Divisions or Decisions 

Acts 17:1-12 

In this 17^th chapter of Acts, we saw two different reactions to the message of the good news about Jesus Christ. There was rejection, and there was acceptance. The people reacted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in different ways. And as we look at these different reactions, we will see ourselves, our weaknesses and shortcomings, but we can also see how our God overcomes our weaknesses and blesses us with a strong and amazing faith. 

 

The Apostle Paul and his traveling partner, Silas, were traveling through present-day Greece. They were on a mission trip to share the good news about Jesus Christ with the people. They came to the city of Thessalonica, which was a big important city in Greece. Paul brought his message to the Jews first so went to the synagogue. Paul started with the Old Testament because the Jews were familiar with the Old Testament. Paul showed them how Jesus was the Messiah they had been looking for. They welcomed Paul and Silas, and allowed them to speak for three consecutive Saturdays. 

The Jewish people knew that a Messiah was coming. But they had always pictured The Messiah differently – Their Messiah was not someone who would suffer and die, but Their Messiah was someone who would live and be successful. Their Messiah was supposed to get rid of the Romans, and reestablish the Jewish nation, and make all the Jews happy. To hear that the Messiah was supposed to suffer and die, and then rise from the dead was very different.  

Paul spent three Saturdays showing them all the prophecies about the Messiah, and how the Messiah really was supposed to suffer and die and then to rise from the dead. Then Paul told them about Jesus Christ, and how Jesus had fulfilled all those prophecies. 

Verses 2 and 3 tell us: “He reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead”. Paul made it crystal clear that the Jesus he proclaimed was The Christ.  

“….reasoned, explained, and demonstrated..” The Greek word translated “reasoned” is the root of our English word “dialogue.” There was an exchange of ideas, questions and answers.

Secondly, “explaining” This word literally means “opening.” Paul opened the scriptures for them.

Third, he gave evidence from the Old Testament to prove that Christ had to suffer. ” The apostle Paul proved to them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah described in the Old Testament.

Now lets look at the reactions of the people in Thessalonica. Verse 4 tells us that some of the Jews there believed, along with a large number of Greek men and women who had also been listening.  

But some of them did not believe the good news about Jesus. We’re told that some of the Jews became jealous. They became jealous of Paul’s authoritative teaching and jealous of Paul’s leadership. The Messiah Paul spoke of did not fit their idea of a Messiah. They did not like someone telling them that their people made a mistake rejecting and killing their Messiah.  

So they went to the marketplace and found some thugs, to stir up the people and caused a riot. Then they went to Jason’s house where Paul and Silas had been staying. When they could not find the Apostles, they grabbed Jason and took him to the leaders of the city. They made all kinds of accusations about treason. The city fathers made Jason post bond and then let Jason go.

There were Decisions and Divisions  

Many of the people of Thessalonica did not believe the message that Paul was sharing with them because it was not politically correct. It was counter cultural.  

Paul preached that Jesus was the only way to get to Heaven.  

Paul’s teaching was contrary to their practices and beliefs. Their minds were closed. Those are some of the same reason people reject the message of Jesus Christ today. 

 

Many people today do not like the idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven. They don’t like being told that they are sinful and they need a Savior. They don’t like being told that there is a place called hell. They want to believe the way they want to believe. Many people choose to believe that if you are a good person, you do the best you can, then everything will be all right, and in the end, everyone will go to heaven.  

 

Our culture today would like us to believe that we should be tolerant of other peoples’ beliefs. Our society tells us that claiming Jesus to be the only way is arrogant. However, Christianity is not the only religious that claims exclusivity… 

 

The Muslim, must believe in the Koran and know its Arabic language. 

The Buddhist, must reject Hindu scriptures and the caste system. 

The Hindu, must believe in the authority of their scriptures (Vedas), and in reincarnation. 

The Jew rejects Jesus Christ as their Messiah.

Truth is in the eye of the person claiming the truth… Jesus not only taught truth … He is The Truth! Jesus not only claimed to be The Truth … He proved it by the miracles He performed and rising from the dead!  

 

“If truth does not exclude, then no assertion of a truth claim is being made;…. Without exclusion it is just an opinion that is being stated…” 

Now if . we are Christians we should believe what our leader, our Lord, and our Master said. In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus says, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Now that verse is certainly not the only verse in the Bible that says that Jesus is The Only Way I encourage you to jot down several other verses and to check them this afternoon: I will give you six to write down: Acts 4:12; John 3:16 – 21; John 3:35& 36; John 10: 7 – 10; 1^st Timothy 2: 5 – 6; 1^st John 5:12.  

However, the real confirmation comes when we step back and look at the context of the entire Bible. The Bible is God’s story; the story of God’s love for mankind.  

God created man in His own image. God created us as spiritual beings temporarily housed in a physical body. God created us with an eternal soul so we could live with Him throughout eternity.  

God also created mankind with the freedom to choose; the freedom to choose Him or to reject Him. God knew that man would disobey Him so God’s eternal plan to restore and save mankind is revealed to us in the first part of the Book of Genesis.  

The whole Bible reveals God’s plan God’s one and only Son Jesus Christ came to show us the way to the Father, Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sins, Jesus came to give us life. Jesus came to do what no human could do for themselves!  

Jesus The Christ is the main character in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. Jesus came to earth to seek and to save the lost! 

Jesus came into this world to share the truth and He commanded us to carry on His work. Jesus did not come to condemn people and neither should we. I submit to you that it is not arrogance to share the truth about Jesus Christ - It is love. 

If we truly believe in Jesus then we will share His love, His peace, His forgiveness, His joy with the people around us! People are searching for purpose and fulfillment. People need The Lord. The message of Jesus Christ is not arrogance- It is love. 

The thing that sets Christianity apart from all of the other religions of the world is that we worship The One who rose from the dead; We worship a Living Lord. Let me propose a question to you… Suppose you were lost in the woods and were desperately trying to get home. When you came to a fork in the road you saw a dead man lying there and a living man standing there. Which one of these two men do you think could give you the best directions in order for you to find your way home? The dead man or the living man?  

There were decisions and decisions for Christ in Thessalonica.  

In verse 10 we read “Then as soon as it was night the brethren sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived in Berea, they went into the Jewish synagogue. 

Berea was about 50 miles away. The people in Berea heard the same message, but look at what they did: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”  

Verse 12 tells us that many of the Bereans believed. Two things to note about the Bereans … First, they were excited about the message they had heard. And secondly, they checked the scriptures, to see if what Paul had said was true. The Bereans did what every pastor prays for; the people to be excited about The Word and to check out their Bibles to make sure what they hear is The Truth!  

The Good news of The Gospel that Paul shared with the people of Thessalonica and Berea was that Jesus Christ is The Messiah or Savior. Jesus voluntarily died on the cross for you and me. Jesus knew that we were deserving of God’s punishment. But Jesus does not want anyone to go to hell. Jesus wants everybody to heaven.  

So Jesus came to down to this earth to show us the way to The Father and to pay the price for our sins. That is His free gift to us but we must accept God’s free gift by believing in who Jesus is and what Jesus did for us.  

Where ever the Good News of Jesus Christ is proclaimed there will be Decisions for Christ and there will be Divisions 

My prayer is that the members of Mt Paran will be like those Bereans. That each time you hear the Word of God, it will be with great eagerness and secondly that during the following week you will spend time in your Bibles confirming everything that you’ve heard on Sunday morning.