Bible Study 4/30/25

Acts 17:1-21

Acts 17:1 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

So we start off back to the maps this week as the missionaries go on quite the trip. In this area was the great Roman highway, the Via Egnatia, which began at Neapolis and ran through Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Thessalonica, then continued west across Macedonia to the coast of the Adriatic Sea at Dyrrachium, which people could cross and end up in Italy. If we look at the map, we can see that their journey here travelled about half of this major road. It was quite the journey between each of these places. 33 miles to Amphipolis, 27 miles to Apollonia, and then 35 miles to Thessalonica. The way the Luke writes these out, there are a couple possibilities. Each city could have represented a days journey. If that were the case, then they would’ve almost certainly been travelling by horse. It is also possible, and perhaps more likely, that Luke was just mentioning the main towns that they were passing through. There is no mention of any missionary work taking place in these cities, though that doesn’t mean that nothing took place, but there is no record or evidence of a synagogue in these cities they passed through, so that could explain why nothing happened, though Paul could have just been gunning for Thessalonica and didn’t feel a need to stop. Thessalonica was similar in some ways to Philippi. It was made a free city by the Romans in 42BC and had the appropriate rights of self-governance on a Greek, rather than Roman pattern. It had a Jewish population, sufficient enough to have established a synagogue, and there is recent evidence that indicates that sometime after Paul’s visit there was a Samaritan synagogue in town.

Acts 17:2–3 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.”

As we have seen throughout the book of Acts so far, and particularly in Paul’s ministry, if there was a synagogue there, he was going to go inside and teach the people. Only on one other occasion so far have we seen Paul visit the same synagogue more than once in a stay, at least as far as it was recorded. Last time the people asked him to stay so he returned to teach the following Sabbath, and now on this trip Luke records the missionaries as staying in Thessalonica for at least three weeks, visiting the synagogue for three Sabbaths. While Luke doesn’t record the details here, almost certainly because they are a repeat of what had been read before, he gives a brief overview of Paul’s labor over his three weeks with these people. I would guess that this is their first time hearing the gospel, or they were simply struggling to grasp it as truth since it was taking as long as it did for some to receive it. Using Scripture, he showed the people how it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and how He would then rise again. Of course, like most of the other Jews he taught, they knew the messianic prophecies, but that’s why Luke records the most significant line in Paul’s teaching - Jesus is the One that the Scriptures speak of.

Acts 17:4 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.

It looks like whatever Paul was teaching the people in the synagogue worked. Not only were some of the Jews persuaded, but believing Gentiles as well. There is another note here about leading women, which we have run into before. Either one of two things - they are the upper class women in the town, or they were the wives of the leading men. Last time we saw the leading women mentioned, they were riling up the men against the missionaries, but here in Thessalonica they are instead believing what is being taught. Luke notes that all of these people “joined” Paul and Silas, probably meaning that they formed a separate group and met apart from the synagogue (perhaps in the house of Jason which we see in the next verse); probably the beginning of the church here.

Acts 17:5 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.

Where have we seen this before? Once again, the Jewish people are becoming jealous over the success of the church. The Jews had two problems - one, their Jewish brothers and sisters were converting to Christianity, so that wasn’t good. Second problem, they were probably, almost definitely, already working hard to get these Gentiles to convert to Judaism, perhaps with some only being a circumcision away, and now Paul and Silas had ruined that opportunity for them as well. So they take action. Since Thessalonica was a free city, it had a popular assembly before whom charges could be laid, which the Jews attempted to bring the missionaries before. They opted to form a mob and create an uproar in the city, probably trying to give themselves some ammunition in their charges by saying that the missionaries were disturbing the peace. The mob decided to gather outside the house of Jason where they hoped they would find Paul. It seems that Jason may have been hosting the missionaries, though it may not be anything more significant than giving them some work and shelter.

Acts 17:6 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;

Obviously the Jews hadn’t put together a very good plan and now they were in somewhat of a panic. They didn’t find the missionaries in the house, so they opted to take Jason out of his home instead to place the blame on him. However, instead of taking him before the assembly, the adopted the other possible course of action and took them before the magistrates instead. As their plan continued to evolve, they now changed their charges a bit. They wanted to call them out as disturbers of the peace in their city, but instead they bring claims forth that bring into view the entire scope of the missionaries’ journeys. They say that they have upset the world and now had come to Thessalonica to upset them too. Since they had hired a mob to support their claim, their argument was probably seeming fairly feasible.

Acts 17:7 “and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

Now comes to heart of their accusation. Jason is harboring the missionaries and sympathizing with them; he is implicated in the general charge that they are acting against the decrees of Caesar by proclaiming another king, Jesus.

Howard Marshall This is an apt description of the positive content of the gospel with its claim that Jesus is Lord; it indicates how the focus had shifted very naturally from the proclamation of the ‘kingdom’ in the ministry of Jesus to the proclamation of the ‘king’ in the evangelism of the early church. The Christian claim could easily be misunderstood as an implicit attack on the emperor, especially when the claims of Christ were seen to be incompatible with those of the emperor.

What is not so clear is the reference to decrees of Caesar in this context. In one sense, there is observation made that the decrees of Claudius were concerned with Jews who were ‘fomenters of what is a general plague infecting the whole world’. It’s not quite the same as denouncing treason against the emperor, so there is claim there that Luke’s account is garbled. However, there is also argument that Paul’s preaching could have been seen as a prediction of a change in ruler, meaning the new ruler or king was on his way. This brings us back to Jesus’ time on earth a bit where the same argument came up about Him at least a couple times with Herod.

