22 - The Portent

Sosthenes was a man of dignified appearance, old, with a white beard, and slow. He was learned in the law and widely known for his charitable deeds. He was also the new head of the Jewish synagogue.

One Sabbath morning as the services ended and the people were going into the street, they were met by some who told them of extraordinary statements made by Paul the same morning over in the other synagogue. According to the reports, he not only said that Jesus was Messiah, but that God had relinquished the government of the world into his hands. He was also reported to have said that the Law was not only done away with, but it actually made man sinful, and Jesus was releasing man from that bondage of sin. Finally, he said that it wasn’t the Jews who were heirs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but rather the Gentiles. He claimed that the blessing of Abraham was being taken away from the Jews and given to the Gentiles and that they were heirs in spirit.

One of the Jews cried out loudly enough for all to hear, “That’s like a father, seeing his strength failing in his old age, calling in his son and saying, ‘Here son, take these keys to all the granaries and storehouses, and take over their management. I’m too old and can’t do it anymore.’ Is our God old and feeble?

“You know what would happen if he said that Zeus had become old and turned over the government of the world to Apollo, don’t you? There’d be nothing left of him but ashes!”

“Hey, look! Here they come now! Behold the new children of Abraham!”

The services in the synagogue of Justus had ended, and Paul’s congregation was coming out. They were a mixed crowd, including believing Jews, Gentiles, slaves, and even a few prominent citizens. Some of the Jews were from the nearby congregation and some from Rome.

But the most suspicious element in Paul’s congregation was the many Greeks among them. It was commonly known that some of them wanted to drink from the cup of the devil as well as the cup of the Lord. And indeed, as they came out of the synagogue of Justus, they didn’t look like people who were too heavily weighted with the obligations and responsibilities of the new faith. It had come too easily to them. One could see in their eyes, not the humility of the converted, but rather the pride of the heir.

This smugness really rankled the Jews of the old synagogue. They might as well have come right out and said, ‘You Jews bear the yoke of the law in vain! The reward belongs to us!’ It was impossible for the Jews to see anything in them but strangers who had broken into their Father’s house to rob them of their inheritance; an inheritance they had earned through long faithfulness and patient suffering.

When Paul came out with some Roman Christians and with Crispus, the former head of the Jewish synagogue, a clamor of voices was raised among the bystanders.

“You sell your birthright cheaply, for a pot of lentils!”
“Aye, the Gentiles can buy anything from him, as long as he can sell it!”
“Hear us, Crispus! This troublemaker has led you into blasphemy. Do you agree with this?”

The Gentiles in Paul’s congregation began to shout back.

“Yes, yes, we are the Israelites. We are the children of Abraham! We are in Christ! You are all husks. You’re empty shells.”

There was laughter around him as the speaker continued, “You live in the darkness of the law, we live in the light of faith!”

“Children of Abraham!” responded the Jews scornfully. “Go home, uncover the altars of your idols, and sleep with your fathers’ concubines! New children of Israel, indeed!”

The two crowds surged toward one another, and blows would have been exchanged had not Sosthenes come out at that moment and calmed his people down. Paul did the same thing with the Christians, and the clash was averted for the moment.

But only for the moment.

Neither of the two groups would disperse, and the air was charged with anger. The Jews of the old synagogue began to scold their own elder, Sosthenes, for doing nothing to prevent this continuation of blasphemy against the God of Israel.

As the tension continued, someone suddenly cried, “There’s a new Procurator in the city! I hear he’s wise and just. Let’s take Paul to him, and let him decide if it’s OK for a Jew to preach against the Law of Moses, and keep his own people from serving the God of their fathers.”

Sosthenes, the man of peace, did everything in his power to reason with his people. He reminded them that it would be blasphemy to disturb the peace on the Sabbath day. Let them put off the dispute to another day. But neither the Jews nor the Christians dispersed, and the former kept up their demand that Sosthenes do something.

“Why must he have his house of prayer so close to ours?” shouted one. “Why must he provoke us and make our blood boil, by preaching his blasphemies where we can hear them? You’re our leader Sosthenes. It’s up to you to do something.”

And Sosthenes, unable to withstand the pressure, turned to Paul, and said, “You’re the apostle to the Gentiles, right? So why not go to the Gentiles, Paul? Why do you come to disturb the peace of our household?”

“But did Christ come for Gentiles alone? Did he not also come for the forlorn children of Israel? Yes, Israel first, and then the Greeks. And I’ve come to make one out of the two, to throw down the barrier between Greek and Jew in the faith of Christ.”

“But is that part of the Torah? Do you have the authority of the Sanhedrin?”

“I have the authority of Christ,” said Paul.

“An Israelite who rebels against the Torah! To the procurator with him!”

