Who in the World is Sosthenes? There is a “Sosthenes” Watching Your Life

Consider this: Have you ever sat in a Sunday School class or Bible study where the lesson focused on someone named Sosthenes? Chances are, his name hasn’t come up—he’s mentioned only twice in the Bible, and most believers pass over him without a second thought. Yet, in those brief references, he holds surprising significance.

Intrigued by this overlooked figure, I began to ponder how easy it is, in our routine readings, to miss people like Sosthenes—those who linger at the edges of the narrative. My encounter with him happened during a quiet, early-morning reading of Acts. The text seemed ordinary until Acts 18:17 caught my eye:

“Then they grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him before the court. But this did not bother Gallio.”

At first, I wondered if I’d misread—perhaps they meant Paul, not Sosthenes. But the passage was clear. That moment sparked my curiosity, compelling me to dig deeper—who was this man, whose story quietly waited to be discovered?

Though not the main figure in his story, he exemplifies the importance of our Christian life and testimony. Even those who disagree with your faith may observe how you live. As II Corinthians 3:2-4 reads:

“The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This ‘letter’ is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.” (NLT).

Sosthenes is first mentioned in Acts 18:17. He was the synagogue ruler of the Corinthian synagogue — the very community where Paul preached, faced opposition, and where a church was eventually established. Sosthenes opposed Paul and his message. He did not believe or embrace Paul’s message. However, I am sure he watched and listened.

It was Paul’s normal practice and pattern to go into the synagogue every time he entered a new city whether it was Salamis (Acts 13:5), Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14), Iconium (Acts 14:1), Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-2) as it was his custom, Berea (Acts 18:4). In Ephesus, Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue for three months. And in Corinth, it was no different. Sosthenes was no doubt watching.

During Paul’s time in Corinth, the Lord gave him reassurance through a vision telling him not to be afraid or expect harm. That mattered, because not long before — in northern Greece — Paul had been beaten with rods and thrown into prison. After everything he had already suffered for preaching the gospel, it would have been natural for him to feel some fear. Yet Paul stayed anyway. He remained steadfast and spent eighteen months preaching and teaching in Corinth, and a church was established.

God’s promise was evident when Paul was brought before Gallio, the Governor of Achaia (Acts 18:12–17). Gallio, serving as the Roman proconsul, dismissed the legal charges presented by the Jewish community against Paul. He concluded that the dispute concerned internal religious matters rather than violations of Roman law. Gallio stated that only criminal matters fell under his jurisdiction and instructed the parties to manage their own doctrinal disagreements. Consequently, Rome chose not to arbitrate theological issues, classifying Christianity as an internal matter within Judaism rather than a criminal case, and declined further involvement.

God kept His promise — Paul walked away unharmed. The story was different for Sosthenes, who stood among those opposing Paul. Instead, the crowd turned their anger on him. Maybe they felt he should have done more, as the synagogue leader, to stop Paul and what they believed was false teaching. I’ll admit there’s some speculation here, because Scripture simply doesn’t tell us why they seized him:

“Then they all grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him before the court. But none of this bothered Gallio” (Acts 18:17).

It could be they blamed their own leader — as ruler of the synagogue, he represented them, and when the case failed publicly, he looked ineffective, like he hadn’t defended their traditions strongly enough. It’s also possible they sensed he had been listening to Paul. After all, Crispus, the previous synagogue ruler, had already believed; even hesitation from Sosthenes might have looked like a compromise. Or maybe it was simpler than that — they were angry and humiliated, couldn’t touch Paul under Roman protection, and took it out on the nearest safe target. Sometimes, frustrated zeal just looks for a scapegoat, and Sosthenes was standing closest.

Gallio’s indifference allowed the gospel message to keep spreading in the region, and God protected Paul. We also know for certain that Crispus, the previous synagogue leader, was converted through Paul’s ministry. The Bible records it in Acts 18:8:

“Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”

Paul later confirms this in 1 Corinthians 1:14:

“I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius.”

And guess what?

Sosthenes, the guy you never heard of before reading my blog, accepted the message of Christianity as well. He knew about Crispus’s conversion; he watched and listened.

And how do we know this?

Paul mentions him by name in 1 Corinthians 1:1. Paul opens his letter by saying it is written by “Paul… and Sosthenes our brother,” which strongly implies that this same synagogue leader eventually became a believer and a respected member of the church. His story reflects a powerful transformation: a man once associated with resistance to the Gospel becoming a brother in the church.

You may never preach a sermon.
You may never write Scripture.

Someone like Sosthenes is watching your life.

And sometimes the people who seem farthest from faith are simply reading your letter… before they ever read the Bible.