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Main Idea
Human hearts always respond to the gospel.
Mark 4:1–12 ESV
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God…”
Today, we see this Kingdom principle at work in Thessalonica.
Passage
Acts 17:1–9 ESV
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
Outline
I – Setting and People
II – Paul’s gospel (vv. 1-3)
III – The receptive hearts (v. 4)
IV – The hardened hearts (vv. 5-9)
I – Setting and People
The journey to Thessalonica
· Amphipolis
a day’s journey southwest of Philippi.
· Apollonia
a day’s journey southwest of Amphipolis.
· Thessalonica
a day’s journey due west of Apollonia. It was founded in 315 BC by King Cassander (son-in-law to Philipp II, father of Alexander the Great) and is still an operating city today. In the 1st Century, it was an important port city and capital of the province of Macedonia.
The Synagogue
- Paul’s standard operating procedure carries on into his 2nd missionary journey.
- The text mentions 3 Sabbaths, but his letters to the church here indicate a longer stay (as does his mention of 2 aid packages in Phil. 4:16).
The Jews
This term is used in 2 different senses:
1. The ethnic group identified as God’s people (v. 1).
2. The sub-set of Israelites who oppose Jesus as the Messiah (v. 5).
The Greeks
Devout Greeks, meaning they are likely God-fearers.
Jason
- Only found in Acts 17 (and maybe Romans 16:21)
- Jason was a Greek version of Joshua, so he could be a Hellenistic Jew who turned to Christ after hearing Paul preach.
- He is Paul’s host (much like Lydia in Philippi) and, therefore, likely a Christian.
- He is guilty by association in the eyes of the Jews.
The crowd
- Consists of the Jews (in opposition to the gospel) and wicked men.
- This group grew into a violent mob that brought the city authorities into the mix.
Now that we understand the setting and the people let’s dive into the details of Paul’s gospel.
II – Paul’s gospel
1 Thessalonians 1:5–8 ESV
because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
Reasoned from the scriptures
- As a Pharisee who studied under the famed Gamaliel, he could utilize the full scope of the OT canon to make connections and reason with the Jews and God-fearers.
- Paul’s theological rigor comes out swinging.
- Paul did not appeal to Macedonian culture (a tactic he uses in other cities). The primary (and only) source he pulled from was the scriptures themselves.
- This was a dialogue, meaning Paul and the audience could exchange ideas and questions.
Faith doesn’t nullify reason. God created reason, and we are responsible for using it.
Explaining
- He used the OT as his source material and took time to unpack his logic.
- That is probably why it took at least 3 Sabbath days to unpack everything about Jesus.
- This is the same word in Luke 24:32 when Jesus opened the scriptures to the two travelers on the Emmaus road.
We need a working knowledge of the scriptures. We can’t explain what we don’t know.
Proving
- The extended Bible study took on an apologetic tone.
- After reasoning and explaining his ideas, some people pushed back or needed further evidence for Paul’s claims.
- So, Paul goes beyond explanation to being that attorney in the courtroom providing evidences and proofs for specific truths:
1. The Messiah had to suffer
2. He had to rise from the dead
- Paul is masterfully making a case from the general to the specific.
What scriptures do you think Paul pointed to for ‘proof’? Why? (Pro tip- look at Paul’s and Peter’s sermons for clues).
Proclaiming
- Making known in public… to announce.
- This isn’t a topic to debate. It is a truth to accept.
- When an announcement is made, that is a one-way street. Wedding guests don’t try to suggest alternate dates for the Bride’s wedding day.
Jesus is the Messiah of the OT
First, Paul draws out the details of the Messiah in the OT – that He must suffer, die, and rise from the dead.
Second, Paul connects that Messiah to Jesus of Nazareth – the man who walked on this earth just a few decades earlier (this is approximately 50 AD).
- Paul used their authoritative and accepted text to reveal the details of the Messiah, then connect the historical Jesus to that scriptural Messiah.
- Christ crucified was a stumbling block to the Jews – 1 Cor. 1:23.
Paul is not tossing the seed around. He is intentionally digging and planting it deep in the soil. Like the parables of the soil, there was a reaction to the gospel seed scattered among the different types, and that is what we see happen next.
