June 09, 2023 | Be On Mission
The Eager Bereans
Scripture: Acts 17:10-12(NIV)
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
Devotional
During a dark of the night escape from riotous Thessalonica, Paul and Silas made their way another 50 miles around the Greek peninsula to the city of Berea. After this two-day journey on foot, they were no doubt physically and emotionally exhausted. Even so, the first place Paul and his companions headed was the Jewish synagogue. Ever the optimist, Paul proclaimed that Jesus is the Messiah. The Berean people’s journey to faith took three stages: they received, they examined, and they believed.
RECEIVED
“…they received the message with great eagerness…”
Rather than rejecting what they were hearing out of hand, they had open minds. They leaned into what Paul and Silas and Timothy were preaching, watching with their eyes, hearing with their ears, thinking with their brains, and understanding with their hearts. Nobody was distracted with their cell phones during the sermons.
EXAMINED
“…and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true”
Remember that nobody had Bibles in those days. We were still 1400 years away from the invention of the printing press. Plus, the entire New Testament had not yet been written down. So, “examined the Scriptures” meant coming together as a community in the synagogue to explore and discuss what the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) had to say about the Messiah. Nobody was reading their pastor’s devotions or listening to his podcasts alone.
BELIEVED
“As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”
For the Jewish Bereans, believing in Jesus was a natural result of having receptive hearts and convinced minds. Not only did they become disciples, they also became disciple-makers, winning their Greek neighbors to Christ as well. Nobody came to believe after an emotional appeal, only to live out their faith in private. Faith was about the community.
In what ways is the Lord calling you to receive, examine, or believe in the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Poem
Carpe Scriptura
As I set out to seize the day
My “carpe diem” goal
With eagerness I grab God’s word
‘Carpe Scriptura” full
Just like Bereans long ago
This noble task is mine
Receive the passage for the day
Examine with my mind
And then believe the truths therein
The Holy Spirit’s shaping
Rebirthing every thought and act
Disciple in the making
