Bible In A Year | Read: Acts 17
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. Acts 17:10-12
Overview of Chapter
Paul and Silas go to Thessalonica, which has a larger Jewish population. As usual, most of the Jews reject the message of Jesus and stir up trouble. That causes Paul and Silas to move on to Beria. The Jews in Beria do not rely on their traditions, but instead study the Old Testament for themselves to see if what Paul is telling them is true. Therefore, they are more open to the message of Jesus. Paul moves on to Athens, which is full of idols to false gods and secular philosophers. Luke points out that when preaching to people like this, Paul no longer relies on quoting the Old Testament, but rather quotes from poets they would hold in high regard. He also uses symbols from their culture to convince them to consider Jesus.
We see a couple of important examples in this chapter. The Bereans studied the Bible for themselves to determine the truth. Without a knowledge of what the Bible says, we can easily be misled by those who try to convince us to follow ideas the Bible does not teach. The fact that you are participating in this reading plan shows you want to read it for yourself. We also see that Paul attempts to build bridges between the message of Jesus and the people to whom he is preaching. We can’t just tell people what God says without finding ways to help them understand and embrace it.
Action Steps
Bible: What is God showing me? What am I going to do about it?
Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.
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