Good morning! Today we are starting chapter 17 in the book of Acts. At the beginning of chapter 16, Paul added Timothy to his mission team. And then, they crossed over from Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey into Macedonia or modern-day northern Greece. In other words, they have moved from Asia to Europe. The gospel is continuing to spread out.
Last week, we studied the events in Philippi. How Paul cast out a demon from a woman and then ended up getting arrested because of it. Then, how God miraculously delivered them in the middle of the night by way of an earthquake. And, not only that, God drew the jailer and his entire household to salvation as a result.
And so, there is now a church in Philippi. We know of two believers there. Lydia and the Philippian jailer. Lydia was a business woman, a seller of purple cloth. Purple cloth was super expensive, a high-end exotic material. That was the world that Lydia moved in. Additionally, she was a devout woman who gathered with others to worship God on the Sabbath. The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to respond to Paul’s teaching (Acts 16:14), and she and the members of her household were baptized.
The jailer on the other hand was about to kill himself before he came to Christ. He was not a worshiper of God before his miraculous encounter with Paul and Silas. He had likely been a brutal man or at least a hard man. His conversion was genuine, and his life was transformed. Acts 16:34 tells us, “He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God; he and his whole family.”
What a strange and wonderful church? God draws people from any and every walk of life, and every tribe and tongue and nation. Perhaps even the slave girl from whom Paul cast out the demon would place her faith in Christ and join them as well.
And yet, God is not only about bringing people to Himself individually, a la carte. God is building His church, the body of Christ, a community of Christ-followers. In the beginning of chapter 16, we noted that that Luke described the mission team with “we” instead of “they.” The explanation being that Luke had joined them on their journey. At the end of chapter 16, it says of Paul and Silas that “they departed.” This indicated Luke and likely Timothy stayed in Philippi to strengthen and build up these new believers and the church. I find that encouraging and wise. God knows what he’s doing. We can trust Him, together.
With that, let’s pray and get into chapter 17.
Father God, thank You for how You build Your church, Your kingdom. We love You Lord. Teach us from Your Word. We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue. - Acts 17:1-2
Let’s have a look at a map of their journey so far. Starting from Antioch, they had visited many of the places Paul had previously visited on his first missionary journey together with Barnabas. Reaching Troas, they had sailed first to the island of Samothrace and then across to Neapolis. From Neapolis, they journeyed over land to Philippi. From Philippi, they made their way to Thessalonica. It mentions that they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia. This journey was a typical one. The distance from Philippi to Thessalonica is about 100 miles. Amphipolis and Apollonia are each situated about a third of the way which made it possible to make the journey from Philippi to Thessalonica in three days, spending a night each in Amphipolis and Apollonia. (They will go on to Berea too, and Paul will go as far as Athens in today’s passage.)
The means of travel from Neapolis to Thessalonica was a Roman road called the Via Egnatian or the Egnatian Way. The road was built in the second century before Christ. And yet, there are places where that road is still visible today, and that is what you see in the picture in the lower right. Looking at the map, you see that the Egnatian Way runs east to west across the north of modern-day Greece, Macedonia, and Albania. You could even get a ship and sail across to Brundisium (or now Brindisi) and then journey by land on the Appian Way (an even more famous and also in places still visible Roman road) up to Rome.
We’re not provided with the planning or decision-making through this portion of the journey, but it seems like they were moving on through both Amphipolis and Apollonia without any long stops. However, when they reached Thessalonica, they found a Jewish synagogue, so …
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah," he said. - Acts 17:2-3
It would take quite some time to dive into what Paul could have shared. After all, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures on three Sabbath days. Let’s look at a few verses from Isaiah 53 which show that Messiah would suffer.
He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. … The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ... For the transgression of my people He was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, … the LORD makes His life an offering for sin, … my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. … He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. - Isaiah 53:5-6, 8-12
That he would rise from the dead, let’s look at a couple of verses. This comes from some of the verses that I skipped in Isaiah 53.
He will … prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. - Isaiah 53:10-11
And, Psalm 16 which has been quoted more than once in Acts already says …
You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful [Holy] One see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. - Psalm 16:10-11
The result of Paul’s explanations …
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. - Acts 17:4
I know this is a rather slender verse to set apart on a slide, but I wanted to emphasize the result of Paul and Silas’ and the team’s efforts in Thessalonica. Some of the Jews were persuaded and a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women also joined Paul and Silas. Again, we have the formation of a church! That is to be celebrated, and I don’t want to us to miss this important victory.
I’m not sure what I should say about prominent women and their receptivity of the gospel. Are they softer toward the gospel message than the men? I mentioned Lydia in the introduction who was a prominent woman of Philippi. Among Jesus’ followers were a few prominent women, Joanna was the wife of a court official and she helped support Jesus with her resources. In verse 12, we will see that in Berea prominent women are mentioned specifically among the new believers, too. At the very least, it is clear that women are important in the kingdom of God and have been from the very beginning.
But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” - Acts 17:5-7
Some Jews believe, but others were jealous. Déjà vu. This is at least the fourth time a similar sequence of events has occurred. It happened at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:45, 50), at Iconium (Acts 14:2, 5), and at Lystra (Acts 14:19). And, it’s going to happen in Berea in today’s passage, too.
