Acts 17:1-15. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on May 26, 2024.
We have made it back to the book of Acts. We are in the middle of Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey. It began at the end of chapter 15 following the Jerusalem Council. This was a gathering of the apostles and elders of the early Church to make sure they were all on the same page regarding what Gentiles needed to do in order to be saved. Thus, Paul’s 2nd missionary trip serves to visit churches that he had started on the first missionary trip and share the findings of the Jerusalem Council.
This would be important because, up to that point, there were individuals that were telling the Gentiles that they needed to follow the Old Testament, i.e., become Jews through circumcision, and obedience to the stipulations of the Law of Moses. Essentially, they were teaching Gentiles to first become Jews, and then, they could become a follower of Jesus.
After Paul had worked through these towns in central Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey, or Türkiye), the Holy Spirit leads him and his company to travel westward until they ended up in Greece. In Chapter 16, Paul and company minister in Philippi where they are whipped and put in the jail. However, an earthquake leads to them being freed and the Philippian jailor and household becoming Christians. Paul then reveals that they have beaten him against the law of Rome because he has Roman citizenship. This causes the magistrates to apologize and beg Paul to leave the city. They then met with the believers, encouraged them and then, headed westward towards Thessalonica, which is where we join them in Acts 17:1.
They travel west through two cities, Amphipolis and Apollonia, which roughly divide the 100 miles to Thessalonica into thirds (around 33 miles between). Paul may or may not have preached in these cities. It is not mentioned. However, Luke focuses on what happened at Thessalonica next.
We have two letters (epistles) written by Paul to the Thessalonians in the New Testament. Here is something that Paul later said of the church that would be started there. 1 Thessalonians 1:8, “For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out.”
From this, we can see that Paul doesn’t have to preach in every city (whether he did or didn’t). The churches that he started would become hubs of shining the Gospel into the region. May our church be a church with such a strong faith that the area knows it, and they will have hear the “Word of the Lord.”
Now, Thessalonica was the main city of that region. It had a synagogue and that is where Paul began. We are told that he preached for three Sabbaths (weeks), reasoning with them from the Scriptures.
There are two verbs that are used to describe this. In the NKJV, they are interpreted as “explaining” and “demonstrating.” The first one has the sense of opening the Scriptures up for them, but also opening their understanding of the Scriptures that they no doubt knew. The second word has the sense of setting something before the people. In food contexts, it is used of a hostess placing food before guests. In this setting, we are talking about teachings regarding Christ that are set before them, i.e., demonstrated to them from Scripture.
The two main teaching mentioned here are that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise again from the dead. We are not told the Scriptures that Paul used, but Isaiah 53 could easily have been one, also Psalm 16:10-11. The second teaching is that Jesus of Nazareth is that Messiah and fulfilled these things. Notice the logic of this. If you don’t recognize or accept the first teaching, then you will not be able to see Jesus as the Messiah because he did suffer, die, and yet, rose again from the dead.
The response is good, but it is split up into three parts: “some of them were persuaded,” “a great multitude of devout Greeks,” and “not a few of the leading women.” In light of the mention of Gentiles in the second part, we can safely assume that the first part is speaking about the Jews who attended the synagogue. So, it appears that there was a better reception among the Gentiles than among the Jews. We are told that those who believed “joined” Paul and Silas. It is most likely that they were connecting with them throughout the week in order to learn more, and unknowingly laying the foundation for the first church of Thessalonica.
We are told in verse 5 that those who were not persuaded by the Gospel preaching became “envious.” This envy leads to them stirring up a crowd, a mob, from the marketplace in order to apprehend Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
The source of the trouble is envy, and would, no doubt, be led by the religious leaders of the synagogue. The problem was not Jews. Paul is a Jew as well as Silas. Some Jews were persuaded by Paul. The problem is envy, and envy plagues every ethnic group under the sun.
You can imagine that they had worked hard to share the Law of Moses in Thessalonica and had even drawn many devout Greeks to attach themselves to the teaching of the synagogue as God-fearers. When someone else comes into town and begins to persuade people in a new teaching, it would be natural to be defensive. This is the same dynamic that led to Jesus being rejected by the leaders of Jerusalem. Yet, the problem is not that their lack of being persuaded. It could have stayed at the level of arguing your case from Scripture and rejecting Paul’s teaching. They might even stipulate continued synagogue attendance on the rejection of this new teaching. However, something darker comes forth because envy is a dark vice. You may not even know you are being envious as it happens. Envy is never good, and only leads to overt sin and pain.
A mob is stirred up, and we should take a moment to remind ourselves about the spirit that affects a crowd. A crowd takes on a nature that is larger than any one person within the group, even those who started it. For example, when you push against a large rock that is on a hillside, you will notice that there is much resistance at first. You are choosing to keep pushing, or get help from more people, etc. In a way, you are still in control. However, there is that moment in time in which gravity takes over, and you are no one is in control. Dangerous things can happen, especially if there are unwitting people down the hill. The same is true spiritually, for good or for bad. People within crowds will often do things that they would never do on their own. In fact, contrary to the analogy, there are often spiritual dynamics at work even in “pushing the rock” in the first place.
There is a theme in Scripture: don’t focus only on what you can see because you will miss the spiritual things that are happening. This can be the good work of God, the evil work of the devil and his angels, or the spiritual condition of a person we are dealing with.
We do not want to be a people who are easily motivated to riot and attack others (even metaphorically). We must understand what spirit is motivating us in our decisions and actions. Is it the Holy Spirit, or the spirit of this world? Believers in God, in Jesus, are those who are led by the Holy Spirit, rather than the ill-winds of this world.
