#1589 Acts 17 Part 2 Noble Bereans

 

10 And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 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. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with not a few prominent Greek women and men. 13 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, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. 14 Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. Acts 17: 10-15 LSB

Acts 17:  10-15

V. 10 And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea - Things went south in Thessalonica, and it says "the brothers", meaning in Christ, sent them away. There is a great sense of this in Christianity, that we are among brethren, and in a far deeper way than earthly familial ties. This passes away, our relations in the flesh, but what Christ has done as the first born of many brethren, that is infinite. The older I get in Christ, the more pause it gives me when I hear about the persecuted church elsewhere. Those are my brothers and sisters in China, in Africa, in the middle east, and now even in the persecutions that arise in the West. I believe sending Paul and Silas away by night was not only to protect them, but also to ease some of the tensions that stirred up against those who housed the Apostles and allowed them to speak. 

…13And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews, 15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,… 1 Thessalonians 2: 13-15

V. 10b They went into the synagogue of the Jews - A synagogue is a place where Jews met in cities away from Jerusalem, where they did the reading from the Torah. They had to have a minyan which was the equivalent of 10 Jewish adult men in order to build a synagogue in a city. Paul usually went to these places first in order to proclaim to the Jews that Messiah had arrived, the One they were reading about in the Torah. 

To Berea (See note; Wikipedia) - Berea (population about 6000 compared to 200,000 for Thessalonica) was about 45-50 miles away from Thessalonica on the eastern slopes of a mountain on the way to Achaia, the province that corresponds to southern Greece today. Timothy is not mentioned and presumably must have remained at Philippi (he is not mentioned at Thessalonica although Paul did later send him to them 1 Th 3:2ff).

They went into the synagogue of the Jews - Berea though considerably smaller than Thessalonica still had enough Jews for a synagogue and as was his custom, Paul made a beeline for the place of Jewish worship. Paul did not take a rest break but sought to preach the Gospel posthaste! We always see an urgency about Paul's zeal to proclaim the Word of God that men might be saved by faith in Jesus. God give us all such a persistent, consistent zeal to preach Your Word! Amen

Matthew Henry wrote, “That command of Christ to His disciples, ‘When they persecute you in one city flee to another,’ intends their flight to be not so much for their own safety (flee to another, to hide there) as for the carrying on of their work (flee to another, to preach there).” - PA

V. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica - They didn't turn them away straight off. The Jews meeting here took what the Apostles said, and there were things in what they said that resonated. Now here is where they differ from so many today. If someone comes and says, "I am a Christian", then most in the evangelical world that I grew up in will accept that at face value. They will let them teach Sunday School, get up and say, "God told me", and even those who don't fancy that so much intellectually will let it go on in the name of unity, or brotherly love, but is that really your brother? Is what they are saying true because they share some of the same vocabulary, because they vote conservative, agree with you on moral topics like abortion? The Bereans were more noble minded, not because they were quick to agree with the Apostles, but because they heard them out and then weighed it against Scripture. You see, once you know that the Bible is God's word, then you realize that it is also the standard for everything. Does what Paul and Silas say about this Jesus agree with Scripture? One of the greatest things to happen to me in my life, was to get closer to Scripture. When I was in the charismatic movement it took a back seat, everyone said they needed a "fresh word" from the Lord, and Scripture was used more like a book of spells, pray this and get that. When I decided to seek atheism, and had to come up against the word, then I could see deep, contrasting lines between the God of the Bible and humanism. I could also see that much of what I thought I knew was wrong. I started to believe that there was something special about the Bible, but I didn't want Christ as Lord. I didn't want to bow the knee. When God changed my heart then I developed a love for His word, and eventually took up the challenge to examine every verse from Genesis to Revelation, to study, to meditate, and eventually share it with my family and coworkers. 