This is the gospel seed that Paul proclaims. Now, let’s see what soil it falls on.
III – The receptive hearts
Persuaded by Paul’s gospel
- This is different from what we saw with Lydia. With her, we saw her salvation from God’s point of view and His action of opening her heart to believe.
- Here, we see the salvation of many people from the human perspective. This is not to say that God isn’t still opening their hearts to receive Paul’s words. I think He is. But, we see in this passage that the people are won over as a result of persuasion.
- Through Paul’s reasoning, explaining, proving, and proclamation, they were persuaded that Jesus is the Christ and believed and joined their side.
Who?
- Jews (from the ethnic sense) – some of them
- devout Greeks (God-fearers) – a great many
- leading women (which was common in the Greco-Roman world) – not a few
In summary, a few ethnic Jews and a ton of Gentiles.
What does effective evangelism look like to you? If I asked you for a definition, what would you tell me?
What elements are essential to evangelism? So far, we’ve seen:
- the power of the Spirit fall and use the gift of tongues
- a couple judged for lying to the Holy Spirit
- bold sermons from Peter and Paul
- divine blindness in Paul and Elymas
- the crippled made whole, and the dead raised
- visions guide believers toward God’s intended audience
- divine deliverance from prison
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all way of evangelism; each situation is different, but there is one constant. One element is always there, and that is the proclamation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Healings and visions will not always occur, but if that one element is missing, you aren’t truly evangelizing.
Then, give them room to think… ask questions… digest what you have presented, and let the Holy Spirit work on their hearts and minds.
The gospel seed has been spread. We’ve just witnessed it fall on one type of soil. Let’s now move on to the second type.
IV- The hardened hearts
Jealousy consumed them
- The previous group had hearts that were good and fertile soil for the gospel to root and grow. The second group, however, was not so pleasant. There were contaminants in this soil.
- Anger, envy, and strife were mixed in their hearts, but the dominant contaminant was jealousy.
- This is a repeated theme in Acts. The High Priest, ruling authorities, and others reacted out of jealousy.
- Why? Because these men were stealing the people’s adoration and pointing them to the true Christ. In contrast, these Jews claimed to know God but were fighting against Him.
Their reaction
- So, they did what jealous people do. They lashed out. They became instigators. They became divisive.
- They formed an alliance with wicked men (though even their clothing was designed to show how they were set apart from the world).
- That alliance formed into a mob.
- That mob threw the city into an uproar.
- That growing mob sought Paul at Jason’s house (like the wicked men went to Lot’s house in Sodom).
- When they couldn’t get to Paul, they dragged Jason to the authorities.
Their admission
- Even though this mob opposed Paul’s gospel, they made a stunning admission.
- (v.6b) “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also…”
- Their reputation and impact preceded them, and their adversaries acknowledged the effectiveness of their witness!
The world was perfect. Sin turned it upside down. In essence, they are turning it right side up again.
Our world could use a little upheaval, amen? That is what the GC is all about!
We are called to impact the culture, not the other way around.
Their twisted justification
The mob and authorities acted like the slave girl’s owners:
1. They claimed to care about the impact on their community, defending against civil unrest
2. They proposed that Paul was undermining Caesar’s kingship.
Jason’s protection
And thirdly, even though the authorities acted as though they were defending their culture and Emperor, but underneath the veneer of national pride was a lust for money.
Jason either offered or was asked to pay a security deposit (essentially a bail price) so that they could go free.
Two soils produce two different types of fruit. The human heart always responds to the gospel.
Conclusion
The gospel could not be stopped. Thessalonica became a beacon of Christianity in the early church. Even though Paul and Silas were pushed out due to persecution, the gospel seeds they planted rooted, grew, and produced abundant fruit.
Takeaway #1 – look inwardly. The soil represents the condition of the human heart. What state is yours in right now?
Takeaway #2 – look outwardly. Today, we’ve been given a grid (soils), a method (Paul’s gospel), and confidence that the gospel will always have an effect and cannot be stopped. You are equipped as a Sower. Now, it’s time to get to work!