A Tale of Two Cities

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” As Paul approaches two new cities after leaving Philippi, all I could think of was the line from the the classic work, “A Tale of Two Cities.” In these two cities, there were good times and really bad times. There were positive reactions to the ministry and to the word of God, and then there were riots and mob violence, too.

No matter when or where the Word of God is preached, there will be good and bad reactions. Some will receive the word with gladness. And some will reject the word and do whatever they can to detract from the Word.

We can expect a variety of responses to the Word. In Thessalonica, there’s a mob formed, they started a riot; these bad mamma-jammas are exaggerating the issue: “They’re causing trouble all over the world!”

Exalting Jesus in Acts Turning the World Upside Down 17:1-15

Some Jews “joined” Paul and Silas, and a large number of God-fearing Greeks believed. A number of “leading women” also believed. John Polhill says,

That Luke singled out the influential female converts in the Macedonian congregations (cf. 16:14 and 17:12) is very much in keeping with inscriptional evidence that in Macedonia women had considerable social and civic influence. (Acts, 360–61)

We should be encouraged here. God still converts people through faithful, Christ-exalting exposition. Trust in the power of the gospel and proclaim it!

The conversion of so many made many Jews “jealous” (v. 5), something that had also happened in Pisidian Antioch (13:45; cf. 5:17). The disgruntled Jews recruited some thugs in order to stimulate public outrage against Paul and Silas. They stormed the house of Jason, who had opened his home as a gathering place for the new church and had extended hospitality to Paul and Silas. When the attackers couldn’t find the missionaries (Johnson, Let’s Study Acts, 321), they attacked Jason and other brothers and brought them out before the crowd (cf. 1 Thess 2:14-15).

The mob leveled three charges against the Christians. First, they essentially called Paul and Silas troublemakers (v. 6). Second, they condemned Jason for harboring the pair. And third, they declared that the men were acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees. This was untrue, but it was a strategic ploy. Rebellion against Caesar was pure treason. The mob believed that, in saying Jesus was King, Paul and Silas defied Caesar. This, John Polhill points out, was virtually the same charge leveled at Jesus in Luke 23:2-4 and John 19:12,15 (Acts, 362).

James Boice clarifies that instead of turning the world upside down as charged, Paul and Silas were actually setting it right (Acts, 290). They did affirm Jesus as the King, but Jesus’s rule dictated not revolution against Rome but respectful submission to human rulers (Johnson, Let’s Study Acts, 214). Accusations stemmed from jealousy over the fact that the Gentiles were becoming Christians rather than Jews. The opponents couldn’t refute Paul’s arguments, so they resorted to mob violence.

The city officials were disturbed but responded to the charges with caution (v. 8). It’s possible they were aware of the events in Philippi and didn’t want to commit a similar embarrassing error (Johnson, Let’s Study Acts, 214). They forced Jason to post bond, depositing money that would be forfeited if there were any more disturbance. That meant Paul and Silas had to go. During the night the brothers sent Paul and Silas (along with Timothy) fifty miles west to Berea.

Thus, the team was “forced to leave” the believers and would later long to return to see them (1 Thess 2:17-19). The team would make plans to revisit the believers but encountered Satanic opposition in the process (1 Thess 2:18). Nevertheless, they did send Timothy back to the church to encourage them in the faith (1 Thess 3:1-2), and they continued praying earnestly for the church (1 Thess 3:10). Paul had a deep pastoral love for these believers.

Here in Acts 17, we have the stories of two different towns Paul and his companions ministered to: Thessalonica and Berea.

Paul traveled 94 miles from Philippi to Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia. It was about a days journey by foot from Philippi to Amphipolis, from Amphipolis to Apollonia, from Apollonia to Thessalonica.

In Acts 17, Paul and his companions (Silas and Timothy at this point; Luke seems to have stayed behind in Philippi), continue their journey.

Acts 17:1–9 NIV

1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

In this “tale of two cities”, there are many lessons to learn and important truths to take away. Paul and his companions continue on, and they upend the world. They proclaim Christ, not Caesar, as King. This is, as we’ll see, incredibly subversive. In that day, the common mantra was “Caesar is Lord.” Christians made no apology for saying, “Jesus is Lord.” Jesus is our King—Him and no one else.

We worship no other. We give our allegiance to no other. We bow before no other. Jesus alone!

Paul and his companions weren’t “defying Caesar’s decrees” here; not exactly. But we have to realize that if “Caesar’s decrees”—our government’s law and orders—violate our Christian practice, we must absolutely defy them.

There’s not, as they suggest, “another king”; there’s ONLY ONE KING!

Make a Connection with People

I was going to talk about the importance of making contact with people—different kinds of people—in our community.

For instance, I sit on 7-8 different boards, and not because I really enjoy board meetings. It was an easy (if not boring way) to make a connection with people.

