17:1,2
In all Paul and his companions travelled about 100 miles. As in many places in the Roman Empire, there was a Jewish synagogue in Thessalonica, a city of some 200 000 people. It was the capital of Macedonia. Adopting his usual practice, Paul went to the Synagogue first, and on three successive Sabbaths he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures”. Preaching and teaching of the gospel involves many aspects. One of these is “reasoning”. We should note that Paul reasonsed from the Scriptures. There is a tendency today to reason from anything but the Scriptures. Now we should note that the Jews would respect the Scriptures, at least outwardly. Today, most do not. So there is an argument for using a different starting point. On the other hand, it is the word of God that is the sword of the spirit.
17:3,4
Paul used the Scriptures to prove and explain that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. Here there is no questioning of the resurrection itself, though in 1 Cor 15 Paul will defend the resurrection as an existential fact. The key issue with the Jews was whether or not Jesus was the Biblical messiah. Paul proved and explained. So he sought both to establish the facts, and to give understanding of the facts. Some of the Jews were persuaded, along with a large number of God fearing Greeks, and a few prominent women. The gospel is for all people, both rich and poor.
No comments:
Post a Comment