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.

Paul is an apostle to the gentiles. He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. – Acts 9:15b (ESV)

Still, Paul prefers preaching in a synagogue; it’s his home turf. So he passes through Amphipolis and Apollonia and doesn’t stop until he gets to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

Now Paul can get with his homies. 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 it starts to go well. 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 note the rest of the Lord’s explanation of Paul’s calling. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” – Acts 9:16 (ESV)

Paul’s apologetic method is flawless. It should carry the day, but it doesn’t. Welcome to evil 101. Paul’s method should work but doesn’t because mankind should be reasonable but isn’t. Some of 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.

How can anyone be that stupid? Thank God the magistrates here aren’t as dumb as the ones in Philippi.

The world news is one stunning portrait of evil after another. It’s hard to imagine how people could be that bad, but the truth is that we’re no better. We’re just not acting out as much.

This is hard teaching. Even when we’ve memorized the correct doctrine, do we truly believe it?

Deep down, do you really think you’re just as bad as they are?

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies