12 But when Gallio became the Roman governor of Achaia, the unbelieving Jews made a concerted attack on Sha’ul and took him to court, 13 saying, “This man is trying to persuade people to worship God in ways that violate the Torah.” 14 Sha’ul was just about to open his mouth, when Gallio said to the Jews, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case of inflicted injury or a serious crime, I could reasonably be expected to hear you out patiently. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law, then you must deal with it yourselves. I flatly refuse to judge such matters.” 16 And he had them ejected from the court. 17 They all grabbed Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, and gave him a beating in full view of the bench; but Gallio showed no concern whatever.
18 Sha’ul remained for some time, then said good-bye to the brothers and sailed off to Syria, after having his hair cut short in Cenchrea, because he had taken a vow; with him were Priscilla and Aquila.
Saint Isidore
They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. (Acts 18:17)
Were the Jews in this story looking for a scapegoat for their troubles? It certainly seems that way. First, they tried to have Paul punished by the Corinthian tribunal for simply preaching a message that seemed to go against their cherished traditions. Once among the most zealous of their brethren, Paul’s conversion and subsequent preaching were seriously challenging the status quo, and they couldn’t bear to have him around.
But then something unexpected happened. When the tribunal dismissed the case, the people turned on one of their own spiritual leaders, Sosthenes, and began beating him. Presumably, he had done nothing wrong, but that didn’t matter. Someone had to suffer their wrath.
Can you see the parallel with our modern world? We are upset, and someone must take the blame—publicly—to satisfy our discontent, even if it isn’t that person’s fault! Traditionalists blame progressives. Progressives blame traditionalists. Blacks blame whites. Whites blame blacks. Different groups of people, different religions, different countries are at fault—never us!
But this isn’t the way Jesus wants us to react. Rather than battling our way through an unstable culture of blame, he urges us to practice mercy. Compassion should trump condemnation, a humble acceptance of our own shortcomings instead of demanding others change to suit us. When something that irks you appears, can you show that Christ lives in you by your Christlike reaction to it?
How can we foster these gentler reactions? Instead of reacting immediately, we can take a moment to turn to Jesus with our frustrations and ask him to take the sting out of them. His eternal perspective can make annoying things seem less important. A quick prayer for the good of those you dislike can give you a glimpse of them as God sees them. Bring them to the Lord with an open heart, and let him smooth the rough places in your heart. Let him touch your heart first; then the annoyances that can be so upsetting will shrink in importance.
“Here I am, Lord. I bring my anger and frustration to you. Change my heart to be more like yours. Lord, teach me compassion.” Amen!
Psalms 47:2 (1) Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with cries of joy!
3 (2) For Adonai ‘Elyon is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
4 (3) He makes peoples subject to us,
puts nations under our feet.
5 (4) He chooses our heritage for us,
the pride of Ya‘akov, whom he loves. (Selah)
6 (5) God goes up to shouts of acclaim,
Adonai to a blast on the shofar.
7 (6) Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our king, sing praises!
John 16:20 Yes, it’s true. I tell you that you will sob and mourn, and the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she is in pain; because her time has come. But when the baby is born, she forgets her suffering out of joy that a child has come into the world. 22 So you do indeed feel grief now, but I am going to see you again. Then your hearts will be full of joy, and no one will take your joy away from you.
23 “When that day comes, you won’t ask anything of me! Yes, indeed! I tell you that whatever you ask from the Father, he will give you in my name.
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