Tag Archives: New Testament Acts

We’ll be studying Acts 17:4-9 to end this section of Acts 17 where we’ve see the founding of the church in Thessalonica.

Let’s read the entirety of that section – Acts 17:1-9 and then get into the details.

Acts 17:1–9 AV 1873

¹ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

² and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

³ opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

⁴ And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

⁵ But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶ And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

⁷ whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

⁸ And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

⁹ And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

Now, just a reminder of what we saw in Acts 17:1-3 last time. Paul and Silas come from Philippi after having been beaten.

Here’s a map of the route they would have used – the Via Egnatia – to get from Philippi to Thessalonica.

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/File:Via_Egnatia-en.jpg

Paul and Silas stayed probably just overnight in Amphipolis and Apollonia on the way to Thessalonica. Once they arrived at Thessalonica, they found a Jewish synagogue there and so they went in and preached the gospel for three Sabbath days.

Then there’s probably a little time that elapses between the discontinuation of their Sabbath preaching and what’s to follow in verse 4 and beyond.

So, last time we saw the messengers and the message of the gospel that God is advancing around the world.

And this time we will see the two responses to that gospel – reception and rejection.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 4

So, first in Acts 17:4 we see the positive response to the gospel. God advances his gospel through saving some people who then instinctively gather with one another.

Acts 17:4 AV 1873

⁴ And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

Some of Them

So, the text says that some of them believed. Some of whom?

Well, the referent would be these Jews in the synagogue in Thessalonica that Paul and Silas visited for three Sabbath days.

We saw in verses 1-3 that Paul proclaimed to them that the Old Testament presented it as an absolute necessity for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead – and that this Messiah was none other than Jesus of Nazareth.

Believed

And the result of Paul’s ministry was that some of those Jews who heard believed.

Other words that the KJV uses to translate the word believed here include persuade (20), trust (9), confidence (8), and – interestingly – obey (7).

Jesus in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus asserted that if people have the Old Testament – like these Jews did – and they don’t believe what’s written in it, they won’t believe even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:31).

Well, some of these Jews in Thessalonica did apparently believe both the Old Testament and the message that Paul was preaching to them from that very book concerning the Christ and his rising from the dead.

And so, let me ask whether everyone here today has this internal convincing of Jesus being the Messiah who suffered and died for your sins – and who rose from the dead. Are you solidly convinced of that reality?

Some people trust in themselves – and oftentimes the corollary to that is that they tend to despise – or think little of / or look down upon – others (Luke 18:9).

Our full confidence needs to be in Jesus Christ – and not in ourselves or anything else. He alone is worthy of all of our trust.

And some of these Jews adopted that very mindset. They were persuaded and put their confidence in Jesus as their true Messiah and Savior.

Consorted with Paul and Silas

And as a result, these ones who were persuaded by Paul’s message consorted with Paul and Silas.

This word consort actually appears only one time in the New Testament. But it’s root has to do with the concept of an inheritance or a lot or a portion.

So then, these believing Jews threw in their lot with Paul and Silas. Or they took their share in the gospel of Christ together with Paul and Silas.

This was actually one of the stated purposes for which Jesus Christ saved and commissioned the Apostle Paul. Jesus’s purpose for Paul’s ministry was revealed to be as follows (Acts 26:18): “to open [people’s] eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

The right response to receiving the truth of the gospel – like some of these Jews did – is that we would be, “giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:” (Colossians 1:12).

We have a shared inheritance.

And in this life, if you’re one of two… or three… or maybe even more children to receive a shared inheritance, the tendency might be to become envious and covetous. Because there’s a limited resource and there are several of you that want it.

But that’s not how it works with this sharing together in spiritual things. The blessings are unlimited. Each of us can enjoy as much of our spiritual inheritance as we want and there will be no less available to the others.

And I think it’s this sense of being fellow-heirs of spiritual realities that causes believers in Christ Jesus to join together in the same location. Who wants to enjoy this new life in Christ alone?

I remember before I was married, I was in New York for a business trip and the company I was working for paid for my meals. And so I went to a fairly nice restaurant and sat down at a table, thinking that this was going to be really enjoyable… But as I sat there all by myself, it dawned on me that I didn’t have anyone to enjoy this with. The food was great. But what’s the use if you don’t have someone there to share in the food and the atmosphere and everything else with you?

And that’s how we can picture our spiritual inheritance. Who wants to enjoy this alone? Let’s gather together and enjoy Christ and his kingdom and his word and his service all together!

And this is what some of those Jews did. They consorted with Paul and Silas. They took their share and threw in their lot with the men that led them to Christ – and with one another.

A Great Multitude of the Devout Greeks

But it wasn’t just the Jews who took their share in the gospel of Christ. There were also a large number of these devout Greeks.

The term devout has reference to worship. These are Greek worshippers of the God of Israel. The KJV also calls them religious proselytes – ones who were not fully Jewish (they’re still identified as Greeks) but they kind of attached themselves to the religion of Scripture.

We’re given the names of a few of these folks throughout the New Testament. Lydia whom Paul and Silas met in Philippi is one such name (Acts 16:14). There’s also Justus from Corinth who is identified as one of these people (Acts 18:7).

But while these devout Greeks would have joined themselves to the religion of the Jews, they were not in a completely right relationship with the God that they sought to worship.

In fact, even Lydia had to have her heart opened by God to receive the message of the gospel (Acts 16:14). And in certain cities, these devout Greeks were unfortunately used by Paul’s opponents to run him out of town (Acts 13:50).

