“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. Many of them therefore believed,
with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews
from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea
also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.” –Acts 17:10-13 (ESV. Read Acts 17:10-15).
When trouble arose in Thessalonica over
Paul’s teaching and preaching, and Jason, his host, and other believers were
brought before the authorities by angry Jews, the brothers “smuggled” Paul and
Silas out of Thessalonica “by
night.” They traveled 50 miles (some
say 60) by road southwest to the town of Berea.
It had a large enough Jewish population to have a synagogue. Paul went there and began preaching. Dr. William Barclay points out three
important points about Paul’s time in Berea.
(1) His preaching was scriptural and led his hearers “to examine the scriptures daily to see if
these things were so.” Could the
Messiah Paul preached about have been crucified? Crucifixion indicated the victim was
accursed. The Messiah should have set up
an earthly kingdom. But the Jews in Berea
are termed “more noble,” meaning not
their rank in society or their “well-born” position, but their willingness to
be open-minded and fair and to search out for themselves in their own Old
Testament scriptures whether what Paul preached was true. The result was that many believed among the Jewish community as well as the
God-fearers, Greek men and women who heard the Word and accepted Christ as
Savior. The Bereans were exemplary in
receiving the message gladly. Many
churches since that day have chosen the word “Bereans” to identify groups of
people who diligently search the Scriptures.
(2) The second point about the Berean mission is that persecution came
from the Jews. Soon news reached the
agitating group of Jews in Thessalonica and they went to Berea to seek to
silence Paul. The tragedy is that this
persecution arose from a group who had the mistaken idea that they were doing
the will of God by opposing Paul and the new believers. Again, since Paul was the target of their
wrath, the brethren sent him off immediately “on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.” Berea would have further help from experienced
teachers, even though Paul had to flee.
(3) Paul’s courage stands
out. Previously imprisoned, beaten, and
now threatened in Berea, Paul did not quit.
He was commissioned to bear the message in Gentile territory; he must
move on. And that he did. Some of the believers accompanied Paul all
the way to Athens and after they knew Silas and Timothy were going there to
join Paul, these caring people from Berea left Paul. They had no doubt helped to save Paul’s life
and had attended him in troublous times.
Is it any wonder we think highly of Berean Christians, even over two
thousand years after Paul’s mission trip there?
Luke in his summary account of
activities in Berea does not make clear Paul’s escape ‘by sea.’ We would think that
he went to the coast and boarded a ship for Athens. But by some of the Berean Christians
remaining with him until he reached Athens, they could have traveled on the
coastal road, some 222 miles from Berea to Athens, Greece. Scholars who have looked more closely into this
section of Paul’s second missionary journey favor the seacoast road route from
Berea to Athens. Their mode of travel does not matter as much as the fact that
Paul was protected and accompanied on a long journey. God provided human and spiritual means of
preserving His spokesman to take the Word to other waiting and truth-seeking
people. This Berean interlude teaches us the importance of studying the
scriptures diligently and of helping those in trouble. To God be the glory!
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