Paul and his companions (Silas, Timothy and Luke) now travel southwest, down the coast of Macedonia from Philippi, through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, a journey of about 100 miles (Acts 17:1). There was a synagogue there (the text has sunagoge, not proseuche, as in Philippi). So, we can assume there was a well-established Jewish community here that met in a more substantial meeting place than the outdoor amphitheater in Philippi.
Verses 2-3 tell us Paul met with them on the Sabbath for three weeks, explaining from the Scriptures what the Christ (Messiah) was to suffer and do (His crucifixion and resurrection) and how that was fulfilled completely in Jesus. Verse 4 says “some of them believed”, where “believed” is from the passive verb peithomai, to be persuaded. This would have been the Jews, but the verse also includes a “great multitude” of Greek converts and some prominent women.
Then the trouble begins. The next five verses (5-9) tell us the Jews who did not believe, along with some other trouble-makers, caused an uproar in the city, went to the house of Jason (where Paul and his party were evidently staying), looking to bring Paul and Silas to the authorities. But, Paul and Silas were not there; so they took Jason and some others, instead.
It’s interesting to see the charge brought against them. Literally, it was: “these men are defying the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, someone named Jesus!” (Verse 7) This is essentially the same charge the Jews brought against Jesus (see Matthew 27:11, John 18:33), no doubt a result of what Jesus had said publicly of “His kingdom” or His “Father’s kingdom”. It’s the same charge brought against Paul and Silas earlier in Philippi (Acts 16:20-21). And here I’m sure it’s the result of Paul talking about Christ and a future kingdom yet to come.
The charges in every case were based on half-truth and deceptive. The Roman authorities were often dismissive when forced to deal with any unrest associated with the Jews and their religion. In this case the Jews could not go to the Roman magistrates with a complaint about Paul claiming Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, a notion they vehemently rejected. Instead, they brought a charge that would get serious attention – Paul and Silas were challenging Roman law.
Verse 9 tells us they let Jason and the others go after they had “taken security” from them (in the KJV). Here, “security” is from hikanos, meaning, sufficient. More contemporary translations have “bond” or “bail”. There were probably two different issues here that caused the Roman authorities to require Jason and the others to post bond for their freedom. The first is that since Jason had allowed Paul and his party to stay in his home, it would be assumed that he was sympathetic and, therefore, just as guilty as Paul of the charges. Adding to that, it’s possible that Jason had hidden his guests from the mob (verse 6).
The second is that Paul’s reputation for causing trouble had preceded him (see the last part of verse 6). This evidently prompted the authorities to add a requirement to this bond: Paul, Silas and company had to leave Thessalonica and never return. Paul alludes to this in 1 Thessalonians 2:18 when he explains that he wanted to return there and had thought of it often, but couldn’t. He doesn’t explain why he couldn’t return, I believe, because those in the assembly there well knew the reason; Jason and the others would forfeit the bond and Paul would be arrested.
So, the brethren quickly sent Paul and Silas away that night to Berea (about 30 miles to the south and west). And when I read the last part of verse 10, I had to laugh. It says that as soon as they arrived, they “went into the synagogue of the Jews” (no one could ever accuse Paul of being afraid of rejection). But this time it was a little different, though not for long.
Verse 11 says, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica.” The word “noble” is from eugenes, and literally means, wellborn. Luke uses the same word in Luke 19:12 and his account of Jesus’ parable of the minas describing the “nobleman”. Here, the “nobleman” is Jesus Himself and this gives us insight into what Luke was thinking when he used this term in referring to these Jews in Berea. They had character. In the rest of verse 11 and into verse 12, they: received the Word of God with an honest, open mind, receptive to new ideas; they were willing to search the scriptures for proof; and when they realized what was true, they believed.
However, Paul had little time to enjoy this willing reception. The Jews in Thessalonica found out Paul was in Berea, so they came and stirred up the people against him. So, Paul, for reasons not given, left Silas and Timothy there and made his way to the sea, then on to Athens (verses 13-15). Then Paul sent instructions back to Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
The next verse (16) tells us when Paul saw the idolatry that was so prominent in Athens, his spirit was “stirred”. This is from paroxuno, and means, to sharpen. Here it’s used as a metaphor to illustrate being provoked or roused to anger. So, Paul did what he always had done, he reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue and the “devout” people (again, Gentiles who had converted to Judaism) in the marketplace (verse 17).
Now we need to break down verse 18 in some detail, as it gives us information that provides clear insight into what Athens was all about. It starts out, “And there were philosophers, some of them Epicurean, some Stoic, who engaged Paul in a discussion.” Here, “philosophers” is from philosophos, from philos, loving, and sophia, wisdom, found only here. They are clearly defined in verse 21 as those who spent all their time either discussing or listening to any new thing.
To be brief, the Epicureans were followers of Epicurus who held that there were no gods at all who governed the affairs of men, and the purpose of life was simply the gratification of the appetites and pleasure. On the other hand, the Stoics believed in gods and held that all human affairs were determined by fate or destiny. And while these two philosophies were opposite each other, they had one thing in common – they both denied the resurrection of the body. This is why both groups engaged Paul; he had, no doubt, emphasized Jesus and His resurrection (see the last part of verse 18).
Then, before we end this lesson, let’s look at what these men say about Paul. “And some of them said, What is this babbler trying to say? Others said, He seems to be promoting strange gods.” First of all, “babbler” is from spermologos, from sperma, a seed, and lego, to collect. It was used to signify a crow or some other bird; but came to be used as a metaphor to describe someone who picked up scraps of information from different sources and then put them together to form new ideas, or a plagiarist who stole thoughts or ideas from others and claimed them as his own. Such men were looked upon as ignorant and worthy of public exposure by the more learned.
And lastly, “He seems to be promoting strange gods.” Here, “strange gods” is from zenos daimonion. Zenos means, foreign, alien and even unusual. Daimon (the diminutive form of daimonion) is used throughout the New Testament to describe an evil spirit. However, daimonion is the neuter form of the adjective daimonios, used here to describe an inferior pagan deity. The Greeks believed that every idol had a deity (demon) attached to it. Here, Paul is being accused of promoting some new deity named Jesus, who must be exposed as false, because He claims to have been resurrected.
Their solution was to take Paul to the Areopagus to give him the opportunity to explain himself and them the opportunity to expose him as a fraud. So, the Areopagus was a council made up of men who had previously held some high public office in Athens. It functioned as a sort of think tank and idea clearinghouse. Any new thought, idea or philosophical or religious tenet that represented either an addition or subtraction to what had been previously accepted had to be approved by this council. Under Roman rule, it was a sort of civil court that could censor, but not condemn or punish.
In the next lesson, we’ll look at Paul’s message, the result, and then he’s off to Corinth.