Some of these devout Greeks in Thessalonica would no doubt have been meeting in the synagogue. But surely with the great multitude that they’re described as, Paul would have met a number of these folks outside of the synagogue as well.

And it’s interesting that in 1 Thessalonians some of the things that Paul says and does-not-say would indicate that the church in Thessalonica ended up being made-up largely of these people, rather than the Jews.

For example, Paul reminds them in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 that they had turned from idols to serve God. This is much more likely to be said of a Gentile than of a Jew of those days. The Jews often gave in to idolatry before their exile in Babylon, but we don’t see much of that afterwards.

So, there were a few Jews who believed. There were a great number of devout Greeks.

Not a Few of the Chief Women

And then there were these chief women of the city of Thessalonica that believed the gospel.

These were apparently some of the wealthier, more well-to-do ladies of Thessalonica – and they reached that status by themselves. Either that – or perhaps they were the wives of the chief men of the city.

But whoever these women were exactly – there were not a few of them.

That phrase (not a few) really seems to be a favorite of Luke’s. He uses it to refer to a large commotion among soldiers (Acts 12:18), of an extended stay that Paul had with other believers (Acts 14:28), of the sharp disagreement that Paul and Barnabas had over John Mark (Acts 15:2), and of the hours-long riot that occured in Ephesus at the instigation of Demetrius the idol-maker whom Paul was putting out of business with his effective evangelism (Acts 19:23).

The phrase not a few is a form of understatement but in the negative. And it basically means something like, a sizeable amount.

So, there was a sizeable amount of these prominent women, a great number of devout Greeks, and a few Jews from the synagogue that all received Paul’s message of their suffering and rising Messiah. And they were persuaded to the point that they believed and gathered together.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 5

But then you have the opposite response to the gospel starting in verse 5 and running to the end of the passage in verse 9.

And we’ll see in this section that God advances his gospel even through opposition. Verse 5:

Acts 17:5 AV 1873

⁵ But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

The Jews Which Believed Not

So, in contrast to those few Jews who did believe in verse 4, we now have the other Jews. And we’re going to see what they do instead of receiving their Messiah.

Moved with Envy

Their primary motive is envy. In fact, the English phrase moved with envy is one word in Greek and it’s intentionally placed at the beginning of this sentence.

Their rejection of Jesus was not a matter of principled careful study. They don’t raise any biblical objections to what Paul was saying. Their opposition was purely sourced in their jealousy or envy of the success of the message of Paul and Silas concerning Jesus.

These Jews repeated the mistake of their forefathers who sold the patriarch Joseph into Egypt because of this very emotion of jealous or envy (Acts 7:9).

It’s this emotion that leads people who are works-based in their approach to being accepted by God to try to make disciples (Galatians 4:17-18). It’s utterly unloving (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Certain Lewd Fellows of the Baser Sort

And in this case, the envy of these Jews is not directed at making disciples or selling anyone into slavery. Rather, their envy is now directed at causing a riot.

And you typically need a rather large group of individuals to start a riot. So, the Jews find this group that the KJV identifies as certain lewd fellows of the baser sort.

These are market people – those idle individuals who would have had nothing better to do than to congregate at the ancient agora or marketplace.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Roman_forum.jpg

And while we could assume that there were apparently some decent individuals who made this their practice, these ones were the wicked ones among those market folk.

So, the Jews take these wicked market people.

Gathered a Company

And with that group, they gather a company. This again is one Greek word that combines the word for crowd with the word make. They made a crowd – or in this context, they made a violent mob.

And it’s likely that this mob is gathering adherents as it goes along. The mob is formed… and then it keeps forming itself. It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill.

“A study from the University of Leeds found that it takes only about 5 percent of a crowd to influence the group’s direction, with the other 95 percent following without even realizing what they are doing.”

And so, we see next where at least 5% of this Thessalonian crowd is headed…

Set all the City on an Uproar

The mob grows so large that is sets all the city on an uproar.

The verb tense would indicate that this was an ongoing thing. The larger the mob became the more of an uproar ensued and so the larger the mob became and so the greater the uproar and on and on.

What these folks are doing in setting the city in an uproar is the same word used to describe the weeping and wailing that would have accompanied an untimely death in the ancient near east.

It’s the action of a crowd that would gather to bewail the death of a young girl (Matthew 9:23; Mark 5:39) or the death of a young man (Acts 20:10).

The city of Thessalonica is pictured as if they are experiencing the turmoil of that kind of painful unexpected tragedy. And it’s all orchestrated by the Jews who were set on rejecting their Messiah.

Assaulted the House of Jason

And so, the Jews and the mob that they had formed assault the house of Jason.

This word assault is usually translated very benignly as come or come to or approach or come upon. The picture I get is that they approached and even surrounded Jason’s house.

And you might be wondering who this Jason is – which is totally understandable because we haven’t heard anything about this man up to this point.

His name appears one other place in the New Testament – in Romans 16:21 where Paul is conveying greetings to the Roman Christians from a number of individuals – one of whose name is Jason. Maybe that’s our Jason here in Acts 17:5 or maybe not.

There’s some thought that Jason was a Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua – like the name Jesus was. In which case, maybe he was one of those devout Greeks who trusted Christ. Or perhaps he was a Hellenistic Jew.

And later on in this text it becomes apparent that Jason is a believer. Because the unbelieving Jews accuse him of such and he doesn’t deny it.

