"And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:10,11)
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2Timothy 3:16,17)
It was Paul's practice to go first to the Jews when he entered a new city. This was his procedure: "And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ'" (Acts 17:2,3). The idea of a Messiah who suffered and died was contrary to common Jewish Messianic expectations. Therefore it required sound Biblical evidence and careful explanation to convince first century Jews that Jesus, who had been crucified, was the Messiah. Paul provided this. Most of the Jews in Thessalonica reacted with hostility to Paul's message (Acts 17:5-7). They were not about to have their beliefs challenged by Paul's teaching no matter how much Biblical evidence was presented.
This provides a background for the commendation of the Jews of Berea. They had no tradition of believing that Messiah would suffer either. The difference was in their attitude toward allowing their own beliefs to be challenged by Biblical evidence. They were willing to with open hearts and minds, "search the Scriptures". Because of their love for the truth, many of these Jews believed on Christ (Acts 17:12). To this day, the term "Berean" is used to describe those who love the truth and willingly search the Scripture, even if it means having their own traditions overturned by Biblical evidence.
In this article, we will discuss the application of this "Berean" attitude to our own traditions as Christians. It is never a comfortable thing when someone challenges ideas that I have held dear. Clearly not all challenges are correct; people who are in error challenge true beliefs. How do we know, however, if the challenges that come to our comfortable traditions are from God or not? Furthermore, beliefs come in "packages" or systems. Ideas are connected to other ideas to reinforce one another and provide systematic answers to the big questions of the faith. Often challenges to certain beliefs are actually challenges to our whole way of living and believing. Certainly that was the case with Paul's challenge to the Bereans. The core of their Messianic hope was being questioned, and actually overturned. Jesus who had been rejected by the Jewish leaders was now being embraced as the true Messiah.
cont`d...
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2Timothy 3:16,17)
It was Paul's practice to go first to the Jews when he entered a new city. This was his procedure: "And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ'" (Acts 17:2,3). The idea of a Messiah who suffered and died was contrary to common Jewish Messianic expectations. Therefore it required sound Biblical evidence and careful explanation to convince first century Jews that Jesus, who had been crucified, was the Messiah. Paul provided this. Most of the Jews in Thessalonica reacted with hostility to Paul's message (Acts 17:5-7). They were not about to have their beliefs challenged by Paul's teaching no matter how much Biblical evidence was presented.
This provides a background for the commendation of the Jews of Berea. They had no tradition of believing that Messiah would suffer either. The difference was in their attitude toward allowing their own beliefs to be challenged by Biblical evidence. They were willing to with open hearts and minds, "search the Scriptures". Because of their love for the truth, many of these Jews believed on Christ (Acts 17:12). To this day, the term "Berean" is used to describe those who love the truth and willingly search the Scripture, even if it means having their own traditions overturned by Biblical evidence.
In this article, we will discuss the application of this "Berean" attitude to our own traditions as Christians. It is never a comfortable thing when someone challenges ideas that I have held dear. Clearly not all challenges are correct; people who are in error challenge true beliefs. How do we know, however, if the challenges that come to our comfortable traditions are from God or not? Furthermore, beliefs come in "packages" or systems. Ideas are connected to other ideas to reinforce one another and provide systematic answers to the big questions of the faith. Often challenges to certain beliefs are actually challenges to our whole way of living and believing. Certainly that was the case with Paul's challenge to the Bereans. The core of their Messianic hope was being questioned, and actually overturned. Jesus who had been rejected by the Jewish leaders was now being embraced as the true Messiah.
cont`d...
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