Acts 18:12–17 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.” Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.

Today’s passage mentions Paul being taken before Gallio for trial in Corinth. We saw the excavated “bema” or judgment seat where such trials would have taken place. There was also a small rock post at the base of that “bema” where people would be bound and beaten if found guilty. However, Gallio determined it was a dispute outside of his oversight, so he told them to settle it themselves. Paul was released.

While this took place in Corinth, I want to share something about another site that we visited the next day: Delphi.  The ancient Greeks considered Delphi to be the “naval” or center of the earth. There were many shrines and temples there erected to Apollo, and people would come from all over Greece to pay tributes and hear the Oracle of Delphi predict the future. The way our tour guide described the predictions of the Oracle, they were about as vague and open ended as what you read in the daily horoscopes today.

The reason I bring up Delphi is because of an letter found there from the Roman Emperor Claudius to the proconsul of Achaia, which has been dated at 52 A.D.  It mentions Lucius Junius Gallio as the proconsul of Achaia at that time, the same one mentioned in the reading above. This is evidence from outside the Bible itself of the historical accuracy of Scripture.

Even though there is no evidence from the Bible that Paul ever visited Delphi, there was plenty of evidence that the message he preached got to that place. When Paul told people about the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, those who believed took that message with them and shared it with others. We know the message reached Delphi because they unearthed a church with crosses engraved where pagan shrines had once stood.

The Word of God is powerful. Its truth will be known. People will hear it and believe. If we share the message of Jesus as Savior, others will hear it and share it in more places than we can go.