Acts 17:1-16

After passing through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, Paul and Silas arrived at Thessalonica. As they customarily did, they went to the synagogue to speak to the Jews from the Torah scrolls. For three weeks Paul challenged them by explaining the truth and proving to them the reality of the gospel—that the Messiah had to suffer and die, then rise again from among the dead. He made it clear to them, saying, “I come to announce to you that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah!” Some of the Jews were convinced that their message was true, so they joined Paul and Silas, along with quite a few prominent women and a large number of Greeks who worshiped God. But many of the Jews were motivated by bitter jealousy and formed a large mob out of the troublemakers, unsavory characters, and street gangs to incite a riot. They set out to attack Jason’s house, for he had welcomed the apostles into his home. The mob was after Paul and Silas and sought to take them by force and bring them out to the people. When they couldn’t find them, they took Jason instead, along with some of the brothers in his house church, and dragged them before the city council. Along the way they screamed out, “Those troublemakers who have turned the world upside down have come here to our city. And now Jason and these men have welcomed them as guests. They’re traitors to Caesar, teaching that there is another king named Jesus.” Their angry shouts stirred up the crowds and troubled the city and all its officials. So when Paul and Silas came before the leaders of the city, they refused to let them go until Jason and his men posted bail. That night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to the city of Berea, where they once again went into the synagogue. They found that the Jews of Berea were of more noble character and much more open minded than those of Thessalonica. They were hungry to learn and eagerly received the word. Every day they opened the scrolls of Scripture to search and examine them, to verify that what Paul taught them was true. A large number of Jews became believers in Jesus, along with quite a few influential Greek women and men. When the news reached the Jews in Thessalonica that Paul was now in Berea, preaching the word of God, the troublemakers went there too and they agitated and stirred up the crowds against him. The fellow believers helped Paul slip away to the coast of the Aegean Sea, while Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. Those who accompanied Paul sailed with him as far as Athens. Then Paul sent them back to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply troubled when he realized that the entire city was full of idols.