Atos 18

Atos 18

Phillips comments that "Gallio, as a man, lost his soul by not being interested in those things." (Exploring Acts: An Expository Commentary) Larkin comments on about words and names and your own law - The Jews have brought him (Gallio) controversial questions (Acts 15:2; Acts 26:3) about words (literally, "a word"—the gospel message, Acts 18:11) and not deeds, about names (messianic titles and Jesus' identity as the Christ, v. Acts 18:5) and about [their] own law (a law-free gospel for the Gentiles, vv. Acts 18:6-8). I will not be a judge of such things. (Ibid) Robertson on about...names - As to whether "Jesus" should also be called "Christ" or "Messiah." The Jews, Gallio knew, split hairs over words and names. Questions (2213)(zetema from zeteo = to seek) refers to something sought, questioned or inquired about, especially controversial questions. In the NT only in Acts and is used for a controversial issue such as the “question” of whether circumcision was necessary to salvation (Acts 15:1,2), questions about the Law (Acts 23:29), and questions with respect to whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead (Acts 25:19). Zetema - 5x - issue(1), points of disagreement(1), questions(3). Acts 15:2; Acts 18:15; Acts 23:29; Acts 25:19; Acts 26:3 Look after it yourselves - In effect, settle this among yourselves. This is not a matter of breaking Roman law. I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters - "I do not wish" representing an absolute refusal to allow a Jewish religious question to be brought before a Roman civil court. Gallio had no desire to engage in their petty religious squabbles. Unwilling (ou = negation + willing) (1014)(boulomai) refers to a settled desire, one born of or springing from reason and not from emotion. Gallio is saying it is not reasonable to decide on your religious squabbles. Judge (2923) (krites from krino = to judge) is one who decides, the one who makes decisions based on examination and evaluation. Krites is used of of human beings (Mt 5:25; Lk 12:14, 58; 18:2.Ac 24:10). Krites is used of God (Heb 12:23; Jas 4:12; 2 Ti 4:8; Acts 10:42; Jas 5:9) Krites was a leader of the people in the period of the Judges (Acts 13:20). BDAG - (1) one who has the right to render a decision in legal matters (2) one who rules in a special sense in the accounts of Israel’s theocratic period- William Larkin sums up the considerable significance of Gallio's remarks - Here Gallio articulates two principles of church-state relations that, when lived out in any political structure, will pave the way for the gospel's unhindered progress. First, by saying that Paul is not accused of a misdemeanor or serious crime, Gallio declares Christianity's innocence before the state. Missionary activity is not illegal (contrast the Jewish leaders' assessment: Acts 4:18, Acts 4:21; Acts 5:28). Second, by refusing to adjudicate an intramural religious dispute, Gallio declares that religious questions do not fall within the competence of secular state powers (Lk 20:25). For the fifties of the first century this was truly a precedent-setting decision. The decision of so eminent a proconsul would carry weight wherever such issues arose throughout the Empire (Longenecker 1981:486). (See Acts - Page 267) Rome's policy of toleration toward both Judaism and Christianity would be reversed. This change occurred about 64 A.D. when Nero blamed the Christians for burning Rome. And so there was about 10 years or so when the Gospel of Jesus Christ could be proclaimed in the provinces of the Roman empire without fear of coming into conflict with Roman law and most observers give thanks largely to Gallio's decision for this decade of toleration. Acts 18:16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat KJV Acts 18:16 And he drave them from the judgment seat. NET Acts 18:16 Then he had them forced away from the judgment seat. Ps 76:10; Ro 13:3,4; Revelation 12:16 Acts 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JEWISH CASE THROWN OUT OF COURT And he drove them away from the judgment seat (bema) - Why did he drive them out? The simple answer is that they remained! There could be other motivations - Perhaps he was irritated at being called to adjudicate in a clearly religious matter. It is possible that they protested his tossing their case out of court. We simply cannot be sure. In any event he categorically rejected their complaint. In modern vernacular he "threw the case out of court!" And not only did he "throw" their case out, but he threw them out of his court! Of course it is unlikely that Gallio personally escorted them out of his court, but more likely that he ordered aides or court officers (lictors) to remove these petty Jewish plaintiffs. Phillips comments "Thus the Jews were driven out on to the street by the flails of the officers, who doubtless were glad for an opportunity to express an incipient anti-Semitism with some measure of official sanction." (Ibid) Drove away (forced away)(556)(apelauno from apo = from + elauno = to drive) means "causing to move away from a point of reference by threat or force drive off or away, send away, expel" (Friberg). Apelauno is used only here in the NT (Lxx - 1 Sa 6:8, Ezek 34:12). Robertson is probably correct when he says "The Jews were stunned by this sudden blow from the mild proconsul and wanted to linger to argue the case further, but they had to go." Gilbrant - In classical Greek apelaunō means “drive away, expel, exclude, keep at a distance, ward off or avert.” In the Septuagint apelaunō means “drive away a flock” (Ezekiel 34:12), but in the good sense, drive them from danger to safety (used figuratively of God’s people). In the New Testament apelaunō is used only once; it refers to Gallio harshly driving the Jews away from the civil judgment seat at Corinth (Acts 18:16). Liddell-Scott - -to drive away, expel from a place, to drive away, banish, expel, Soph., Xen. 2. to lead away an army, Hdt.: then to march or go away, depart, to ride away, Xen. II. Pass. to be driven away, Hdt., Att.:to be excluded from a thing, Hdt., etc. Acts 18:17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things KJV Acts 18:17 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 those things. NET Acts 18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, and began to beat him in front of the