In Thessalonica

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

 March 23, 2021

In Thessalonica

As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said.

Acts 17:2-3

Read: Acts 17:1-9 

The first thing I noticed in today’s passage is an affirmation of the observation I made last Friday (March 19). First, Paul is again in conflict with the civil authorities. Secondly, in the first half of Acts, Jesus is hailed as the Messiah, King of the Jews. Today, Jesus is hailed as another king, Lord of the world: “there is another king, one called Jesus.” (v.7) But as we shall continue to see, the other lord of the world, the Roman Emperor, does not take kindly to rivals.

I also noticed the language Luke used in verse 3 describing Paul’s preaching in the synagogue: “explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.” This is very similar to how Luke described Jesus speaking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24.

It seems Paul spent a short amount of time in Thessalonica, but apparently made deep and lasting friendships with the new disciples, as the warmth of his letters, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, attest. Some scholars believe 1 Thessalonians may have been written within a few weeks after Paul left there, and it was certainly written within a year.

My Takeaway: Jesus said, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22) Matthew 10 is Jesus’ words to the twelve disciples as he sent them out in ministry. The spirit of that chapter is certainly evident in Paul’s missionary journeys. My tendency is to avoid conflict. Jesus says when you stand with him conflict is inevitable.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.