Acts 17:10-15 - Berea
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
Acts 17:10-15 - Berea
Welcome to The Living Word with Chuck Davis. Acts 17, 10 to 15, Berea. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them, therefore, believed with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there, too, agitating and staring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea. But Silas and Timothy remain there. Those who conducted 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 departed. Paul immediately is sent away and he comes to the next town of Berea. He again goes to the Jewish synagogues. And Luke makes this statement that the Jews in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica. Why they received the word of God with eagerness, they examined it. They weren't lazy. They did it daily. And as a result, they believed. I like the language. Therefore they believed, many of them therefore believed. It's almost as Luke is saying, if you take a quick look at the Scripture, if you do your work, you're going to see that Jesus is the one. Once again, Luke throws in this phrase, "Not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men." We're starting to see a Luke bias and we need to understand that Luke's bias has been informed by Paul. He's been traveling with Paul. He's seen the way Paul works. In a world that was anti-women, there is a fresh embracing of women that is being seen in the Church. Jews from Thessalonica come down. They bring more opposition. It's interesting. They previously said they didn't like what was happening in their area. The assumption in that is that they might get them in trouble with Caesar because they were proclaiming another king. His name was Jesus. But these are just troublemakers. Once again, Paul is sent away by sea. Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. Paul is accompanied all the way to Athens. He's waiting for Silas and Timothy. Luke is setting up some of the tension that Paul is going to feel. The sense is the idolatry of Athens is going to be more profound. Maybe Paul is going to experience in his spirit some territorial spirits that are going to be difficult to deal with. The soul of this passage is a reminder again of the authority of all scripture. Isaiah says, "As the rain and the snow come forth and bring fruitfulness, harvest, soul the Word of God when it's spread out will not return void." We need to lead through the Word, draw people to the Word. The best witness is pointing people to Jesus in the Scriptures while living a testimony that fully declares that the way of Jesus is the best way to go. Now what is a reminder for us to keep telling the Jesus story? We might not always get an opportunity to sit down with people and share the full gospel or all that Jesus did, but there are ways of inserting it into our everyday conversation. Somebody might say something and we can say, "Oh, that reminds me of one of the teachings of Jesus." Jesus told this parable that went like this, or when Jesus was faced with a similar situation, this is what he did. Make people curious. Make people want more. And so Lord, today as we move through this world that you've placed us in, help us to see spaces, to slide the Jesus story, because this is the ultimate story. This is the story that changes everything. We give ourselves to you this day in Jesus' name. Amen.