Acts 17:8–10 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.

It looks like their plan came together pretty well even though they kinda kept changing it on the fly. They got the crowd and the authorities of the cities on their side and increased the anger against the missionaries. They still couldn’t find the missionaries, so all they could do was deal with their only connection, Jason. So they forced Jason to take a pledge that he would no longer help Paul and his companions - he would no longer allow them to stay with him and he himself would see to it that they would not return to the city. Because of all that had taken place, and because of the great anger that had risen up in the city, the church decided to send Paul and Silas to Berea in secret during the night. Looking back at our map, Berea is about 45 miles further west of Thessalonica. They didn’t go too far, likely hoping to return to Thessalonica, but Paul reported in his first letter to the church that Satan had hindered them from coming. But this brief moment of chaos didn’t throw off the mission in the slightest, so Paul entered the synagogue of the Jews here in Berea.

Acts 17:11–12 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.

It looks like Paul leaves a very difficult situation and arrives in the dream scenario - he goes from a city that wanted to get rid of him to a city that not only received him but also received the message he was bringing. They were excited to hear what he had to say, so they met with him daily, not just on the Sabbath. And they didn’t just take what he said as the whole of what they were learning, but went to the Scriptures themselves to study and see if what Paul was teaching was sound. This wasn’t an emotional response to the gospel that may have been what the missionaries commonly saw, but was an intellectual response - they wanted to learn and know as much as they possibly could. As a result, a considerable number of people believed, both Jews and some prominent Greeks, both women and men. This is essentially the Bible teacher dream scenario. People hungry to not only hear the Word, but to study themselves. People that don’t just want to hit the weekly gathering and that’s it, but people that desire to be together daily.

Acts 17:13–15 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.

Another story that we’ve heard before. Here in Berea the missionaries were well received, even among the Jews who remained unpersuaded by the gospel message. The problem at hand is that the Jews from Thessalonica weren’t satisfied with Paul leaving town - they wanted him to stand before their leaders for punishment, or perhaps something worse. So they made the 40+ mile trek to find him in Berea. As a result of these angry Jews showing up, the brethren thought it would be best if Paul continued to move out of the area. A little bit different this time, Paul left without his missionary companions. We are not sure who accompanied Paul during his journey, but we do know that Silas and Timothy remained in Berea for a time after Paul had left. Though it is not recorded in the book of Acts that Silas and Timothy joined Paul in Athens, it is recorded in chapter 18 that they had at least rejoined him by the time they made it to Corinth, which Paul also records in his first letter to the church in Thessalonica.

Acts 17:16–17 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.

Looking at our map again, we can see that Paul traveled a good 200+ miles to get away from the bitter and jealous Jews from Thessalonica. Paul was chased out of a place where he had great success sharing the gospel and now finds himself somewhere where he is just shaking his head. Once upon a time, Athens was the intellectual center of the ancient world, but at this point in history it was in a period of decline. When Paul arrived, he wasn’t really impressed by the culture, but was more irritated by the evidences of idolatry. It was absolutely everywhere. So Paul did was he always did - went to the synagogues and began to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles. When he wasn’t in the synagogue, he was out preaching in the streets. Given that Paul had really only been teaching in the synagogues to this point, it is an interesting shift in his own behavior to go directly to the pagans of the city. Athens was in bad shape.

Acts 17:18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

Paul’s street preaching led him to meet some interesting individuals who were deep students of philosophy, specifically students of Epicurus and Zeno (Stoics).

Howard Marshall The former, who took their name from their founder Epicurus (341-270 BC), tended to be materialistic in outlook. For them either the gods did not exist, or they were so far removed from the world as to exercise no influence on its affairs. They taught a rudimentary atomic theory, and in their ethics they stressed the importance of pleasure and tranquility.

The Stoics, founded by Zeno (340-265 BC), took their name from the stoa or colonnade where he taught. They stressed the importance of Reason as the principle which was inherent in the structuring of the universe and by which men ought to live. They had a pantheistic conception of God as the world-soul, and their ethics stressed individual self-sufficiency and obedience to the dictates of duty.

Their first impressions of Paul weren’t great. They dismissed him as a “babbler”, which was a word given to a bird picking up scraps in the gutter (an interesting choice) and was commonly used to describe worthless loafers and people that couldn’t learn more than some scraps here and there. To add to that, they claimed that he was teaching about strange deities, echoing Socrates, because he was preaching about Jesus. The best way to understand these philosophers - they thought they knew everything and thought that they were better than everyone. Thankfully none of us have ever met anyone like that in our lives.

Acts 17:19-21 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

The plus side to these men thinking they knew everything, they ended being curious about something that they didn’t know much about. They took him up to the Areopagus, which in ancient Athens was where a council would meet. It was a hill overlooking the agora, and once had important judicial functions. It maintained its importance as the chief court in first century Athens. It is an interesting shift in the story. In public, they were downplaying Paul, calling him a babbler and that what he was talking about was strange, yet now they take him away privately and rather than make accusations they switch to asking questions. They double down on what he is saying as being strange. Though it didn’t seem this way when Paul first met these men, Luke notes that the people of Athens were often curious to hear something new, and there’s no difference here. Though they may not be easily converted, if at all, at the very least they cracked the door open for Paul to stick his toe through. And we’ll get to Paul’s response next week.

NEXT WEEK: 17:22-18:6