Responses to the Messiah

Introduction

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

17 After they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.” 4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a large number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.5 But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.” 8 The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset. 9 After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.10 As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined[a] the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting[b] the crowds. 14 Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

Context

This week, we are jumping back into the 2nd missionary journey of Paul with Silas and Timothy in company. As you will remember, Paul just left the town of Philippi under the plea of the city magistrates there who had wrongfully and unlawfully had Paul and Silas captured, beaten, and thrown into jail. While the un just and unfair punishment that Paul and Silas endured was cruel, it had a critical purpose. This being, that the new church that was planted in the town could survive without pressure from the government and the greed stricken and vengeful locals. They suffered for the kingdom, and as a result the church their thrived and would go down in history as a loving and supportive church that was committed to supporting missionaries.

This week, our missionary team continues through the country of Macedonia (what we call in modern days Greece). As they have went, they have known and have experience that hardship was always all around them, because man’s heart is naturally committed to our own sins, wants, and desires and against God’s Kingdom because when you come to face to face before God or even admit that He is real, you have put yourself before a just and fair judge who will hold you accountable for your own sins and evils. Any christian that goes about the mission that they have been given, will find time and time again that some people are for a messiah (the messiah means the person sent from God to redeem us from sins, which is Jesus Christ the righteous), some people are against the messiah, and in a minority is some that are committed to the messiah. In our text today, Paul, Silas, and Timothy see this just as you will as your go out fulfill your mission.

Once again, believer, I cannot tell you exactly what that mission is, I can tell you 100% that it has something to do with: loving God, loving people, and making disciples. All 3 of those, the great commandments and the great commission that is given to all believers throughout all of time and so applies to you as well. So then, where should you as believer, as follower, as a lover of Christ seek to be. Should you be for, against, or committed to the messiah. Well, the text today makes that very clear, as it refers to the people that were searching and seeking for the messiah and went to the Holy Scriptures for the difficult answers, it describes these people as noble. So, A noble Christian is committed. Noble of course hear means having very good qualities. So, let’s jump in and From the text, I want you to see and expect these actions as you fulfill your mission, because some are for, against, or committed to the messiah.

Message

The first action you should see and is expect is that: Some are for the Messiah (1-4)

17 After they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.” 4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a large number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.

Unlike the previous stop the team had made, this town of Thessalonica had a bigger Jewish presence, we know this because their was a Jewish synagoge. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the Jews first, to tell them through the scriptures about how their messiah had come and His name is Jesus. He did this, because they should have been the first to accept Jesus as the Messiah, because of their special relationship with God through history. Paul shared with many scriptures, one would surely be the text that both Charles and I read to you last week was in Isiah 53, and their is little doubt that Psalm 16 was shared with them as well. Which reads, For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. Paul told them, this is Jesus, He died for your sins, He died so that you would no longer be seperated from God because of your rebellions to Him. Then, look what the text says, it says some of them (the Jews) were persuaded of this truth and joined Paul and Silas, along with some of the God fearing Greeks and some of the leading women of the city as well. You can read more about this church, in the books of 1st and second thessalonians, which he wrote to them seemingly while still on this missionary journey, or not long after.

A quick read through this letter shows that Paul cared a lot for this young church, it also seemed that they needed quite a bit of direction, instruction, and hand holding to get going. Make no mistake, this is certainly better than being on the wrong side of eternity with salvation, but it shows that their were not many in this town who were fully mature in their faith. That is, this church was certainly legitimate and was taking steps in the right direction. However, they were still learning and needed to be encouraged and taught up and put into action. This group was “for” the messiah. Jesus was agreeable to them, at least up until that made things hard for them, as everyone who is maturing in their faith will go through at many points in their lives. These believers were children or adolescence, but not yet mature adults if I were to give it some kind of metaphore.

