customs.  Gallio, the Roman governor, has no wish to be dragged into the jungle of traditions and disputes, especially with the Jews who enjoyed religious privileges within the Roman Empire.

The Jews are furious in seeing the success of Paul that relies on the word of GOD, that is, on their own sacred books.  They fear that the boldness of the Christians might stir a reaction from the pagans, in which case they, too, would be victims.

They seized Sosthenes--and beat him.  A sure bet would be that this Sosthenes, a Jew, is the one mentioned in 1 Corinthians  1:1.  Even if he already acted as a prominent member of the Christian group, it is doubtful whether the Jews would have attacked him before the authorities: most probably it was a group of bystanders falling on a well-known Jew.

Paul had made a vow.  He shaved his head as it was said in Numbers 6:5.  All that Paul had written to turn converted pagans away from the Jewish Law did not prevent him, a Jew, from feeling at ease with the traditional forms of Jewish piety.  He knew that faith alone saves, but it was his wish to mark with a vow some secret agreement he had made with the LORD.)

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