Context:
Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Phillipi, then miraculously released by an earthquake. Instead of escaping they converted the jailer and his entire family. They left for Thessalonica, where many Jews heard the Good News and became Christians. But many Jews were jealous of the crowds Paul and Silas drew, so they started a riot. They beat the man who was housing them, and Paul and Silas left town.
Text:
10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On
arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of
more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with
great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said
was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek
women and many Greek men. (NIV)
taken from www.biblegateway.com
I'm not sure why I think of the Bereans as older. . . maybe because it seems like the longer people live, the more they are likely to be noble and not believe whatever they hear. Anyway, I imagine a group of wise grandpas listening to the morning preaching of Paul and Silas, taking notes and tapping their chins. They turn occasionally to each other and whisper about certain points and ask questions that younger folks wouldn't even think of.
Then they get up, stretch out their legs and grab a bite of lunch. They meet together in the study room of the synagogue and pull out the ancient scrolls. They look up a multitude of verses, reading aloud when they find passages of particular interest. Then they discuss, argue, and look up more verses before deciding that Paul was indeed correct. They wonder at the way God is bringing his word to life and they dream of Heaven. They excitedly head home and tell their families of their discoveries.
Controversy and disbelief related to teaching is actually a good thing if it causes us to dig deeper to really understand what God is trying to relay. I'm excited that this new series will teach us how to challenge our assumptions and validate (or maybe discover) the truth.
I hope everyone has chosen his or her verses to study. Be sure to start preparing a list of questions today. This is a big assignment that won't be very effective if we put it off until the last minute.
Who knows, maybe people will see our class as being of noble character and seekers of the truth (BEFORE we all get gray hair...)
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