Series: Pauline Letters
Leviticus 11:4 ESV
Acts 17:1-9 ESV
Acts 17:10 ESV
Acts 17:7 (Deflecting)
1 Thessalonians 4-7 ESV
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 ESV
2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 ESV
While the route Paul used by sea to go from place to place on each missionary journey is clear that they sailed on a ship, once inland the method of travel is unclear.
Common to that time, travelers rode camels or horses. Paul was Jewish and had studied Hebrew Scriptures at length. According to Leviticus 11:4, “The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.”
Even after his conversion, if Paul saw a camel as being unclean, they might have traveled by horse from town to town. I say that because he lived the better part of his life as a Hebrew. Paul was still Hebrew born and bred.
Either way it’s estimated they would have traveled around 30-35 miles a day.
Acts 17:1-9 tells us, “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.”
Jason mentioned here was a Jew who invited Paul and Silas to stay at his house (https://readingacts.com/2019/03/15/acts-17-who-was-jason/). When the mob decided to seize Paul and Silas when they couldn’t find the two missionaries they seized Jason and took him before local authorities. They accused Paul and Silas that King Jesus was usurping Caesar.
We have to remember that the mob’s attempt to accuse Paul, Silas, and Jason of challenging the reign of Caesar came about because they were jealous that the message about Jesus had gained attention in Thessalonica.
The people in Thessalonica were concerned about the claim but authorities accepted money from Jason and he was allowed to go home.
In the meantime, Paul and Silas left Thessalonica at night and they traveled to Berea. We are told in Acts 17:10, “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.”
The crowd’s comparison of King Jesus to Caesar in Acts 17:7 most likely was an attempt to deflect attention from the true message of Jesus and His love. The Jews saw the message of Jesus as being a danger to their way of life. We are reminded that change is difficult, especially for some people. Those families who had been Jewish for generations did not want to accept this change, even though Jesus was also born Jewish. They weren’t even interested in listening to the message Paul spoke.
Later, Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica, in 1 Thessalonians 4-7, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”
When Paul wrote later to them he warmly remembered the new believers. In 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 we are told, “For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”
In his second letter to the new church, Paul warmly wrote to the new converts of Jesus and his new friends in Christ in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.”
I don’t know about you, but when I studied the account of Paul and Silas from the perspective of the timeline and the facts we find in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters Paul wrote to the church after his visit, it gave me a whole new perspective!
Acts tells the facts about his journeys.
Paul’s letters written later connect us to his personal warm comments toward the new converts.
It made me realize that Paul and Silas truly loved and cherished their new brothers and sisters in Jesus!
Spiritual Practice: New Believers
How do we respond to new believers today? Ask God to remind you to gently love and care for new believers in Jesus.
In God, Deborah