A Noble Response
What happens when you see something in the Bible that contradicts your current beliefs? Do you change to conform to God’s word or do you fight against it? If you read through the book of Acts you will see the story of the early church and how the Apostles shared the good news of Jesus Christ and much time is spent telling of the journeys of the Apostle Paul. He had a pattern of entering a town and going to the Jewish synagogues and reasoning with them from the scriptures in order to share Jesus. The first half of Acts 17 allows us to see two drastically different responses to God’s word.
In this chapter Paul first comes to Thessalonica. “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’” (Acts 17:2–3).
Notice that Paul didn’t come in and just tell them they were wrong in what they believed. Instead, it says he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” The argument is simple, this is what the Bible says, the scriptures are the standard of truth, and so I want you to believe the truth.
The Thessalonians had a mixed response, verses 4-5 tells us that “some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas...but the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, [and] set the city in an uproar.” Instead of considering God’s Word and seeing if it was true they instead responded in jealousy. Afraid of losing authority or standing the Jews incited a mob to drive out Paul and Silas and threaten anyone that decided to follow them.
After being run out of Thessalonica, Paul and Silas head to Berea. “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:10–11). Notice how different the Bereans' response to the scriptures!
From the response of the Bereans there are a few things that I think we can learn:
They affirmed the scriptures as the definition of truth. Verse 11 says that they “examined the scriptures... to see if these things were so.” They didn’t take Paul and Silas at their word, but they went back to the scriptures and asked, “are what they are telling me true.” In our world today so many people try to claim truth. By definition there can be only one truth and John 17:17 confirms for us that God’s word is truth.
They searched daily in the scriptures. You might question and ask if every day is really necessary? In response I ask you, how often do you have to consider if something is true? I think any faithful response is at least everyday if not every hour! You open an app and an advertisement says “you need to buy this,” or a tv show or movie proclaims “this is how you should act, this is what proper morality looks like.” A friend asks you to do something, implying “you need to experience this.” Every one of these decisions prompts you to ask if what they say is true. If the world around us is constantly telling you what they call truth, only searching the scriptures daily will provide a constant reminder of actual truth. Only by knowing real truth can we fight the lies the world pushes at us every day.
They received the word with all eagerness. In John 6:63 Jesus taught that it is the Holy Spirit who gives life and that the word of God is both spirit and life. These words of truth are what brings us true spiritual life. Knowing this, the Bereans craved anything that would bring them life. Paul and Silas arrive and say, “let me tell you about the one that all the scriptures point to, the one who fulfills all scriptures.” Their posture was to learn from God’s word. They weren’t content in their faith but craved a deeper understanding of God and of truth.
I want you to see something else from their eagerness, when the word conflicted with their beliefs they trusted the word. When the Thessalonians heard Paul’s teaching from the scriptures it challenged what they believed but their lack of eagerness caused them to not only dismiss it but rebel against it. Their response was to fight it, wanting to maintain their current situation rather than be changed by God’s word. Receiving the word with eagerness means that if it is true you are ready and willing to be changed by it.
So how do you respond to the word of God? You can either respond in hostility like the Thessalonians or you can respond like the Bereans, who because of their response were called noble. Please follow the example of the Bereans, receiving the word of God with eagerness, and examining the Scriptures daily to see if they are true.
