After Paul and Silas leave Philippi, they head to Thessalonica and then Berea. Luke contrasts the Jewish populations in these two cities by how they respond to the authority of the Scriptures. As Paul, the faithful witness opens the Hebrew Scriptures and proves that all the Bible points to Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Thessalonians rebel against what God’s word says. Though they were members of the synagogue, studied the scriptures every sabbath, and no doubt believed in the authority of the scriptures, they would not submit themselves to the message and command of those scriptures. They incite a mob to hunt the missionaries down and attack any who are associated with them. They hate the true message of God’s word so much that they chase Paul and Silas to Berea and stir up a mob against them there also.
But on the opposite end of the spectrum, we are shown the Jews in Berea. Luke says that they were more noble than the Thessalonican Jews, even though they were not believers in Christ until Paul evangelized them. They were more noble because they loved the word of God and were eager to receive it. And yet, they were also not gullible. They didn’t just take Paul’s word. They examined the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was telling them was true. They studied the scriptures themselves because they were eager for the word of God, not necessarily the word of Paul. And when they found that Paul’s message was proven in God’s word, they submitted themselves to the word of God and believed the gospel.
Several applications stand out in this text which we will flesh out on Sunday. Especially as Christians, we should have an eager hunger for God’s word. It indeed is the food of our souls for we don’t live by bread alone. If we are not hungry for God’s word, something is wrong. But we must also examine it for ourselves and place no authority above it. Anyone can twist a single verse or a section and invest their own meaning into it and teach something that doesn’t come from the meaning of the text. Every word uttered from the pulpit of First Baptist Church Mulvane should be tested, examined, and scrutinized by God’s word. And when the message of God’s word is clear from the text itself, then like the Bereans, we must submit to its authority and live according to its truth.
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