About 50 miles from Thessalonica, Berea was situated on the eastern slopes of Mt. Vermion in the area known as the Olympian mountain range. The area was remote, well off the Egnatian Way and away from the seas. Berea was probably the most populated city […]
“The City of Berea” from the lesson series Grab Your Passport, April 2021
As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.
| Acts 17:10-15 ESV | |||
| NIV
Acts 17:10-15 NIV |
NASB
Acts 17:10-15 NASB |
NLT
Acts 17:10-15 NLT |
MESSAGE
Acts 17:10-15 MESSAGE |
Other Scripture references:
2 Timothy 2:15
Hebrews 4:12
Joshua 1:8
Revelation 1:3
Romans 15:4
Psalm 119:15-16
Psalm 119:47-48
2 Timothy 3:16-17
The turmoil in Thessalonica causes our travelers to leave the main east-west thoroughfare and travel southwest some 50 miles to Berea. Because of its close proximity to the major political strongholds of Thessalonica and Philippi, road ways to Berea were strong and travel was safe. The brothers in Thessalonica escorted Paul and his friends to Berea, perhaps thinking that leaving the main highway would throw off the scent from the Jewish bloodhounds who were dogging Paul every step of the way.
When Paul first set out with his companions to travel from east to west along the Egnatian Way, it is quite probable that he had his sights set on Rome as the final destination. We know from his letter to the Roman Christians, written about seven years from this point in the journey, that he had often intended to visit them but had been prevented from doing so (Romans 1:13; 15:22). If this is one of those occasions, the brothers from Thessalonica may have given Paul little choice, though Paul seems difficult to dissuade once his mind is set. It is possible that he did not want to head to Rome with the stigma of subversion hanging over his head so he chose to wait until the charges from Thessalonica began to fade. It was about this time, however, that an edict from Claudius expelled the Jewish community from the city of Rome (c AD49 ). This would have deprived him of his “custom” of presenting the gospel first to the Jewish population. It also would have created a personal spotlight, because although a Roman citizen, his Jewish heritage would have caused him to constantly be proving his citizenship, much the way a twenty-one year old has to show proof of age today. God’s hand can be seen even in this edict, as only a month or two later, when Paul comes to Corinth he will find there two of those recently expelled from Rome who will become his faithful, lifelong friends.
In Berea Paul found a little different flavor of people receiving his message. Probably because it was closer to the intellectual center of the Greek world, Athens, the Bereans were eager to be challenged mentally with new, more complete understandings of the Scripture. Luke describes them as more “fair-minded” than those farther north in Thessalonica. They eagerly drank in all that Paul was presenting. They searched daily through the Scriptures just to make sure what Paul was saying was true. Had anything that Paul offered been found to lack biblical basis, Paul wouldn’t have been run out of town, but he would have lost access to their minds.
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People from many walks of life speak of the POV. Point Of View as listed at dictionary.com contains three similar meanings:
Videos or movies are often given a particular POV. The story may even be told from the POV of the viewer or reader.
Luke writes the history of the early church through the activities of the apostles Peter and Paul. During Paul’s second missionary journey, Luke joins Paul’s group in their travels. The account of the history has the flavor or POV of someone who experienced the mission. Luke provides his POV on the group’s time spent in Berea.
The historian analyzes the Berean Jews, likely comparing them to the Jews they had met in Philippi and Thessalonica. Luke summarizes that these Jews were of a different nature. He describes them with the Greek word εὐγενέστερος (EU-GEN-ESTER-OS) literally meaning “well-bred.” Originally it meant someone who came from a wealthy and well-educated family, but over the years it developed the connotation of someone who was open-minded, tolerant, generous, and kind-hearted. The character and integrity of the people to whom Paul spoke impressed the author of Acts.
He continues on to explain why their nature struck him so strongly. “They examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). They did not take the easy route of either extreme – accepting everything Paul said, or immediately rejecting his words out of anger. Instead they weighed carefully his message against the message of Scripture.
As we look to the pointe in Berea, Luke’s perspectives helps place things in focus.
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