A quick read through thessalonians, makes it clear, that Paul wanted them to be something much more. Yes, you are growing, and that’s good, but I want you to grow and grow into a ripe and mature age in your faith. I don’t want to see you kind of level out or plateau, I want to see you take more risks on your faithful God. Do things that require more and greater faith. Trust Him in a way that last year would have made you shudder. In fact, in 2nd thess, it even seems that they were going through some kind of difficulty because of irresponsible and idle people. Work through that, Paul was urging them as a Father urges his children to grow up and be responsible. The same is true for us, the same lessons can be given to us. Never be “ok” with where you are and your love of God, but always strive for more. Never be “cool” with the amount that you love God, love people, and make disciples. Instead, strive for something greater, strive to be a noble Christian because A noble Christian is committed. Committed to seeing the kingdom of God grow both in your heart, your own household, your own town, community, and everyone around. Be a noble Christian believer, be mindful of of who your messiah is how you respond to Him. Some are “for” the messiah, but you, be something more.

Let’s keep going.

The next point to see and expect as you fulfill your mission is that: Some are against the Messiah (5-9)

5 But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.” 8 The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset. 9 After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.

The Jews here, that didn’t turn to Christ, clearly were against them, were against this messiah called Jesus they were being told about. So much so, that they brought together some of the wicked men from the market place to form a mob, appearing that, well they paid to do so. These Jews paid the scoundrels and hoodlums of the town to find Paul, Silas, and Timothy and cause a riot. Not being able to find them, they went to Jason’s house, who was keeping them, took him and dragged him to the city officials making charges against him. They made several false claims about them, and even though the magistrates seemed upset, they must not have been much. Many commentators say they would have known these men, and not not taking the charges to seriously. However, they were upset that someone claimed to be king of the land over caesar. Of course, Jesus said, that His kingdom was not of this world. So, what happened, unlike in previous situations, it seemed that they were dealt with more tact and reason, and instead of beatings and imprisonment, they were released but as a precaution they required Jason to post bail.

People who against the messiah, the savior, are because they ultimately reject Him or the need for one. You know, there is the story about this old stone. It was first found back in the old west days as people were heading to california or oregon. This stone was large, and it kind of stuck out above the ground. Over time, many people would trip over it many wagon wheels were damaged by it. Until one day, it was dug up and thrown into a nearby stream. Now, this stream had no bride to cross it, so people just kind of used this rock as a stepping stone to get across it. That happened for awhile, until someone settled and built a house next to the stream. He got tired of people comething through near his house, so he took out the stone, and dug it in front of his house a sort of entrance stone/porch into the house. This happened for many years, until one day, the settlers grandson, who studied geology, came to visit one day and was astounded at what he saw. It was in fact that rock contained the largest gold nugget that had ever been found on that side of the rockies. People didn’t know it’s worth, so it was rejected, not wanted, and used wrongly for many many years until one day, someone understood what it was and what it was worth.

As you go out believer, you will find that their are all kinds and types and styles of people who have either rejected or are straight up against the messiah. You will find the people who are unconcerned about Jesus their messiah, these are often people who don’t understand the seriousness of their sin and what it means. There are people who appear to be a believer by doing the bare minimum in their faith, appearing to be a Christian, but in reality they are either not saved and are just concerned about what culture and community (ie, other people) think about them or they are not well discipled yet and have not yet (and unfortunately in many cases never will, either by choice or by availability) received the tools to move forward. There are people who are so against the messiah that they almost seem violent. This is often either because they don’t want the messiah to be true but inwardly they see that it is true or because they put their faith in something appeared to be or was presented to them as the true God, but it was not and so they are angry about it. (side bar, this is why we follow Jesus and not a pastor/preacher or any other religious leader). So believer, does any of these describe you or someone you know? Think about it, i’m sure that it does. And if so, what are you going to do about it? God is calling you and that person to a closer relationship with, which can only happen with the messiah Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the way, the truth, the light, and the only way to get to the father. So, don’t be a scared Christian, don’t be a rejecting Christian. Be a noble Christian that is committed and look towards the messiah and see how you and others respond to Him.

