Examining the Scriptures

Christian Commitment
in Today's World

Acts 17:10-14 (The Message)

Berea

 ^10-12That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica. The Jews received Paul's message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence.  ^13-15But it wasn't long before reports got back to the Thessalonian hardline Jews that Paul was at it again, preaching the Word of God, this time in Berea. They lost no time responding, and created a mob scene there, too. With the help of his friends, Paul gave them the slip—caught a boat and put out to sea. Silas and Timothy stayed behind. The men who helped Paul escape got him as far as Athens and left him there. Paul sent word back with them to Silas and Timothy: "Come as quickly as you can!"

For Reflection


I don't know about you, but when I think about persecution in the early church visions of lion dinners seem to dominate.  In reality, establishing Christ's Kingdom was hard work.  In these passages we get a hint of how risky preaching the Gospel was.  Why is it that challenges to our beliefs are so difficult to deal with?  Even under the best of circumstances, Paul's word needed to be verified in scripture before the Jews felt comfortable adopting this new way of believing in God and acting out of love rather than rule.

But, maybe slow adoption is not such a bad thing.  Think about the controversies that Christians currently face .  Each opinion toward suggested change is different and many cite Scripture as support for their particular point of view.  Growth in the Christian community has always involved reconciliation.  How much of the modern church do you think Paul would recognize as true to the message?

Pray for the peaceful reconciliation of differences as the God's people grow in his love an grace.