Introduction
Last week we were reading of the time when Paul and his companions were in Philippi and Paul cast out a demon from a slave girl. The slave girl’s owners weren’t pleased and they stirred up so much trouble for Paul and Silas that they were beaten and whipped and thrown into prison. During the night there was an earthquake, which was so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken and the prison doors flew open and everyone’s chains became loose. The jailer was terrified and asked Paul and Silas what he had to do to be saved. And Paul and Silas explained to him and to the members of his household the way of salvation, which is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Saviour of the world. And that same night they were baptised, receiving the sign of God’s promise to wash away the sins of all who believe in his Son.
We didn’t have time last week to deal with the final verses of last week’s passage. If you’ve got your Bible open, then turn with me to verse 35 of chapter 16 where Luke tells us that when it was daylight, the magistrates — who had given orders the day before for Paul and Silas to be beaten and whipped and imprisoned — sent their officers to the jailer with orders to release Paul and Silas. The jailer therefore went to Paul and Silas with the good news that they may now leave. So, go in peace.
However, Paul’s response may surprise us. If I was in Paul’s sandals, I would probably have got up and got out of there as quickly as possible just in case the magistrates changed their mind again. After all, who knows what they will decide next? The day before, they listened to the crowd who were protesting about Paul and Silas and they had them beaten and whipped and imprisoned. The very next morning they’ve changed their minds and say Paul and Silas can go free. Who knows what they’ll do next? So, let’s get away from them as soon as possible.
But Paul didn’t respond like that. He went to the officers and pointed out to them that what the magistrates had done to them was illegal. It was against the law. Paul and Silas were Roman citizens and therefore they were entitled to certain rights and privileges. The law said that they couldn’t be beaten or imprisoned without a trial, but that’s what the magistrates had done to them. It’s not right. What happened to them was unlawful.
And according to verse 38, the magistrates were alarmed whenever the officers reported to them what Paul had said. And I’ll bet they were alarmed, because Paul and Silas could get them into big trouble. And so, the magistrates came to appease them. Presumably they made some kind of apology to them before escorting them out of the prison. And notice that they requested Paul and Silas to leave the city. Instead of demanding they leave, instead of ordering them to leave, they made a request. And presumably they wanted Paul and Silas to leave, because the slave girl’s owners and their supporters may only cause more trouble if they see Paul and Silas walking free.
This is an interesting little story, isn’t it? Some of the commentators discuss why Paul asserted his rights like this. Some suggest he did so for the benefit of the little church they left behind. After being told off by Paul and Silas, the magistrates may be less inclined to give the new Christians a hard time. However, it seems to me that, by recording this part of the story, Luke is showing us that Paul and Silas were good citizens. Back in verses 20 and 21 of chapter 16, the slave girl’s owners were complaining that Paul and Silas were Jews and they were throwing the city into an uproar by advocating unlawful customs. In other words: these men are foreigners who don’t belong here and they’re causing trouble here and they’re destroying our way of life. That was their accusation. And yet, the slave girl’s owners were the ones who were causing trouble. They were stirring up the crowd against Paul and Silas. And the magistrates, instead of upholding the law, broke the law by punishing and imprisoning Roman citizens without giving them a fair trial. Compared to everyone else, Paul and Silas were model citizens.
And we see something similar in the next passage.
Verses 1 to 10a
Having left Philippi, they travelled on to Thessalonica. And there was a Jewish synagogue there. And Paul did what he usually did when he arrived at a new city and he went into the synagogue for their Sabbath service. And over the next three Sabbaths, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. That is, he taught them from the Scriptures. And when Luke refers here to the Scriptures, he means, of course, the Old Testament Scriptures. The New Testament hadn’t been written yet.
