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 the preaching of
the Apostle Paul is examined, as it is presented by the book of Acts, it
becomes fairly clear that his preaching of the crucifixion and Resurrection was
the most important aspect of his message. In this verse referenced above,
the word “customarily” is 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 (Jesus is Lord). It is the witness of the New Testament that it is
the preaching of this message that changes hearts and minds. The writings
of the earliest believers and followers of Jesus seem to make it clear that in
the preaching of the message that Jesus is the crucified and resurrected
Messiah of Israel and Lord of all, the power of the Creator God goes forth for
salvation (deliverance, forgiveness of sin, exodus, new creation, etc…). It
is insisted that it is in the preaching of this message that faith (allegiance
to Jesus) is stirred and belief is established. That is why the specific
message of the Gospel is foundational. That is why, echoing the statement
from Acts, this message can be seen to be the single most important theme in
all of Paul’s writing (the written version of his preaching), and why it ultimately
forms the basis for one’s ability to understand the message of the entire
Bible.
For some reason (Paul
insists that it is the power of God), preaching Christ crucified and
resurrected, regardless of how ridiculous this may seem, is the message that
persuades people. This can be seen when one goes on to read that,
following Paul’s proclamations concerning the Christ, “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 deemed
to be 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, the believer is forced to
realize that it is the preaching of this Gospel message, owing to the power that lies trangely therein, that persuades and
inspires this cherished, all-important belief.
Naturally, not all
were persuaded, as one immediately discovers 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 purported jealousy, they went looking for Paul and
Silas, but were unable to find them. Not being able to locate those
dangerous preachers, the mob instead dragged Paul and Silas’ host (a man named
Jason) “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 King of Kings. The Jews said this to the
city officials, not because they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but
because they were well aware of everything that was implied by the title of
Messiah, which included his being the ruler of all the earth. Those that
preached Jesus as King were presenting Him 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 that all
kings were now subject to Him.
Because of the
uproar, and quite understandably, “The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to
Berea at once, during the night” (17:10a). Not surprisingly, “When they
arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue” (17:10b), as that was Paul’s
custom. What did he do at the synagogue? It is most likely, again because this was his
custom and his call, “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 hearkens 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 (a kingly term, then applied to the Caesar)
in power. The Bereans are said to have searched the Scriptures every day
to see if what Paul said about the Christ, and therefore about Jesus, was
true. It appears that 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, one
must be 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 it is said that “many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent
Greek women and men” (17:12).
