Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. In our study of Acts 17 last week, we found Paul and Silas sharing the Gospel in the city of Thessalonica. For three Sabbaths Paul reasoned in the synagogue with all who would listen. And there is a very positive response, as it says…Acts 17:4-10a (NKJV)— 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. 5 But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming enviou...
Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. In our study of Acts 17 last week, we found Paul and Silas sharing the Gospel in the city of Thessalonica. For three Sabbaths Paul reasoned in the synagogue with all who would listen. And there is a very positive response, as it says…
Acts 17:4-10a (NKJV)— 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. 5 But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. 7 Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.” 8 And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. 9 So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.
Berea— Now Berea was a town located about fifty miles from Thessalonica. It was much less important city than Thessalonica. In fact [the Roman writer Cicero described it as “off the beaten track.”] And yet though it may have been a less important city (at least by the world’s standards) the atmosphere there was very different and lended itself better to hearing the Gospel and responding appropriately. It says in…
Acts 17:10b-11 (NKJV)— When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Examining The Evidence— And the word “searched” or “examined” depending on what translation you are reading is from the Greek word [anakrinō, a word sometimes used of a judicial investigation.] You see, they were carefully sifting all the evidence to see if these things were true and (because they had an open mind, without the prejudices of the Thessalonians) they came to the conclusion that Jesus truly was the Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament. And that is the conclusion anybody who is willing to be intellectually honest will inevitably come to; because the evidence truly is undeniable.
Modern Security— You know, I am amazed with some of technology available nowadays on computers and phones, particularly in the area of identity protection. They come equipped now not only with multiple layers of password protection, but many even have fingerprint readers on their buttons and facial recognition in their cameras that scan you to make sure its you before allowing access to your device.
Identity Verification— Sometimes it may seem a little over the top, but identity verification is very important; because before you trust somebody, you need to make sure they are who they claim to be and that their identity is not in fact stolen. And never is this more true than when we come to the person of Jesus. Is Jesus the Son of God or was He an impostor? And if He is the Son of God, how can we know for certain? Well, there are a number of ways that we can know for certain. And one of these is fulfilled prophecy; does the identity of Jesus in the New Testament match the prophecies given to us of the Messiah in the Old Testament. And the answer is, of course, it does.
Matthew’s Overview of Fulfilled Prophecies— [Isaiah said the the coming King would give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf (Isa. 29:18-19; Matt. 5:3; 11:5). Jeremiah said that the coming King would be from the lineage of King David (Jer. 23:5-6). Ezekiel declared that the King would be a tree planted by God (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Matt. 13:31-32). Hosea said that He would take flight to Egypt (Hos. 11:1; Matt. 2:15). Amos said that the sun would go dark when He died (Amos 8:9; Matt. 24:29). Micah stated that He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:1-5); Matt. 2:1). Zechariah said that He would make a triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9-10; Matt. 21:4-5). In total, there are over 456 prophecies stating specific things that the King would do, and Jesus fulfilled them all right down to the smallest details. In addition to all the prophecies that foretold of Jesus’ coming, Matthew records nineteen of the twenty-nine prophecies that Jesus fulfilled just in the last twenty-four hours of His life.] And so once again I want to reiterate that how Jesus fulfills prophecy is one of the greatest evidences we have of the truth of His claims.
Not Contrived or Accidental— Now some have argued that Jesus tried to fulfill these prophecies in order to deceive us. But that is not plausible because many of those prophecies He fulfilled during (and even prior to) the time He was born, while He was a young child, and prior, during, and following his execution on the cross (all of which if He were a mere man, He could have had no say over. Others suggest that He fulfilled these prophecies by accident; that it is just a coincidence.
Texas Silver Dollars— But [In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "The chance that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000." (one hundred quadrillion) {And just to give us a picture of these odds} Stoner suggests that "we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?" Stoner concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”] And Stoner’s research has been examined thoroughly and found to be accurate. Now keep in mind that that is JUST 8 PROPHECIES being fulfilled by Jesus. And yet we now know that there are over 456 prophecies that have been fulfilled by Jesus. And so it is important for us to study and know these scriptures because if we know them we can prove that Jesus is who He says He was.