Sought to Bring them Out

Well, ultimately the mob was not looking for Jason. They were only at Jason’s house because they thought that Paul and Silas would be there.

That’s what it means that they sought to bring them out. The them in that phrase is referring to Paul and Silas.

To The People

So, the mob wants to bring Paul and Silas out to the people – to the δῆμος. This would have been the public assembly in that city – maybe located at the agora/marketplace.

In another place in Acts, this assembly was where Herod gave his oration to the people of Tyre and Sidon (Acts 12:22). It’s also where a mob similar to what we see in this passage gathered to riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:30,33).

So, the Jews and their mob of ne’er-do-wells get the whole city of Thessalonica in a grieving panic and then seek Paul and Silas at Jason’s house to persecute them publicly.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 6

But it turns out in verse 6 that the mob can’t find their intended targets.

Acts 17:6 AV 1873

⁶ And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

So, the mob can’t find Paul and Silas.

They drew Jason and Certain Brethren

And so, their rage turns to those who had gladly received Paul’s message of a suffering and rising Messiah. The mob now goes after Jason and some of the other believers.

And you get the idea that Jason and his fellow-believers were not all that willing to go with the mob. The mob had to draw them.

That’s what those who stoned Paul on his first missionary journey had to do to his lifeless body as they dragged him out of the city (Acts 14:19). It’s how Revelation relates to us the vision of the Dragon where his tail draws the stars out of heaven (Revelation 12:4). It’s how Peter dragged the net of fish to land (John 21:8), or how Paul himself before he was converted used to drag Christians away to persecution and imprisonment (Acts 8:3).

Jason and his fellow believers are being dragged from his home against their will.

Unto the Rulers of the City

And they’re brought to the rulers of the city. In Greek, the term is politarch – city ruler.

And this is one of many areas in which archeology has been able to shed light on the Bible and offer proof for its veracity – it’s truthfulness.

One of the earliest existing inscriptions to use the term “Politarch” was located on the Vardar Gate in Thessaloniki. The Gate was unfortunately destroyed in 1876 but the inscription, which dates to the 2nd Century AD [100s – 50 to 100 years after Paul’s visit], can now been seen in the British Museum in London.

According to author F. F. Bruce [Commentary on the Book of Acts, NIC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 314.] there seem to have been five locally elected magistrates in Thessalonica in Paul’s day. They were responsible for law enforcement. Legislature was in the hands of the local citizens, referred to as the dēmos, which we heard about in verse 5.

So, the mob brings Jason and the other believers to these Politarchs.

Crying

And the mob is impassioned. They are crying – and not in a mournful way. They are crying out their accusations against the believers.

There is no way to cry out without some level of earnestness and intensity. Think of John the Baptist and his being a voice crying out in the wilderness (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). Or of Jesus crying out to his Father regarding his being forsaken on the cross (Mark 15:34). Or how we pray to the Father in our extreme needs (Luke 18:7). Or like the blind man who knew that Jesus could heal him – if he could only get Jesus to hear him (Luke 18:38).

The mob was earnestly and intensely communicating the following message in this verse and to the end of verse 7 to these city rulers.

These that Have Turned the World Upside Down

Paul and Silas are the ones being primarily accused with the term these, though Jason and the other believers are going to receive some accusations as well.

They are accused of turning the world upside down.

There was apparently an Egyptian that did something similar to this in Judea around this time as he led four thousand men out into the wilderness for some clandestine purpose (Acts 21:38). This is also the impact that can be wreaked on a church when it’s infiltrated by those who add works to faith for a person’s salvation and standing with God (Galatians 5:12).

And so, this mob is now accusing Paul and Silas (in absentia) and the rest of the Thessalonian believers they could find (in person) of revolting against and overthrowing – not just a city or a region like that Egyptian did – and not just a church like the moralists in Galatia did – but the entire world.

In other words, “wherever people are – that’s the very place that Paul and his gang are causing tumult and problems” – according to the mob, at least. “And now, these troublemakers are here in Thessalonica, too!”

And yet, we just have to kind of chuckle – because who is really causing the riot and tumult in Thessalonica? Was it really Paul and the rest? Or was it this wild mob?!

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 7

Well, the mob continues its baseless accusation against Paul and Silas in verse 7.

Acts 17:7 AV 1873

⁷ whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

Whom Jason hath Received

The mob apparently feels the need to explain why they are dragging Jason before the Politarchs if their real issue is with Paul and Silas – who, again, are not there.

Jason is accused of giving Paul and Silas a warm reception.

It’s like Martha’s welcoming of Jesus into her home (Luke 10:38). Or Zaccheus’s inviting Jesus to his home after he repented of his sin (Luke 19:6). Or Rahab’s warm welcome of the Israelite spies (James 2:25).

Jason received and warmly welcomed these men accused of world-wide sedition.

These All Do Contrary to the Decrees of Cesar

And as if it’s not enough to incite riots all over the world and harboring people who do the same, now the mob makes one more claim that they think will really get these believers in trouble.

The accusation has to do with the practice of these people. They do contrary to the decrees of Cesar.

This Cesar was either

•     Claudius (AD 41-54)

•     or, less likely, Nero (AD 54-68)

And so, what the believers are doing is allegedly against Cesar’s decrees.

We have record of one of Cesar’s decrees in Luke 2:1 where we’re told that Augustus – the Cesar at the time of Jesus’ birth from 27 BC to AD 14 – decreed that a census of all his people be taken for the purpose of taxation. That was a written and proclaimed commandment from the emperor of Rome.

