During the course of his second recorded preaching journey, Paul and those that traveled with him "came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews" (Acts 17:1). The next eight Bible verses tell of Paul’s work in that city and some of the reactions that people had when they heard the gospel. Let us take a look at some of the facts that the Lord has given us about Paul’s efforts there.

(1) Paul’s custom was to go in and speak to assembled Jews – "And Paul, as his manner [custom, NKJV] was, went in unto them" (17:2). Notice that Paul did not wait on people to come to him. Rather, he sought them out for the purpose of teaching them the gospel. This statement reminds us of Ezekiel 3:15, where it is written that Ezekiel sat where the people sat. The seed-sowers have got to take the seed to where the seed-needers are located. Would it not be great if all of God’s children developed such a "custom" or "manner?" How much sowing are you doing this year?

(2) Paul taught in the Jewish synagogue – Again, he "went in unto them" (17:2) for one purpose: to teach the word of God. Among other things, this showed his courage, as he knew from past experience that he was sometimes despised or even persecuted for preaching the gospel to unbelieving Jews. Listen to what he later wrote in a letter to those in Thessalonica that were converted to the Lord Jesus: "But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated . . . we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel . . ." (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Today we must be up to the challenge and muster up the boldness to speak to those that are antagonistic to the Lord’s church.

(3) Paul taught on three sabbath days – "And Paul . . . went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them . . ." (17:2). Some conclude from the fact that Paul went to the Jews’ place of assembly on the sabbath, that he was observing the seventh day of the week as a holy day in which it was sinful to do work. Thus, according to them, we ought to keep the sabbath today. Note, though, that the text does not say that Paul entered a synagogue of Christians – it was "a synagogue of the Jews" (17:1). It was Jewish worship, not a Christian assembly. Christians like Paul assembled to worship God on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). "Then what was Paul doing going into a non-Christian assembly?" Paul’s motive for going there was to teach them the gospel, not observe the sabbath. The synagogue provided a convenient place to find an audience of potential converts inasmuch as the Jews that assembled there already believed in Jehovah and the Old Testament scriptures.

(4) Paul reasoned with those that listened to him speak – "And Paul . . . reasoned with them" (17:2). The word "reasoned" comes from the Greek word "dialegomai," which means "to converse, discourse with one, argue, discuss" [Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 139, word no. 1256].

As Paul reasoned with his hearers, he opened and alleged ("explained and demonstrated," NKJV) things about Jesus (17:3). He appealed to what the Scriptures said, made conclusions from the Scriptures, and in essence told the people, "Here’s what that means." Such an approach, of course, required that he be prepared to defend his message: "be ready always to give an answer to every man" (1 Peter 3:15).

(5) Paul’s reasoning was based on the message of the Bible – "And Paul . . . reasoned with them out of the scriptures" (17:2). These "scriptures" would be the Old Testament writings. Paul did not preach himself, the opinions of men, or psychology. As he later told the saints in Thessalonica, ". . . we preached unto you the gospel of God" and ". . . when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:9,13). Like Paul, our message today must be a "thus saith the Lord" as we speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11).

(6) Paul taught the suffering and resurrection of Jesus – "Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead" (17:3). In what sense did Jesus "have to" suffer and rise from the dead? First, because it was God’s plan to justify sinful man through Jesus death and resurrection (Romans 5:9,10; 4:25). Second, because it was necessary for prophecies about the Messiah to be fulfilled. Notice the expression "according to the scriptures" in these statements: "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures . . . he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Before Jesus ascended back to heaven, He told His disciples, ". . . all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me . . . Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day" (Luke 24:44,46). It is no surprise, then, to read of Paul preaching in Thessalonica about Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.

(7) Paul taught that Jesus is the Christ – "This Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ" (17:3). The Old Testament prophets predicted the coming of a single Messiah. The message that Paul and other first-century evangelists preached was that Jesus was "the" Christ (17:3; 18:5,28; NKJV). In other words, all the prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled in the life and mission of the One known as "Jesus of Nazareth." The word "Messiah" means anointed one, and is equivalent to the New Testament word "Christ" (John 1:41). Remember, Jesus was not "a" Christ, but "the" one and only Christ – the One Whom the Father chose and anointed with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10:38).

(8) When Paul preached, some believed his message, but others believed not – "And some of them believed . . . But the Jews which believed not . . ." (17:4,5). In fact, the record goes on to say that some of those who heard Paul preach openly and adamantly opposed him and his efforts to convert them to Jesus (17:5-8). Paul preached the gospel to them. It was the truth, it was the right message, and it was the only message that could save their souls (Romans 1:16). However, preaching the truth by no means guarantees that those who hear it will accept and obey it. One of the verses that makes this so obvious is Acts 28:24, where we read of the response that Jews in Rome had to Paul’s teaching about the Christ and His kingdom: "And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not." That is plain enough, is it not? Remember, even when Jesus Himself taught people, not everyone accepted what He said. We are not uplifted by the fact that people reject the gospel and remain lost (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9), but we must not allow ourselves to get so frustrated that we give up on trying to teach lost people. The Lord will provide a harvest if we will continue to sow the seed and not grow weary in the great work of evangelism! (Galatians 6:9).

(9) It was reported that Paul and his companions had gotten people’s attention – "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also" (17:6). Paul and the brethren that worked with him did not rebel against civil authority, they were not home-wreckers, and they did nothing by force. What they had done was make an impact on society by uncompromisingly teaching the gospel, loving one another, and living for their Master. Yes, the world noticed the Christians of the first century.

When Paul later preached in Ephesus, "there was no small stir about that way" ["there arose a great commotion about the Way," NKJV] (Acts 19:23). One idol maker in that city declared, "Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands" (19:26). Brothers and sisters, we do not need to go out of our way "looking for a fight," and we ought not be belligerent or have an "in your face" attitude, but we need to get fired up about teaching the gospel to lost people! We need to get the people of our community stirred up by zealously teaching the gospel and challenging them to prove their beliefs and practices from the Bible (which they cannot do!). Yes, let’s get at it and turn the world upside down with the Lord’s gospel.

(10) Paul preached that Jesus is King – The opposers of the city said this about Paul and the other saints: ". . . these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus" (17:7). Indeed, they did preach Jesus, and indeed, they did preach Him as King. Why wouldn’t they? His Kingdom was already established, and men were being born again into it (Colossians 1:13). Since Jesus now has a kingdom, it follows that He is King now – not "will become" King, but He is now King! He rules over His kingdom or church, of which He is the head, and the church is to be subject unto Him in all things (Ephesians 5:23,24).

Let us learn these lessons from Paul’s preaching in Thessalonica, and let us apply them to our lives as we work for the Lord.

-- Roger D. Campbell