Acts 18:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And this could contribute greatly to their conversion. See how the faithful then did this by whole households. Soon afterward many others also believed and were baptized. The ruler of the synagogue here is the same Crispus of whom Paul says in the epistle, "I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius" (1 Cor 1:14). This man, it seems to me, is also called Sosthenes, for he was so faithful that he was beaten and always remained with Paul.

"But Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord." This is the same Crispus of whom Paul says, "I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius" (1 Cor 1:14).

Although the preaching of the Gospel in the synagogue of Corinth was not well received by most of the Jews, Paul did not cease to testify to them about Jesus Christ. He did this especially when Timothy and Silas also came to him. But seeing no further success, he turned with his preaching to the Gentiles. A new Church was formed mostly from the Gentiles, and very few Jews joined them. In these labors he was strengthened by a divine vision, which revealed to him that many people there were ready to receive the preaching.

Encouraged by a special vision of the Lord, who commanded him to continue acting fearlessly in Corinth and promised him His divine help, Paul preached the Gospel to the Corinthian Gentiles for a year and a half. During this stay in Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote the First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians.

This decisive act of the apostle, and his decisive speech, produced a decisive effect on many. Prepared, no doubt, by Paul's earlier conversations and actions, many believed in the Lord and were baptized.

The ruler of the synagogue himself, compare Acts 13:15 and the note, gave the example. His name was Crispus. He believed in Christ and was baptized by the apostle himself. See 1 Cor 1:14. Later he was bishop on the island of Aegina, off the coast of Greece in the Saronic Gulf.

"Many of the Corinthians": Jews, proselytes, and Gentiles. The house of the proselyte where Paul now stayed and preached was accessible to all.

By naming Justus and Crispus, the author of Acts further testifies that many others in Corinth also believed in the Lord. Thus the decisive measure had its effect. Yet one cannot fail to notice that, although the apostle promised to go away with his preaching to the Gentiles, at first he did not go far, but settled nearby.

Certainly the conversion of Crispus greatly aided the work of preaching. He was in charge of the synagogue, was baptized by Paul himself, see 1 Cor 1:14, and later became bishop on the island of Aegina. Yet Paul now preferred to be with Justus, a proselyte. In this way his abandonment of the Jews was immediately evident, yet at the same time not entirely without hope.