And it was these all who were acting contrary to Cesar’s decrees and commands. That includes Paul and Silas and Jason and the other believers who go unnamed – which certainly would have included some from the group we read about in verse 4 – some Jews, numerous devout Greeks, and not a few prominent women.

And so, these believers are being accused of acting against Cesar’s written and proclaimed commands.

There is Another King, one Jesus

But here’s the most significant one of those commands that they’re violating – in the collective estimation of the mob, at least. And it’s that these Christians are saying that there is another king – and that king is none other than Jesus.

Is this accusation correct – that Jesus is king and that this is a threat to Cesar?

Well, in one way – it certainly is. Jesus is the King. He is the king of the Jews (Matthew 27:11,37; Luke 22:30; John 18:37; 19:19). He is the prince of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5). He is even the king of Heaven (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Luke 23:42). This is part of his being the Messiah – the fact that he is King – of both the Jews and ultimately of all of God’s creation.

And yet, the mob is not getting this quite right. They knew enough about Paul’s message of Jesus that he preached in the synagogue that they knew these facts about Jesus – that he was indeed a king.

And yet the mob twists the facts in order to make it sound like the gospel is a threat to civil order. It’s not.

Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not from this world (John 18:36). And that if his kingdom was from this world – if it was right now intended to overthrow every other king and form of government – then Jesus’ servants would have been fighting for him. Servants of Jesus the King do not attempt to overthrow governments for the sake of supposedly setting up his kingdom on this earth. This is not what we’re called to do.

Jesus is the ultimate King. And he will some day rule on this earth (Revelation 11:15) from his throne in Jerusalem. But not yet.

And isn’t it interesting that the mob is unwittingly proclaiming a key aspect of Jesus’ person – of his kingship? God advances the good news of his Son – even through opposition.

So, there is indeed another king. And believers teach and live that way. But this is no threat to the current civil order – even under the rulership of wicked men.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 8

Well, we see the impact that those accusations had on those who listened to the mob in verse 8.

Acts 17:8 AV 1873

⁸ And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

They Troubled the People and the Rulers of the City

The response to the mob’s accusations is trouble.

Interestingly, Jesus has a way of provoking this emotional state in people.

When Herod heard from the wise men that Jesus the King was born, this was his response (Matthew 2:3). When his disciples saw him walk on the Sea of Galilee, this was their response (Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:50). After Jesus had died for our sins and risen again and appeared to his disciples, he had to ask them why this was their response to seeing him (Luke 24:38).

But not only did Jesus provoke this response in others. He himself experienced this emotion.

When he saw how people grieved over Lazarus’ death – a death he could have prevented, but intentionally chose not to – he was troubled (John 11:33). When Jesus was within a few hours of his suffering for our sin he was troubled (John 13:21).

And because Jesus himself experienced trouble like this, he’s able to comfort his disciples in our troubled state with encouragements to trust him (John 14:1) and by giving us his peace (John 14:27).

But for these people who were listening to the mob in Acts 17, they would not trust and would not receive Jesus’ peace. And therefore, all they could expect was this troubled condition in their souls.

These folks were troubled at the prospect of more riots from this mob that would then potentially call down Rome’s wrath upon their city. They were troubled that Rome might catch word that there’s a new king in town in Thessalonica and that Rom would have to come and “investigate.”

And it’s interesting that this message troubled the people because that’s the word for what the Jews and the market people formed – this mob. So, the mob is at the same time both leveling accusations against the believers… and also terrifying themselves with what they’re claiming. It’s like the kid at the camp fire frightening his friends by telling them scary stories that are so scary that he himself can’t sleep that night.

I think this also reminds us that it was really the Jews-who-refused-to-receive-their-Messiah who were the moving force behind this mob. The passage doesn’t say that the Jews were troubled – only the city rulers and the mob they formed were troubled. The Jews knew what they were doing.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 9

Now, despite the inner turmoil experienced by numerous people in Thessalonica, the city rulers end up making a rather reasonable arrangement to end all of the strife in verse 9 to end our section.

Acts 17:9 AV 1873

⁹ And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

When They Had Taken Security of Jason and of the Other

The security spoken of here is akin to our current practice of posting bail.

It’s similar to what Pilate did with the Jews. In order to satisfy the Jews, he released Barabbas but delivered Jesus to be scourged and crucified (Mark 15:15). And that contented them. That gave the Jews assurance that what they wanted to happen would indeed happen.

So, in Acts 17:9 there is some assurance given by Jason and the other believers that Paul and Silas won’t come around again and stir up trouble. It was probably some guarantee that Paul and Silas would never come back or that at least Jason would never house them again.

But surprisingly, that’s it. There’s no scourging or further punishment for these believers.

They Let Them Go

And the end of the story is mercifully anti-climactic as the city rulers let Jason and his fellow-believers go. They just release them.

Conclusion/Transition

Well, from there, Acts 17:10 goes on to state that the Thessalonian believers sent Paul and Silas away by night. And after that, Paul and Silas move on to Berea. And the Thessalonian Jews bring their traveling persecution act there as well. And on and on it goes…

But with such an inauspicious sending-off, Paul and Silas wanted to follow-up with this dear church in Thessalonica. If the Jews and their mob were so bold to persecute the Thessalonian believers when their leaders were there, what’s to say they wouldn’t do more of the same after they left? No matter how long Paul had been with them, these believers would need encouragement and comfort and even further instructions and help knowing how to process all of this in their new Christian lives. They might even need some corrections in old patterns of living that don’t fit their new life in Christ.

