Trouble Follows Paul, the Greatest Fully-Human Evangelist
Here’s a thought that hit me as I read
this opening account in Acts 17 regarding Thessalonica. Paul gets himself thrown out of many towns
pretty quickly, doesn’t he? Paul gets thrown
out of so many towns because he speaks the truth and people don’t like to hear
the truth.
But notice something. In most cases of where Paul gets tossed from
a city – the story of Ephesus coming up in a few chapters being the only
exception I can think of – it isn’t the Gentiles who get rid of Paul. Sure, the magistrates are often the heavy arm
of the law responsible for enforcing Paul’s eviction. But the root problem that gets the
magistrates involved in the first place is the traditional Jews!
Before I start get accused of being
anti-Semitic, let me explain what I mean there.
Paul was going into synagogues and explaining the truth – of course, the
truth about Jesus Christ – to them. They
didn’t like what they were hearing because it meant they were wrong about some
things and would have to change if they were to follow Paul’s teachings. These synagogue leaders likely felt
threatened. They probably felt a loss of
control. So they try to remove Paul.
It isn’t their Jewish nature that makes
them try to get rid of Paul. After all,
Jesus was Himself a Jew! It is their
human love for tradition, their need to be right, and their need to be in
control. It is their humanity that gets
them into trouble; the trouble just happens to revolve around their human
interaction with their Jewish tradition.
Modern Applicaiton
What I am about to say is a little bit
in jest, so don’t take me completely seriously.
But do take me a little seriously, because there is truth in it:
Let’s take this out of the realm of
Paul in the ancient world and put it in the context of me (or you) in the
modern world. I wonder. How many cities have I gotten myself thrown
out of in a matter of Sundays (as we see in Thessalonica)? None.
How many cities have I been thrown out of in a matter of months? None.
In a year or less? None. In several years?
Are the cities in which I’m serving all
perfect? No, every city and every person
within them – myself included – needs work.
So does that mean that I am not being thrown out because I’m more
interested in keeping the peace and keeping my livelihood than I am about
actually effecting change? Am I allowed
to continue to stay where I am because I’m actually more interested in seeking
peace than I am interested in seeking spiritual change?
Ouch.
That hurts me a little bit today.
I’m not saying the goal of every pastor is to get tossed from their city
like Paul seems to be able to do fairly frequently in Acts. I am saying that challenging people by
proclaiming the truth should be our number one priority. So far, Paul has gotten booted everywhere he
went because he fervently proclaimed his faith.
Thessalonica is no different.
Paul’s track record is far worse than the typical Christian – even the
typical modern pastor.
Berea
Then we get to Berea. Berea is probably Paul’s biggest success
story – although since we have the letter to the Philippians we often feel we
know more about them and consider them Paul’s most successful church. But look what happens in Berea. Most of the community receives Paul and his
teaching. But success isn’t defined by
reception. Let’s look deeper.
Look at why they receive Paul. They
receive Paul because they are willing to look at scripture. They are willing to examine God’s Word and
let God’s Word rule over traditional Jewish thought/practice. Luke even goes so far as to add that Greek
women were brought into the community. Now
there’s something worth noting in an ancient Jewish synagogue!
They examined the word daily, not just every
Sabbath. Berea is a success because the
people there are rooted in God’s Word and not the practices of mankind. Oh, what God could accomplish if we would
just humble ourselves to His Word and let go of our human desire to be in
control. What God could accomplish in us
if we just devoted ourselves to the Study of His Word and allowing His Word to
transform us!
Trouble in Berea
But even in Berea there is
trouble. Jews from Thessalonica come to
cause trouble. People from another city
feel it necessary to come and chase Paul away.
That’s a testimony as to how good Paul was at proclaiming the truth
right there!
Athens
At last we come to Athens. Notice here that there is but little mention
of Jews. The Athenians were a people
that were intellectual and academic – and while they allowed Judaism in their
midst – they actually promoted a “religious tolerance” attitude in the faiths
of their city.
Even the Jews in Athens were tolerant,
tolerant enough that when Paul goes among them they don’t seem to care. Most don’t follow Paul, few if any even rise
up a banner of warning. Isn’t it
interesting that tolerance appears to be the stepping stone of laissez-faire
faith? {Please don’t think I am saying we need to be violent in our
faith. Never! But we should be firm in our faith and be
ready at a moment’s notice to verbally defend it rather than assume a posture
of “truth can be found everywhere so we should accept all positions.”}
But look at what happens in
Athens. The people drag him to the
Areopagus not to judge him but to listen to him and decide if he is to be
allowed to continue to teach. Some
mocked him, but some wanted to hear more.
Some wanted to hear more even to the point of becoming a disciple.
Here in Athens, Paul isn’t forced out
of the city. Yet, neither is Athens
remembered as a triumphant success as are Berea and Philippi, both places where
Paul did get the boot. The Athenian
tolerance and love for academic understanding made them shallow and accepting
of everyone. And it prevented Athens
from becoming a great place of faith.
But it did not prevent it from becoming a place of faith.
I think I’ll leave it at that.
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