Paul's Customary Preaching

Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” – Acts 17:2-3 (NET)

As we examine the preaching of the Apostle Paul, it becomes fairly clear that his preaching of the crucifixion and Resurrection was the most important aspect of his message. In this verse we find the word “customarily” used. It probably has a four-fold application, in that it was Paul’s custom to go to the synagogue, as he did here in Thessalonica; that he addressed them from the Scriptures; that the purpose of his addressing them from the Scriptures was to explain and demonstrate that the Christ had to suffer and also rise from the dead; and that Jesus of Nazareth, the Man whose death had been ordered by Pilate, was the Christ.

Paul preached the Gospel. It is this message that changes hearts and minds. It is in the preaching of this message, that Jesus is the crucified and resurrected Messiah of Israel and Lord of all, that the power of God goes forth for salvation. It is in the preaching of this message that faith is gifted and belief is created. That is why it is foundational. That is why we see it as the single most important theme in all of Paul’s writing, and why it forms the basis for our being able to understand the message of the entire Bible. Preaching Christ crucified and resurrected is the message that persuades people. We can see that as we go on to read that “Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women” (17:4). This, of course, is the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is the Holy Spirit that moves one to a confession of Jesus as Lord (which is part of what the declaration of Him as Messiah entailed), as well as to a place of believing something so absurdly foolish (especially for the Greeks) as a man rising from the dead after being subjected to a Roman crucifixion. Nevertheless, it is the preaching of this Gospel message, owing to the power therein, that persuades and inspires this cherished, all-important belief.

Naturally, not all were persuaded, as we read that “the Jews became jealous…and set the city in an uproar” (17:5). After the meeting in the synagogue had disbanded, because of their jealousy, they went looking for Paul and Silas, but were unable to find them. They dragged Paul and Silas’ host “before the city officials, screaming, ‘These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too… They are all acting against Caesar’s decrees, saying there is another king names Jesus!’” (17:6b-7) This serves well to point out the nature of the message of Jesus as Messiah. This was not just a spiritual proclamation, in which Jesus reigns in heaven and in somebody’s heart. This message of Jesus as the Christ included the proclamation that Jesus was indeed King. The Jews said this, not because they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but because they knew everything that the title of Messiah implied, including being the ruler of all the earth. Those that preached Jesus as King showed Him forth as the King of God’s kingdom that had been ushered into existence at the Resurrection, with that kingdom composed of all those that believed the message of Jesus. Furthermore, the message was not that there was “another king, but that Jesus was “the King,” and all kings were now subject to Him.

Because of the uproar, “The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea at once, during the night” (17:10a). Not surprisingly, we find that “When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue” (17:10b), as that was Paul’s custom. What did he do at the synagogue. Most likely, “he addressed them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ’.” (17:2b-3) We are told that “These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the Scriptures every day to see if these things were so” (17:11). This takes us back to the foundational message, demonstrating the supreme importance of the preaching and understanding of the pure Gospel message of Jesus crucified and resurrected and shown forth to be the Son of God (kingly term) in power. The Bereans searched the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said about the Christ, and therefore about Jesus, was true. Nothing was more important than understanding Who Jesus was, along with the fact of, and what was implied by His being raised from the dead.

Together with this, we are sure to note the power of God that is once again on display through the singular preaching of this message, together with the searching of Scripture, as we learn that “many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men” (17:12).