But the problem was that Paul and Silas couldn’t come back to Thessalonica – Jason had given assurance of that. And so in our day, if we can’t physically visit someone, we would send a text or an email or make a phone call. Or maybe we would even be so old-fashioned as to send a letter.

And so, that’s exactly what we see Paul and Silas doing in their letter that they sent to the church in Thessalonica that we know as 1 Thessalonians. And we’ll begin studying that directly next time.

We’re going to be embarking on a teaching series through the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians.

And so, I hope it’s not a disappointment to any of you that we’re going to be starting in a completely different book for the first two messages in this series. The plan for this message and the next one is to work through Acts chapter 17 and verses 1 through 9.

And really, there’s no reason to be disappointed because it’s in Acts 17:1-9 where we see the founding of the church in the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica by the Apostle Paul and his helper Silas.

I think that getting a handle on how this church was founded will be helpful as we work through the book of 1 Thessalonians in the weeks to come.

So, let’s turn to Acts 17 and read verses 1-9. Acts 17:1-9

Acts 17:1–9 AV 1873

¹ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

² and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

³ opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

⁴ And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

⁵ But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶ And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

⁷ whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

⁸ And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

⁹ And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

So, what we see here in Acts 17:1-9 is God advancing the gospel. And we’re going to see four means by which God is advancing the gospel.

•     In verses 1 and 2 we see the messengers of that gospel

•     In verses 2 and 3 we see the message of the gospel.

•     In verse 4 we see a positive reception of the gospel.

•     And in verses 5-9 we’ll see the negative reaction to the gospel.

That’s what lies ahead of us in this portion of Scripture. But for this message we’ll be focused only on verses 1-3. So, let’s look at the details.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 1

We begin in verse 1 where we see God advancing his gospel using messengers.

Acts 17:1 AV 1873

¹ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

A Brief Overview of Luke-Acts

Now, we’re just jumping right into the book of Acts in the 17th chapter. But as you know there is a lot of material that preceded this moment.

Gospel of Luke

The book of Acts is the second book penned by Luke. And Luke starts this book by addressing a man named Theophilus. He mentions a “former treatise” – a previous writing – that he wrote to this man in which he told him “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). And that former treatise, of course, is the book that we know as the Gospel of Luke.

The Church in Jerusalem

And so, the book of Acts picks right up where the Gospel of Luke left off. And the first 7 chapters of Acts are centered in the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus Christ commissions his people to proclaim the good news about him (Acts 1:4–8) and then he ascends to heaven (Acts 1:9).

After that, Peter and the other apostles in Jerusalem proclaim the gospel in that city.

The Church Scattered

Then in Acts 7 Stephen suffers a martyr’s death and as a result the church is scattered from Jerusalem to all sorts of geographical locations. It’s also at Stephen’s martyrdom that we meet this man named Saul who is agreeing to the persecution (Acts 8:1).

Saul’s Conversion & First Missionary Journey

But amazingly, Saul is converted to Christ in Acts 9 and begins to preach this Christ (Acts 9:20) whom he once persecuted.

Eventually Saul ends up in the church in Antioch. And it’s from there that he and Barnabas are sent on what we call their First Missionary Journey starting in Acts 13.

The Second Missionary Journey

That journey ends and so then Paul starts his Second Missionary Journey toward the end of Acts 15. It’s on that second journey of his where he receives what we call the Macedonian Vision (Acts 16:9) where during the night a man from Macedonia appears to him and tells him to come and help them. And so, Paul and his crew decide to go there and proclaim the gospel in Macedonia – which is in modern-day Greece.

Philippi

Well, the first stop of Paul and his company is in the Macedonian city of Philippi. It’s there that Paul and Silas see some success of the gospel. Some people trust Christ as a result of their ministry.

But then there’s an uproar in the city after Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl (Acts 16:18). Her owners then bring Paul and Silas to be beaten by the city officials and thrown into jail (Acts 16:19–24).

But later that night, the Lord miraculously causes all the doors to open in that prison and all the chains to fall off of the prisoners (Acts 16:26). That results in the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his family (Acts 16:27–34).

At the end of that episode, Paul and Silas are set free and urged by the local government to leave (Acts 16:35–40).

And that’s where we come to our text in Acts 17:1-9.

Amphipolis and Apollonia

So far then, we have the ancient city of Philippi in our minds in terms of where Paul and Silas have been up to this point.

But now in Acts 17:1 we’re introduced in passing to these two cities named Amphipolis and Apollonia. And of course ultimately Paul and Silas are on their way to Thessalonica.

So, we have these three cities to consider. So, I’d like us to get a visual of the geography and the layout of the area under discussion. So, let’s start out with a wide view of the area we’re talking about.

You can see Italy on the west and Turkey on the east. And then modern-day Greece is right in the center. Athens is to the south of the area we’re dealing with.

Now, let’s zoom in. Philippi – which is spelled a little differently these days – is on the northeast side of the map. And Thessalonica is on the southwest – labeled as “Ancient Agora Square” in this map. And in between those two cities you have Amfipoli (Amphipolis) and Apollonia. You can see that Thessalonica is on what is called the Thermaic Gulf.

And just kind of as a funny side note, you can see the city of “Drama” to the north of Philippi. And of course, the Apostle Paul and his crew experienced a lot of drama in this area of the world.

Distance and Travel

But more closely related to this message, it’s also interesting that Google Maps suggests it should take under two and a half hours to traverse from Philippi to Thessalonica. Because in Paul’s day it would have taken days to get from one city to the other on foot. But we’ll talk about the time potentially involved later in this message.