judgment seat. Yet none of these things were of any concern to Gallio. Sosthenes 1 Cor 1:1 the leader of the synagogue Acts 17:32; Amos 6:6; 1 Cor 1:23 Acts 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SOSTHENES BEATEN And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue - To whom they refers is not certain. Longenecker, Bruce and Stott feel these are anti-Semitic Gentile onlookers. Others favor the they as Jews but one cannot be dogmatic. In any event the verb (took hold of) is rather aggressive indicating they did not just casually take his hand but that they seized him. It was mob violence in motion whether Jewish or Gentile in origin. Sosthenes (4988)(Sosthenes from sozo = save + sthenos = strength) means 'of safe strength' or "safe in strength." As discussed below this man with a name derived from the great verb sozo (save, rescue, deliver) appears to have been saved and that rescue by a supernatural strength outside of himself, the "strength" of the Gospel. Even the first three letters of his name are intriguing "S.O .S.!" A reasonable assumption is that Sosthenes became a believer in Messiah for as Paul later writes to the Corinthians he describes a man named Sosthenes... "Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother." (1 Cor 1:1) Related Resource: Who was Sosthenes in the Bible? Leader of the synagogue (752)(archisunagogos from archi - denotes rank or degree + sunagoge - synagogue) was leader or president of a synagogue, a lay person whose duty it was to take care of the physical arrangements for the worship services. Took hold of (seized) (1949) (epilambano from epi = upon + lambano = take hold of) means to lay hold of, get a good grip on, take possession of. All NT uses are in the middle voice. And began beating him in front of the judgment seat (bema) - Beating is in the imperfect tense depicting Sosthenes receiving one blow after another! S Beating (5180)(tupto/typto) means literally to smite, strike, beat or otherwise inflict a blow as when Paul was beaten in Acts (Acts 21:32, Acts 23:2 = "The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth.") Tupto means to smite in enmity with a stick, club, or fist (Mt. 24:49; Lk 12:45); on the cheek (Lk 6:29); on the head (of Jesus - Mt 27:30; Mk 15:19) and the face (of Jesus - Lk 22:64). But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things - Literally, "no one of these things was a care to Gallio." You can almost picture Gallio yawning (and saying "Pass me another grape!") as these religious zealots flail away on one of their fellow Jew. Gallio is not phased by their violence, which is somewhat surprising for now these Jews are at least ostensibly committing a crime in beating an innocent man. Gallio has no interest. The implication could also be that he was totally apathetic about spiritual matters. Jack Arnold comments that Gallio "was a great humanitarian but he was lost, showing no interest whatsoever in Christ. Gallio did not care. He thought religion to be irrelevant, so he went through life a rejecter of Christ even though he was one of the great men of his time. How sad! A brilliant, sensitive governor who was totally insensitive to spiritual issues. Are you like Gallio? Are you indifferent to spiritual realities? Are you unconcerned about the eternal destiny of your soul? Do you not care whether you go to heaven or hell? Gallio did not even bother to inquire into Christianity? Are you like Gallio?" Gallio's indifference to the "religious" disputes of the Jews reminds me of the response of natural men to spiritual truth... But a natural (psuchikos) man does not accept (dechomai = welcome) the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness (moria ~ "moronic") to him; and he cannot understand (ginosko) them, because they are spiritually appraised (anakrino).(1 Cor 2:14+). Concerned (3199)(melo) means to concern oneself, to be of interest to. To care for, take an interest in. It is a care or concern to someone, i.e. someone cares. To be an object of care. Gilbrant - In the New Testament melō is found ten times, occurring only in the active voice (Matthew 22:16; Mark 4:38; 12:14; Luke 10:40; John 10:13; 12:6; Acts 18:17; 1 Corinthians 7:21; 9:9; 1 Peter 5:7). In all but two of these passages (1 Corinthians 9:9; 1 Peter 5:7), melō is used with a negative particle. An example of this may be seen at Matthew 22:16: “And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man” (kai ou melei soi peri oudenos; cf. its parallel, Mark 12:14). One of melō’s only uses without a negative particle reads, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (hoti auto melei peri humon, literally, “for to Him it is an object of care concerning you” [1 Peter 5:7]). First Corinthians 7:21 provides the only occurrence of this verb in the imperative mood: “Art thou called being a servant? care not for it” (mē soi meletō). In classical Greek literature it is used either (1) in the middle voice, with the meaning “to be an object of care” or “to be an object of thought,” or (2) in the active voice, with the meaning “to care for” or “to take an interest in." Homer says "It was not an object of care to me, to ask these things” (Odyssey 16.465). Melo is found in the sentence "mega ploutoio memēlōs, “having had care for great riches.” (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary) Melo - 10v - care(2), cares(1), concerned(4), defer(2), worry(1). Matt. 22:16; Mk. 4:38; Mk. 12:14; Lk. 10:40; Jn. 10:13; Jn. 12:6; Acts 18:17; 1 Co. 7:21; 1 Co. 9:9; 1 Pet. 5:7 Acts 18:18 Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow KJV Acts 18:18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. NET Acts 18:18 Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow. NLT Acts 18:18 Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow. Then he set sail for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. put out to sea for Syria Acts 15:23,41; 21:3; Gal 1:21 he was keeping a vow Acts 21:24; Numbers 6:5-9,18; 1 Cor 9:20 Cenchrea port of Corinth, on the east side of the isthmus, and about nine miles from the city. Ro 16:1 Acts 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries 19 = Cenchrea >20 = Ephesus > 21 = Caesarea > 22 = Jerusalem PAUL SAYS FAREWELL AND KEEPS A VOW In this section not all agree on the type of vow Paul had taken. Most favor a Nazirite vow. J