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Acts 17:10–15
“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” (vv. 10–11).
Thessalonica proved to be fertile ground for the gospel, since many converted to Christ under the preaching of Paul and Silas. They could not remain there long, however, for some Jewish opponents of the gospel stirred up a mob against them, forcing them to leave the city (Acts 17:1–9). As we see in today’s passage, the Thessalonian Christians helped Paul and Silas escape the city, sending them “away by night to Berea” (v. 10). Their nighttime departure speaks to the haste with which they had to leave Thessalonica. They could not wait until the next morning, when the journeying would be safer.
Paul and Silas headed to Berea, located about forty-five miles to the west-southwest of Thessalonica. Travelers from Thessalonica to Athens would pass through Berea, and we know that Athens was the destination that Paul had set his sights on (see vv. 16–33). Arriving in Berea, Paul and Silas went to the synagogue, where they received a much warmer welcome from the Berean Jews than they had from the Jews in Thessalonica. We read that the Berean Jews heard Paul and Silas eagerly, searching the Scriptures diligently to see whether the message that the missionaries were delivering was true (vv. 10–11).
Luke, the author of Acts, very clearly commends the Bereans for their actions. Since Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit, we know that God commended the Bereans as well for their concern to verify the Apostolic message by the Word of God that they did possess, which we today call the Old Testament. The Lord does not expect us to render blind, unthinking obedience to the Apostles, much less to later church authorities. We are not called to trust a teaching without seeing how it is established in the Word of God. Sometimes it may take us a while to understand how the full scope of Scripture teaches a particular doctrine, but that should not deter us from diligently confirming church teaching by the Old and New Testaments. As John Calvin comments, “No doctrine is worthy to be believed but that which we find to be grounded in the Scriptures.”
Despite the best efforts of Paul and Silas (and Timothy; see v. 14), they could not get away from the troublemaking Jews of Thessalonica who followed the missionaries to Berea and stirred up the city against them. The men split up, with Silas and Timothy remaining in Berea and Paul traveling by sea to Athens (vv. 12–15). In that great city, Paul would preach one of his best-known messages.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God does not expect us to take any teaching of the faith on the authority of the teacher alone. Instead, we are to accept doctrines only if they are well grounded in the inspired Word of God. We must beware of any churches or teachers who expect us to believe what they tell us without carefully proving their teaching from the sound interpretation and application of Scripture.
For further study
- Psalm 119:9–16
- Matthew 22:23–33
- John 10:35
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17
The bible in a year
- Psalms 59–61
- Acts 28:11–31