And suddenly the two groups mixed in conflict. Hands were lifted and blows were exchanged. Jews and Gentiles confronted each other rocking and swaying this way and that. Moments later, Paul was lifted up and carried off. The heads of the two synagogues, wedged into the mob, were forced to accompany the wild procession as it swarmed through the streets to the marketplace across from the house of the new procurator, Gallio, where he was holding public judgment before the great portico.


Junius Gallio was a man who had a spirit of justice. He was an educated son of an educated father and a brother of the great philosopher, Seneca. Gallio was a statesman, dramatist and rhetorician. Something of his high character and many achievements was evident in his appearance and his bearing, as he sat before the portico that morning. The might of Rome was personified in his massive head, his high forehead, his eagle’s nose, and his cold blue eyes. No muscle moved on his long, heavy face, no glimmer of interest lit up his eyes, as he listened to the cases brought before him.

He listened to the complaint of the Jews with the same impassive remoteness. The head of the synagogue spoke, followed by various witnesses, charging that Paul persuades the people against serving God according to the Torah. The Jews bored Gallio, the Roman, the man of logic, the man of might. He was wearied by their superstitious ways, which, to his regret, was spreading far and wide in Achaia. Paul watched him closely. He admired Roman statesmen and had a special longing to bring them into the fold. He thought this was an excellent opportunity to preach the gospel to one of the great. But when he opened his mouth to speak, Gallio cut him off with a gesture.

Without looking at the Jews or at Paul, he said, “If this matter were one involving an injustice or a crime, I would listen to you. But since it only concerns words of your law, take care of it yourselves. We shall not judge of such matters.”

Having thus delivered himself with great dignity, Gallio signaled the officers to drive the Jews, the Christians, and Paul from before the judgment seat.


O wise and just Gallio, was it wise and just for you to have acted this way? For what happens after your little speech? What is the meaning of the cries of triumph and the shrieks of outrage and pain?

Gallio the dignitary unbends just enough to cast a glance at the scene beyond the pillars by the portico. The Greek Christians, jubilant at the verdict issued by the just and noble Gallio, have just grabbed old Sosthenes by the hair, torn off his clothes, and are beating him about the head and body – right in the very presence of the seat of justice. Where is your wisdom and honor, O Gallio? You could put a stop to this horror with one word. But the word is never spoken.

The chronicler tells us “Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of these things.”

Not only didn’t he care, but a close look would have seen that the steely eyes under the heavy brows flickered for a moment, as if amused. For indeed it was amusing that these Jews, and Gallio included Christian Greeks in their number, should draw daggers over the empty, foolish “words” of their law, and should stain the gray head of Sosthenes with his own blood because of those words. Did you think, at that moment, O Gallio, of the noble words of your brother, the great Seneca? “A holy spirit dwells in us, observes our good and evil deeds, and keeps watch over them. Even as we deal, so shall we be dealt with. No man is good without God.”


The Jews lifted up the bloodstained body of Sosthenes from the polished marble stones, wrapped him in a white sheet and carried him home. Paul, stricken in heart, felt like Moses must have felt when he came down from Sinai with the tablets of the Law, and saw the Jews dancing around the golden calf. He’d just seen all his work lost and destroyed. He didn’t join the parade of the triumphant Gentiles; he felt that his place was by the side of the beaten Jew. Of course, as he followed along, they reproached him and held him responsible for the crime. He kept his head sunk and didn’t answer.

Paul wasn’t alone, though. Crispus, white with shame over what was done to the man who had succeeded him as head of the synagogue, came along, as did Stephanas, Aquila and Priscilla and other Jewish Christians from Rome. They cried aloud and begged forgiveness for the Gentiles “who know not what they do.”

When they reached the house, the others pushed them out, crying, “See there. That’s how Christians behave!”

“These are the people you gave our inheritance to?”

Paul heard and didn’t answer. How could he, when his Messiah was being blasphemed by the acts of his own followers?


That evening Paul sat on the floor in Priscilla’s house in mourning. His head hung on his chest and he refused to be comforted. After awhile, his friends stopped trying and everyone sat in stony silence.

Paul had that burning sensation he often felt when things looked darkest, like a thorn thrust into his body. His eyes and lips felt like stones that would never open again. Timothy sat next to him silently, having given up his efforts to comfort him. Stephanas and Crispus stood by helplessly. When the silence had lasted a long time, it was Priscilla who dared to speak. She refused to see the congregation ruined because of the folly and wickedness of a few Greek Christians.

She spoke up, half in anger, and said, “Let’s see, after all, what has happened here. The people who did this are just human. Just yesterday they were idol worshippers, steeped in the lusts and passions of the gods. Can we expect them to overcome their nature so easily? Paul, you yourself said that children must be fed with milk. If you teach them, they will be ashamed of what they’ve done.”

