Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I wonder if you’ve had the experience of enjoying something very much, but things changed, and you needed to leave long before you wanted to leave? I think that is what happened to the apostle Paul and Silas in the town of Berea.
That’s where I left you yesterday as recorded in Acts 17. Dr. Luke tells us the response of the Bereans to Paul’s teaching of the Gospel was exactly what Paul had been searching for. Luke specifically writes: “The Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message [the Gospel of Jesus Christ] with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” (Acts 17:11,12)
Now of course I’ve never met the apostle Paul personally, but from everything I read about him I imagine it might have been difficult for Paul to sleep at night because he was so excited about what was happening in the town of Berea!! I can imagine Paul may have told Silas that he might just want to spend the rest of his life in this town as there was such a spiritual hunger for God’s truth.
But alas dear friends, sadly Luke tells us things turned sour in Berea. Luke writes: “But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went to Berea, agitating the crowd and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join Paul as soon as possible!” (Acts 17:13-15) Do you see what happened here my friends?
Bad news and corruption spreads like wildfire, doesn’t it? Envy, jealousy, anger, bitterness and all such harmful emotions and attitudes can spread very quickly can’t they? It seems some of those in Thessalonica who opposed Paul were not satisfied that they had run him out of their town, now they wanted to be sure Paul and his Gospel of Jesus was also not given a home in Berea!
Friends, this is another powerful evidence of the scheming dark kingdom of Satan who will ALWAYS oppose God, God’s truth, God’s people, and God’s purposes anywhere in our world. If you look closely at those in your city or your society who strongly oppose God’s Truth, I’m sure it’s not difficult for you to see why they will not stop until God is removed from every part of society… schools and education / health care / elderly care / entertainment / politics and government / business / even athletics. Do you see evidence of their efforts where you live?
Luke tells us the people in Berea recognized the danger to Paul’s life and understand he was uniquely prepared to teach the truths of Jesus which had not yet been written down, nor had the truths of the Gospel yet been proclaimed in some of the largest and most important cities in Greece, namely Athens and Corinth.
Therefore, it appears wise Bereans made the difficult decision to protect Paul from the increasingly violent opposition by escorting him all the way to Athens. I’m sure as they walked, they asked Paul to keep teaching them. While Luke does not give us details of this journey, he mentions they traveled to the coast, and we assume they found a ship which would follow the coastline south more than 200 miles to Athens.
Paul seemed to love travel by ship, and can’t you see him standing on the deck peering across the waves at the towns along the shore, probably praying that Jesus would somehow bring the Gospel to each of these towns? Luke tells us some Bereans made the voyage with Paul and I presume they not only felt some obligation of helping Paul find a welcome in the next city to which God would lead him, but they also hungered to learn as much from Paul as possible.
Meanwhile, Paul made a very strategic decision to leave Timothy and Silas in Berea, do you see that? Paul knew the primary focus of the opposition would be him and yet these new Christians and interested spiritual seekers still had many questions. Paul also knew those who had come from Thessalonica, to stir up opposition against him, would be earnestly trying to breed confusion and discord among the new Christians in Berea.
Timothy and Silas were both good men with deep spiritual roots, remember? Timothy had learned much from his mother and grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5) and had been traveling with Paul now for a few months and I’m sure when Paul was not teaching large groups of people or debating in the synagogues, Paul was mentoring Timothy. Silas, of course, had been a trusted leader in the Jerusalem church and so he personally knew, and had spent extensive time learning from, the disciple/apostles Peter, John, James, Andrew, Matthew, and all of them who had been with Jesus those years.
I presume those rabble rousers who came from Thessalonica returned home fairly soon after they realized Paul had left town, and that gave time for Timothy and Silas to continue meeting with and teaching the Bereans.
We don’t know how long the voyage was for Paul and the Bereans who accompanied him and once again Paul knew no one in Athens, nor do we know how long those Berean friends of Paul stayed with him, but I think it’s safe to assume they arrived back in Berea about 1 month or so after they had left with Paul. In that month Timothy and Silas would have been very busy teaching the Bereans and they may have learned more than either the new Christians in Philippi or Thessalonica because they were so inquisitive and diligent in their learning.
Upon arrival back in Berea we can assume the men who had escorted Paul were quick to assure Timothy and Silas that Paul had safely arrived in the great city of Athens and that Paul wanted them to join him there as soon as possible! Athens! Oh my! We can well assume Athens was one of the most famous cities of that era and that few people anywhere in the Roman Empire did not know at least some things about this magnificent city.
But Paul had thus far traveled well over 1500 miles since leaving Syrian Antioch on this second missionary journey, so it’s very safe for us to assume none of the disciples of Jesus, nor Paul, nor Timothy, or Silas had ever been to this amazing place, Athens! To this day it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world.
With his Berean friends having left Paul to return to Berea, Paul was free to investigate Athens, the great city of scholarly education and architecture; of art and music; of religion and philosophy. Can you see Paul fascinated, overwhelmed by the magnificence of Athens yet impassioned to begin sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ there?
Luke gives us this brief synopsis of these early days of Paul in Athens: “While Paul was waiting for Timothy and Silas in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with Paul…” (Acts 17:16-18) Look at Paul, fearless, courageous, fully enjoying the thrill of discussion and debate. While Paul had undoubtedly left Berea shaking his head in great confusion wondering why God would allow rabble rousers from Thessalonica to undermine his teaching among a people so hungry to learn, now in Athens I imagine Paul had finally, perhaps for the first time in his life, found a great city filled with highly educated people hungry to engage in deep religious and philosophical debate. This is what Paul had trained all those years as a Pharisee for.
Finally, he could unleash his deep scholarly learning on some of the best minds in the world. I imagine Paul, looking up at the Acropolis high on the hill above Athens, ‘This is what God has designed and prepared me for. Finally I have found a place where all my years of training can be used by God to make a significant difference in a great city.’
Let’s pause here in Athens with the apostle Paul, my friends. May I ask, are you at a stage in your life where you are finding fulfillment making a difference in your world, as the unique person God has designed and refined you to be? Look around and consider all the things your life is involved in and what impact your life is making. Look at your identity in Jesus Christ, if you have a relationship with Him, and what difference that is making in your life, and we’ll return right here tomorrow to see some very exciting things in Paul’s experience in Athens! In the meantime, here’s a song to help us consider these truths…
Today’s Scripture is Acts 17:13-18.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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