Acts 17:10 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, we see Paul and Silas move on to Berea and preach the gospel there (Acts 17:10). They had stayed in Thessalonica long enough for a church to begin, and other believers had risen up to continue the work. The opposition there was now aimed more at Paul and Silas themselves, so when the trouble grew, they left. This was in line with Christ’s command, when people persecute you in one city, flee to another, not mainly to save their own lives, but to keep preaching (Matthew 10:23). In this way, even Satan’s attack was turned into help for the gospel.

We should notice the care the believers showed Paul and Silas when they saw the plot against them. They sent them away by night to Berea, quietly and under cover, as if they were hiding from danger. This did not surprise the new converts, because Paul had already warned them that trouble would come (1 Thessalonians 3:4). Paul and Silas likely would have stayed if the brothers had allowed it, but the believers valued their safety more than the chance to keep the apostles with them.

We should also notice the steady faithfulness of Paul and Silas in their work. Though they fled from Thessalonica, they did not flee from serving Christ. When they came to Berea, they went right into the synagogue of the Jews and made their public appearance there. The Jews in Thessalonica had been hostile, and the Jews in Berea might have been the same, but Paul and Silas still treated them with respect. If others fail to do their duty toward us, we should still do ours toward them.

The Jews in Berea had a better character than those in Thessalonica (Acts 17:11). They were more open-minded and less prejudiced against the gospel. They were easier to teach, more willing to listen, and less angry or bitter toward people who disagreed with them. That kind of openness was truly noble. They did not reject the message before hearing it, and they did not envy the messengers. They gave both the message and the messengers a fair hearing.

The text says they received the word with all readiness of mind. They were eager to hear it, quick to understand it, and unwilling to close their eyes to the light. They listened carefully to what Paul said, and they welcomed it kindly. They did not look for faults or try to trap the preachers. Instead, they gave the message a fair and thoughtful hearing. In this, they were more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica, and they also followed the same spirit shown by the Gentile believers, who received the word with joy from the Holy Spirit and turned to God from idols (1 Thessalonians 1:6-9).

This was the true nobility. The Jews often boasted that they were Abraham’s descendants, as if birth made them honorable. But the most noble among them were those who were ready to receive the gospel and who brought their proud thoughts under Christ’s rule. Such people were the best bred in the truest sense. Virtue and godliness are true honor, and without them, what are family lines and grand titles worth?

They also searched the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Their willingness to hear was not a shallow trust that accepted everything without question. Paul reasoned from the Scriptures and referred them to the Old Testament for proof, so they went back to their Bibles. They checked the passages, read the surrounding words, thought about the main point, compared Scripture with Scripture, and tested whether Paul’s conclusions were sound. They wanted to know whether his argument was right and whether his proof really held.

This shows that Christ’s teaching does not fear careful examination. Those who defend his cause do not ask people to accept it without testing it. We only ask that they not say, “These things are not true,” until they have honestly looked into whether they are true. It also shows that the New Testament should be tested by the Old. The Old Testament had already been received by the Jews, and anyone who understood it rightly would see that the New Testament fits it perfectly, since the New Testament fulfills the prophecies and promises of the Old.

Those who read and receive Scripture must search it, as Jesus said in (John 5:39). They must study it and take pains to understand it, so they may find the truth and avoid error. They should also seek the whole truth, not just a surface understanding. They must not stay in the outer court of Scripture, but come to a close knowledge of the mind of God revealed there. And this searching should be a daily task. Those who heard the word in the synagogue on the Sabbath did not think that was enough. They searched the Scriptures every day, so they could build on what they heard and prepare for what they would hear next.

Those are truly noble, and will grow more so, who make the Scriptures their guide and test. They use them as their oracle and their touchstone, and they keep turning to them for judgment.

Those who truly study the Scriptures and meditate on them day and night have minds filled with noble thoughts. Their principles become steady, and their aims become high and good. The Bereans were more noble because they listened with open minds and searched the Scriptures for themselves.

The gospel had a strong effect in Berea. God had already prepared the people’s hearts, so the work moved quickly (Acts 17:12). Many Jews believed there, whereas at Thessalonica only some had believed (Acts 17:4). When people hear with no prejudice and keep searching the Scriptures, God often gives them grace to make good use of those means.

Many Greeks also believed, meaning Gentiles, people who were not Jews. Among them were many honorable women, women of high standing, and also men of no small number, likely men of rank, since they are mentioned with those women. Often the wives first welcomed the gospel and then persuaded their husbands to follow it. A believing wife may be the means of saving her husband, as Paul says, "For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?" (1 Corinthians 7:16).

But the Jews from Thessalonica, who had caused trouble there, also stirred up trouble in Berea. They learned that God’s word was being preached there, and they came over quickly, driven by envy and jealousy. They could not bear to see the gospel make progress, so they roused the crowds and turned them against the preachers.

This shows how restless Satan’s servants are in opposing Christ and the salvation of souls. It is the same old enmity between the serpent’s children and the woman’s seed. We should not be surprised if those who persecute at home also spread that persecution elsewhere.

This trouble led Paul to leave for Athens. By trying to put out the fire Christ had kindled, they only spread it farther and faster. Paul stayed in Berea long enough to leave behind believers and active helpers, which showed how much the work had grown there. When the brethren learned that the persecuting Jews from Thessalonica were stirring up the people, they acted at once and sent Paul away, hoping this would calm matters.

They kept Silas and Timothy there for the time being, since Paul had already opened the way and they could continue the work without exposing him. Some read that they sent Paul toward the sea, meaning they sent him out by the road that led to the sea so his enemies might think he had gone far away. In fact, he went by land to Athens, and there was no deception in that at all.

Those who escorted Paul acted as his guides and protectors, since he was a stranger and had many enemies. They brought him to Athens, a famous city. Long before, it had been known for power and rule, when Athens and Sparta were rivals. Later it became famous for learning, and scholars gathered there from everywhere.

Paul was sent there so the light of the gospel could spread in that important place. He was not ashamed or afraid to appear among the philosophers and preach Christ crucified, even though he knew the message would seem foolish to the Greeks, just as it was a stumbling block to the Jews. He also told Silas and Timothy to come to him in Athens when he saw a chance to do good there, or because he felt lonely without them.

It seems, though, that in his urgency for their help, he sent Timothy back around Thessalonica to learn how that church was doing. Paul later says, "We thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy to strengthen you" (1 Thessalonians 3:1-2).