Paul and Silas flee Thessalonica by night and make their way to Berea.
Acts 17:10-15; 2 John 7-11
As an early sun reflects off of the bay’s glassy waters, Thessalonica’s main thoroughfare awakens once again to a new dawn. Shoppers and merchants alike tend to their negotiations of buying and selling. Seated in front of his dormant work area, Marcus carefully whittles away at the end of a stick, etching what appears to be a wave from the sea.
“Any news?” A voice asks.
Startled by the unseen voice, Marcus looks around to see Jaden towering above him. He takes several breaths to calm himself down. “What, do you want to give me a heart attack? You can’t sneak up like that, man.”
Unbothered, Jaden looks over to see an older merchant, a tentmaker, slowly hobble around his workspace looking worse for wear. He gestures over at the man and asks again. “Any news?”
“No.” Marcus replies. “It’s just Dmitri. No sign of Jason or the two Syrians.”
Jaden nods then asks. “How’s their business looking now?”
“Things have slowed down, now that production is way down.” Marcus says with a smile. “I don’t think the old man is going to be able to keep up, not with those bruises anyway.” He pauses, then asks, “Have you heard anything?”
“No.” Jaden says. “Jason has seemingly disappeared and the Syrians have moved on.”
“Where did they go?” Marcus asks.
“I’m not sure… yet.” Jaden replies. “But, we’ll find out… and when we do…” His voice trails off.
“Will you go after them?” Marcus asks with new appreciation of the man standing next to him. “That takes some dedication.”
“They’ve sought to divide our community.” Jaden says. “They’ve got to be stopped.”
…
Dragging a thin stick behind him, Paul is mindless to the scraping noise he’s causing along the road.
Fatigued from the long night behind them, Silas takes a deep breath and dead pans over at Paul.
Confused with the annoyed look on Silas’ face, Paul stops walking and asks, “What?”
“Let’s take a break for a moment.” Silas suggests while pointing to two boulders nearby.
“Will Timothy come and join us soon?” Silas asks to pass the time.
Lost in his thoughts, Paul finally recognizes that Silas is talking to him and looks back at him to ask again. “Sorry…” He says. “I’ve just been replaying and replaying the stuff that went down in Thessaloniki. I wish things played out differently.”
Silas remains quiet.
“My biggest concern is whether our teaching sticks or if things will just vanish.” Paul continues.
“That’s not up to us though.” Silas responds, waving his hands in concession. “Being threatened with our very lives… chased out of cities under the cover of night… We’ve chosen this life… or God has chosen it for us.”
Paul smirks for a moment and says, “We’ll see Timothy soon, but I just have the nagging feeling that he will need to go back.”
“Oh?” Silas asks.
“They need to be grounded in some of the basics of the faith.” Paul says. “Without steady instruction and modeling, things are likely to go haywire.”
Silas nods. He then absorbs the scenery around them and asks, “Have you ever thought about marrying someone?”
Paul smiles and says, “Silas, look at me.”
“What?” Silas asks with a laugh.
“First of all.” Paul says. “I’m not exactly a catch. Second, I’m not the type who’s going to settle down and live off the land. Can you imagine what life would be like being married to me? How many people have nearly been killed on account of me?”
“Okay, that’s valid.” Silas says as he laughs. “We’d better get moving again.”
“Yeah.” Paul says. “Finally, we’ll have some better light to work with.” He bends down to pick up the thin stick once again and mutters, “Me… married. Oh my.”
Watching him, Silas walks over to Paul and says, “Let me see your hands.”
“What are you…?” Paul asks with confusion.
“Let me see your hands.” Silas says again, as he reaches out for the hand holding the stick. He then unpries Paul’s fingers and says, “Let me hold on to this for awhile, hmmmm?”
Confused by what’s happening, Paul shrugs and watches a determined Silas walk away with his stick and throw it to the side of the road.
…
Seated with his students inside the synagogue, Benjamin looks up when the main door opens to reveal a shaft of sunlight accompanied by a figure he can’t fully make out.
The man walks towards them and gives a wide gesture. “My rabbi!” he exclaims.
Seeing Jaden come into clear view, Benjamin sternly returns his gaze for but a moment. “Children.” He announces. “Go home for today.”
His students stand up quickly and begin racing out of the room.
Benjamin calls out after them. “Help your fathers today, children. Be observant, help when you see a need, and keep learning his trade.”
The room empties, leaving the two men alone.
As the last child leaves the room, Benjamin shoots Jaden an unpleasant look. “How dare you go behind my back!”
“What are you talking about?” Jaden responds.
“The two visiting Jews.” He says. “You had them arrested, I hear?”
“No.” Jaden says. “They weren’t even around.”
“Yes, instead you assaulted Jason’s home and had him and some others arrested.” Benjamin responds. “Did you think I wouldn’t learn the truth about this?”