We cannot fault the Jews of Thessalonica for not having a relationship with Jesus, but we can see that they had not been tuned to the Spirit of God. Otherwise, they would have responded with joy. Yet, they respond with envy and seeking to banish or jail Paul and company.
This is the battle between a desire for truth and the envy of our ego. We all have ego that gets hurt from time to time, but believers are called to purify their hearts through repentance and works that are worthy of such.
The group ends up at the house of a man named Jason. He most likely had been persuaded and was housing them. However, when they arrive, Paul is not there. Then, they drag Jason and the “brothers” (i.e., believers in Jesus) before the city rulers to make accusation against them.
The accusation is that they are breaking the decrees of Caesar by saying Jesus is “another king.” In some ways, Jesus is not a threat to Caesar. He did not instruct his followers to defeat the Roman empire. Instead, he told them to love their enemies and preach the Gospel to them. Yet, Jesus is a threat to Caesars in general. The kingdoms of this world are destined to belong to him. The kings of the earth are warned to “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:12. Still, Jesus is not a threat in the way that they are presenting.
They stir the pot through this aspersion, “these who have turned the world upside down have come here too!” This is intended to be a negative, but it shows the powerful effectiveness of the early Church. Actually, they were not turning the world upside down. The world was already upside down from the way that God had created it due to human sin and spiritual interference. Jesus Messiah was sent to begin righting the ship. That righting of things begins in the heart of the individual. He has come to set our hearts right side up before God.
Yet, this creates a polarization in families, towns, nations, even the world. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’” He is quoting Micah 7:6. This is the polarization that we see happening in this synagogue and the city as a whole. Some are embracing Christ, but others who were their friends were not. This situation has continued throughout the earth to this day.
The rulers of the city take security (money) from Jason and send them away. This security is probably not a bond for showing up to court. Rather, it is most likely so that they won’t cause another riot.
“The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.” The label of “brethren” means that these are people who believe that Jesus is the Messiah. A good group of believers has been started, and the hot tempers among the town calls for Paul to move on. However, the Gospel has not left the town. It has been sown and taken root in many hearts. Berea is a town that is about 45 miles west of Thessalonica.
Luke notes that there was a very different mind-set, or attitude, within the Berean synagogue. Different versions describe them as “more noble,” “more fair-minded,” and “of more noble character.” The word literally means “well born.” It pictures a person who has been born into a good family, has been taught good morals, and lives these out in society (aka Not the kind of people who riot).
What won them this descriptor? First, they were ready to hear what Paul had to say. Yet second, they searched the Scriptures to check the veracity of his claims. They were not ego-driven, but instead, desired to know the truth. We can be a slave to passions that drive us. In such cases, we can be blind to the truth. However, what makes a person reject the Gospel one day, but accept it later? There is a mystery to the way that the Gospel impacts people.
We are told that many of them believed. There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile this time. Of course, Jesus and his apostles were not creating another religion by twisting Judaism. The teaching and the work of Jesus flowed directly from the Law and the Prophets. He is the fulfillment of all it points toward, which was there for anyone who would honestly seek out the truth.
Without any meddlers, there would not have been any problems in Berea. However, the Jewish leaders from Thessalonica showed up and caused trouble for Paul and Silas in Berea. No doubt, word had traveled back to them that Paul was in Berea and that many people were listening to him. Again, the men from Thessalonica stirred up a crowd from the marketplace.
Note to self: don’t be the kind of person who is sitting around looking for a cause and a crowd to join. Fleshly people, who are only focused on the lusts of their flesh, are easily stirred up. If you are busy doing the work of the God, the Lord Jesus, then you will not be easily stirred up by others.
Again, the “brethren” send Paul away. However, this time Paul goes by himself and leaves Silas and Timothy behind. The heat seems to focus on Paul. Silas and Timothy could stay under the radar and help the believing community of Berea grow in their understanding of the Scriptures and the work of Jesus.
Thus, Paul ends up on a ship to Athens, which is 300 miles away. Most likely, they believe this will settle down the crowds rioting against Paul.
In some ways, we should recognize that, in order to turn your life right-side up before the LORD, it is going to feel like you are turning it upside down. At salvation, a person senses the Holy Spirit calling them to put their faith in Jesus, but the flesh is generally scared at the thought of this. Yet, for those who follow the Spirit, they enter into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus, the Spirit, and the Word.
When you feel that emotion of fear, or apprehension, towards something that the Holy Spirit is leading you to do or stop doing, take time to pray for clarity about the direction and courage to obey.
Paul could have focused on the negative. Everywhere he went, people were causing trouble and mistreating him. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul lists all of the things he has endured in taking the Gospel to the nations. Yet, these things were not enough to persuade him to quit. He saw himself as a slave of Christ, even wishing that he could be cursed so that his countrymen could be saved. The Holy Spirit had led Paul to these places to preach the Gospel. Many wonderful people were saved through his ministry.
May God help us to see the need of a lost world and God’s love for them. Yes, we will run into resistance and difficult things, but we will also see wonderful things. Some will believe, and we will have fellowship with them.
How does a person turn the world upside down? They do it by not focusing on trying to turn the world upside down. Instead, they listen to the Holy Spirit and give themselves to the work that He gives them, no matter what the scope. The Apostle Paul started by turning his own little world upside down on the road to Damascus when he believed in Jesus. That became the foundation for what came later. You can trust the Holy Spirit in you. Just remain faithful to Jesus in your work.