After leaving Philippi, Paul went to Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia. There was a synagogue in Thessalonica. He was there preaching the gospel for about 3 weeks. Some people at last accepted the Gospel and repented and entered the faith. Some did not. Verse 5 tells us that the Jews did not accept the Gospel. “The Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.” (5) Then “They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas” (6), but they weren’t able to find Paul and Silas. Therefore, “they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: ‘These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.’” (6, 7) Here there are 3 charges.
1. They have “caused trouble all over the world” (6)
2. They are “saying that there is another king.” (7)
3. “They are all defying Caesar’s decrees” (7)
Christians are in some respects cause trouble all over the world, say that Jesus is another king, and follow something different that this world. In what way do Christians cause trouble all over the world? In what way do they follow another king, Jesus? Today let’s look at this
I. Reasoning from the Bible (vs.1-4)
In 16:10 Luke all at once starts using “We”, but here again Luke returns to “they”. “We” ends in 16:17 so it is thought that Luke remained in Philippi. Possibly Paul got better so Luke was not needed or possibly Luke was needed in Philippi to teach the new Christians. We don’t know the reason, but probably Paul left Luke in Philippi and Paul left and went to Thessalonica on his mission trip.
Thessalonica was about 160 km. Southeast of Philippi. Since it was the capital of Macedonia, it was full of Jews. Paul, as he always does, went to the synagogue and for 3 Sabbaths, he reasoned with the Jews from the Bible. The word “reason” means to arrange, display, or enumerate. In other words, they arranged the teachings of the Bible and displayed them and used that as proof that Jesus was the Savior. This is what evangelism and preaching should do.
After Jesus rose, two disciples were on their way to Emmas and Jesus joined them asking what it was that they were discussing. They answered that they were talking about Jesus of Nazareth that had been crucified and that there were rumors that he had resurrected. Then Jesus explained that all these things were taught in the Old Testament that Jesus must die on the cross and then 3 days later rise again. Then he explained to them all the Old Testament teachings about Christ. Jesus showed them through the Bible that Jesus was the Savior. This is what it means to reason from the Bible.
Let’s look at how Paul reasoned from the Bible. Here Paul is explaining simply from 3 points that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior.
1. According to the Bible the characteristics of the (Messiah) Christ are that he “had to suffer and rise from the dead.” (3)
2. Jesus modeled these characteristics in his death and resurrection.
3. The conclusion is “This Jesus…is the Christ.” (3)
It was a very simple message. This is the nature of argumentation that Paul used when he evangelized the Jews. Japanese have no background in the Old Testament so it may require more explanation, but evangelism in Japan is basically the same. Explain, prove, and then conclude. When we follow these 3 steps, then people will be saved. Verse 4 testifies to this.
Paul’s message was very simple, but even so it reached people’s hearts and some of the Jews believed and followed Paul and Silas. Especially notice that “a large number of God-fearing Greeks” also believed. These were not Jews, but Gentiles that worshipped the God of the Old Testament and came to the Synagogue every Sabbath. When they heard Paul’s message, they were saved and were the first people to start the Thessalonica church. When the cross is preached, there are always people who are saved.
I Cor. 1:18, 21-24
God decided to use the preaching of the Word of God to bring people to salvation.
When we evangelize some times we use wisdom or intelligence, and fervently
debate, trying to persuade the other person. However the important thing is upon what we base our debate. It must not be upon wisdom, intelligence, or zeal. It must be based upon the Bible. That is because “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Cor. 1:18)
If we reason from the Bible, then the Holy Spirit will work, and through the Word will lead that person to salvation.
II. People who have “caused trouble all over the world” (vs. 5,6)
When the Jews brought Jason and some of the other brothers before the city officials, they shouted that these men “have caused trouble all over the world.” (6) The literal meaning is “they upset everything under the heavens.” In other words, “they turned the world upside down.” This is an over exaggeration, but Christians in all ages are turning the world upside down. The dynamite of the Gospel changes families and societies and causes revolutions. It is actually strange for the Gospel to be preached and for no change to take place.
When we believe in Christ we are able to experience a peace that we had never experienced before. That is the deep peace of God we receive as a result of our sins being save. It is the peace of having Jesus living in our hearts. Not only do we experience this peace in our lives, but it has the power to turn our families, county and the world upside down. By believing in Christ a revolution takes place in our lives. It’s a revolution of love. Let’s take the Gospel of Jesus who causes revolutions and preach it everywhere. Just as they were called, people who have “caused trouble all over the world”, may we live up to the same title.
III. Jesus is another king (vs.7-9)
Another reason that the Jews gave for bringing Jason and some other brothers to the city officials is given in verse 7. They are “saying that there is another king.” (7)
Yes, Christians have another king and we are the citizens of his kingdom so we want to follow his leadership and obey Him. We want to obey him because he is the ultimate authority. He is what we base our life and action upon. However, Jesus is not in this world so he has given us people in authority over us and so we are to follow them.
I Peter 2:13-15
These authorities are ordained by God “to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” (I Peter 2:14) It is the will of God what we follow these authorities. The problem is when these worldly authorities request us to do something that goes against what God would want. In that case we must say like it is written in this passage, “There is another king, one called Jesus,” (7) and stand up for what we believe.
Before we saw in Acts that one day when Peter and John were going to the temple for prayer at 3:00 pm, there was a lame man begging. They healed the man who became so excited that he leaped up and danced praising God. He went with Peter and John into the temple. Therefore, when Peter preached many people believed in Christ. The Jewish leaders didn’t know what to do so they arrested Peter and John. They asked Peter and John by what authority and by whose name they had healed the man. Then they boldly proclaimed that it was by the authority and name of Jesus Christ and there was no other name by which man can be saved. The Jewish leaders were left wordless, but they didn’t want the Christian faith spreading so they said to Peter and John that they were not to speak in the name of Jesus Christ. Peter and John’s answer is recorded in Acts 4:19, 20
This principle applies to present day Christians too. Usually we must follow the authorities. However, if they require that we go against our King, Jesus Christ then we need to choose to follow the other king, Jesus Christ. This is because all authorities are ordained by God. If however, an authority requires us to do something that goes against God it means that the authority has overstepped the authority that God has given him and is making himself god. In that case the Christian must decide that the authority is under the power of Satan and choose to follow Christ.
This is a clear principle, but the way we put it into practice is very difficult. In present day Japan it’s difficult to know how far we should obey the people above us. Therefore, one more thing we need to think about is why Christians would go that far to follow the other king, Jesus Christ.
The answer is clear. That is because Jesus is our Savior. His name is the only name by which we can be saved. As we saw earlier, according to the Bible the characteristics of the (Messiah) Christ are that he “had to suffer and rise from the dead.” (3) In our long human history no one except Jesus has done this. Jesus suffered and died. However that suffering was for us. He died on the cross in exchange for our sin. He also rose for us. That is why He is another King.
Is there any other king that has suffered for us? Is there another government that showed its love by suffering and being shamed to the point of death? What cabinet died on the cross for us? There isn’t anyone. Only Jesus Christ died on the cross and 3 days later rose. Therefore, we want to give our final vote to Jesus Christ.
In Japan’s history there were many Christians who were martyred. The reason they refused to follow any other god and they gladly gave their life was because they knew the love of Christ. They knew that Jesus had died for their sins and then rose again. When we know the love and grace of God then we can choose to die for this King
Romans 5:6-8
When we are touched by the love of Christ on the cross, then we are able to sacrifice our lives. Please open your hearts up to him. May the love of Christ fill your hearts. Then no matter what we will be able to follow the other king, Jesus Christ.