There is a fascinating sidebar to this section that the Apostle Paul himself alludes to and that is this fellow Sosthenes. All we know about him other than the bare bones description we find here is what is told in Acts 18:17. Paul had been in Corinth working among the Jewish leaders and actually led many of them to Christ including Crispus, the synagogue ruler. A synagogue could be formed in a community if a collection of ten Jewish men could be gathered to help in its founding. One of the men, often the leading financial supporter of the work and most respected of the group was made ruler. His responsibilities included directing the structure of the services, judging disputes within the Jewish community and serving as the representative of the synagogue in the neighborhood. Apparently Crispus was removed from his office after he and his family became Christian because not long after, Sosthenes was called the synagogue ruler.
Furious with his efforts at evangelism, a collection of Jews, brought charges against Paul to Gallio, the Roman proconsul over Achaia, the territory where Corinth was the capital city. Gallio saw nothing wrong in Paul’s work and through the charges as well as the ones presenting the charges out of his court. In response, the Jews turned on their own Sosthenes, the Synagogue ruler and beat him up just outside the courthouse. This Sosthenes is most likely the “brother” Paul references.
We have no information explaining why the crowd made Sosthenes the scapegoat for their humiliation. Perhaps in some way he spoke up for Paul in his work. Maybe they did not like the tepid support he gave their cause. The lack of an explanation in scripture is quite helpful for us because it forces us to consider only what we are told. Sosthenes was a ruler of the Jews and he became a brother to Paul and the rest of the church. Nothing in his resume would make him much of a candidate for Christian faith. Wealthy, secure in his religion, a proven leader, Sosthenes was the anti-candidate for dependence on Jesus. Yet, Christianity is not a testament to marketing skills or powerful arguing, it is the pull of God on a person’s heart and the conversion of his will by the Holy Spirit.
The great question, do we become a Christian because God chooses us or do we become Christian because we choose Him is pretty well explained here in our passage. No one enters the Kingdom unless God calls him to faith and everyone who becomes Christian calls upon the name of the Lord. It isn’t prevarication to say this…it is simply stating the facts. I think what we see in John 1 is the model for every single conversion if you recognize that the physical presence of Jesus is not necessary for salvation. The account begins with John the Baptist pointing out Jesus to two of his disciples and stating, “Behold the Lamb of God.” He could only have said this with the prodding of the Holy Spirit. So it all starts with someone, pointing out Jesus. The Gospel always comes from somewhere but the voice behind it is the Holy Spirit. Hearing this, the two disciples, Andrew and another one come after Jesus. No questions, no insights, no agenda! Jesus turns to them and asks, “What are you looking for” or better yet, “what are you seeking?” It is God Himself who forces them to consider their most pressing need. Not knowing how to answer but realizing the primary is located within Jesus, they ask Him, “Where are you staying?” The final part of this faith journey is Jesus’ invitation, “Come and see” and so they go.
Salvation is as simple and as complex as that. It is the decisive moment when, whether it is God pulling me or me longing for Him that I take off after Jesus. Come and see is the confident assertion that if you just spend time with Him, Jesus will win you over. I recently read that the author Anne Rice has become a born again Christian. An atheist famous for her best-selling novels rooted in the occult, she was the last person you would expect to start pursuing after Jesus. But in 1996 following years of wrestling with questions about God and the Bible, she just stopped and admitted she loved Jesus. Anne Rice says she didn’t turn to him because of an accident or a loss or any of the typical explanations non Christians have for conversion, she just realized she wanted to follow Christ. Come and see was Jesus’ invitation to Anne Rice and she did.
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