And what did Paul reason to them about from the Scriptures? What did he teach them from the Scriptures? Luke tells us — and it won’t surprise us — that he taught them about the Lord Jesus. Specifically, he explained and proved to them from the Scriptures that the Christ — who is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King — had to suffer and rise from the dead. So, presumably he took them to different parts of the Old Testament to make clear to them that the Christ, when he comes, will suffer. Perhaps he took them to Psalm 22, where David the psalmist wrote:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so for far from saving me? And:
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads. And:
a band of evil men have surrounded me;
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
Or perhaps he took them to Isaiah 53:
he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him
and by his wounds we are healed.
Or there are many other places he could have taken them to in the Old Testament to prove to them that the Christ, when he comes, will suffer for the sins of God’s people. And when it comes to rising from the dead, he might have taken them to Psalm 16:
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body will also rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
And having made clear to them that the Christ must suffer and rise, Paul then had to show them that ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.’ So, firstly he had to convince them that, according to the Scriptures, the Christ will suffer and rise. And then, secondly, he had to convince them that the Christ has come and his name is Jesus. And Paul would no doubt have explained to them how the Lord Jesus fulfilled all those Old Testament prophecies about a suffering Christ who died and was raised.
And Luke tells us in verse 4 that some of the Jews were persuaded. They were persuaded that the Lord Jesus is the promised Christ, who came into the world to save his people from their sins. And having been persuaded, they joined Paul and Silas as believers, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks, and not a few prominent women. ‘Not a few’ prominent women means that more than a few prominent women joined them. So, many prominent women joined them as believers. Jews and Gentiles, men and women, were persuaded to believe in the Saviour.
And so, a little church was formed there in Thessalonica. Wonderful! But look what happened next. According to verse 5, the Jews were jealous. That is, the unbelieving Jews — the Jews who refused to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ — were jealous. Perhaps they were jealous because so many of their number had been converted. Perhaps they had been pleased that so many Gentiles and prominent women were coming to the synagogue. But now, they’ll begin a church of their own.
And so, what did they do? They rounded up some bad characters from the market place and formed a mob and they started a riot. They rushed to the home of a man called Jason, who was one of the new believers. They rushed to his house, hoping to find Paul and Silas. But they aren’t there. And so, the mob grab Jason and some other believers and they drag them to the city officials, complaining that Jason has welcomed into his home men who have caused trouble all over the world. They’re referring, of course, to Paul and Silas. And they went on to complain to the city-officials that Paul and Silas were defying Caesar’s decrees. Caesar was the Emperor of the Roman Empire. And how were they defying Caesar’s decrees? By saying that Jesus is king. And so, they were accusing Paul and Silas of undermining the authority of the Emperor. They were saying that Paul and Silas were bad citizens. They’re revolutionaries. They’re trouble-makers. They’re traitors to Rome.
But once again: Who are the ones who were rounding up bad characters to form a mob and to start a riot? Who are the ones who are dragging people from their homes? It’s not Paul and Silas who are doing such things. They have done nothing wrong.
Fortunately, this matter was sorted out easily by putting Jason and other believers with him on bail. That is to say, they handed over some money to the city officials, perhaps as a guarantee that Paul and Silas will leave. And according to the first part of verse 10, the believers sent Paul and Silas away that night.
Verses 10b to 15
Let’s move straight on to the next part of today’s passage. They travelled to Berea and once again went into the Jewish synagogue. And Luke tells us that the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians. Why did he think that about them? Because of how they responded to the gospel. He says they received the message about the Lord Jesus with great eagerness and they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. People didn’t have their own Bibles in those days, but there would have been a copy of the Old Testament Scriptures in the synagogue and the people were free to come to the synagogue every day to study the Scriptures for themselves. And the Bereans did so to compare what Paul said with what the Scriptures say.
And look at verse 12: many of them believed as did a number of prominent Greek women and men. So, Jews and Gentiles and men and women believed the good news. And that means another new church was planted. Wonderful! But when the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul was preaching the gospel in Berea, they went there too. It was a distance of about 45 miles, which is a long journey when you’re doing it on foot. And when they arrived, they agitated the crowds and stirred them up against Paul and Silas. Again, who is it who is causing trouble? It’s not Paul and Silas. All they’re doing is teaching the people. They’re not agitating crowds of people. They’re not stirring up a riot.