Stepping in closer, Jaden comes within inches of Benjamin’s face. “Look.” He says bluntly. “These men were pitting our own people against us. They were illegally proselytizing Jews and Greeks alike, which is exactly the reason why Rome has recently made life unspeakably difficult for the Jews in that city.”
“This was to be a discussion.” Benjamin replies. “One that I, as your authority, would need to agree to before any action would be taken.”
Picking at his fingers, Jaden says cooly. “This required immediate action, something you were clearly unwilling to give.”
Clearly agitated, Benjamin raises his voice and says. “You’ve placed us in harm’s…”
Countering without letting Benjamin finish, Jaden points a finger in Benjamin’s face and replies. “No, I saved us from the harm that was likely to come our way. Thank you Jaden.” He mocks. “You’re welcome, Benjamin.”
“I have failed you as a Rabbi.” Benjamin says flatly. “You have disappointed both me and the spirit behind the Law.”
“Yes, I think we’re done here.” Jaden replies. “I have some heretics to find.”
…
“This is different!” Paul quips as he looks at the men seated against a wall in the Berean synagogue. “Normally, we’re asked to speak in haste at synagogue when we arrive on Saturday morning. The Hazzan or rabbi hears that we’ve come from Antioch or better, Jerusalem, and they immediately treat us like celebrities.”
“Well…” One of the elders reluctantly shares. “I don’t think it comes as a surprise that we’ve heard of what has happened in Thessalonica and Asia.”
The others nod, as the first continues to speak. “When we heard that you had arrived here in Berea, we thought it would be best to interview you before… well Sabbat comes around.”
Silas and Paul smile at one another and then back at the elders.
“Hey, we’re impressed.” Paul says. “You’re the first to do things this way. Thank you!”
“Well.” Another elder shares. “Let’s hear what you have to say.”
…
Standing in the middle of the synagogue to quiet the congregation, the Hazzan waves his arms and shares: “I need to catch you up with something.”
The congregation quiets, as the Hazzan continues. “We have heard of the Jewish evangelists from Syria who have been going from town to town throughout Asia and here in Macedonia. In many cases, they have not been well received in some… okay, many… of these cities. In some cases, they have been chased out by mobs. I suspect you have already gotten wind of the recent happenings in Thessaloniki, yes?”
Small side conversations ensue.
“Well.” The Hazzan continues. “Your elders were also aware of the happenings in Thessaloniki, and we decided to approach things a little differently. These men sought to introduce themselves to us earlier this week, so we thought it would be good to sit down with them to better understand where they were coming from.” He looks over at the rabbi and other elders to see them nodding. “Right now, we’re aiming to discover more about what these men have told us. Our greatest goal right now is to search and let the Word of God–that is, the Law, the covenantal promises between God and Israel, and the prophets–confirm to us that what these men teach is from God… or not. God has indeed promised us a Messiah and King to rule from the throne of David once and for all. God has promised the regathering of his people to the Land of our ancestors where we would be forever changed by God himself. God has also promised to restore our fortunes under his just leadership. He has promised to subdue our enemies under his righteous decrees.”
He looks over at Paul and Silas seated nearby and says. “What these men have proclaimed is that Messiah has come, been rejected by Israel’s leadership, tortured and killed. They also claim that God raised Messiah from the dead and that he now dwells at the right hand of God.”
The room erupts in dozens of conversations.
“Quiet down, everyone.” The Hazzan announces. “We have much to discover about these claims about Messiah, and with great interest we will search the Scriptures thoroughly to see if God has made this prophetically clear to us.”
…
We’re going to stop here for today.
Once again, under the cover of darkness… Paul and Silas flee from Thessalonica and make their way to Berea. Immediately upon their arrival, they visit the local synagogue and are heard by the leadership in that Jewish community. Unlike what happened in Thessalonica, however, those elders in Berea received Paul and Silas and we’re willing to hear them out. When finished hearing their “sales pitch”, the elders themselves conducted their own due diligence to verify these new claims through Scripture itself. They trusted… but they verified.
I say “sales pitch” with good reason. By this time (around 51 AD), Antioch had become the primary missionary “sending” church throughout the Roman empire. Teachers would chart out various courses for their mission endeavors and teach in every major city along the way. Finding synagogues or audiences within each community, these teachers were entrusted with the power of God and sought to evangelize these communities with the good news about the Kingdom of Heaven. As they went, they were expected to support themselves, but they could also expect support from those of whom they taught. So far so good, right? Well, along with the bone fide teachers legitimately sent out from the church in Antioch, there were some “not-so-bone fide” teachers that saw this as an opportunity for both influence and financial gain. As time went on in the first century, the problem grew worse… so much so that the Apostle John would warn the smaller churches against such charletains who would attend meetings and spread their heretical ideas. To one particular fellowship near Ephesus, he warned individuals in the church to not welcome false teachers or show them hospitality within their own homes (2 John 10-11).