But Paul didn’t answer. He had no word even for Priscilla, the mother of the congregation. His eyes were locked, as though turned inward. He was brooding. Did he see this perhaps as a portent of events to come to make his blood run cold? For when he finally opened his eyes, he looked from face to face, as though seeking the answer to a dreadful question.

When he came to Timothy and read the infinite love and devotion on his face, it was like he’d found what he was looking for, a hope for the future. He suddenly brightened, got up and said, “Come, Timothy, light the way for me.”

They looked at Paul in astonishment. But before they could ask him “Where?” Paul himself answered, “That which has defiled the name of Christ shall be made to sanctify him. Come, lead me to the house of the head of the synagogue, Sosthenes.”

“Sosthenes?”

“Is anything impossible to God?” said Paul, speaking more to himself than to those around him.

He came into Sosthenes’ house and approached the bed where the old man lay, bandaged and breathing hard. Paul bowed down three times and said, “I’ve come to ask your forgiveness of the lord, inasmuch as the sins of the followers of the lord have made him responsible before you. Therefore for him, and in his name, I ask your forgiveness.”

“Of what lord do you speak? I know only one Lord, and he is the Lord of the world,” answered Sosthenes.

“The Lord of the world is your Lord and my Lord also, and the lord Messiah is His holy servant. And for the servant of God, who is the lord of all us that are human, I have come to ask forgiveness.”

“What have I to do with your lord?” asked Sosthenes.

“He is also your lord. Because of the suffering you endured in his name, you’ve been baptized with his baptism, not with water, but with blood. The blows you received are the nails that were driven into the living body of the lord. You’re nearer to him than any of us. You’re the first in Israel to suffer at the hands of Gentiles who claim to speak for Christ. I’m telling you they’ve blasphemed his name and have crucified him again. Gentile baptism has been shamed and brought to nothing. Because of what they did to you, the blood of the lord has been shed in vain. And you must help the Gentiles to find their way back to the lord.”

“Why should I help those who caused this suffering?” asked Sosthenes.

“Suffering is our portion, brother Sosthenes, and we suffer daily for His Name’s sake. Our flesh is wounded every day by the thorns that grow in their wild Gentile natures. And we must help them to free themselves from their abominations, and to enter under the wings of the glory of God through faith in Messiah. This is the grace God has given us. We must return love for the blows they rain on us. We’re the light of the world and it’s our duty to lead the Gentiles out of the darkness. Salvation isn’t just for a single people. God created all men of one blood. Messiah came for all, and we who are nearest to him in the flesh must help him bring the world to the throne of the Lord of the world.”

“But how?” asked Sosthenes. “By creating a division between God and Messiah?”

“God forbid! There is no division between God and Messiah. There is but one God of Israel and one intermediary between God and man, and that is the man, Jesus the Messiah!” answered Paul firmly.

“And what law do you teach? Are these the ways of the Jewish Messiah?”

“My brother Sosthenes, know that whatever I do I do for the sake of heaven. And in order to bring the Gentiles into the grace of God, they must first be made obedient to Messiah. And when all are obedient to him, then the Son, who is obedient to the Father, will make them all obedient to Him.”

“And what do you want from me?” asked Sosthenes. “What should I do?”

“I ask you to help strengthen the Gentiles in the faith in the one living God of Israel through Messiah.”

Sosthenes didn’t answer. He needed time for reflection.

* * * * *

The next Sabbath Paul stood before the congregation of Christians, Jews, and Greeks and talked about the unhappy incident before the judgment seat of Gallio in a voice that trembled with pain.

“Don’t you know that you are the tabernacle of God, and that the spirit of God rests on you? If one tears down God’s tabernacle, God will tear him down. And don’t you know,” he said, his voice becoming stronger, “that your limbs belong to God, and that they are the instruments of Christ? Did Christ prove his words by beating those who opposed him, or did he do it through love and patience and forgiveness?”

As Paul continued to speak, the people’s heads sank lower and lower, and weeping was heard. Hands were lifted up asking forgiveness.

Suddenly Sosthenes appeared and stood by Paul’s side. The people stared at the bandage-covered head of the old man with astonishment. In a weak uncertain voice, they heard him say, “Be comforted, my brothers, be comforted. Let us pray to God our Father, that He forgive us our sins as we forgive them one another.”

And when each man in his heart had repeated the short prayer, Sosthenes raised his hands, saying, “Peace be with you, my brothers.”

And with that he left and returned to his own synagogue to finish his prayers.

From that time on no more dissension was heard between the two congregations. And some years later, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “Through the will of God and Sosthenes our brother.” Sosthenes became such an important figure in the eyes of the Christians that Paul considered it necessary to mention his name when he wrote his severe criticisms to the Corinthians.