Christlike Character, Christlike Suffering

Hallelujah. This morning, we continue in the book of Acts, looking at chapter 17 verses 1-9.

Acts 17:1–9 ESV

1 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.

Christlike character

In this passage, we’re still in Paul’s second missionary journey. He and Silas were in the city of Philippi, but they are falsely accused, beaten, and put in prison, and they have been released. And now in chapter 17, they leave Philippi and head toward Thessalonica.

In our mission as Christians, we will hear several commands from our Lord. Attack, defend, regroup, rest. But never will we hear the command to retreat. Never are we called to stop doing the work of advancing the kingdom of God against the forces of darkness.

And we see this in Paul and Silas, and their relentless attitude for mission. They’re nonstop about mission because Christ was the first missionary, sent by the Father to save the lost.

And so having arrived in Thessalonica, they preach the Word of God at the Jewish synagogue for three weeks. And in those three weeks, many are converted and a church is formed at the house of Jason.

But the Jews get jealous and form a mob to attack them and drag them out to be killed. Unable to find Paul or Silas, they drag Jason and some others to the city authorities and hurl at them false accusations. And in the end, they are fined a sum of money and let go.

And Paul and Silas move on. They leave Thessalonica and go to Berea. Three weeks and that’s it.

But when Paul later writes to them in 1 Thessalonians, we see what really happened. 1 Thessalonians 1, the gospel came to them not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction.

So how did Paul preach in those three weeks?

He put together the Messiah of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the New Testament, and he made them one and the same. Messiah and Christ mean the same thing. They both mean “anointed one”.

And Paul showed how the Messiah of the Old Testament had to suffer, die, and rise again. Then he showed how Jesus is that Messiah. He is the Christ. That’s redemptive history.

But more than just preaching Christ, Paul also became Christ to them. Meaning that he didn’t just talk about love, he loved them deeply, like a nursing mother to her children.

1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 ESV

7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

And how did the Thessalonian respond? It says they received Paul’s preaching not as the word of men, but as the Word of God. And they turned away from their idols, and served God alone. And finally, they became imitators of Paul and of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV

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,

1 Thessalonians 1:6 ESV

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,

See, the Christian’s message will always outrun and outweigh the Christian’s character, because it’s too glorious. But we’re called not to leave our character too far behind. We teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are. The Christian’s character chases desperately after the Christian’s Gospel.

And if we live as Christ in the world, we will be attacked like Christ by the world. A Christlike character will face Christlike suffering.

Christlike suffering

Seeing this, the Jews in Thessalonica formed a mob to attack the Christians. Why? It says they were jealous. Jealous for their tradition. Jealous for their place of privilege as the firstborn of God. Jealous for themselves. And they allied themselves with some wicked men from the marketplace and attacked the house of Jason. Who was Jason?

Like Lydia in Philippi, Jason was a resident of Thessalonica who believed the Gospel and opened his house to become the gathering place of the saints. And in doing so, he opened himself up to attack, and attacked he was. Because the one who receives the Word imitates Christ, and the one who imitates Christ will be attacked by the world, because the world attacked Christ.

And so being unable to find Paul or Silas, they drag Jason and some others before the authorities, and this is their claim.

Acts 17:6–7 ESV

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.”

They said they turned the world upside down. What did they turn upside down?

They turned religion upside down. You’re supposed to live a good life first, and then be saved. The Gospel turns that upside down.

They turned society upside down. Jews and Gentiles are supposed to be separate, never together. The Gospel says Jews and Gentiles are now united as one people in Christ. One and the same.

They turned the culture upside down. For hundreds of years their people worshiped Zeus or Athena or Perseus, but these saints have turned their backs on such idols and worshiped Jesus alone.

Now comes the test of character. That’s what suffering does. It tests your character. The suffering of Job, the suffering of Abraham, Moses, and David. The suffering of Christ and of Paul.

Jason could easily have said, “Paul and Silas? They’re over at so and so.” “Christ? Who’s that?” He could have denied Jesus three times and escape scot free. But he didn’t. And he almost lost his life over it. The Jews accused him of acting against the decrees of Caesar. If true, that’s the death penalty. Jason didn’t abandon this Jesus he’s heard about for three weeks. He’s met Jesus through the character of Paul. And when they dragged him and laid false accusations, he stayed true. That’s Christian character. Loyalty to Christ and integrity before God.

Are we such people? Do we stay true under pressure? Are we still gentle under threat? When we are cut, do we bleed forgiveness?

Let us pray this morning that our character will not fall too far behind our message. And let us also pray for the end of year services to be events where the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will conform our character to Christ.

And finally, I’d like to make a special request to pray for those being baptised and confirmed tomorrow.

Khloe Tay

Hannah Shang

Aviel Yeo

Samuel Sin

Rhoda Neo

Phoebe Neo

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and fill their hearts, and securely bind up their lives with the life of Christ.