Day 1194: As was his custom - Acts 17 vs 1 - 10

1-3 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

5 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. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7- 10 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Acts 17:1-10 English Standard Version

In Philippi, the miracles of a slave girl being freed from demons, and an earthquake opening prison doors, led to people being saved. But we see now in Thessalonica that the usual custom of the apostles was to 'reason from the Scriptures', and 'to persuade men and women' with the truth that Christ is the saviour God has sent. That's what had happened in Philippi with Lydia, whose heart God opened to believe the message. Some time later Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and said: “we thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

It's possible that the 'three Sabbath days' tell of only part of their ministry in Thessalonica, and they may've continued to preach the gospel to many gentiles also. In a later letter to the Thessalonians Paul says that, while he and his co-workers 'had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi', they had 'with God's help, dared to tell His gospel in the face of strong opposition'. And he says: “you surely remember our toil and hardship; how we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” (1 Thessalonians 2:2 & 9) This is the normal pattern for taking God's good news into the world. Yet what is often the result of this ‘normal pattern’ of evangelism? (Verse 6)

People's worlds get turned upside down! Not always in the right way. That was the case of the owners of the slave girl in Philippi who'd previously brought them much gain by fortune-telling. They were going to lose lots of money. But it was certainly true of those in Thessalonica who believed and were saved. Paul wrote of them that “their faith in God had become known everywhere.” People in other cities were talking about how they “turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

Looking back, Christians today would probably say that the gospel turns the world 'the right way up'. We don't just proclaim Jesus as ‘another’ king, but rather that He is the one whom God has given a name above all other names. And we see that wherever the gospel has been well received, people's lives have been remarkably changed for the better. Christians have had a massive impact on cultures that were previously under the power of Satan.

But such is the world's opposition to God's message that Paul and Silas were smuggled away by night and sent to Berea, which was about 45 miles away. It's possible that Jason, who had shown Paul hospitality in Thessalonica, is the same man Paul describes as a 'kinsman' in his letter to Christians in Rome. If so, it shows that converts from the 'normal pattern of evangelism' were still standing firm for Jesus many years later.