98 Acts 17:10-12 A MORE NOBLE RECEPTION OF GODS WORD Introduction: This text makes a contrast between the reception which Paul and Silas received at Berea to the one they had received back at Thessalonica, which was the previous city where they had done mission work. Luke commends the people at Berea in that they were more noble in their reception to the word of God, and therefore, more noble in their reception of God’s preachers. I take it to mean that the Bereans were not merely slightly more noble than the Thessalonians, but that they were a great deal more noble than the Thessalonians. I. Paul and Silas going to Berea V. 10, “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea...” Perhaps you will recall from the previous message that some of the Jews and a great many Greeks at Thessalonica believed the gospel message which Paul and Silas presented and they got saved. From those new converts a church was organized at Thessalonica having a rather sizable membership. Most the members of that church were of the Greek bloodline. However, the unbelieving Jews at Thessalonica stirred up such an uproar against Paul and Silas in the city that Paul and Silas had to leave. In fact, they had to leave in the darkness of night lest they be captured and physically harmed. The members of the new church there at Thessalonica assisted them in leaving and sent them on their way to the city of Berea. (V. 10), “...who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews.” We cannot be certain as to what day of the week Paul and Silas arrived at Berea, but on the very next sabbath day they attended worship services at the Jewish synagogue in that city. This was in keeping with God’s instructions to carry the gospel first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. It was also in keeping with the pattern that Paul had followed from the beginning of his mission work. As in other synagogues which they had visited, they were given opportunity to speak and they presented the good news that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ whom the prophets of old had said would come. As usual, Paul must have reminded the members of the synagogue that the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem had persuaded the Roman authorities to crucify Jesus. Jesus had been both crucified and buried. But Paul declared to them that Jesus did not remain in the grave. He said that Jesus had arisen from the grave. He reported to them that Jesus had shown Himself to the Christian brethren at Jerusalem and that back at Galilee He had shown Himself to about five-hundred brethren at once. In all probability Paul reported his own experience with Jesus on the Damascus road. On that occasion Jesus had appeared to him and had spoken to him from heaven. Luke does not say so, but the Apostle Paul must have cited to them a number of Old Testament scriptures which foretold the coming of Christ. II. A more noble reception at Berea than at Thessalonia Both Paul and Silas must have been pleasantly surprised by the reception that was given to them by most of the members of the Jewish synagogue at Berea. V. 11, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” I used to think that what this verse says is that the members of the church at Berea were more noble than the members of the church at Thessalonica. It does not say that. What it says is that the unbelieving members of the Jewish synagogue at Berea were more noble than the unbelieving members of the Jewish synagogue at Thessalonica. They were more noble in several ways. In the first place, they were more noble in that they were more willing to listen to the gospel message which Paul and Silas presented. They did not have their minds already made up that Paul and Silas were wrong and that Jesus is not the Christ. They were willing to listen and to consider the possibility that Jesus just might be the Christ. Now Paul and Silas did not have to persuade them that God had promised that the Christ would come. These Jews were already familiar with the fact that God had promised to send the Christ. What Paul and Silas did seek to persuade them of is that Jesus is the Christ whom God had promised. This is what most Jews refused to believe. This is what most Jews refused to even consider. Most Jews simply took the word of the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem and since the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem had rejected the idea that Jesus is the Christ, that settled it in the minds of most Jews. In their minds the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem were right and Jesus is not the Christ. They did not care to even listen to anyone who might say otherwise. The Berean Jews were also more noble than those at Thessalonica in that they recognized the Holy Scriptures as the written authority in religious matters. Of course, they did not have the New Testament at that time as it had not been written. But they did have the Old Testament Scriptures and they recognized the Old Testament writings to be the inspired word of God. Whatever the Holy Scriptures say is the word of God and whatever God says is the final authority on religious truth. Therefore, regardless of what the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem had to say on the matter, they were willing to listen to Paul and Silas and to then search the Holy Scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas had to say was in keeping with what the Holy Scriptures say. They did not have copies of the Old Testament in their homes, but they did have a copy right there in the synagogue. So after Paul and Silas visited their synagogue on the sabbath day and proclaimed to them that Jesus is the Christ some of them got busy daily searching the Old Testament scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas said about Jesus being the Christ is true. In the Scriptures they would find prophecies showing that the Christ would be born in the little town of Bethlehem. If Jesus had not been born in Bethlehem, this would mean that He could not possibly be the Christ. But Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This alone would not be sufficient to show that Jesus is the Christ because numerous men had been born in Bethlehem, But it does show that He might be the Christ and that they must search further. One of the things they would search to find out was whether or not the Christ would be put to death. If the Christ was not to be put to death, they would know that Jesus is not the Christ. If they should find that the Christ was to be put to death then they must consider the possibility that