Proclaiming & Persuading in Thessalonica & Berea
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[CONTEXT] Paul was once a persecutor of Christians, a murderous terror to the church, but by God’s grace He was saved from the wrath of God and made useful to the cause of Christ.
By this point in Acts 17, Paul has already preached the Gospel in many places. Some have believed on Jesus for salvation and others have rejected Jesus and persecuted Paul.
We see both of these responses as we look Paul’s preaching and teaching in Thessalonica and Berea.
[READING - Acts 17:1-15]
Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them. The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.
[PRAYER]
[CIT] Paul preached and persuaded in Thessalonica and Berea, and some responded with faith while others rejected with force.
[PROP] But in these verses we see the importance of the Scriptures in persuading others to trust Jesus as the Christ crucified and resurrected.
[INTER] How do we persuade others to trust Jesus?
STEP #1: We reason from the Scriptures.
STEP #2: We endure in reasoning from the Scriptures.
STEP #3: We encourage examination of the Scriptures.
[TS] Let’s each of these STEPS in this passage.
In vv. 1-4, we see Paul persuading some in Thessalonica by reasoning from the Scriptures.
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
STEP #1: If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we reason from the Scriptures (vv. 1-4)
STEP #1: If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we reason from the Scriptures (vv. 1-4)
Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.
[EXP] After leaving Philippi, Paul, Silas, and the rest of the team (which now includes Timothy and Luke as well), they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia finally arriving at Thessalonica.
Amphipolis was about a days walk from Philippi.
Apollonia was about another days walk from Amphipolis.
Thessalonica was about another days walk from Apollonia, three days walk from Philippi. Thessalonica was one of two major commercial centers in Greece along with Corinth.
Perhaps Paul and his team only spent the night in Amphipolis and Apollonia because those towns had no synagogue.
Per usual, Paul entered the synagogue in Thessalonica, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.
The synagogue was the local worship center for adherents of Judaism.
The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, set apart for worship and rest. It last from from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday.
The word ‘reasoned’ could mean that Paul discussed, had a dialogue with, conversed with, or even argued with the synagogue attendees in Thessalonica.
This he did “from the Scriptures.”
We should take note of Paul’s goals in reasoning from the Scriptures.
One goal was to prove to them from the Scriptures that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead.
His second goal was to proclaim to them that Jesus is that Christ who suffered and died and rose again from the dead.
We should also take note of Paul’s technique: he reasoned from the Scriptures; he explained to them (i.e., opened to them) and gave to them (i.e., placed before them) evidence of Jesus as the Christ crucified.
Psalm 22 talks about the suffering of the Christ, and we see this suffering in the life of Jesus.
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
“Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
“He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
Isaiah 53 also talks about the sufferings of the Christ, and we once again see these sufferings in the life of Jesus.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.
His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
It was the third hour when they crucified Him. The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left.
Concerning the resurrection of the Christ, Psalm 16:8-10 says…
I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
Peter preached in Acts 2:31-32…
he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
There are other passages we could reason from, but this is the type of reasoning Paul did as he proclaimed Jesus as the Christ in the synagogue of Thessalonica.
God’s grace working through Paul’s biblical-reasoning persuaded some God-fearing Greek men and a few more leading Gentile women to believe on Jesus as the Christ—the one who had to suffer and die as the atoning sacrifice for sin—the one who was raised from the dead, guaranteeing eternal life to all who follow Him.
We must all learn to reason from the Bible as we try to persuade others to trust in Jesus.
[ILLUS] One of our church members once went to visit a friend in another state and attended church with that friend while there. When this church member returned, the report was that the preacher talked about Jesus but never opened the Bible.
I guess it’s possible to talk about Jesus without using the Bible; I know it’s possible to create an interest in Jesus without using the Scriptures; but I don’t think its possible to truly persuade someone to trust in Jesus apart from the Bible.
We must reason from the Scriptures if we are going to persuade other to trust in Jesus.
[APP] Do you know the Scriptures well enough to reason from them? Could you open the Bible with someone and give them the scriptural evidence for Jesus as the Christ, as the one who had to die, and as the one who was then raised from the dead?
Give yourself to studying the Word of God so that you will be prepared to reason.
