TURMOIL IN THESSALONICA
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Opening Prayer
Lord God, as I journey with Jesus’ followers in the book of Acts, open my heart; give me new reasons and greater courage to confess my faith.
Read ACTS 17:1–9
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In Thessalonica
17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
Footnotes
- Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What kind of strategy does your Christian community have for spreading the gospel?
In Acts 16, Luke related Paul’s vision of a man begging him to come to Macedonia. Paul and his companions concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel there: thus started the Greek (and European) mission.
They crossed the sea to Philippi where, in spite of having suffered and been insulted, Paul and Silas received strength from God to preach the gospel in Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia, located 75 miles southwest of Philippi. Thessalonica was a well-connected town, the residence of the provincial governor and a center of business and commerce. We can see Paul’s missional strategy—to cover the major cities and trust that from there the gospel would spread out, as it did from Ephesus to Colossae, Laodicea and other places.1 We, too, need a clear strategy in our mission.
Paul stayed in Thessalonica for nearly a month and, as usual, started his ministry in the synagogue, where he reasoned with the worshippers about Jesus. He explained that Jesus had to suffer and rise from the dead, identifying him with the Christ of Scripture. Luke records a divided response to Paul’s ministry. Some Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, perhaps in a house group, but the greatest response was from the gentiles (v. 4b). Among them were Aristarchus and Secundus, who later became Paul’s fellow travelers;2 Aristarchus also was his fellow prisoner.3
The unbelieving Jews rounded up some bad characters, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, to bring them out to the crowd. When they did not find them, their host Jason was held responsible for their actions and was required to post bail. If Paul had been found, he would not have been so lucky.
Apply
Connect with someone struggling as they share about Christ. Let them know you are praying for them and trusting God will bring himself glory through them.
Closing prayer
Father, I lift up before you those across the world who are suffering for spreading the gospel. Give them courage, give them comfort, and all else they need to continue to stand for you.
1 John Stott, The Message of Acts, BST Series, second revised edition (IVP, 1991), 270 2 Acts 20:4 3 Acts 27:2; Col 4:10
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