We observed a few days ago that there are “no magic formulas” for success in proclaiming the gospel. As we work through Paul’s appearances in various cities beginning in Acts 13 and 14 and continuing with Acts 16 and following, we see a recurring pattern. Paul preaches, and people respond:
- Some believe
- Some don’t
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you [Jews] first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13.46 – 48, NIV)
- Some are violently opposed
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. (Acts 17.1 – 5, NIV)
Opposition continues today. We know Christians are persecuted and restricted in places like Russia, China, India, and many other countries. Did you know it’s happening here? A Wall Street Journal article entitled “Silicon Valley’s Secret Christians” starts this way:
HBO’s “Silicon Valley” won praise during its six-season run for accurately satirizing Northern California’s tech startup culture. A classic episode depicts a meeting in which one of the main characters accidentally “outs” a colleague, leaving the gathered tech leaders uncomfortable. But they’re not upset that their potential partner is gay—rather, they’re shocked to learn that he goes to church. Another character later admits that Christianity “freaks people out in the Valley.”
There’s truth in the show’s satire. Having held tech jobs in Silicon Valley and Seattle, I’ve experienced a combination of hesitation and hostility toward my Catholic faith. Eastern Orthodox, Mormon and Protestant colleagues at my company have had similar experiences, leading them to worry about being open with their religious beliefs. – Peter Rex, Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2022
Some believe. Some don’t. Some react violently. The same happened with Jesus – page through the last few verses of each of John 5, John 6, John 7, John 8, and John 10, for example. Our job is to proclaim – more about that tomorrow.
As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 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. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. (Acts 17.10 – 13, NIV)