It’s interesting how this opposition responds to the message of the gospel. It’s remarkably similar to how our current culture responds to ideas they disagree with. Not always with a riot in the streets, but definitely with an attitude of accusation and “shouting” in the public square without giving any clear evidence.
Contrast that with what Paul did in the synagogue of Thessalonica. He reasoned and explained and proved to his listeners that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. It was the opposite of rioting.
Jason must have been hosting Paul and Silas. It’s not clear where Paul and Silas were at this moment. However, the early believers repeated protected the missionaries who brought them the gospel. Jason and other believers are brought to the city rulers.
In Rome, disloyalty to Caesar was a crime worse than blasphemy. This accusation that is made against Paul and Silas that they were saying there is another king who is in opposition to Caesar is deadly serious. There was no worse crime in the Roman empire, so …
When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. - Acts 17:8-9
The local officials within the Roman empire had to guarantee a peaceful quiet community. Thessalonica was no small town either. It was the capital of Macedonia and a trading port situated on a major road. Estimates go as high as 200,000 inhabitants. When public order was disrupted by riots in a major city, the officials were in a dangerous situation. If things really got out of hand, it was only a matter of time until the emperor dispatched the Roman legions to restore order by force. No city leaders wanted that.
It was unfair that the opposition could simply raise a mob and then the city leaders would come down on whoever they were told were the reason the mob formed. In this case, it was a financial penalty. Jason and the others had to post a bond, pay a deposit guaranteeing they would not contribute to any further disruption of the peaceful working of the city. Doesn’t that also sound familiar to modern-day persecutions?
Let me briefly mentioned a significant archaeological find supporting Biblical accuracy. The word for city officials here in Acts 17:9 and earlier in verse 6 is not found in other Greek sources. Some writers used this to challenge biblical accuracy. Interestingly, in 1835, an inscription was found which used the word that Luke uses. Subsequently, 16 or more additional inscriptions have been found in this Macedonian area using this term. Since Luke is using such a specific local term to describe these officials, that takes the authorship timing down not just to Luke’s lifetime, but even to his first record coming from his visit there in the year 50 AD.
As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. - Acts 17:10-11
It was quite the journey, another 50 miles from Thessalonica, and not on the nice Egnatian Way we talked about earlier. Some writers surmise that Paul went or was sent to Berea because it wasn’t on the main highway and it would be less likely anyone would look for him there, at least not at first. Berea though even described in Roman times as “out of the way” or “off the beaten track” does have a Jewish synagogue, and we see that the Berean Jews were different from and more noble than those in Thessalonica.
Now, there were obviously Thessalonian Jews who had come to faith in Christ, but they Berean Jews as a group were collectively more serious about the message of the gospel and what Scriptures had to say about it. They are so eager and serious that they are reviewing the Scriptures every day.
They want to know if what Paul has said is true!
As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. - Acts 17:12
What did they find? Again, the Bereans studied day after day, and it was not in vain. As a result of their study, many were convinced. Here is a link to a nice collection of 55 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
Their humility in searching the Scriptures daily seems to make a difference in many Jews being saved in Berea rather than some Jews in Thessolinca.
But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. - Acts 17:13-14
Ugh, here we go again. It’s not apparent that the Berean Jews joined in any of the crowds stirred up by the Thessalonian Jews, so that is encouraging. These Thessalonian Jews were determined to oppose Paul. Remember it’s 50 miles and not on the nice road to get to Berea, and yet, here they are. That’s sad. Their hearts are set against the gospel. Thankfully, it seems that the believers were ready, and they got Paul out again before he could be detained.
Timothy pops up here again. Like I mentioned earlier, since there was no mention of Timothy while they were in Thessalonica, it seems like he may have stayed in Philippi for a while, but now he has come down to Berea. While Paul has to leave again, Silas and Timothy stay to strengthen the church there. Again, it’s not “just Paul.” There is a group, a team, working together.
Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. - Acts 17:15
Paul is not alone on the journey to Athens. He does have escorts all that way. Why did they bring him to Athens? It’s not clear. We can say that Athens is not in Macedonia, and so hopefully, out of reach of the opposition there. It’s in another region in the southern part of Greece called Achaia.
Those who did travel with Paul to Athens did not stay with him though. As they return to Berea, Paul sends the message that Silas and Timothy should join him there as soon as they can.
There is one more difference that stands out in today’s passage compared to many of the earlier ones. There are no miracles in this passage, but there are many who put their faith in Christ. I didn’t try to count them, and in some ways you can’t really. There are times when many miracle happen, and they don’t get recorded individually. But it is safe to say that miracles are more prevalent in chapters 1-16 than in chapters 17-28.
I only mention it because God works differently in different times and in different places. Miracles do happen. They still happen today. But miracles don’t always happen, and that’s okay. God is still God. He is still drawing people to Himself in a variety of ways. And, He is using His church, His people, His children, to carry His message. May we be attentive and faithful to carry it wherever we go.
Let’s pray.
Father God, thank You for teaching us. Help us to see what we need to see and to understand what we need to understand. Let us glorify You. Grow Your church we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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