Title: Evangelism in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9)
Content Following chapter 16, Paul's second missionary journey to Asia Minor and Europe is recorded.
After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica.
I. Paul preaching in the Thessalonian synagogue (1-4)
1. A sermon in the synagogue in Thessalonica 1) Paul arrives in Thessalonica
Thessalonica became the capital of the second district of Macedonia by the Romans who conquered Macedonia in 167 B.C., and became the capital of the province when Macedonia was reorganized in 142 BC. Because he sided with Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), he was granted the privilege of a free city.
In particular, it was called the heart of our territory by Cicero because it served as a link between the land and sea routes to the east of the abundant agricultural land in the inland. This is because Macedonia is a large city with a population of about 200,000 and was a scenic and economic center. It seems that Paul saw this place as a strategic point to spread the gospel to the Balkans. So, despite suffering in Philippi, they desperately entered Thessalonica, which is more than 16 km away (1 Thessalonians 2:2). This made Thessalonica the second place in Europe where a church was established after Philippi.
2) Paul preaching in the synagogue
Wherever Paul went, he first preached the gospel to the Jews. The Jews were their own fleshly and fleshly relatives and as God's chosen people, they had a very strong sense of choice. If I preached the Messiah to them, I could understand them better than anyone else. So, wherever Paul went, he first visited the Jewish synagogue and preached the gospel to the Jews there. In this way, when we evangelize, we need to start with the people we can most easily come in contact with, that is, we need to expand from family members and relatives to people in neighboring communities.
2. The central content of evangelism - Jesus' resurrection and death
The fact that Jesus died and rose again is the central content of Christian evangelism.
Even if anyone reported all other events of Jesus, if he did not tell us about his death and resurrection, he would not be preaching Christianity. Paul said (1 Corinthians 2:2), "Because I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."
John Stott said that if we remove the cross and resurrection from Christianity, Christianity is destroyed.
3. The great crowd and ladies who are being saved
In Thessalonica, there was a large crowd of devout Greeks and ladies who heard Paul's preaching and received Christ as their Savior. The godly Greeks are those who reject idolatry or immoral life and live a life that fears the one and only God, Jehovah God, who gathers to worship on the Sabbath in the synagogue. Also, a lady refers to the wife of a nobleman of high rank in Thessalonica.
The arrival of Christianity in Thessalonica is a very important event. The Roman highway from the Adriatic to the Middle East was called the Egnatia Road. Therefore, Christianity was able to spread from east to west along this road when a great crowd and ladies received the gospel in Thessalonica. The gospel that Paul preached in a synagogue in Thessalonica can be seen as an opportunity to spread Christianity throughout the world.
II. The period of the Jews (5-9)
1. Jew envy and commotion 1) Gospel power
When the pious Greeks and not a few noble ladies accepted the way of salvation, the Jews were envious. In this way, the gospel has the power to separate. The gospel is what distinguishes those who are of the spirit who will be saved and those who are carnal, which have nothing to do with salvation.
2) The cruelty of religious self-righteousness
At that time, there was usually a market in the heart of the city, where thugs and thugs were lounging around. The Jews took them and made a commotion in the city. Judaists, who boasted that they were zealous for God, mobilized gangs to oppose God's work. This is a good example of how brutally religious self-righteousness can change people.
The truth doesn't need the help of a fool. Therefore, the ideology held by the Jews was not the truth, but merely cruel religious self-righteousness. As such, they were spiritually blind.
As such, when believers become spiritually ignorant and corrupt, they sometimes become stronger than unbelievers and oppose the gospel in many cases (Acts 28:25-27; Hebrews 6:6). Saints must reject any path of spiritual blindness.
2. Those who disturb the world
The charges against Paul and Silas were: First, they disturbed the world by teaching a religion that was not nationally approved in the Roman Empire, and second, they violated Caesar's command and proclaimed another king, Jesus, as king.
In particular, those who disturb the world were generally tolerant of other matters when Rome ruled the colonies, but were strict about treason and treason.
3. Jason who suffered a felony 1) Surprised town mayors
The mayors were astonished by the complaints from the Jews. The town mayor was a name given only to the five local administrative ministers of the autonomous city of Thessalonica. However, they were surprised because they were aware of the decree of Emperor Claudius (A.D41-54), which ordered all Jews to leave Rome due to a feud between Christians and Jews that occurred in Rome in A.D49. It was a big door because I thought that it might have happened again in Thessalonica.
2) Jason, who received the treasure and was released
The contents of the Jews' accusations were subject to caution, but the evidence was insufficient, so the town mayors had no other special means. However, in order to prevent the situation, Jason's life was rewarded and Noah gave it to him. This was a promise and a guarantee that physical property owners would suffer damage if they broke the promises such as that they would never cause a commotion again or that they would leave Paul and Silas from Thessalonica.
3) Paul and Silas sent to Berea
On the day Jason was in trouble, Paul and Silas were sent to Berea. Paul later tried to visit them several times in a letter to the church in Thessalonica, but he said, 'Satan has hindered us' (1 Thessalonians 2:18). This has a lot to do with the promise that Jason received from the town mayors. Since Paul did not visit Thessalonica after that, he kept his promise to the townspeople of Jason and his companions.
<Conclusion>
There are various obstacles and obstacles in the gospel. However, you should not give up the gospel ministry immediately after seeing the obstacles. We must imitate the gospel ministry of Paul and Silas, who do their best in difficult situations of persecution and opposition. We always consider the Lord's work to be possible after all circumstances have been met, but rather, the Lord raises up the work of the gospel stronger in the midst of trials.