Another point to see and expect as you fulfill your mission is that: Some are committed to the Messiah (10-15)

10 As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined[a] the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting[b] the crowds. 14 Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

Under the cover of night, Paul and Silas went away some 45 miles to the town of Berea. Again, as was usual, Paul always made a point to go the Jews in the town first. There he went to the synagogue, and discovered something. The Jews here were different, they were hungry for God, hungry fro God’s Word, and were always search for the messiah. Eagerly, these Jews listened to the Gospel message from Paul about salvation found in Jesus, but they didn’t just simply take his word for it. What did they do? They examined the scriptures themselves, seeing if what they were being told was correct. Doing this, looking to God and His Word for the answers, look what happened. Many of the believed and well as some of the greek God fearers both men and women. This was a noble and committed group of God lovers. However, the evil Jews of thessalonica were on their way. They would come and stir up trouble in berea. Despite this trouble, it’s clear that the Berean’s didn’t let these Jews that were against God keep them from doing the right thing. They would become their own church, and sent Paul, away for safety, but Timothy and Silas remained behind for a time to instruct and encourage them. Paul was taken to Athens, who instantly realized the huge mission zone that this prominent ancient town was, and asked for Silas and Timothy to come to Him, here was their next great task.

So respected and admired are these Berean Jews, who would be the Church in that town. That an entire (though smaller) denomination of Christianity is named after them, this denomination came out as a sort of child or grandchild of the Scottish Protestant Reformation and still exists today in both North and South America. This is a group that especially emphasizes searching and examining the scriptures, a group that would have raised high the flag of one of the key protestant doctrines, sola scriptura, meaning scripture has authority over any man written thing in our lives. Which by the way, if you are a protestant, which I expect everyone in this room is because you are here today, you too hold onto that doctrine, that emphasizes the importance of the Holy Scriptures, your Bible in the life both physical and spiritual for the believer.

Notice what the text said about these Berean’s, what did it say. It said because they examined the scriptures for their answers they were more noble then the Thessolnican Jews. Remember how their was both some good and some bad there. In Thessalonica, some turned to Christ, but their is no mention of them being united in look to through our old testament for the answers, or to verify them. These Berean Jews were noble in their faith, they had the very good quality of search for the scriptures, which means they were always searching for and waiting for God, which means they in turn would respond and act as God directed them. What does this mean? That if they were committed to this, then they were committed to the messiah, and whatever He had for them, be it pleasant or unpleasant. Believer, ask yourself. Does this, or does this not sound like you? And if it doesn’t, what is keeping you. And if it does, what is keeping you to be even more Berean, even more noble and committed to your faith? Are you really committed to Christ? Or are you committed to Cultural Chrisitanity? Perhaps you’re not committed at all. I urge you today, if you are not committed to Christ, if you’re all in is not on the table for your messiah, then you have repenting to do believer. You are called to more. You are called to be a part of a royal priesthood. You are a child of God. More is expected and asked of you. Remember, A noble Christian is committed.

Conclusion

Beloved, please hear me. Each and every one of us has a mission place, a mission zone that we are called to. Some are nearby, some are far away, some a little way away. You have one. Do you know what it is? Are you seeking it? Have you found it, and if so, what are you doing? And if not, what are you going to do about it. You are called to be noble. You know, earlier this week, I was listening to sermon by someone you have probably heard before if you listen to the local Christian radio channel, wnkj. This was one of my favorite pastors to listen to, and his name is allistar begg, and if you are wondering, yes he is the scottish sounding pastor that comes on at 8am. This week in one of his sermons, he gave an analogy of people. Some are “Fans” of Jesus, meaning in general they like Him until something He commands is not what you want. Some are against Him, they are vocal and not afraid to make it known. And yet still even their is a small minority of people who are truly committed to Jesus, who have fully understood and accepted the Lordship of Jesus in their lives and are always seeking to know what he has for you and then in turn do it. This is much like our points today, Some are for the Messiah (1-4), Some are against the Messiah (5-9), Some are committed to the Messiah (10-15). So, where do you find yourself? Are you a fan cheering when your team is up, are you an opponent, booing from the sidelines, or are you on team who is doing the work and excited for the situation even if it is difficult or not?

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.