John MacArthur - The noble Bereans carefully sifted the evidence and concluded that the gospel Paul proclaimed was the truth that fulfilled Old Testament promise. Those who honestly examine the Scriptures will always come to that conclusion. In John 5:39, Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me."..." “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me." (Jn 5:46, cf Jn 7:17, Lk 24:25-27)...Most people who reject the gospel have little knowledge of the Scriptures. Some of the Bible's harshest critics over the centuries have displayed a shocking ignorance of its teachings. The primary duty in evangelism, then, must be to demonstrate the truth of Christianity from the Scriptures. (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Acts) - PA

13Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 14and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him. 15Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death.… Luke 23: 13-15

…13And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.… 1 Corinthians 2: 13-15

…7because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. 9You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.… Romans 8: 7-9

V. 12 Therefore many of them believed - Not because they were tricked, but because they were searching and knowing Scripture. The Holy Spirit had prepared them and they did not receive the word because someone spoke it, but because it was true. God opened their eyes and ears to see that what these men were proclaiming was founded in something unchanging, God's Word, that said Messiah would come, be rejected, and die. We can see that this Christ perfectly fulfills OT prophecy about His first coming, and so I can rely upon it to know that He will perfectly fulfill the Word about His second coming, that every knee will bow. 

Jack Arnold - All the Bereans started out as skeptics but they ended up as true believers and followers of Christ. Once they were intellectually convinced, the bowing of their wills to Christ was a rather easy step. One of the problems in modern day evangelism is an appeal to the emotions without proper understanding with the mind. Consequently the mind is passed over, and while some kind of a commitment has been made, it was not based on a persuaded mind. This, of course, sets up a terrible conflict between the mind unconvinced and the heart not fully committed to truth. This has left many so-called Christian converts in total derision. Many infidels have confessed that they had never carefully read the Bible. Thomas Payne, who wrote The Age of Reason, a book that shook Puritan New England for humanism, confessed that he wrote the first part of his book without having a Bible at hand, and without its being possible to procure one where he then was in Paris. He said, “I had neither Bible nor Testament to refer to, though I was writing against both; nor could I procure any.” (Acts 17: 1-15 Ideal Evangelism) - PA

…20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. 22Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.… James 1: 20-22

V. 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out - No rest for the weary. These men were the Karens of that era. It is eating their lunch that people are not following them, that they are hearing and weighing it out in Scripture, and then coming to the conclusion that this is the true gospel. I have seen atheist angry with a family member who gets saved and stops drinking, doing drugs, but starts going to church and talking about Jesus. It is as though, and this is less than a stretch to say, but they preferred the drunk, the adulterer, the dependent, and even catered to them in that state, enabled them towards demise. There is only one true religion out there, and it is based upon what Christ has done, not me, all else are cults, from atheism to Daoism to Zoroastrianism, and when you leave them, you leave their rule and influence, it upsets their egos. These men are zealous, but zealously wrong. 

Vs. 14-15 They left - We have to remember that even when things seem to be going so well that an interruption like this is not unknown by God. It will only sift out the wheat and send the seed of the gospel into new fields. I am certain that is difficult, and I have heard from missionaries in the field, who go and learn the customs and language of another culture, and find brothers and sisters there as God  raises them from death into life. They tell of the trauma of being ripped away from this family, of developing such close bonds but then being forced out of the country by communist regimes, guerillas, warlords. It was never in their plans, but it was in God's. Timothy and Silas remained for a time, and Paul must have had great confidence in them, but also a very fatherly concern.

2To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines 4or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.… 1 Timothy 1: 2-4

Ray Pritchard on modern America and ancient Athens - In his book, Therefore Stand (written in 1945), Wilbur Smith has a chapter on Paul’s speech to the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34). Along the way he comments on the similarity between ancient Athens and modern America. For all the obvious differences in culture and language, there is a similar approach to the problems of life.Professor Smith brings forth three evidences of that similarity that seem even more true a half-century later. He notes that the men of Athens worshiped the human intellect. They also loved newness and the endless discussion of new ideas. Finally, they valued tolerance and diversity as seen by their ever-expanding pantheon of gods. The same is true today. We too worship the human mind, love new ideas, and exalt tolerance as our highest virtue. What does such a worldview produce? When you worship intellect, you get educated arrogance. When you love newness, you get restless dissatisfaction. When you exalt tolerance, you get endless uncertainty—always seeking for the truth you can never seem to find. The more you travel around the world, the more common humanity seems to be. Athens knew everything that was knowable except the most important thing. She did not know God. Or what to do about her sins or where to find peace or how to discover the hope of heaven. That leads me to the following crucial point: It is possible to be highly educated and deeply religious and still be totally ignorant about God. Is that not an apt description of our own generation? To quote another writer, we have become a nation of “intellectual giants and moral pygmies.” We know more and more about the details and less and less about the meaning of life. (Acts 17:26-28 Empty on the Inside: How God Reveals Himself to Us) - Precept Austin