Acts 17:10-15 meaning

Paul, Timothy, and Silas are in Thessalonica, Macedonia, where Paul has preached the gospel for a few weeks. Some of the Thessalonians have believed. Others, out of jealousy, formed a mob and began a manhunt to find Paul and harm him. Unable to find him or his co-missionaries, the mob attacks a new believer named Jason who was hosting Paul in his house, and some other unnamed disciples. The mob drags Jason before the Thessalonian authorities. Jason and the others are able to make a pledge so that they can go home.

Given this sudden, dangerous change of atmosphere, the new believers understandably are concerned about Paul’s safety (and perhaps their own). So, they secretly arrange for Paul and his team to leave Thessalonica unharmed:

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea (v. 10).

Berea  was a city some 45 miles to the west of Thessalonica (See Map). The brethren, that is, the new believers in Thessalonica, chose to smuggle Paul and company out of town away by night, since the mob was still looking for them to destroy them. Paul was grieved to leave so quickly, but probably relieved as well, given that others were suffering because of him.

Paul himself was always ready to face opposition and pain, and had just recently gone through an ordeal in Philippi (Acts 16:22-24, Romans 5:3-5). But the abuse against Jason and the other new believers was probably hard on Paul, and it was better for everyone that he leave Thessalonica.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul notes that the Thessalonian believers “received the word in much tribulation,” likely referring to the citywide persecution, but also “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). The believers in Thessalonica became a testimony to the other Greek cities, and beyond; Paul praises them for the witness of how they turned from idols to faith in God,

“you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.”
(1 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

In the neighboring city of Berea, the reception to the gospel is entirely positive. None of the locals are initially hostile to Paul.

After a couple days’ journey, the missionaries arrive in Berea. They follow Paul’s playbook by going first to the local synagogue:

and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews (v. 10).

There, Paul preaches that Jesus was the Messiah. Doubtless, he did just as he had done in the Thessalonian synagogue, where he

“reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.’”
(Acts 17:2-3)

Paul’s gospel message is met with a civilized, thoughtful response:

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (v. 11).

Luke, the author of Acts, gives an overview of the disposition of the Bereans. They were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica. He is contrasting the completely peaceful experience Paul has in Berea with the mob violence of Thessalonica. These Bereans, being noble-minded, received the word about the Messiah, Jesus, with great eagerness.

They were excited and receptive to the teaching that God’s anointed servant—the Messiah, the Christ—had come to Israel, had died and resurrected to forgive our sins, and would come again to rule over the world as a completely just king. And while they respond to Paul’s teaching with positive emotions, they also exercise intellectual discernment.

They doublecheck Paul’s interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies to make sure his teaching lines up with the word of God: examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (v. 11). That they were examining the Scriptures daily shows an ongoing process of pondering, searching, and reasoning amongst themselves, rather than accepting or rejecting Paul’s gospel without further thought. Their conduct is noble-minded; they are genuine truth seekers. They do not merely take Paul at his word, nor do they react with hostility to seek out their own agendas.

Luke next writes Therefore, referencing the fact that these Bereans were noble-minded, had eagerness for the gospel, but also studied the Scriptures daily to see whether these things Paul taught were so, they then believed:

Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men (v. 12).

Luke notes that many of them believed, not all. But among those who did not believe, they are not filled with jealousy as other Jews have been in previous cities, nor do they stir up mobs to chase Paul out of town (Acts 13:45, 50, 14:2, 5-6, 17:5, 10 ). We can infer that even the Berean Jews who did not believe were equally noble-minded by taking no countermeasures against Paul; rather, they rejected the gospel message privately and did not care if others believed.

Yet many of the Berean Jews believed, and in addition to them, a number of prominent Greek women and men also believed. It is possible that these Greek women and men were also proselytes (Gentiles who had converted to Judaism, or at least worshipped the God of Israel). Perhaps not all of them, but the only context for Paul’s preaching in Berea which Luke tells us of is the synagogue. It is of course possible that Paul preached in the market place or some other public venue as he had in other Greek and Roman towns.

Whoever these Greek believers were, Luke makes sure to point out that they were prominent. They were well known in town, probably wealthy, probably civically important people. In Acts 20, we are told that Paul is joined by a Berean named Sopater on the journey back to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4).

It is possible that Sopater was among the noble-minded Bereans in this Acts 17 passage who first believed in the gospel. It is equally possible that this Sopater is also mentioned at the end of the letter to the Romans, where he is called Sosipater, a variant of Sopater, in which he sends his greetings to the church in Rome (Romans 16:21).

Based on Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, it appears he tried to go back to Thessalonica during this time, but was prevented from doing so because “Satan hindered us” (1 Thessalonians 2:18).

Trouble comes to Berea. It does not arise from among the Bereans themselves, who were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica (v. 11). It is the Jews of Thessalonica who come to town to deal with Paul, since he slipped out of their hands earlier (v. 10). Paul was well acquainted with this kind of lagging persecution. During his first missionary journey in Galatia, there were Jews who followed him across 120 miles so that they could stone him (Acts 14:19).

While Paul and his team were having an easy, pleasant ministry experience in Berea, somehow word got back to Thessalonica about his present location:

But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds (v. 13).

The Jews of Thessalonica made the 45-mile journey to Berea because they had found out that Paul was there and that he had proclaimed the gospel of Jesus (the word of God). Luke described their hostility as having been rooted in jealousy (Acts 17:5). So they came to Berea as well to drum up a mob, agitating and stirring up the crowds. The crowds describe the general population of the town. Perhaps the Thessalonian Jews sought out disreputable men as they had done in Thessalonica to get things moving.

The same danger which drove Paul out of Thessalonica was harming his witness in Berea, so Paul leaves town before anyone is hurt on his account:

Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there (v. 14).

Curiously, the brethren (the new believers in Berea) only sent Paul out of town. Silas and Timothy are not attracting the wrath of the mob the way Paul is, so they remained there in Berea for a time. Paul was obliged to go as far as the sea, meaning he went to a town on the Macedonian coast to board a ship and sail away. Luke does not tell us to which seaport he journeyed. From there, Paul and some Bereans accompanying him sail down the coast of Macedonia and Achaia before dropping Paul off in Athens:

Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. (v. 15)

This was a lengthy sea journey of more than 200 miles. After the Bereans who escorted Paul had brought him all the way to Athens, they set their sights to return home to Berea, and they left. Paul’s command to them was to tell his ministry partners, Silas and Timothy, to come to him in Athens as soon as possible. In the meantime, Silas and Timothy were strengthening and establishing the church in Berea, teaching them more about Jesus, about the Holy Spirit, the Christian life of sanctification. They probably appointed elders to govern the church as well.

But ultimately their place was with Paul, supporting his preaching. For now, Paul was alone in the city of Athens (See Map) . But the Holy Spirit is always leading, and Paul does not waste any opportunity to tell others about the good news of Jesus the Christ.