[TS]…
STEP #2: If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we endure in reasoning from the Scriptures (vv. 5-10).
STEP #2: If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we endure in reasoning from the Scriptures (vv. 5-10).
But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them. The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
[EXP] Paul endured in Thessalonica—for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, which means that for three weeks he was there in Thessalonica preaching Christ, but Paul may have endured in ministry there for longer than that.
In Philippians 4:16 Paul thanked the Philippian Christians for sending him more than one gift in support of his ministry in Thessalonica.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:9 he reminded the Thessalonians of his labor and hardship, working night and day among them so as not to be a burden to them while he preached the Gospel there.
This is more to Paul’s credit if he worked night and day for several months or even a year, but not if he only did so for three weeks.
Perhaps a good bit of time passes between v. 4 and v. 5; Paul reasoned from the Scriptures and persuaded a number of the Gentiles who were attending the synagogue to join him and Silas.
He wouldn’t be welcomed back in the synagogue, but he would’ve continued to disciple those who believed on Jesus as the Christ.
Perhaps months later when the Jews noticed their synagogue attendance dwindling and their influence among the Gentiles waning, that’s when they became sinfully jealous.
Verse 5 says they gathered some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob, stirred up the city, and attacked the house of Jason.
We don’t know anything about Jason other than that he might also be mentioned in Romans.
We don’t even know if he was Jewish or Gentile because, while Jason is a Greek name, it was a name often used by Jewish men if they were living in Greek areas.
But apparently Paul and his team had been welcomed and supported by Jason as they ministered in Thessalonica, and this mob thought they might find Paul and the others at his home.
They didn’t find Paul or Silas, but they did drag Jason before the authorities claiming that he had helped “men who have upset the world” and “act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus,” (v. 7).
They continued to stir up the crowd and the city authorities who ultimately made Jason and others pay a bond, pledging that Paul and his team wouldn’t cause any more trouble.
Likely to protect Jason and the others from losing their money, the brothers in Thessalonica immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea under the cover of darkness.
But please notice v. 10 again…
The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
What do you think Paul and Silas did in the Synagogue of Berea?
That’s right, they did what they did back in Thessalonica.
They endured in reasoning from the Scriptures.
[ILLUS] Many years ago, Neil and I went knocking on doors in the surrounding neighborhoods. We asked folks if they had any prayer needs and tried to share the Gospel with them. Most people were very welcoming and appreciative, but a few were not.
One man cracked the door and in a very gruff manner said, “This just isn’t a good time,” and slammed the door.
Another man got angry when we told him about trusting Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for his sins. He marched back up the driveway to his house in a huff while yelling over his shoulder, “That’s not what the Catholic church teaches!”
What do you think Neil and I did?
We just went to the next house, knocked on the next door, prayed with the next person, and shared the Gospel with the next soul who needed to hear.
In short, we endured.
[APP] That’s what we do if we want to persuade people to trust in Jesus. We just keep going, keep reasoning from the Scripture.
If we’re run out of one city, we endure and reason from the Scriptures in the next.
If we get one door slammed in our faces, we endure and knock on another one.
No one comes to Christ by our quitting, so we endure in reasoning from the Scriptures.
[TS] If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we reason from the Scriptures, and we endure in reasoning from the Scriptures.
And finally this morning…
STEP #3: If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we encourage eager examination of the Scriptures (vv. 10-12).
STEP #3: If we want to persuade others to trust in Jesus, we encourage eager examination of the Scriptures (vv. 10-12).
The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.
[EXP] Paul and Silas once again took salvation to the Jews first by proclaiming the Gospel in the synagogue in Berea.
Luke says these were more noble-minded Jews than those back in Thessalonica.
Their noble-mindedness was demonstrated in their eagerness in receiving the word (i.e., the Gospel message) and their thoroughness in examining the Scriptures everyday to see if what Paul said was true.
The idea that the Christ would suffer and die—that was unthinkable to many Jews who could only envision the Christ as a conquering king.
They weren’t going to just take Paul’s word for it that the Christ had come as a suffering servant.
They didn’t trust Paul, but they trusted the Scriptures.
