Now
when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Acts 17:1-3
Acts 16 [38.] The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city. They went out of the prison, and entered into Lydia’s house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, and departed.
Acts 17 [1.] Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Acts 17 [4.] Some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas, of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and not a few of the chief women. But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people. When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also, whom Jason has received. These all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus!” The multitude and the rulers of the city were troubled when they heard these things. When they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Meaning:
Paul and Silas had left Philippi after being beaten and imprisoned, but not before encouraging the believers at Lydia’s house (Acts 16:40). They travelled west along the great Roman road through Macedonia to Thessalonica, the capital of the province and a busy port. These verses show Paul’s usual way of beginning his work in a new city and the heart of his message to the Jewish people.
- “They came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue”
Amphipolis and Apollonia were stopping places on the road, each about a day’s journey apart. Luke mentions no preaching there. Paul seems to have aimed for larger cities with synagogues, from which the message could spread to the region around. It did: Paul later told the Thessalonians, “from you the word of the Lord has been declared, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
- “Paul, as was his custom, went in to them”
Paul went first to the synagogue wherever he could. There he found people who knew the Scriptures and were waiting for the Messiah, and also Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel. He believed the Good News was “for the Jew first, and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Luke uses the same phrase of Jesus, who went to the synagogue at Nazareth “as was his custom” (Luke 4:16).
- “For three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures”
Paul did not simply announce his message; he reasoned, explained and demonstrated from the Hebrew Scriptures. His listeners could test what he said against the word they already trusted. Luke mentions three Sabbaths in the synagogue. Paul’s letters suggest a longer stay in the city: he worked “night and day” so as not to burden anyone (1 Thessalonians 2:9), and the Philippians sent him help “once and again” in Thessalonica (Philippians 4:16). Many conclude that he continued teaching in other places after the synagogue was closed to him.
- “The Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead”
This was the main obstacle for many Jewish hearers. They expected a Messiah who would triumph, not one who would be crucified. Paul showed from the Scriptures that suffering was part of God’s plan for the Christ. The risen Jesus had taught the same: “Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26), and “thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:45-46). Paul may have pointed to the suffering Servant, who “was pierced for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5), and to the psalm, “neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). He summed up the Good News as “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
- “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ”
Paul’s reasoning led to a person. The promised Messiah was not an idea or a figure of the future; he was Jesus of Nazareth, crucified and risen. Everything depended on this claim.
The Significance of Acts 17:1-3
- Reasoning from Scripture
Paul’s method invites thoughtful faith. He explained and showed, and he let the Scriptures speak. Believers today can share their faith patiently, opening the Bible with others and inviting them to examine it.
- The cross and the resurrection at the center
The suffering and rising of the Christ is not an embarrassment to hide but the heart of the Good News. Through it God dealt with sin and opened the way of life.
Cross-References:
Luke 24:26: "Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" Jesus explains the Scriptures.
Isaiah 53:5: "But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities." The suffering Servant.
Psalm 16:10: "Neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption." The hope of resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." Paul’s summary of the Good News.
Conclusion: In Thessalonica Paul followed his custom of going first to the synagogue. For three Sabbaths he reasoned from the Scriptures, showing that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and declaring that Jesus, whom he proclaimed, is the Christ.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible