Acts 17:1-15
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Acts 17.
How do you turn the world upside down?
How do you make a difference?
How do you change a whole community, a culture, a society?
How do you change a neighborhood, a family, a life?
What are the makings of a spiritual awakening?
In Acts 17, the apostle Paul and his co-laborers are described as having “turning the world upside down”
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Lets Prayer
Acts 17:6 (ESV)
…., “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
That’s the accusation.
Paul and the crew had reputation.
Wherever they went things didn’t stay the same.
Wherever they went disruption to the societal status quo occurred.
Whole money making enterprises were affected.
Cultural norms were confronted.
Individual lives were changed so much so that whole communities felt the shift.
So what were they doing to cause such disruption?
Verses 1 - 3 give us the summary.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
This was the custom.
They came to the synagogue.
The place where Paul knew he could make an easy connection.
He was a Pharisee having spent much of his life in synagogues.
He knew how they operated.
He knew how to speak to the people, what to expect, and how to navigate the situation so that he might have an opportunity to speak.
Let me pause briefly, and speak to the Christian in the room…
If you want to change the world,
start with the places and the people And the opportunities that the Lord opens for you specifically
Where has God given you the opportunity of influence?
Paul went to the synagogue In Thessalonica, as was his custom.
And what did he do?
Its not complicated.
Its not a robust strategy.
It doesn’t take remarkable charisma or gifting.
He simply Explained the Bible
He opened the Word of God, the testimonies of the prophets in the Old Testament Scriptures
and he explained,
he reasoned,
he proved the whole point of the Bible, the story of the Bible, the climax of the Bible.
What we learn in Acts 17, is that if you want to turn the world upside down …for the Glory of God
Explain the Bible to people.
God’s Word changes the world.
From today’s text, I want you to see five truths about God’s World-changing Word.
Look back at verse 3…
What was the point that Paul explaining and reasoning from the Scriptures?
3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
#1 God’s Word Explains Our Need for Jesus
#1 God’s Word Explains Our Need for Jesus
The Bible tells the story of the World in such away that it reveals to us not just that Jesus came to suffer, and die, and rise again….,
But that his death was absolutely necessary for the sake of humanity.
In Genesis we are introduced to a Holy God who created a good world inhabited by his special creation - people…
We are told that the first human beings, though precious in God’s sight, they chose to sin against a holy god…
We are told that they deserve sin’s penalty - physical death and spiritual separation from God forever.
The sinfulness of humanity is described as going from bad to worse…,
whole societies spiral out of control,
they make their own gods,
they make themselves out to be their own gods.
God describes humanities trajectory in Genesis 6:5.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
That reality only becomes clearer and clearer with every turn of the page.
Humanity as well as the whole crated order is under a curse of corruption.
The curse of sin.
They are deserving of God’s wrath.
They are hopelessly on a path to judgment.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
The picture of humanity throughout the story of the Bible is a bleak one…, its a needy one.
We can hear Paul’s teaching on this throughout his letters.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
Though this picture of humanity is dark, it is not a hopeless.
Throughout the Old Testament story, not only do we see humanity’s need,
but we see the unfolding drama of a God who promises to one day meet that need through a deliverer.
A savior, a messiah, an anointed one who could reverse the curse, and save God’s people.
When Paul says in verse 3, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
He is referring to the promised one of the Old Testament Scriptures.
In Exodus we begin to see a pattern Not only of Man’s sinfulness, but of God’s gracious provision of salvation for his people.
God begins to instill into his people a pattern - a sacrificial system in which God’s people might relate to God, draw near to God, and worship God.
For hundreds of years, the Old Testament provided the people a sacrificial system of worship.…
a system in which people could draw near to God only through the blood shed of a sacrifice.
The sacrifices of animals, the temple system, and the priesthood would remind the people of the penalty of sin, and the separation between God and man
But all the Scriptures recounting this system of sacrifice and ritual were preparing the world for what was truly necessary.
A perfect sacrifice.…,
a substitutionary death…,
a death that would defeat death.
A death that would not end in death, but in resurrection.
The Bible exposes and explains our need for a savior….
A savior who would be the perfect sacrifice.
The one who would die the death that sinners against a holy God deserve to die,
A savior who would represent God’s people into eternity.
What did Paul stand up to explain in the synagogue for those three Sabbath days in Thessalonica?
He explained from the Scriptures…, the absolute necessity of Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection. O
It was necessary that God the father send a substitutionary sacrifice…,
someone needed to pay the sin debt for humanity,
someone who could absorb the fullness of God’s holy justice,
Let me pause here and ask an important question…
Do you believe that Jesus’ perfect life, and substitutionary death was necessary For you?
Do you believe that apart from this provision, you would have to pay the priced for your own sins?
Jesus didn’t come to just give you a boost into a godliness.
He didn’t come just to set a good example of sacrificial love.
He didn’t come just to guide you and lead you into a better life.
He came to die your death, and drink your judgment.
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Jesus tasted death for us…, so that we might have eternal life.
That’s the climax of the Whole biblical story that Paul explains for three consecutive weeks in the synagogue in Thessalonica.
and look what happens.
3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
#2 God’s Word Persuades
#2 God’s Word Persuades
there is a difference between explanation and persuasion.
Paul explains the Bible
but as he explains, the message Bible actually persuades a group of people to join Paul and Silas.
The logic of the Biblical story combined with Paul’s personal testimony and explanation…,
actually persuades a group of people to believe that Jesus the Christ really is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament Scriptures, and it really was necessary that he die and resurrected from the grave.
a group of people were converted.
In a moment, these individuals went from death to life.
They had faith.
They trusted Jesus
They were forgiven of their sins.
And they were transformed to live a new kind of life.
All because Paul explained the Bible to them.
Let me pause here and speak to the Christian in the room…. Do not overlook the simplicity of this strategy.
If there is someone in your life that you desperately want to have a relationship with God through Jesus…, invite them to read the Bible with you.
The Bible itself has persuading power.
It was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, and it is the Holy Spirit of God who opens eyes to see it and understand it.
Later Paul would write,
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
I urge you to incorporate this strategy in your disciple-making life.
do this when you want to get to know someone better,
when you want someone to come to know Jesus,
when you want to help someone grow in theIr faith,
Just ask them if they will be willing to read the Bible with you and talk about it.
And along the way explain why it was necessary that Jesus die and rise again.
Do this and watch what will happen.… you might turn the world upside down.
The Word of God is like a lion. You do not have to defend a lion; all you have to do is let the lion loose, and it will defend itself.”
- Charles Spurgeon
Some people will respond to the Word of God, and they will love the message.
Some people will respond to the Word of God, and they will hate the message.
In Thessalonica a group of people, heard, and believed, and were transformed by it so much so they were willing to suffer for this message.
Others were willing to cause suffering in opposition to this message.
5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
#3 God’s Word Enrages
#3 God’s Word Enrages
This is not the first time we have seen this kind of hostility in response to Paul’s teaching And it won’t be the last in the book of Acts.
This is a hatred that leads to violence.
A hostility that leads to persecution.
But I want you to notice what the author identifies as the reason for the hostility.
Its not that these persecutors have a rational argument against the case that Paul has made from the Scriptures.
Its not that they can really deny Jesus’ death and resurrection,
or that he fulfilled the promises of God.
The reason for their rage was not academic or logical.
It was sinful..
They were rejecting Jesus, because they were jealous of the following that these men were building.
Jealousy is what was keeping them from hearing the message.
Pride was keeping them from becoming a follower.
It was a refusal to lay down their own influence in the synagogue
and submit to the influence of these new teachers.
It was jealousy, and a commitment to the status quo of Julius Caesar as the only king.
The message Paul and Silas brought to the synagogue was a message that not only explained Jesus’ death and resurrection, but a message that exalted Jesus as Lord of our lives and king of kings.
Paul and Silas would have taught the people not only to believe in what Jesus did, but to follow Jesus as Lord.
This means an entire life change,
one that the these opposers rejected as contradictory to life in a Roman colony Where only the Roman Emperor is supreme.
If you are in this room and you are not a Christian,
If you do not believe that it was necessary that Jesus lived, and died, and resurrected for you…,
allow me to pause and ask you, why you don’t believe?
Have you studied the Bible to see if these historical claims about Jesus are true?
Have you studied the Bible to see if its message corresponds with what you see in your own heart, and the common experience of living in this broken world?
Have you spent significant time prayerfully asking God if he inspired these words, and if his will is represented in this book?
OR are you rejecting the claims of Jesus,
less because of logical reasons,
and more actually because you are as sinful as the Bible describes..
Are you afraid that if it is true, Jesus might actually change your life?
He might humble you.
He might turn things upside down?
or cause you to repent of certain sins that you enjoy?
Are you afraid to humble yourself?
to repent?
Are you angry because of some suffering you have experienced,
or jaded because of some pour example of a corrupt church?
Don’t reject truth claims that God has made in the Bible simply because of your emotional, mental, sinful tendencies to trust yourself, indulge yourself, and justify yourself.
We shouldn’t play around with our eternities.
We shouldn’t ignore Jesus’ claims simply because we didn’t take the time to consider eternal things.
Ask the God of the universe to confront your misconceptions.
If the Bible enrages you,
is it because of some error in the Bible,
or is it because the Bible exposes your sin?
In Thessalonica the Bible enraged some
The wicked men of the rabble formed a mob to eradicate the message that enraged them.
They dragged one of the new Christians before the authorities, humiliated him, and took his money.
While the new believers worked quickly and quietly to send Paul and Silas away to the next city to explain the bible to a new people once again.
The narrative pivots quickly to a new city, where Paul and Silas follow the exact same process.
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
I love that Paul and Silas do not change course.
They do not change strategy.
They know the ordinary means of grace through which God brings life change to a person’s life.
So they do it again.
They explain the Bible, and this time even a more sizeable group respond favourably to Paul’s message.
Not only do they respond favourably to Paul’s message, they pick up the Scriptures and they begin to examine them for themselves to make sure that what Paul is saying actually aligns with the message of the Bible.
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
#4 God’s Word Invites Our Examination
#4 God’s Word Invites Our Examination
This action is described as noble.
This is painted as a good thing.
The Bereans did not believe the message just because Paul explained it.
They wanted to see it for themselves.
They wanted to search, to study, to understand God’s word so that they might determine whether this Jesus really is the savior whom God had been preparing them for.
So they examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were true.
There are so many implications for us here.
Firstly, we can see that God is not scared of your questions.
He is not scared of your research, your reading, your questioning.
He is not afraid for you to prayerfully study the Bible and to seek understanding.
Its a noble thing, to care deeply about eternal things, to recognize how important it is that you get this right.
Whats not commendable is being lazy with eternal things,
Whats not commendable is to take for granted the fact that we have the Bible,
a book which claims to be the word of God preserved for us for thousands of years…,
a book which claims to hold the message of eternal life or eternal damnation.
If there is a chance that the Creator has preserved his revelation of himself and of his plan for the world in this book… this book deserves our open-minded prayerful examination.
Don’t take my word for things.
Don’t just read other books about the Bible.
Don’t make yourself totally reliant on others to teach you the Bible.
Give yourself to daily eager examination.
The Bible, itself, says this is the way to a blessed life.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
#4 God’s Word Invites Our Examination
#4 God’s Word Invites Our Examination
The Bereans study the Scriptures daily, and many of them believed.
a city was changed.
the world continued to be turned upside down.
The city was changed so much so that word actually gets back to the persecutors in Thessalonica…
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.
The pattern continues,
They preach the word,
people respond,
persecution begins,
And the new believers help Paul and Silas on their way to the next city.
When reading the book of Acts you get the sense, that the mission cannot be stopped.
God’s word speeds ahead.
IT opens eyes, and changes cities, and no matter the strength of the opposition, the word simply speeds ahead to the next place.
#5 God’s Word Accomplishes God’s Global Mission
#5 God’s Word Accomplishes God’s Global Mission
Paul and Silas couldn’t control who responds positively and who responds negatively.
Thats not their role.
They simply were gospel explainers.
They presented the Word of God…, and then they watched the word of God do the work.
And sometimes, by God’s grace, God would pour out special favor on a people, on a moment, on a city…, and great spiritual awakening would happen like it did in Thessalonica and again in Berea.
I want to close with Paul’s later reflection on his time in Thessalonica.
Listen to how he interprets the events and listen to whom he gives the credit.
4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
How do you change the world?
How do you turn it upside down?
receive the word of God and share the word of God
Thats how God accomplishes his global mission.
Lets pray to that end.