Exalting Jesus in Acts Turning the World Upside Down 17:1-15

Paul’s first point of contact is made, as usual, in the Jewish synagogue. This move was theological, as we have noted, but it was also practical. Paul engages the congregation there for three consecutive Sabbaths. He encountered Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who were familiar with religious things, including the Old Testament.

Paul’s habit of finding a quick way to connect with those in a new location should make us identify points of contact within our own neighborhoods and cities. Often Christians find that serving the city provides a great way to make connections leading to gospel conversations. Volunteering at a youth center, a homeless shelter, a tutoring program, in a home for the abused, in crisis pregnancy centers, or at a local school can lead to wonderful opportunities for sharing the gospel. Doing so demonstrates neighbor love; it demonstrates care for the whole person. Similarly, coaching sports provides a great way to get to know players and parents and to win opportunities to speak truth into their lives. Hosting events in our homes—book clubs, Bible studies, or barbecues—can lead to wonderful chances to talk about Jesus, too. Even taking walks in your neighborhood or frequenting the same restaurants your neighbors do can provide you with ways to connect with people so that you can have gospel conservations with them. The idea is to work, play, and enjoy life with gospel intentionality.

Preach the Story-line of Scripture

The story-line of Scripture focuses on the person and work of Jesus. It all points to and culminates in Him.

Exalting Jesus in Acts Turning the World Upside Down 17:1-15

Paul’s approach involved the consistent exposition of Scripture in the synagogue. First and foremost Paul did this Christocentrically. As Jesus did with the disciples on the Emmaus road, Paul set before his hearers this message: it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead (vv. 2-3; Luke 24:26). Jesus’s disciples couldn’t see this truth until the Savior opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:44-46). Paul, then, knew he needed Jesus to open the Thessalonians’ eyes to this fundamental truth as well. We don’t know what texts Paul presented—maybe Psalms 16 or 22 or Isaiah 53—but we do know Paul didn’t merely teach facts about the Bible; he shared its story line, which climaxes in the person and work of Jesus.

A lot of people know stories from the Bible, but they don’t know the story line of Scripture. So, as we have opportunity, let’s tell people about the greatest story in the world. Let’s show them the flow of redemptive history and Jesus Christ, the Redeemer who died on behalf of sinners in order to reconcile them to God.

Paul also expounded the Scriptures boldly. As the apostle showed this suffering-to-glory agenda in the Bible, he affirmed, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah” (v. 3). Paul made the hero of the Bible, Jesus, the hero of every message. He taught about Jesus’s nature, life, death, resurrection, ascension, reign, and coming kingdom. Doing this took incredible courage. Paul had experienced great persecution from the Jews for doing just this kind of Christ-exalting exposition, yet he won’t stop exalting Jesus as the Messiah! The man was willing to endure countless afflictions for proclaiming Jesus as the Christ.

Reflecting on his ministry at Thessalonica, Paul commented on his trials and God-given boldness:

For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our visit with you was not without result. On the contrary, after we had previously suffered and were treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God to you in spite of great opposition. (1 Thess 2:1-2; emphasis added)

In our modern age of so-called tolerance and increasing hostility toward Christianity, we need to ask the Lord to give us this holy boldness to speak the gospel faithfully.

Paul also expounded the Scriptures intelligently. I don’t mean to suggest that he taught in an academic way; rather, he used a judicious, thoughtful, and logical approach. I draw this from the verbs in verses 2-4: reason, explain, prove, proclaim, and persuade (Stott, Message of Acts, 247). Paul is reasoning from the Scriptures to make his arguments. He’s not using the Bible in a superficial or mystical way. Instead, he is speaking rationally, logically, and cogently to his audience. The writer of Proverbs underlines the power of well-prepared, thoughtful teaching: “The heart of a wise person instructs his mouth; it adds learning to his speech” (Prov 16:23).

Evangelicals often have an anti-intellectual spirit, but we shouldn’t. While we should always bathe our work in prayer, we need to observe Paul’s approach carefully. Paul helped people think about the Bible—to consider what it meant, what it implies, and how it all points to Jesus. When doing Scripture-driven evangelism, don’t leave your brain at home—and don’t expect your hearers to, either.

It sometimes takes a long time for some people to be persuaded that the good news is true and applicable to them. So be patient. Be winsome. Hear unbelievers’ questions. Answer them kindly, in a way that’s faithful to the Bible and effective in communication.

Paul lived an exemplary life in front of the people. It’s important that we also expound the Scriptures with personal integrity. After commenting on his God-glorifying motivations and his loving pastoral care in 1 Thessalonians 2:3-9, Paul reminds the believers of his godly lifestyle, including his hard work in both manual labor and in ministry of the Word:

For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers. As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to live worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (1 Thess 2:9-12)

Paul didn’t say these things to brag but to defend his ministry in Thessalonica. He was assuring the church that he and his coworkers had acted in conformity with both God’s law and human law while they were in Thessalonica. They hadn’t “defied Caesar’s decrees.” They weren’t lawbreakers. They weren’t rebels. They weren’t greedy moneymakers. Instead, they were role models who set an example of what it looks like to obey God. By reminding the church of this fact, Paul was also instructing the believers on how they should live out God’s Word.

