“Acts 17: The Second Journey Continues”

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Paul’s second preaching journey continues in Acts 17 as he and his companions travel to Thessalonica, Berea and Athens, establishing new churches in each of these metropolitan areas.

Their first stop in this chapter is Thessalonica, where they spend three weeks teaching about the Christ in the Jewish synagogue. They convert “a great multitude,” mostly Gentiles along with a few Jews. (Wouldn’t it be interested to know exactly how many were baptized into Christ there? We will have to wait until we make it to heaven to ask.)

Thessalonica is the local church that will receive two letters from Paul. They are perhaps the earliest epistles he wrote (Galatians may or may not have been first?). Paul wanted to spend more time with them but could not so he wrote them to try to strengthen them spiritually.

Soon, a group of jealous Jews gather some evil men from the marketplace (“certain lewd fellows of the baser sort,” KJV) and they run Paul out of town. His next stop is Berea.

The Jews at Berea are described as being “more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Again, we are told that “many of them believed,” both Jews and Gentiles alike. Jews from Thessalonica hear about Paul’s success and send more troublemakers to force Paul to leave Berea also. He leaves Silas and Timothy there to help the new disciples and moves on to Athens.

Athens was the center of Greek philosophy, culture and learning. Paul speaks to the Jews in the synagogue and to the Greek philosophers in the Areopagus, also known as Mar’s Hill.  He tells them about “the unknown God” whom they were worshiping in their ignorance. He calls them to repentance and a few are converted.

Nothing further is revealed about the churches in Berea and Athens.

--Roger Hillis

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