Sosthenes 19/08/2021

Read Acts 18:1-17

This 15th Century picture shows Epaphroditus, Sosthenes, Apollos, Cephas (another name for Peter) and Caesar. Author unknown - Public Domain.

I am not sure if you have ever met anyone called Sosthenes. I can say categorically that I have never met anyone with that name. But there are two occasions in the New Testament when we discover someone called Sosthenes. And what is interesting, both Sosthenes have a connection with Corinth. Is it possible that the two men called Sosthenes are actually the same person?

The first mention of Sosthenes is the record of Paul's visit to Corinth as described in the Book of the Acts.

Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever. [Acts 18:17 NIV]

And then when we turn to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, we discover that there is a man named Sosthenes who is co-author of the letter. He is described by Paul as a 'brother.'

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

[1 Corinthians 1:1 NIV]

I am quite sure that there will be several of you who disagree with this suggestion and, quite frankly, that is ok with me. I am not being dogmatic and you might consider that this is conjecture and speculation and again you are entitled to your opinion just in the same way as I am expressing an opinion. So please bear with me for today's Day Share.

Paul encountered opposition from the Jews when he visited Corinth and we find a description of the events in Acts chapter 18. Paul has developed a habit of visiting the local synagogue in Corinth each Sabbath day and arguing to those attending that Jesus is the Messiah. There seems to have been a mixed audience at the synagogue - there were Jews but there were also some Greeks there. Since Paul had met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was determined to persuade as many people as possible that Jesus is the long promised Messiah, the Son of God. This teaching did not go down well with the Jews especially as they found it impossible to accept that this man from Galilee who ended up being crucified by the Romans was their Messiah. The Jews became abusive to Paul and he made a decision to turn away from the Jews and concentrate his efforts on the Gentiles. He stopped his visits to the synagogue and instead he moved to a home of a man named Titus Justus, who was probably a Gentile and he is described as a worshipper of God - he might have been a convert to Judaism but we are not told. But there is a remarkable conversion - a man named Crispus who is described as a leader of the synagogue becomes a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. His whole household also follow his example. As a leader of the synagogue, Crispus was a respected Jew and his conversion would have made an impact- particularly on the Jewish community. But, as so often happens, whenever there is any work done for God, this provokes a reaction led by God's enemy, the devil.

Some months later, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and they decided to make a legal challenge to the activities of this former Jewish zealot who had turned to Christianity. The Jews made a formal complaint to Gallio who was the proconsul of the whole area of Achaia (southern Greece) of which Corinth was the capital city. They charged Paul with persuading people to worship God in a way that was contrary to the law. Gallio was not interested in this dispute about religion. The Jews were claiming that Paul was teaching a counterfeit religion. Although this was part of the Roman Empire, the Jews had been given a special dispensation to practise their religion as long as it did not undermine the authority of Caesar. But Gallio was not interested and dismissed the whole charge even before Paul was given the opportunity to defend himself. This was the signal for a backlash against the Jews in Corinth and the mob attacked and beat up another leader of the synagogue - a man named Sosthenes. Now we know very little more about this man. Is it possible that he too became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth in the same way as Paul had done? Some have suggested that Sosthenes is the same person as Crispus because they are both described as leaders of the synagogue. I find it strange that Luke, the writer of the Acts, with his passion for accuracy would talk about the same person in the space of a few verses and decide to give him his other name. I tend to think that Sosthenes is the replacement for Crispus who has given up his role as leader of the synagogue now that he is a follower of Jesus Christ.

So is it possible that Paul's patient, consistent teaching has seen the conversion of two Jewish leaders of the synagogue. So in the first verse of the letter to this new Church at Corinth, we have two Jews who both persecuted Christians. Paul and Sosthenes have a similar background as Jewish zealots who attacked Christians. The name Sosthenes means 'of sound strength.' This perhaps relates to moral and spiritual strength rather than physical strength. Maybe this provides a clue as to why Paul mentions him in this letter. He is not a weak man. He is reliable and dependable. He displays the courage of his convictions. Of course, God provides us with strength. It is not a natural quality. In fact, God replaces our weakness with strength when we fully trust in Him. (See Isaiah 40:29-31; Philippians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:9)

According to this theory, both Paul (Saul) and Sosthenes have discovered the same truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God promised in the Old Testament. Both men were persecutors of the early church and both suffered persecution. And these two men are united in writing to the church at Corinth. After all, if this theory is accepted, it would make sense because Sosthenes is writing to his own community. He was a native of the city and it would seem reasonable that, because of the sensitive nature of the content of this letter, Paul would have a man from Corinth join with him in writing the letter to the Corinthian church.

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