Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Acts of the Apostles 17:1 ESV
Luke summarizes an 80-90 mile [~130 km] journey from Philippi by these apostles of Christ in a single verse.
~ A.D. 50 – Philippi to Thessalonica (by land)
- Silas and Paulos, who are Roman citizens, as these apostles of the Messiah have just reminded Roman magistrates in Philippi;
- with Timotheus, a Greek Jew and fellow follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Once again in the city of their second stop in Europe the context of culture comes into play.
Whereas Philippi (which they have just left after unjust imprisonment and a freeing sign from God) was a ROMAN city on Macedonian soil, Thessalonica is more Greek (in a sense) and has a Jewish place of worship.
ACTS 17 of the apostles Paul and Silas
So as in Cypress on Paul's first missionary journey and in most of the large cities of both missions to Asia, Thessalonica has a synagogue where Jews may gather, exchange thoughts and worship God.
2 And Paul went in, as was his custom..
Again Paul, Silas and Timothy would have listened to the prescribed Scriptures of the day and then would have discussed their relevance to the Gospel of the Messiah Yeshua. AND once again on the next Sabbath Saulos, Silas and Timotheus would have repeated this customary worship routine of the Sabbath at the synagogue in Thessalonica.
No doubt many of the Thessalonians became convinced by these three apostles during these three weeks that Jesus IS risen from the grave and that many Jews have witnessed this Good News of His resurrection.
(And then, they might confidently add, we have witnessed the many such signs including those last month in Philippi.)
.. and on three Sabbath days he [Paul] reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,
“This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
ACTS 17:3b
– Did Saulos of Tarsus PREACH IT IN HEBREW to the JEWS?
Did Paulos PROCLAIM IT from the Greek Septuagint?
- For that would be how Jewish Thessalonians knew their Scripture of the Old Testament better than you and I
- Faithful Jews took the Old Covenant of God’s written word to heart.
Were these Jews converted to their own Messiah by Paul’s reasoning with them perhaps daily for three weeks?
This Christ whom I Preach
.. he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Acts 17:2b-3 ESV
4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
When the gentile Physician Luke records in his second account that, 'many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women' joined Paul and Silas, he refers not to Jews but to local Hellenist gentiles of Thessalonica - local Greeks.
Saul of Tarsus, first a Jew, also a Roman, goes to the Jews first AND when they refuse to listen to reason from their own Scripture about the Messiah of Israel, Savior of sinners in all the world, these Apostles and disciples of Yeshua PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED in their own HOME Churches, the public squares and to any of the places a humble created people of any origin gather to seek our Lord and only Savior.
5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
Why would they attack 'the house of Jason' (who is first mentioned here)? Jason is a Jew who certainly also worshipped in the Thessalonian synagogue and who apparently hosted these three travelers as had Lydia hosted them in Philippi. Some commentators suggest that Jason may be related to Paul. Like back in Philippi, or contemporarily like those crashing the doors of the US Capitol, this lynch mob (so to speak) wants to rule over the city and throw their opponents out of town.
6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting,
“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
Another King, Jesus
“KING Jesus in v. 7 is just an accusation
Worldly god claimants would use the same title for JESUS as Pontius Pilate when the GOVERNOR asks his accused prisonor:
Are you a king?
Paul, Silas, Timothy and Christian disciples of the Lord Jesus addressed the Risen Messiah as Christ or Lord!
In fact, “Caesar is lord” and “Jesus, king of the Jews“ (like Herod was) were ROMAN labels. Except here, as false accusations these are not in any way legitimate Jewish labels OR acknowledgement of a Roman emperor.
Caesar is Lord evoked emotional reaction to SOME Jews, but others compromised their faith to acknowledge that any MAN other than the LORD God Almighty could be THEIR Lord.
Thessalonica
Θεσσαλονίκη
Thessalonica founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, who named it after his wife Thessalonike, daughter of Philip II of Macedon and sister of Alexander the Great.
An important metropolis by the Roman period
The same claim that offends the Jews, JESUS IS LORD, also offends those who worship MANY gods out of our own selfish motives to worship only our SELF by choosing which gods to which we will bow down. INCLUDING:
ROMANS, who worship Caesar as a god and Greeks, who in addition to celebrating many gods worship their own philosophies of self-deduced knowledge.
SOON we will travel to Corinth where Paul will later write to the church:
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
~ A.D. 55 – from the first letter of Paul to the Church at Corinth – Corinthians 1:22-24 ESV
Time to move on from Thessalonica
- “These men have turned the world upside down
- Jason has received them
- they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar
- saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.
9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea..
ACTS of the apostles Paul, Silas and Timothy — To Be Continued…