If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
— 2 John 10-11
What does this mean?
First, it means that anytime a movement of God is clearly evidenced, there will also be a counterfeit movement that aims to ride on the coattails of such a movement. Opportunistic individuals may seek to usurp from the larger movement at hand for their own personal gain. This can get tricky because sometimes new movements are started by individuals seeking God and truth who see blatant wrongdoing in the church’s current state of existence. So, they break away to rediscover the God of Scripture and find out that what is currently being practiced has little to do with the God of Scripture. So… who do you follow, and how can you identify what’s of God and what isn’t? How do we discover the real thing?
That’s what the Bereans were wondering! Here, they were dedicated to following the Law, but they were also open enough to realize that the promises of God had yet to be fulfilled. In their minds, the message of Paul and Silas was worth hearing, especially since it had everything to do with the promises of God coming to fruition. So, the Berean elders were trusting enough to hear out Paul and Silas, but they weren’t going to blindly accept their message without conducting their own due diligence first.
Likewise, it means we need to trust… but verify. It means we need to be willing to hear others out. Then, we are to measure such messages against the standards shared in Scripture.
Relating back to the Apostle John’s warning, these false teachers showed up at a church meeting and began teaching something different than what he taught. More specifically, they were teaching that Jesus was not really human. They claimed that God didn’t show up in human form. And, this was highly problematic in that it removed the need for God to identify with what it meant to be fully human, without sin, and fully obedient even to the point of death. If Jesus wasn’t fully human, then he couldn’t die for the sins of humanity and carry out the New Covenant promise where God would permanently forgive sins to those who receive him. Can you see why this might be problematic? Here’s John’s warning to those who blindly accept such false teachings:
I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
— 2 John 7-9
So, when John warned the church to not show any hospitality to these false teachers, it was based upon this “trust… but verify” idea. They claimed to be teachers. They were given an opportunity to share in the meeting whereby the elders of that local church could then search out Scripture and process the validity of their teaching. If in alignment with Scripture, then they would be welcomed into the local body.
And, This brings us to our final point: Scripture is the standard, the constitution, against which we may measure any and all claims. There is so much to this, but God has slowly but miraculously revealed his wishes, his expectations, and his promises to specific individuals over time. Beginning with Moses, these wishes became more concrete, going beyond the passing along of oral tradition, and were written down for future generations to read, to share, and to uphold. For over a thousand years, prophets, historians, poets, kings, and shepherds alike would hear from God and contribute to the writings known as the Tanakh. We might know this compilation of the Torah (first five books of the Tanakh), the prophets and the writings… as the Old Testament. What is unique about this compilation of writings is the common thread that intertwines in nearly every writing. What’s that thread? The covenantal promises made between God and his people, Israel.
So, when the Bereans heard the claims of Paul and Silas, they searched the Tanakh to see if there was any merit in the Messianic claims made by the two visiting teachers. They trusted Paul and Silas as two Jewish individuals enough to be given a fair hearing, but then they verified to see if their claims were able to “hold water”. They did.
One final thought: Every day we’re bombarded with messages… promotional ideas… “sales pitches”… In many cases, the media contributes greatly to this propagandizing of misinformation. Claiming to be purveyors of truth at all costs… and I applaud those who really are… some are simply aiming to gain influence and financial benefit just like the false teachers of old. Does that mean we write them off without a fair hearing? To do so would place us in the same boat as many of those in the synagogues who weren’t willing to do any due diligence or verification with the claims that were offered to them. Stubborn, “stiff necked”, and unwilling to hear is how many prophets would regard these types of folks–who, as it turns out, would be the ones responsible for forming mobs and killing these prophets of God. Consequently, we miss out on a movement of God when we don’t provide a fair hearing to the messengers. We need to be open to new movements, new ideas… but we need to verify and do the due diligence needed.
Let me be blunt here: Our issue is one of laziness. What do I mean? I mean that we hear somebody else’s idea and we either accept it or reject it without doing the due diligence needed to see if there’s any weight to the matter. While I realize there are thousands of subjects we cannot dig into, I also know that in the weightier matters of life, we need to put in our due diligence. Consider this: God will hold us accountable for the due diligence we put in… or didn’t put in to learning about our faith.
Now imagine how others might feel when you give them a fair hearing? How do you think they might feel when you’ve listened to them? Give the courtesy of hearing them… They will feel valued and appreciated. But don’t blindly accept what they have said as Gospel truth. Instead, take the time to verify the claims they make before you buy into or reject them. Measure their claims against the source that has been reliable for right living for more than 2,000 years.
May you be ever diligent to trust and verify the claims of others, where over time, God produces in you a clear-headedness that identifies the God of Scripture at work and refuses to miss out on His Kingdom movement. With that, let’s move forward… together!