Now, the journey between these two cities would have been shorter on horseback. And that’s
 the mode of transportation that some people think that Paul and Silas would have used because of their weak physical condition after being beaten in Philippi.

But whatever the case, it would have been a much longer journey for Paul than it would be for someone today with a motorized vehicle.

Via Egnatia

One thing that would have been true of Paul’s day is still true today concerning travel in this area. And that is that Paul and Silas would have used a road to get from one city to another. And that’s because there was a Roman Road called the Via Egnatia that connected these four cities and beyond.

Thessalonica, Finally

Well, Paul and Silas eventually make their way from Philippi through Amphipolis through Apollonia and to Thessalonica.

A Synagogue of the Jews

And unlike Philippi, in Thessalonica they find a Jewish synagogue.

They say that at least 10 Jewish men would have been needed in order to start a synagogue in a city. The idea there is that each man is giving ten percent of his income in order to support the ministry.

A synagogue would be the equivalent of our church building. These gathering spots are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament gospels. But after that, we really don’t hear much about them – with just one mention in James and two references in the book of Revelation. In this book of Acts there are 19 mentions of this type of building.

Now, you can probably recall that there was no Jewish synagogue in Philippi. Paul and Silas had to find the few religious folks in that city by the river where they were praying (Acts 16:13).

Amphipolis and Apollonia – I suppose – could have had a synagogue. But we hear nothing about it.

But now in Thessalonica there is a synagogue, which would indicate a relatively sizeable Jewish presence (at least 10 Jewish men). The strength of their opposition to Paul later on in this text also would argue for a decent amount of Jews in this city.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 2

Well, the mention of a Jewish synagogue can portend only one thing. And that is that Paul is going into that synagogue and telling these folks about Jesus – their Messiah!

Acts 17:2 AV 1873

² and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

As His Manner Was

So, it was Paul’s manner or custom to go into any synagogue he could find and proclaim Jesus. He didn’t start with the Gentiles. He would start with the Jews.

This comports with Paul’s famous statement in Romans 1:16 – that the gospel is the power of God to save people from their sins. And in that verse he gives a kind of order in his philosophy of ministry. He says that this gospel is “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Order of Operations

That was Paul’s order of operations.

It’s like in math where we have that acronym PEMDAS. Or maybe you remember the order of operations by a phrase like “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” That stands for Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. It’s an orderly system whereby you know which mathematical calculation to do first when you have an equation with multiple calculations to perform.

Well, Paul had his order of operations when it came to proclaiming the gospel. It was: Jews first. And also, Greeks.

And so, we see Paul and Silas going in to speak with those Jews in that synagogue – because those Jews were to be – by God’s design – the first in that community to hear the gospel of their Messiah.

Jesus’s Manner/Custom As Well

And Paul I think is simply following the example set by our Lord Jesus in visiting God’s chosen people the Jews first with the gospel message of their Messiah who came especially for them.

In fact, out of the 57 times that a synagogue is mentioned anywhere in the New Testament, a full 21 of those references are to Jesus doing something in one of these buildings.

In fact, even this word “manner” that describes Paul’s approach to ministry in this verse is used of Jesus as well to describe his common practice of typically visiting a synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16).

Three Sabbath Days in the Synagogue

Well, Paul and Silas were at that synagogue for three Sabbath Days. They went to the synagogue when it was in session which would have been our modern Saturday – the seventh day of the week.

And the concept of the Sabbath is closely tied to that of the synagogue in that in the New Testament we find this word used numerous times in the Gospels and in Acts – 66 times in those five books. But only twice does it appear outside of those books – once in 1 Corinthians and once in Colossians.

Well, Paul and Silas apparently visited this synagogue in Thessalonica for three weeks.

Now, let me just note something that we’re going to need to keep an eye on as we deal with the book of 1 Thessalonians in the coming weeks.

The fact that Paul and Silas entered the synagogue for three Sabbath days doesn’t necessarily mean that they were in Thessalonica for only three weeks. It does mean that they showed up that synagogue for three consecutive sabbath days. But they could possibly have been in the city for maybe a few months even.

In Thessalonica Longer

And there are at least three realities that could allow for their being in Thessalonica for longer than three weeks.

Silence

The first reason is an argument from silence, I suppose. But that piece of evidence would be the fact that we’re not explicitly told how long Paul and Silas were in the city between those three sabbath days of proclaiming the gospel and then the response of faith on the part of some (v 4) and further then the response of violent resistance on the part of others (vv 5-9).

In other words, there could be a chronological space of a few weeks or maybe months between verse 3 and verse 4 in this text.

So, that’s one reason to not hold too dogmatically to the idea that Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica only three weeks.

The Gifts from Philippi

Another reality that might support Paul and Silas being in Thessalonica longer than three weeks is a statement that Paul makes in Philippians 4:16. There he reminds those Philippian believers that they had sent him some provision for his need on more than one occasion. And he says that he received those multiple gifts while he was in this city of Thessalonica.

Philippians 4:16 AV 1873

¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

So, think about that. The believers in Philippi – the city that Paul and Silas had just recently left in order to come to Thessalonica – they sent a gift more than once to Paul while he was in Thessalonica.

How long would it have taken for one tranche of those gifts to come from Philippi to Thessalonica?