He may be the Christ. Yet they would have to search further to know for sure whether or not He is the Christ. A lot of men had been put to death. So His death alone was not enough to tell them that He is the Christ. I feel confident that before the week was over they did find sufficient Scripture evidence to show clearly that the Christ was to be put to death. They may have looked at Isaiah chapter fifty-three which speaks plainly about His death. In the Psalms they would find evidence that His death would be by crucifixion. They would also find prophecies that the Christ would arise from the grave. As they searched daily, they would find more and more evidence that Jesus is the Christ. In fact, they would find such strong evidence to convince anyone who really believes the Holy Scripture to be very word of God that Jesus is the Christ. According to the Old Testament prophecies, Jesus must be the Christ. If they would believe the Scriptures then they must believe that Jesus is the Christ. To refuse to believe that Jesus is the Christ would be to deny the Scriptures. III. Many converts in Berea V. 12, “Therefore many of them believed...” That is, many of the Jewish members of the Jewish synagogue at Berea believed and got saved. Because the Berean Jews were more willing to listen to the gospel message and more willing to consider that it might be true, than the Jews at Thessalonica, there were more of them that got saved. You will note back in verse four that Luke said that some of the Jews in the synagogue at Thessalonica believed. But he said that many of the Jews in the synagogue at Berea got saved. They were willing to listen to the gospel message. They were willing to consider that Jesus might be the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of men. They were willing to accept what the Scriptures have to say on the matter. They were even willing to search the Scriptures for themselves to find the truth on the matter. Therefore, they found at least some of the Scriptures which prophesied about the Christ and they could see that these Scriptures were speaking about the Christ, and so they believed the gospel message which Paul and Silas presented because this was what God’s Holy Word says about the matter. Not only were there many Jews at Berea saved, but there were also many Greeks who believed and got saved. (V. 12), “...also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.” Both men and women among the Greeks got saved. Many of them believed the gospel message about Jesus and placed their faith in Jesus as Christ and Savior and they got saved. Luke does not tell us whether these people of the Greek bloodline had first become proselyte members of the Jewish synagogue. It is likely that at least some of them had first been members of the Jewish synagogue. It is likely that they first heard the gospel message there at the synagogue service when Paul and Silas gave their testimony about Jesus. But it is also likely that most of them had never been members of the Jewish synagogue. It is likely that the new converts which had been made at the Jewish synagogue went among the people of the city of Berea spreading the news about Jesus being the Savior of men and that many of the Greeks of the city who had never been connected with the synagogue believed and got saved. You will note that Luke calls special attention to the fact that some of them were “honorable women.” By this Luke means that they were women who were honored by the people of Berea. They were women who had gained the respect of those who knew them or knew about them. They were women who would have influence on others. They were women to whom their friends and acquaintances would listen when the witnessed to them about Jesus. These were women who would do this new church at Berea a great deal of good. VI. Some mighty lessons for us This passage of Scripture speaks about that which took place in a distant land a long time ago. However, it presents some mighty lessons for people of our day and for people who live right here in this area. First of all, this passage points out that people who are unsaved ought to listen to Christians who come to them bringing the gospel message about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. These are people who come to you out of love and who are concerned about your eternal destiny. They are people to whom God has given the task of witnessing to you about what Jesus Christ has done for them when they repented of their sin and trusted Jesus Christ to save their soul. They are interested in you staying out of the fires of hell and spending eternity in glory with God. Be willing to listen to their message about Jesus, the very Son of the Living God, who came down from heaven and who died on the cross in order to save your soul. Listen to them as they tell about Jesus being raised from the grave and telling you that Jesus lives right now and is able to see you and hear you and that He wants to save you. Your Christian friends will tell you that Jesus is watching and waiting for you to turn to Him and to call upon Him and ask Him to save your soul. Now I would not ask that you believe that Jesus Christ can save you just because these Christians say so. But I point out to you that if you believe the Bible, if you believe what God has to say about the matter, then you should believe what the Bible tells you about Jesus. And the Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved,” Rom. 10:13. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3:16. If you believe the Bible then you must believe that Jesus can save you. If you believe that Jesus can save you, then you know that you need to call upon Him and ask you to save you. Now let me point out to the Christians what I think is a mighty lesson. This passage teaches that Christians, whether men or women, need to be of honorable and upright character if they would have the right kind of influence on others. If you are going to influence the unsaved to turn to Jesus Christ, then you must earn their respect by living an honorable life before them. I am going to call you, regardless of what your life has been in the past, to live an honorable life in the future so that you will be able to influence those who are not saved to turn to Jesus and be saved. Conclusion: What kind of reception have you given to the word of God? Have you accepted it as true? Have you accepted the truth of the gospel? Have you trusted Jesus Christ to save your soul? Have you set your course to live according to the moral standards taught in God’s word? Have you set you accepted the doctrinal truth of God’s word?