Atos 17

Atos 17

Meyer - Our Daily Homily - It behoved the Christ to suffer. (R.V.) This is what our Lord was constantly insisting upon during the closing days of his earthly ministry. “Behoved it not,” He asked, “the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?” The Jewish nation rejected Him because his conception of Messianic power was so foreign to theirs; but in doing so, doomed themselves to rejection from the purposes of God, at least during the present dispensation. It behoved Him, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest. How could He have sympathised with the anguish of human hearts, if He had not drunk deeply of the cup of sorrow? How could He have led his flock through the thorny brake, if he had not gone to and fro with his bare feet? In that He bath suffered, He is able to succor. It behoved Him, that He might be the sacrifice for sin. The conscience demands that forgiveness should be consistent with righteousness. It was necessary, therefore, if Jesus was to bring us forgiveness, that He should be prepared to make reparation and atonement for sin. He must shed his blood, that He may cleanse his people from their sins: He must be willing to be their scapegoat; He must offer Himself without spot to God, that He may cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God. It behoved Him, that He might reign for evermore. It is a fundamental principle in God’s universe, that suffering, humbly and resignedly borne, leads to royalty and reigning. He who can stoop most profoundly can rise to reign most gloriously. As is the descent, so is the ascent. In proportion to the submission to take the form of a servant is the exaltation to the right hand of power. Acts 17:4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. NLT Acts 17:4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. Some Acts 17:34; 2:41,42,44; 4:23; 5:12-14; 14:1,4; 28:24; Pr 9:6; 13:20; Song 1:7,8; 6:1; Zech 2:11; 8:20-23; 2 Cor 6:17,18 Joined - 2 Corinthians 8:5 Silas Acts 15:22,27,32,40 God fearing - Acts 17:17; Acts 13:43; 16:3; 18:4; 19:10; 21:28 Leading women - Acts 17:12; 13:50 Acts 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Acts 17:1-3, 10-11 Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 1- John MacArthur Acts 17:4-9, 12-15 Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 2 - John MacArthur THE FRUIT OF PAUL'S PREACHING THE GOSPEL Some of them - Jews and God-fearing Greeks (Gentiles). Paul's mention of the Gentile conversions in 1 Th 1:9 substantiates that most of the converts in Thessalonica were Gentiles. Jack Arnold - It says, “some” were persuaded, not all. The majority of Jews stayed in their unbelief, for religious people are the hardest to reach for Christ. This is also true even today. The minority believe in Christ, the majority will not. (Acts 17: 1-15 Ideal Evangelism) Were persuaded (3982)(peitho) means literally to persuade or induce by words to believe (Acts 19:26, Mt 27:20, Ro 14:14). In short, some believed. The preacher is not responsible for the fruit, only for the sowing of the seed of the Word. Are you sowing the pure Word? If not why do you wonder why you see no conversions, no transformed marriages, no personal revivals, no new baptisms? They were persuaded particularly by kind words (Ro 2:4-note) or motives. Some were persuaded to receive a belief--They were convinced, ultimately the job of the Holy Spirit (1Pe 1:2-note; 2Th 2:13, John 16:7-11) Peitho in Acts - Acts 5:36; Acts 5:37; Acts 5:40; Acts 12:20; Acts 13:43; Acts 14:19; Acts 17:4; Acts 18:4; Acts 19:8; Acts 19:26; Acts 21:14; Acts 23:21; Acts 26:26; Acts 26:28; Acts 27:11; Acts 28:23; Acts 28:24; Now don't forget, while Paul did his part to present the evidence that Jesus was the Messiah, he did so in reliance of the power of the Holy Spirit and so too must we when we present the Gospel. It is not our persuasive arguments that will win anyone to Christ, but God's powerful Spirit and powerful Word! We are simply players in His grand plan of redemption and have a once in a lifetime privilege to share the Gospel with men and women who otherwise will spend eternity in torment away from the presence of the Lord! We must have a sense of urgency about eternity, something I fear the church in America as sadly lost! As Paul affirms "my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." (1 Cor 2:4) God-fearing Greeks - "These “God-fearers” among the Gentiles were less under the control of the jealous rabbis and so responded more readily to Paul‘s appeal. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9 Paul expressly says that they had “turned to God from idols,” proof that this church was mainly Gentile (cf. also 1 Thessalonians 2:14)." (Robertson) God-fearing (devout)(present tense = continually) (4576)(sebomai) were God-fearers, worshipers of God, unconverted Gentiles who were attracted to the legacy of Israel, accepting Judaism's belief in one God, attending Synagogu, but did not become full blown proselytes and thus did not assume all the obligations of the Jewish law such as male circumcision (Acts 16:14; 18:7; cf. Acts 13:43, 50; 17:4, 17). Joined (proskleroo) is used only here and means to give or assign by lot, such as one's destiny. They attached themselves to or ''threw in their lot'' with Paul and Silas -- they "won the lottery" so to speak! Eternal life in Christ! Along with a large number - Literally "not a few" so is translated as "quite a few" which is the actual meaning of the expression in the context. Clearly the Gospel message crossed class lines from low to high in society. And it still does. It is a myth that the Gospel is only for the poor and uneducated. It is for those who have hearts to hear and heed the Word of the Cross (1 Cor 1:18)! Jack Arnold on large number of leading women - The gospel had a real appeal to women, especially women of the upper classes who were prominent citizens in the Greek cities. There is a reason for this magnetic appeal Christ had to women. These were educated women who knew the