Wednesday, October 22 – Acts 17:13-15
- Josh Breslaw
- Oct 21
- 1 min read
The difference between Thessalonica and Berea is striking. In Acts 17:4, we read that “some of them were persuaded,” meaning that some Thessalonian Jews became followers of Jesus. In Acts 17:12, we read that “many of them believed,” meaning that many Berean Jews became followers of Jesus. With only some Jews following Jesus in Thessalonica, the rest of the Jews ran Paul and Silas out of town. But with many of the Jews following Jesus in Berea, Paul and Silas were safe…until the Jews in Thessalonica came to cause trouble in Berea.
The distance between Berea and Thessalonica is about 50 miles. The Thessalonian Jews did not just go to Berea for an afternoon outing. Fifty miles would have taken a good day or two to travel. They were committed to the cause of breaking up the revival happening in Berea. They succeeded in getting Paul out of town, but by the grace of God, Silas and Timothy were able to stay and continue the work in Berea.
The missionary journey that Paul is on is not the one he expected, but it is the one that God had planned. Paul went to Philippi (Acts 16:14-40) because the Lord directed his path there. Paul went from Philippi to Thessalonica to Berea to Athens; every time, Paul was run out of town for preaching the gospel. And every time, God saw it fit to give Paul and his companions success. God gave them success because they were obedient, even after what happened to them in the previous town. May we have a commitment to sharing the Bible and the Gospel like Paul?
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