And because they understood Paul’s reasoning from the Scriptures, many of these Jews in Berea trusted in Jesus along with a number of prominent Greek women and Greek men.
[ILLUS] When are signing up for a new account, a new phone-line, or anything that come with “Terms & Conditions.” We have a habit of just checking that box that says, “I’ve read them and I agree.”
Dmytri Agarkov, a Russian man, didn’t like the terms and conditions that came with the credit card he was applying for, so he decided to write his own.
No credit limit, no fees, no interest on the credit balance, and the bank issuing the credit card would be penalized if they failed to keep Dmytri’s terms and conditions.
He signed and sent his new and improved terms and conditions back to the bank, and to his surprise the bank also signed them, agreeing to comply with Dmytri’s terms and conditions!
When the bank realized what it had done, they took Dmytri to court where the judge ruled in favor of the Dmytri.
When we are listening to a man preaching, we had better take the time to check the terms and conditions!
Paul was glad that the noble-minded Bereans were checking the terms and conditions!
We had better eagerly examine the Scriptures!
[APP] We should only trust a preacher in so far as he can show us what he preaches in the Scriptures! There are at least a few types of preachers who don’t want us to examine the “terms and conditions” carefully when it comes to the Scriptures.
Beware “The Hopping” Preacher.
Most often the Hopping Preacher hops from this verse to that verse while claiming to show us what the Scripture teaches, but he usually isn’t showing us what the Scripture teaches.
Rather than having his thoughts fashioned by the Scripture, he’s fashioning the Scripture to suit his thoughts by hoping between isolated, out-of-context quotes from different parts of the Bible.
Beware “The High Diving Preacher.”
The High Diving Preacher uses a verse or a passage of Scripture to dive off into a subject, but he never comes back to explain that verse or passage.
For the High Diving Preacher, the Scripture he uses to launch into his topic are not as important as his thoughts on the topic.
Beware “The Hero Preacher.”
The Hero Preacher presents himself as the hero of every story he tells, the example of every good work, the picture of successful Christian living. His favorite song is not I Exalt Thee but I Exalt Me, and that’s what he uses the Scriptures to do—exalt himself.
He doesn’t say, “Be like Jesus,” or even, “Be like me as I try to be like Jesus” as Paul once wrote; he just says, “Be like me.”
Rather than a Hopping, High Diving, Hero Preacher, look for a humble and honest preacher like Paul.
A humble and honest preacher knows that he had better take you through books of the Bible verse-by-verse because he isn’t smart enough to hop around and get it right.
A humble and honest preacher knows that he had better slowly explain what the Scripture teaches on a given topic because he won’t get it right apart from the Scripture.
A humble and honest preacher knows that Jesus is the hero of every Bible passage; Jesus is the hero people should be imitating.
A humble and honest preacher humbles himself before the Scripture before he preaches to anyone else and is honest enough to admit when he doesn’t understand things or when he’s been wrong about something.
A humble and honest preacher want you to eager examine the Scripture to make sure that what he’s telling you is correct.
That’s the kind of preacher Paul was.
That’s the kind of preacher I’m striving to be.
And you strive to be an eager examiner, comparing everything I say to the Scripture to see if it is so.
[TS]…
Conclusion (vv. 13-15)
Conclusion (vv. 13-15)
But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.
[EXP] The less noble-minded Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul had been proclaiming the Gospel in Berea to some
more noble-minded Jews, and they didn’t like that. They came to Berea, agitated and stirred up the crowds just like they did back in Thessalonica.
Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea to help the eager examiners of God’s Word gain a better understanding of Jesus as the Christ from the Scriptures, but Paul was once again sent elsewhere.
He was escorted to Athens where he told his escorts to send Silas and Timothy to him as soon as possible.
Once again, Paul had been run off because he reasoned from the Scriptures.
He had been run out of Damascus, Jerusalem, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, and now Berea all because he reasoned from the Scripture that Jesus is the Christ crucified and resurrected.
Do you think he’ll finally learn his lesson in Athens? Do you think that he will finally give up reasoning from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ who had to suffer, die, and rise again?
I think you know the answer, but we’ll eagerly examine the Scriptures next week and see for ourselves.
[PRAYER]