Greek philosophies and had been in the religious cults. They knew that these man-made philosophies were empty, vain and dead, offering nothing for the inward spirit. These philosophies and mystery cults were totally humanistic, full of voluptuous and degrading sexual practices which left these women devastated and filled with self-loathing. They were disgusted with free sex and they turned to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, who, in turn, gave them a sense of self-worth and value as human beings. Paul was the ideal evangelist because he knew how to reach people where they were and to bring them to the Living Christ for new life. (Acts 17: 1-15 Ideal Evangelism) Vincent on leading woman - The position of women in Macedonia seems to have been exceptional. Popular prejudice, and the verdict of Grecian wisdom in its best age, asserted her natural inferiority. The Athenian law provided that everything which a man might do by the counsel or request of a woman should be null in law. She was little better than a slave. To educate her was to advertise her as a harlot. Her companions were principally children and slaves. In Macedonia, however, monuments were erected to women by public bodies; and records of male proper names are found, in Macedonian inscriptions, formed on the mother's name instead of on the father's. Macedonian women were permitted to hold property, and were treated as mistresses of the house. These facts are borne out by the account of Paul's labors in Macedonia. In Thessalonica, Beroea (Beroea is the Latinized form of Berea and is used in ancient texts), and Philippi we note additions of women of rank to the church; and their prominence in church affairs is indicated by Paul's special appeal to two ladies in the church at Philippi to reconcile their differences, which had caused disturbance in the church, and by his commending them to his colleagues as women who had labored with him in the Lord (Philemon 4:2, Philemon 4:3).(Acts 17 - Vincent's Word Studies) Robertson on leading women - Literally, “And of women the first not a few.” That is, a large number of women of the very first rank in the city, probably devout women also like the men just before and like those in Acts 13:50 in Antioch in Pisidia who along with “the first men of the city” were stirred up against Paul. Here these women were openly friendly to Paul‘s message, whether proselytes or Gentiles or Jewish wives of Gentiles as Hort holds. It is noteworthy that here, as in Philippi, leading women take a bold stand for Christ. In Macedonia women had more freedom than elsewhere. It is not to be inferred that all those converted belonged to the higher classes, for the industrial element was clearly large (1 Thessalonians 4:11). In 2 Corinthians 8:2 Paul speaks of the deep poverty of the Macedonian churches, but with Philippi mainly in mind. Ramsay thinks that Paul won many of the heathen not affiliated at all with the synagogue. Certain it is that we must allow a considerable interval of time between Acts 17:4, Acts 17:5 to understand what Paul says in his Thessalonian Epistles. (Acts 17 - Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament) As an aside when Paul was in Thessalonica, he received financial support from the Christians in Philippi. They helped with this successful work among the Thessalonians. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.(Philippians 4:15-16+) Acts 17:5 But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. KJV - But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. Becoming jealous - Acts 17:13; 7:9; 13:45; 14:2,19; 18:12; Proverbs 14:30; Isaiah 26:11; Matthew 27:18; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 5:21,26; James 4:5 Taking along- Judges 9:4; Job 30:1-10; Psalms 35:15; 69:12 Set the city - Acts 19:24-34,40 Jason - Acts 17:7; Romans 16:21 William Ramsay The Riot at Thessalonica Acts 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Acts 17:1-3, 10-11 Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 1- John MacArthur Acts 17:4-9, 12-15 Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 2 - John MacArthur CSB But the Jews became jealous, and when they had brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace and formed a mob, they set the city in an uproar. Attacking Jason's house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. ESV 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. KJV But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. NET But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason's house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. NIV But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. NLT But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. YLT And the unbelieving Jews, having been moved with envy, and having taken to them of the loungers certain evil men, and having made a crowd, were setting the city in an uproar; having assailed also the house of Jason, they were seeking them to bring them to the populace, RESISTANCE TO THE GOSPEL SPIRITUAL JEALOUSLY But - Always pause and ponder this term of contrast, asking how is the writer "changing direction." In this case we see some Jews accepted the Gospel of Jesus which Paul proclaimed but others became jealous and rejected the Gospel and the Gospel proclaimer! The Jews felt strong envy and resentment against Paul and his message. As happened in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:45, 50), Iconium (Acts 14:2, 5), and Lystra (Acts 14:19) on the first missionary journey, here Paul is again opposed by a mob incited by jealous Jews. Note that the KJV (based on the Textus Receptus) adds the phrase "But the Jews which believed not (apeitheo)". While this is undoubtedly true, this phrase is not found in the modern transcripts so most modern translations lack this phrase. Jack Andrews observes these antagonistic Jews "were moved in a wrong way in the wrong direction. Whenever we are overcome with envy and jealousy we are always going in a bad direction." G Campbell