Well, the distance between those two cities is estimated at about 167 km – as you saw on that Google Map earlier. If a person walks on average 5 km/h (about 3 mph) then it would have been 33 hours of straight walking to get from one city to the other. People at this time in history may have walked up to 8 hours in one day. So, you have at least four days of straight walking to get from Philippi to Thessalonica.

So, it’s possible that one gift came four days there, a night of rest in between, and then four days back. And then at least one more gift came four days there – one night of rest – and then four days back. That total journey for those two gifts would have taken over two weeks.

And so, while it’s technically possible that the Philippians sent Paul at least two gifts within the span of three weeks, I see it as more likely that a gift came toward the beginning of Paul’s time in Thessalonica. And then another one came a bit later. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be scrunched into a three-week period of time.

The Breadth of Theological Teaching

The third consideration that seems to indicate that Paul was in the city of Thessalonica longer than he was in the synagogue of Thessalonica (3 Sabbaths) is the depth of theological knowledge that apparently the Thessalonian believers had, as is alluded to especially in the book of 2 Thessalonians.

In that book, Paul says that he addressed the believers in Thessalonica concerning the coming of the Anti-Christ while Paul was with them. That’s a rather deep discussion to have with converts who have been saved a mere three weeks or less. Really, it’s probably not what you would think to discuss with a new believer in the first few weeks of his being saved.

But then Paul even indicates that the Thessalonians knew what is restraining that Anti-Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:6). I think that today the average Christian would have no idea what is restraining the Anti-Christ from being revealed. Even the most studied and intelligent and devoted Christian these days would be able to supply options for exactly what Paul is talking about in that passage after years of study. But to be dogmatic about any one position on that is probably more than most would feel comfortable with.

2 Thessalonians 2:6 NET

⁶ And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time.

But somehow in three weeks Paul and Silas could instruct these believers in the basics of personal holiness – which we see in 1 Thessalonians – all the way up through the really complex matters of eschatology in both 1 and 2 Thessalonians?

Three Weeks?

My point is that – of course – anything is possible with God and if he enabled Paul and Silas to have a tremendously effective ministry with the Thessalonians, he could have done it in three short weeks.

But it’s not a necessity from the text that Paul and Silas were there in Thessalonica for only three weeks. They were in the synagogue only three weeks, but they could have been and likely were in the city a bit longer. I’m not talking about years – but maybe months.

God is advancing the gospel through the biblical message

Well, what was Paul doing those three Sabbaths among the Jews?

That’s where we get to the second way that God is advancing his gospel  in this world. God is advancing the gospel through his biblical message.

We see that at the end of verse 2 and also in verse 3.

Reasoned

At the end of verse 2 we see Paul’s method.

Paul reasoned with the Jews for three Sabbaths. That word is also translated by the KJV in other passages as dispute (6), preach (2), and speak (1).

Paul is speaking with the aim and intent of persuading these Jews of his message.

Out of the Scriptures

Then we see Paul’s material. He reasons with the Jews out of the Scriptures.

So, what were the scriptures for Paul and his first century Jewish audience?

Jesus explicitly identified the following as “Scripture”:

•     Psalms (Matthew 21:42)

•     The book of Exodus (Matthew 22:29)

•     The Old Testament Prophets, and especially those that foretold of the Messiah’s suffering (Matthew 26:54-56)

•     The book of Isaiah (Luke 4:21)

•     And everything from Moses (Genesis) through to all the prophets (Luke 24:27). So, from Genesis to Malachi for those with an English Bible or from Genesis to 2 Chronicles for those with a Hebrew Bible – Jesus affirmed it all as Scripture.

So, what Paul is using here in the synagogue in Thessalonica would have been the entire Old Testament.

Paul is attempting to verbally persuade these Jews from his and their shared Old Testament.

Acts 17 Commentary Verse 3

Let’s move on to verse 3 to see what else Paul was doing while he visited this synagogue in Thessalonica for three sabbath days.

Acts 17:3 AV 1873

³ opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Opening

So, Paul was “opening  (διἀνοίγω) … that Christ must needs have suffered” What does that look like?

This word is used elsewhere regarding the two disciples who walked with Jesus to Emmaus after he was raised from the dead. These men had their eyes opened (Luke 24:31). They recalled that Jesus had opened Scripture to them which made their hearts burn (Luke 24:32).

Then you recall that when those two men gathered with the rest of the disciples in Jerusalem, Jesus opened the understanding of them all so that they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).

Now, typically when this word is used, it’s God himself who is doing the opening. But in this one case in the New Testament, God is using a man – the Apostle Paul – to open the scriptures to these Jews in the synagogue.

And this reality that it is God himself who is behind Paul’s verbal witness would indicate that these Thessalonian Jews in the synagogue actually got the message that Paul was presenting. It wasn’t oblique. Paul wasn’t confusing them. These Jews were brought to understand the message plainly.

Alleging

And then Paul was also “alleging (παρατίθημι) that Christ must needs have suffered.”

This is the only time (out of 19 uses) where this word is translated as “allege” in the KJV. Elsewhere it’s translated as set or set before (7), commit (4), commend (3), put forth (2), set before (2).

Paul is then setting his message before these Jews with the expectation that they would receive it.

So, we’ve heard that Paul is verbally communicating a message with persuasion and God’s own working behind it.

Now, let’s look at Paul’s message itself. What is Paul reasoning about and opening and alleging in the synagogue?

Necessities Concerning the Christ

Paul asserts that the Old Testament makes two claims concerning the Christ.

In fact, the Old Testament portrayed these two realities as absolute necessities. That’s what that phrase “must needs” indicates.

