Daily Thoughts from Acts: Giving a Reason for Our Hope (Acts 17:1-9)

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 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.” 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. 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. 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, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.  (Acts 17:1-9 ESV)

Once again, upon leaving Philippi, Paul and his team do not stop in every town and preach the gospel.  They pass through the next two towns on the way south from Philippi, stopping in Thessalonica at the Spirit’s direction, no doubt, and because there is a synagogue.  The gospel is, as Paul writes in Romans 1:16, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Gentile or non-Jew).

Paul attended the synagogue three Sabbaths and being recognized as a rabbi was asked to speak.  He sought to explain and prove that Jesus is the Messiah.  The gospel is not something we just believe without evidence.  There is ample proof from the Old Testament that demonstrates that Jesus fulfills the requirements for being the Messiah.  This is not to say that proof alone results in salvation, because, as we have seen, God must open one’s heart to believe and people must be appointed to eternal life.  But the human mind needs evidence for real faith to develop.

Luke tells us that only some of the Jews were persuaded.  Once again the Gentile converts to Judaism seemed most receptive and, for some reason, many of the women.  Luke’s characterization, and we should recall that Luke is now on Paul’s team and witnessing this firsthand, is that the response of the Gentiles and leading women made the Jews jealous.  They did not want their faith being embraced that much by Gentiles, though this was the very thing God had called Abraham to, to be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3).

So persecution once again reared its ugly head as Satan sought to neutralize the effect of the gospel.  The Jews appeal to the city officials with a charge that they themselves should have been guilty of, saying God is king above Caesar.  They use this charge because they know it will strike fear and get action.  The officials don’t know what to charge Jason with and so take a “bond” so to speak and let them go.  In Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians the persecution is mentioned and Paul seeks to encourage this new church to stay firm in their faith.  There is another king, the King of kings, Jesus, to whom all loyalty is owed.

It seems that news has come from other communities about the stir the gospel is making and how it is turning the world upside down.  This charge by the Jews against Paul makes him out to be a traveling trouble-maker, sowing seeds of discord and rebellion.  When someone doesn’t have a reasonable way to counter your arguments for the truth of your position they will resort to propagandizing and fear rousing.  We may be tempted to resort to the same kind of thing when we Christians are in a position of influence.  But to do so is counter to the ethic of the gospel.  We need to provide answers for our faith.