But seeing the danger, the believers in Berea sent Paul to the coast, whereas Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. And Paul eventually made his way to Athens.
Application 1
Let me make a few points of application. And the first is to note what Paul did in Thessalonica. And he did the very same thing every time he went into a Jewish synagogue and was invited to preach.
What did he do? He reasoned with the people from the Scriptures about the Lord Jesus. And as I’ve already said, when Luke refers to the Scriptures in this passage, he means the Old Testament. And that tells us that the Old Testament is all about the Lord Jesus.
And this is not the only place where we learn that the Old Testament is all about the Lord Jesus. After the Lord’s resurrection, when he met those two disciples going to Emmaus, Luke tells us that the Lord began with Moses and the Prophets and he explained to them what was said in all the Old Testament Scriptures concerning himself. So, he started with Moses — that’s the first five books of the Bible — and the Prophets — which for them includes the history books. That’s where he started. But then he presumably took them through what they called the Writings, which includes the Psalms and Proverbs and similar books. He went through the Old Testament and showed them that it’s all about him.
We sometimes read the Old Testament as if it’s all about what we’re to do. So, dare to be a Daniel. Slay your giants like David did. We treat the Old Testament as if it’s all about us and what we should do. But it’s first and foremost about the Lord Jesus and what he was coming into the world to do for us. And so, when you’re reading the Old Testament, you should always be asking yourself how does it relate to him? What does it say about him? What does it say about the Christ, God’s Spirit-Anointed King, who was coming into the world to suffer and die for the sins of his people before rising again?
In John 5, the Lord Jesus complained about his enemies that they diligently studied the Scriptures, because they thought that by them they will possess eternal life. But what they didn’t realise is that the Scriptures testify about him. They’re about the Saviour. And so, in a sense it’s not the Scriptures that give us eternal life. The Scriptures point us to Christ; and Christ is the one who gives us life. We’re to go through the Scriptures to him. The Scriptures are the doorway to Christ; and Christ is the one who gives us eternal life. And so, when you’re reading the Old Testament, or when you’re teaching others from it, you need to find Christ in it.
Application 2
Secondly, notice again what Paul did in Thessalonica. He reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ has to suffer and rise from the dead. And that’s what happens here on Sunday, isn’t it? We gather together as they did. And then usually it’s me, but soon it will be Frank, but there’s a preacher who reasons with you from the Scriptures. And in this way the preacher hopes to explain to you and to prove to you what the Scriptures say about the Lord Jesus.
And so, why do we have Bible reading and sermons? Why is so much of the service taken up with reading from the Bible and then preaching from the Bible? It’s because we’re following the pattern of the apostles, who used to stand before a congregation and reason with the people from the Scriptures about the Lord Jesus. That’s what they did in their day; and preachers in every generation are to do the same thing.
And the reason we reason with you from the Scriptures about the Lord Jesus is because the Lord Jesus is the one you’re to believe in for eternal life. The Scriptures say that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved. But how can anyone call on him if they don’t first believe? And how can they believe if they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And so, all over the world today, preachers will be standing before groups of people to reason with them from the Scriptures about the Lord Jesus in the hope that some will hear and believe and call out to him for salvation. And everyone who calls on him will be saved.
Application 3
And what did the Lord Jesus do in order to save us? Paul’s message was that the Christ had to suffer. It was necessary for him to suffer. And he had to rise again afterwards. Why was this necessary? Why did he have to suffer and rise? It’s because there was no other way to save us and to give us eternal life.
The wages of sin is death. Death is what we deserve for disobeying God. In the beginning, the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden held out to Adam the promise of eternal life in the presence of God. But God also warned Adam that on the day he eats from the other tree, the Tree of Knowledge, he will surely die. And Adam took the forbidden fruit and death entered the world. And now, we all die, because of what Adam did in the beginning. And all of us have become like Adam, because all of us disobey God just as he did in the beginning.
But God — who is rich in mercy — sent his Only Begotten Son into the world to suffer and to die in our place. He bore the punishment we deserve, which is death. He died in our place on the cross, bearing in himself the wrath and curse of God that we deserve because of Adam’s sin in the beginning and because of all the sins we commit every day. And after the Lord died, he was raised from the dead to give us life. From his throne in heaven, he sends his Spirit to his people to enable us to repent and believe. And everyone who believes receives forgiveness and eternal life. We still die, but death for believers is no longer a punishment for our sins, but it’s the doorway into eternal life with God.
And so, he had to suffer and die and rise because there was no other way for us to receive forgiveness and eternal life. He had to die in our place and rise again to pay for our sins and to give us life. And Sunday by Sunday he comes to us in the preaching of the gospel and he offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe in his name.
Application 4
And the next point I want to make is to go back to what I said earlier about Paul being a good citizen. He wasn’t the one who agitated crowds and stirred them up. He wasn’t the one who rounded up bad characters and started riots. He wasn’t the one who beat and whipped innocent people. He didn’t do any of these things.
And he didn’t have to do any of these things, because the kingdom of God comes not by force, but by persuasion. When Paul was in Thessalonica, he reasoned with the people. He explained the good news to them. He proved what he was saying from the Scriptures and he tried to persuade the people to believe in Christ the Saviour. And according to verse 4, some who heard the message were persuaded and they joined Paul as believers.
The kingdom of God comes, it grows, it spreads, by persuasion and not by force. And since that’s the case, Paul did not try to stir up the crowds and cause riots. He didn’t try to get the magistrates to beat and whip anyone. He wasn’t tempted to use force.
Other religions spread by means of force. We always pray for the persecuted church on Wednesdays and very often believers are persecuted by Muslims or Hindus or communists who use force to try to eradicate the Christian church and to deter their people from converting. And in some Muslim countries, the authorities impose their sharia law on the people and enforce strict discipline in order to keep the people in line. And whoever does not submit to them is either killed or imprisoned. So, they use force and power.
And sometimes we think that we need to have Christians in power. We wouldn’t dream of persecuting anyone. But we want Christians to run the government and our schools and our places of work and every other sector of society. We think that if Christians are in power, then they can use that power for good by imposing what we believe on other people. But that’s not the way the kingdom of God grows. And that way only encourages hypocrisy. It encourages hypocrisy, because if Christians hold all the power, then people will profess faith in order to get along and do well and to get power for themselves.
But the kingdom of God does not grow by force, but by persuasion: by preaching the gospel in the hope that some will be convinced and converted. And that means the method we use to advance the kingdom matches what we believe. What do we believe in? We believe in a Suffering Saviour, who renounced the use of force whenever Peter drew a sword to defend him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He told Peter to put away his sword, because he had come to suffer for his people. That’s who we believe in. And so, we don’t need power. We don’t need to rely on force or pressure. We rely on Christ our Saviour to use the reading and preaching of his word to convince and convert sinners to faith in Christ.
Application 5
And my final point is very brief, but it’s to say to you that if you’ve been persuaded by the good news of God’s love for you in Christ, then it should shape the way you live. If you’ve been persuaded by the message of the Son of God who gave up his life for you, then it should affect how you live. Once we grasp the truth of God’s love for us in Christ, then our heart’s desire will be to worship him and to give thanks to him for his mercy to us; and we’ll pray that others will come to know him and worship him too and give him the glory he deserves; and we’ll want to live our lives for him, doing his will in our daily lives. That’s how we should live when we’ve been persuaded by the good news of God’s love for us in Christ.
Sermons and Stuff 