Paul’s life illustrated his teaching; his teaching explained his life. We must constantly evaluate both our lives and our teaching for our good and for the good of others (1 Tim 4:16).

Acts 17:10–15 NIV

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 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. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 13 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. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Paul traveled about 50 miles to Berea at night. It would have taken him three nights to complete.

As usual, Paul starts off in the synagogue proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. The response of the Bereans to the teaching of the word is what we like to see, and what we’d like to see more of.

Obey God’s Word

In Thessalonica, we read the biggest part of Paul’s ministry was “reasoning from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that Jesus is the Messiah.”

And here, in Berea, those listening to Paul “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day.”

We must preach the word, sharing its teaching, and teach people to obey everything Jesus has commanded us.

Our ministry—no matter what it is—is powered by and subservient to the Scriptures, the Bible (in its 66 books), to God’s Holy Word.

Exalting Jesus in Acts Turning the World Upside Down 17:1-15

The Bereans Studied the Scriptures Openly

Verse 11 says the Bereans were more “noble” than the Thessalonians. On this John Polhill comments,

He [Luke] used a word (eugenesteros) that originally meant high born but came to have a more general connotation of being open, tolerant, generous, having the qualities that go with “good breeding.” Nowhere was this more evident than in their willingness to take Paul’s scriptural exposition seriously. (Acts, 363)

The Bereans, then, had a teachable attitude. Their hearts were open, not hardened. Here is the first step in becoming a student of the Bible: approach God’s Word with humility, saying, “Teach me, oh God.” Psalm 119 is filled with similar cries (e.g., vv. 12,18,27,33-36,66,125). James told the Christians, “Ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (Jas 1:21; emphasis added).

The Bereans Studied the Scriptures Eagerly

These Berean citizens were serious about what they were learning. Peter urged Christians to study the Bible with the same “eagerness” and passion a baby has for milk:

Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Pet 2:2-3)

Oh, that churches would be filled with people longing more for biblical food than for Sunday-morning cotton-candy entertainment, funny stories, and pithy anecdotes! May God grant us a Berean appetite for the Scriptures.

The Bereans Studied the Scriptures Carefully

Luke also commends the Bereans for their spiritual discernment. They weren’t gullible. They listened to Paul and then proceeded to do their own homework. They examined Paul’s claims about the Messiah to see whether they were true. It’s easy to be drawn in by a charismatic teacher. Paul, in fact, rebuked the Galatians for accepting the false gospel of false teachers rather than weighing their messages against the Word. The Bereans provide us a positive example of examining what is being taught (cf. 1 Tim 4:1-5; 6:2-10; 2 Tim 3:1-9; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 John 2:18-27; Jude 3-23).

The Bereans Studied the Scriptures Daily

This group of people did more than study the Bible on the Sabbath. They met every day (cf. Acts 2:42-47). Because Paul’s claims had eternal ramifications, they spent time pondering them daily.

At this “daily” point, I thought you could talk about what the Youth Group is doing—the 100 Day Challenge

Exalting Jesus in Acts Turning the World Upside Down 17:1-15

What were the results of doing so?

Result 1: Conversions

As a side effect of such devotion to Paul’s teaching, many of the Bereans believed (v. 12; cf. John 5:39-40). Not only did many Jews believe but many Greeks as well—not just men but Greek women of high standing (cf. Acts 2:18; 5:14; 9:2,36-42; 12:12-17; 16:13-15; 17:34; 18:18-26). Thus, a church in Berea was born.

Let this passage encourage you if you are a Bible teacher. Not everyone will be changed when you teach, but the seed of the Word will bear fruit in some hearers’ lives.

Result 2: Conflict

Unfortunately, the great movement among the Bereans was disrupted because Jews from Thessalonica traveled to Berea, stirring up a mob against Paul (v. 13). This isn’t the first time we have read of such hostility, and it won’t be the last (cf. 16:20-21; 17:6-7; 19:40; 1 Kgs 18:17-18). Apparently Paul was the main object of persecution since Silas and Timothy didn’t leave town when he did (v. 14). They stayed and strengthened the new congregation as the “brothers and sisters” sent Paul off by sea. Paul eventually ends up in Athens where he engages another audience with the gospel (v. 15).

The Word of God is central in these stories. Paul and his companions turned the world upside down by turning the Word loose! Keep teaching and learning the Christ-centered Scriptures, and ask God to use you to change neighborhoods and nations for the glory of King Jesus.