According to Paul, the Old Testament leaves no room for argument concerning the following two facts. They are settled.

Suffering Christ

So, first, the Christ “must needs” have suffered.

Do you believe that? Do you really believe that the Old Testament presents the suffering of the Messiah as an absolute necessity?

Well, where would you go to find such claims?

Let me just walk us through a few of the many texts of Scripture that, taken all together, make the claim that the Messiah needed to suffer.

•     Back in Genesis 3:15 it was foretold that the seed of the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman – the Messiah.

•     The Messiah would be rejected by his close friend (Psalm 41.9).

•     He would be rejected by the builders (Psalm 118.22-23).

•     He would be the suffering servant (Isaiah 53:3).

•     He would be rejected for 30 shekels (Zechariah 11.12-13).

•     He would be forsaken by God and his murderers would divide his clothing (Psalm 22.1,18).

•     God’s sword would be turned against him (Zechariah 13:7).

•     Yet, even though he would be forsaken by God, he still committed his spirit into God’s hands (Psalm 31:5).

•     The Jews will look on him whom they’ve pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

•     He was cursed for us (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

•     The Gentiles and Jews took counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed (Psalm 2:2).

These are several of the many texts in the Old Testament that declare it to be a necessity that the Christ would suffer.

And it’s not only Paul that made this point. Jesus himself also claimed that the Old Testament portrayed it as a necessity for the Messiah to suffer (Luke 24:26,46).

Peter also made this same assertion, as well (Acts 3:18).

Jews – even of today – tend to view the idea of a suffering Messiah as a stumblingblock or an offense (1 Corinthians 1:23). It’s actually something that on a human level keeps them from receiving Jesus as their Messiah. And yet, if they read their Old Testament with eyes of faith they would see that this was part of God’s plan all along.

Rising Christ

Well, the second reality that Paul wanted these Jews in Thessalonica to be persuaded of was that the Old Testament portrayed it as a necessity that the Messiah rise again.

Just as sure as it was that the Messiah would suffer – and suffer to the point of death – he would just as surely rise again.

•     The Christ would not be left in the grave or experience decay (Psalm 16:10).

•     He would sit at God’s right hand (Psalm 110:1).

•     He would ascend on high (Psalm 68:18).

And more passages could be brought in as evidence of this requirement of the Messiah – that he would rise from the dead.

The Identity of the Messiah

Well, Paul established that the Old Testament presented it as being a necessity that the Messiah would suffer and rise again.

So, the question would turn to the identity of this one. Who is this suffering and rising Messiah?

Paul’s answer – it is none other than Jesus of Nazareth.

There are over two hundred verses in the New Testament in which the words “Jesus” and “Christ” appear together. Every single book of the New Testament makes this claim.

Messiah/Christ

And as you know, “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name – like you have a first name and a last name. His last name just happens to be “Christ” – no. That’s not how that works.

It’s a title for a God-ordained office or position. Jesus fills the office of Messiah.

To discover just what it means that Jesus is the Christ, let’s allow the people of Jesus’ day to define that term.

•     Matthew identified the Christ as the son of both David and Abraham, hearkening back to promises that God made with those men concerning their “seed” – their ultimate descendant (Matthew 1:1).

•     When the wise men came to worship the child Jesus, they were seeking the King of the Jews. In response to that inquiry, King Herod asked the Jewish religious experts of his day – not where the King of the Jews was to be born – but rather where the Christ was to be born (Matthew 2:1-6).

•     In that same passage, those religious experts pointed Herod to Micah 5:2 which speaks of a governor who would rule God’s people Israel. So, the Christ is the King of the Jews.

•     The angels who proclaimed Jesus’ birth announced that the Christ would be the savior (Luke 2:11). He would deliver his people from their sin.

•     According to the High Priest Caiaphas who served as a judge in one of the Jewish trials of Jesus, the Christ was the Son of God (Matthew 26:63).

•     The unbelieving Jews who watched Jesus’ crucifixion made the claim that the Christ was “the chosen [elect] of God.” (Luke 23:35).

•     The Samaritan woman at the well fully expected that the Christ would be able to tell all things (John 4:25). He would be omniscient.

•     In terms the origin of the Christ, the Jews of Jesus’ day seem to have had some conflicting thoughts. Some of them thought that no one would know where the Christ was from (John 7:27). But they were quite sure it wasn’t from Galilee (John 7:41). And they ultimately knew that he would come from Bethlehem (John 7:42). They also seemed to expect that Christ would do miracles (John 7:31).

Jesus is the Messiah

So, let’s put it all together. The Messiah would suffer and die. He would rise again. He would be David’s son and Abraham’s son. He would be the Son of God, God’s chosen one. He would perform miracles. His origin would be unknown in some ways and yet he would be born in Bethlehem. He would know everything and deliver his people from their sin.

Who else would fulfill all of these prophecies – and more – than Jesus of Nazareth?

And so, that’s exactly the conclusion that Paul led these Jews to – that this Jesus whom Paul preached unto them is Christ.

Let’s Preach It!

And that should be our heartbeat as well.

We can follow in the footsteps of Paul the Apostle in our community. With God’s help we can see God advancing his gospel through us as we serve him without quitting. And as we do this we go forward with the biblical message of a suffering and rising Messiah.

So, in this message we’ve seen the messengers and the message of the gospel. And next time, Lord-willing, we’ll see the two very different responses that people have to this message, as we finish this section in Acts before we move on into the book of 1 Thessalonians itself.