Jesus Points To The O.T.— And that is what Jesus Himself implores people to do. [In John 5:39, Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me.” In verse 46 He added, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.” In John 7:17 Jesus called for a willing heart when He said, “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” In Luke 24:25–27 Jesus Himself used the Old Testament Scripture to convince the disciples: And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.]
Despite The Evidence— Now what Jesus is saying is that those who reject the Gospel do so despite the evidence, not because of a lack of it. In fact, most people who reject the Gospel actually have very little knowledge of what the Word of God actually says and reveals. [The primary duty in evangelism, then, must be to demonstrate the truth of Christianity from the Scriptures.] And you and I need to be like the Bereans. We need to make sure that whenever we hear someone making radical claims, we need to weigh those claims against what the Word of God says. And that will always result in two things. The first is that it will help keep us doctrinally sound; believing rightly. But it will also do something else. Because God has placed seeds of change deeply in His Word, there can be in every generation amongst those who expose themselves to His Word the potential to bring great revival and change.
The Next Awakening— I am currently reading a book by Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, in which he shares a powerful personal story of what happened one day when he was sitting in an Old Testament theology class taught by Otto Piper. He tells of how another student asked Otto Piper a question: “Dr. Piper, many of us are going to be graduating in a few weeks. We will be going out into the ministry. Is there a list of ‘must’ books for every pastor? Is there a list of books that every pastor should have read?” Well, I became rather interested at that point and looked up. Dr. Piper looked away and then looked back with that unmoving face of his and said, “I know of only one ‘must’ book.” I caught my breath. Otto Piper was, in my estimation, the greatest scholar I ever sat under. He was a brilliant man. But not only was he a brilliant man, he was also a humble man and incredibly broadly educated. And he looked at bunch of us and said, “I know of only one ‘must’ book.” And then he waited a moment and said, “You know, we make a mistake. Somehow in our Reformed tradition we think that Luther and Calvin produced the Reformation. It wasn’t Luther or Calvin who produced the Reformation. What produced the Reformation was that Luther studied the Word of God. And as he studied, it began to explode inside him. And when it began to explode inside him, he didn’t know any better than to turn it loose on Germany. And it was the Word of God that transformed Germany. “Now,” he said, “the same thing was true of Calvin. You knew what Calvin was going to preach on next Sunday. He would start with the verse after the one where he had stopped on the last Sunday, and he preached his way right through the Bible. Now, the tragedy of the Reformation was that when Luther and Calvin died, Melancthon and Beza edited their work. And so all the Lutherans began to read the Bible to find Luther and all the Calvinists began to read the Bible to find Calvin. And,” he said, “the great corruption was on its way.” He said, “Do you know there is enough undiscovered truth in the Scripture to produce a Reformation and an evangelical awakening in every generation if we would simply expose ourselves to it until it explodes within us and then we turn it loose?”
The Berean Explosion— Now this is what happened with the many of the early Christians; and is what happened here to the Bereans. They looked at the Old Testament, saw the truth of what Paul and Silas were telling them about Jesus, and the truth exploded inside them. And because of their faithfulness to examine the scriptures, it says in…
Acts 17:12 (NKJV)— 12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
Opposition From Outside— So we see that there is a response in Berea like that of many of the people in Thessalonica. They believe. But (also like in Thessalonica) an opposition forms; though this time the the opposition starts from outside the city rather than inside it. It says in…
Acts 17:13-15 (NKJV)— 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. 14 Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there {(no doubt to continue to minister to the Church there)}. 15 So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Our Mission— Now what we learn from this passage is two-fold. First, we learn that the greatest potential for change in our culture lies in the Word of God; particularly in what it reveals about Jesus. And secondly, though the darkness may at times hate the light, there are countless people out there (like many of the Thessalonians; and many of the Bereans as well) who are waiting for men and women like you and me to step up and (having the Word of God exploding inside us) bring them the Good news of God’s message of salvation. And so this week, I want to challenge you to do two things. First, commit yourself to a deeper love and study of the Word of God. And second, find somebody who needs to hear the Good News and begin the process of sharing it with them. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or deeply theological. Like we said last week, begin with what they know (find that common ground) and then move into what they don’t know. When you do that, God will be with you and will use you to bring about fruit for His Kingdom. Let’s do so. Amen.
