Acts 17:1-9
The first sentence makes the trip to Thessalonica was a pleasant stroll through the country-side. Actually, it is a distance of over 100 miles of walking travel. In a single verse the journey was pretty much dismissed moving on to the important point of the book, furthering the gospel of Christ. People were hearing and accepting Paul’s preaching of the truth of the gospel.
Thessalonica is very important because it is on a major ‘highway’ connecting to other parts of the Roman Empire known as the Aegean Way. This allows the gospel to continue to travel with the Christians on to more parts of the world. These paths were the key to commerce and communication in the Roman Empire.
Paul began in the community by debating the scriptures in the synagogue. This was his normal mode of business by offering the message to the Jews first then the others. During this debate the Jews were noticing that Paul and Silas were ‘stealing’ the gentiles from them. They saw the gentiles as part of their community and they were threatened just like when Jesus did during his ministry.
The Jews did their best to slow Paul and Silas down. They began by stirring up the crowd with emotion. Then, when they dragged Jason in front of the magistrates, they accused the missionaries in preaching political rebellion. Sound familiar? They accused Jesus of the same thing as they attempted to accuse him in the end. What can you learn from this situation? Is stirring up the crowd the best way?
Stirring up the crowd reminds me of the junior high and high school ‘drama’ that so often happens when someone gets angry in a situation. So often, teenagers will stir up and seek support from friends instead of going and confronting the object of the anger.
On to Borea and Athens next week. Have a Blessed week!
Brad
