I didn’t want to get involved.” It’s become the all-too-common excuse for people who simply don’t want to trouble themselves to help someone who is truly in need. And it seems to have been Gallio’s mentality during Paul’s second missionary journey.
Gallio was the Roman proconsul (or governor) of Achaia, the area of southern Greece. He was the supreme authority over the region and could impose the law as well as pass judgment on it. While Paul was teaching in the city of Corinth, some of the Jews banded together and brought Paul before Gallio’s court. They accused him of teaching people to worship God in ways that were contrary to the law. This really was a legitimate charge under Roman law, but it seems that Gallio didn’t want to have to deal with it. He refused to hear the case, saying that it was merely a minor issue of varying interpretations of Jewish law.
After Gallio drove the people from court, the mob turned on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the court. The Bible does not make it clear why the mob attacked Sosthenes, but it may have been that he, too, had become a Christian, just as Crispus (another ruler of the synagogue) had. In any case, the attack on Sosthenes even more clearly revealed Gallio’s strong desire to keep from getting involved—because he showed no concern whatsoever (Acts 18)
Archaeologists have excavated the judgment seat that Gallio would likely have used when the Jews brought Paul before him. It was located in the marketplace.