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Good morning friends, Today is Wednesday May 29 and we’re reading together the very significant 17th chapter of Acts.
Two great cities, which are prominent in our day, are visited by Paul and his traveling companions in this chapter.
In Acts 17:1 three cities are named, the first two Amphipolis and Apollonia are both archeological sites today since both cities were abandoned around the 14th century after conquest by the Ottomans. The third is the modern day, thriving city of Thessaloniki in the country of Greece, frequently visited today by tourists following the journeys of Paul.
You’ll notice Paul had a strategy. As he entered a town, it appears he first sought to find out if there was a Jewish synagogue there. If so that would be the place he would be most welcome as a former Rabbi, and most comfortable beginning his strategy of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people in that place.
I imagine it would only take Paul a few sentences of self introduction to convince the local Synagogue leaders that he was highly qualified to be given the opportunity to speak to the congregation. Remember the credentials he cites in Philippians 3:5,6? That would would have gained him an attentive hearing in any Synagogue!
Isn’t it true that when a visiting speaker is at your church, you expect to hear him or her speak from the Bible and use familiar words focusing on God? I’m sure it was the same for Jews in every Synagogue Paul visited. And he was an expert in speaking from the Torah he knew so well. But can you imagine their surprise when Paul began to make his case that the Messiah, long promised in their Old Testament, had come in the person of Jesus, and was resurrected from His atonement death at Passover time in Jerusalem?
Notice Acts 17:2-9. That pattern of invitation to speak in the Synagogue, then a clear presentation that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, followed by a negative and sometimes violent response… was Paul’s experience in nearly every city and town.
So I have a question for us to consider here… what kept him going?
None of us enjoys rejection, or verbal assault. How many of us would keep going after one night in prison unjustly, or being beat up because we shared the Gospel, or worse… being flogged or worse…being stoned!?
Do you remember Paul had been told by Jesus through Ananias, in his Damascus road encounter, that he would have the privilege of bringing the Gospel to Gentiles and their kings (Acts 9:15), but he’d also been told it would be at a great price of suffering (Acts 9:16).
Do you notice in Acts 17:1, Paul spoke in their Synagogue three successive Sabbath’s, and then in vs. 10 he was whisked out of town at night? Remember that for later this summer when we read Paul’s letter to the church that grew out of those three weeks.
Next stop in Acts 17 is Berea most famous because the people who listened to Paul in this place were of ‘noble character’ Luke writes, and they did what we all should do…they dug into the Scriptures to see for themselves if what Paul was saying was true.
May I ask…do you listen to preachers, teachers, and even me, with a cautious ear, and then do some digging into the Bible for yourself, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you, making sure what you are reading or hearing is God’s truth? I hope so!
By the way this little town of Berea is still there, known today as Voria in northern Macedonia, Greece. Notice please the very interesting contrast in how the Bereans responded to Paul’s teaching after checking the Scriptures for themselves, and how the Thessalonians responded after simply listening.
Notice too how disgruntled Thessalonians were not satisfied to only run Paul out of their town, they also went up to Berea to disrupt what God was doing there. But friends, do you remember a powerful statement made at the beginning of this remarkable Jesus movement back in Jerusalem in Acts 5:38 “..if their purpose or activity is of human origin it will fail, but if it is from God you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
That truth followed Paul everywhere he went, and the Church of Jesus Christ was founded in Greece and all across the Roman Empire!
Finally in this great 17th chapter of Acts you’ll find Paul in the historic, magnificent city of Athens… the same Athens as today. If Jerusalem was the spiritual/religious center of the Roman Empire, and Rome was the military & political center of the Empire, Athens was the intellectual & philosophical center.
I think Paul rubbed his hands together as he entered this city in anticipation that finally he’d have the opportunity to go toe to toe with some of the greatest philosophers and teachers in the world, in the first century. So read Paul’s presentation carefully… it’s nothing short of inspired genius, in my humble opinion. And look at the wise, learned response of the intellectuals.
Now as we conclude today… consider for a moment how God has masterfully positioned followers of Jesus in some of the most strategic roles in America. VP Mike Pence for instance and for several years Nikki Hailey, our Ambassador to the United Nations, and others. May I suggest we spend some time praying for those God has strategically placed in leadership around the world.
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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