17:2 Then Paul, as his
custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the
Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and
rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the
Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout
Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
Some were persuaded. Some from the synagogue were persuaded.
Are you following what actually happened? Are you thinking about the
implications of what happened? Are you applying those implications to yourself,
to our time, to our "synagogues"?
Synagogues then were places where Jews gathered to worship
God. In our Christian culture we would call them churches. Jews still call
their places of worship synagogues. In actuality synagogues are slightly
different than churches in the sense that they were and are multipurpose
facilities where worship took place on Sabbath and during the rest of the week
it was everything from a community center to a school to an assembly hall. It
was the literal hub of Jewish community life.
Paul went into the hub of Jewish community life. There was a
provision in Jewish worship services for visitors to speak. Paul used that
provision to talk to them about the Christ, about the Anointed One they have
been awaiting for centuries, even millenia. He was not talking to the skeptics
society or a gathering of atheists. He was not preaching on the streets to a
random crowd. He was in a Jewish house of worship talking to them about their
long awaited Messiah from their own sacred writings. It was a captive audience
who in theory were already converted yet only some were persuaded.
Why? Thessalonica is far removed from the politics of
Jerusalem. There was no real power base here. No turf to war over really. Why
didn't they all believe him? The evidence of a Messiah that dies to save His
people is overwhelming. From the very beginning of Genesis we find an animal
being symbolically offered to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. When Cain tries a
different offering it is rejected. The entire Jewish temple system is built
around the death of an animal as a substitute for us. Isaiah wrote extensively
about the One who would come and suffer and die in our place. The prophet
Daniel pinpointed the timing of this monumental event when Messiah would come.
When wise men from the east came to Herod at that specific time looking for
"the One" Herod summoned the Jewish scribes. They in turn opened the
scrolls and told Herod where He would be - Bethlehem. Later on John the
Baptist, a respected prophet announced Him with these words "Behold the
Lamb (sacrificial lamb) that takes away the sin of the whole world!"
For three weeks Paul reviewed the evidence from Genesis to
Malachi. For three weeks he compared the prophecies to their fulfillment in the
life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The audience were already
believers before he began yet only some were persuaded.
Why?
This is Thessalonica. A region dominated by secular Gentiles.
These proud Jews, the children of Abraham were second class citizens here. For
centuries they have been taught a very different story. They have been taught
about a world conquering Messiah who will elevate the Jews to their
"proper" place. A time when the tail will become the head. Money and
power will be theirs again. The golden era of Solomon will be revived. No
longer would they be an inferior minority sect in a world hostile to their
faith and culture.
Simply put the truth was not as appealing as the fairy tale.
Application? Why am I a believer? Why do I frequent the
"synagogues"? If truth came to me in a deeper, fuller, paradigm
shifting way would I be among the persuaded ones? Religion is about rewards and
even dominance. Truth is about dealing with the sinful heart of man. Religion
is about superficial externals while truth puts me in front of my own mirror.
Religion strikes down others while truth strikes my heart. Jesus didn't come to
oppress or conquer any nation or group. Jesus came to conquer the stone in my
body where a heart was meant to be. It's not as glamorous as a world beater but
what good would a kingdom do me with the heart I have?
If Truth came to you, would you be persuaded?
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