Acts 18 (WEB)
Dr. House speaks in Corinth to a Biblical Archaeology Society tour group that traveled to Greece and Turkey. The group is in front of the Bema, a place of judgment, a term used by the apostle Paul before which all believers shall stand for their works to be evaluated for rewards by God.
Video by courtesy of Irina House
The Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat.
Now why would they do this?
He was down in the synagogue, giving testimony.
Some of their leadership was converting over to the idea that Jesus is Messiah.
Some were upset about this.
And because of this, and particularly Paul says, "If you guys aren't going to listen anymore, I'm out of here."
And that probably insulted them.
Some people you never can make happy.
And so they brought him here.
And it says, saying, "This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law."
Now, I've heard different opinions on this.
Some say with Roman law and trying to pit him against Rome.
It could be just as talking about their own Jewish law.
One thing to remember is that the Jew had unusual protection in the empire because they were allowed to be monotheistic, without any problems for the Romans per se,
unless obviously some things they did got in the way of Romans trying to exercise their control or money or such like.
But in reference to religions, the Romans said, you can do what you want.
And one of the reasons why that's so, if you read the materials, is because they had such great antiquity, the Romans respected that kind of ancient view, that Romans were very much in the idea of tradition and building on it.
And when Paul was about to open his mouth, and he would have had a lot to say, Gallio said to the Jews, if it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes — remember, you were talking about over here — O Jews, there would be a reason why I should bear with you.
But it is a question of words and names and your own law.
Look to it yourself, for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.
And he drove them from the Bema.
Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, which some people believe may be, he's mentioned later in reference to Paul, but it may not be the same person.
It's a little stretch because we don't have any other connections.
The ruler of the synagogue beat him before the Bema.
So I don't know if it was formal.
Like you said, or just the fact they gave him a big lashing on the way back to the synagogue.
I don't know.
It doesn't really say, but it could be that it was this.
But Gallio took no notice of these things.
In other words, he was disinterested in what he viewed to be religious questions.
And in some respects, that's what Pilate was.
The Romans didn't really want to get involved in their internal religious discussions.
They didn't care about these guys.
They thought you're a bunch of dummies.
You know there's many gods.
So the same kind of Roman response, Pilate and also Gallio, until it became an issue that was otherwise.
And so that's really what we have here.
The thing that throws me off, based on your conversation the other day that I wasn't familiar with, and that is, notice you were saying the bema was basically like a foot high, one step.
If we didn't understand this whole structure, what I've understood is that the person would have sat up there somewhere.
So it would be certainly far more than one step.
So the Roman variation of the Greek is quite different or something.
And this is the bema.
And interestingly enough with the New Testament teaching, the Bema Seat is not a place where we are condemned, which would be somewhat like the penal you're saying.
The Bema Seat is where we are corrected based on how we acted.
It's a place that we answer regarding what we did in the body and receive rewards accordingly.
Or disapproval, right?
But essentially for Christians, it's a place of rewards.
Similar to what you said in reference to the Romans, the people they recognize.
Because what happened to our sins as Christians?
They're forgiven.
They're forgiven.
So we will not be having to go through the penal phase.
We'll be dealing with just the fact of, did you do well or not?
1After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth. 2He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers. 4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
7He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. 9The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”
14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; 15but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” 16So he drove them from the judgment seat.
17Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
18Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; 21but taking his leave of them, he said, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23Having spent some time there, he departed and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. 24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. 25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him; and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.