Turning The World Upside Down
Acts 17:1-15
When I was in seminary, I took several preaching classes where students were required to write and preach sermons in class. One of those classes was "Expositional preaching." In this particular class there were several projects I had to do, one of which was to write and preach an expositional sermon. Every student in the class was given a list of passages from the book of Acts that we could choose from to prepare a sermon on. I chose Acts 17:1-15 - the passage we're looking at today. Now to add to the pressure of preaching in front of your professor and fellow seminarians, the sermons were being judged by the professor for the annual Expositional Preaching Award. The winner of which would get his name on a plaque in the seminary and would receive a $100 cash award.
Obviously, I'm telling you this story because I won the award. So the sermon you are about to hear is an award-winning sermon! Actually, this is not the exact same sermon; I reexamined the text and re-developed the message. As we move into Acts 17 this morning, we're currently with Paul, Silas and Timothy on the second missionary journey. They have just left the city of Philippi - a city where they saw God do some amazing things. They leave Philippi - after being beaten and imprisoned - not with their tails between their legs, but they leave Philippi with a brand-new, established church. A church with member's like Lydia, the wealthy fashionista who came to faith in Christ, along with her whole family; a church with a former demon-possessed clairvoyant who had a powerful testimony of spiritual liberation; and a church with the Philippian jailer who along with his household were converted to Christ in dramatic fashion because of the faithful, credible witness of two of his prisoners - Paul and Silas.
This morning as we move into Chapter 17 we're going to follow this missionary team as they minister in 2 different cities - Thessalonica and Berea. So look at Acts 17, we're going to read the first 15 verses:
1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
5But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Let me ask you something: Have you ever received a back-handed complement? You know what that is right? It's when someone says something to you that at first seems like a complement, but when you think about it further you realize there's a dig in there, it's back-handed. It's an insult that's cloaked in niceties. A back-handed compliment is really the go-to move of passive-aggressive types. Here's some examples:
Compliment: "I wish I could be as laid-back as you about all the clutter and chaos."
Translation: Your home's a disaster.
Compliment: "I love how you're not obsessed with personal style.”
Translation: You dress like a slob.
Compliment: "That sermon was one of your best yet, I was really able to track with you the whole time."
Translation: You often bore me and I typically can't follow your train of thought.
Now I recognize sometimes those kinds of so-called compliments aren't always intended to be back-handed, but they can certainly be interpreted that way.
Sometimes the reverse of the back-handed complement happens. I'm not sure what you'd call it - perhaps a front-handed insult. It's when someone intends to offer you a criticism, critique, or an insult, but then when you think about it further and chew on it for a while, you say, "I'm glad I'm that way, I take what was intended as an insult as a complement."
In this passage they don't receive a back-handed complement, but rather what I'm calling a front-handed insult. It was intended as an insult to them, but no doubt they received it as a complement. What was the front-handed insult? In verse 6 their opponents attempted to incite the crowd and vilify the missionaries by saying, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also...
In other words, we like the way things are; we're accustomed to the Roman way and we don't want anyone coming in here upsetting the delicate balance we've achieved. Stop messing with the way things are supposed to be! But in reality, think about it. Is the world today the way things are supposed to be? Or for that matter was the world in Paul's day, as God had originally designed it? No, of course not. The truth of the matter is the world in which we live is already upside down; it's already topsy-turvy. So when someone like Paul makes such an impact and influence in the world that his opponents say he's turning it upside down, what he's really doing is being an agent of change to turn the world right-sight up!
I think it's true of all of us - because I believe God put it there - that we want to leave the world better than we found it; we want to make a positive impact on the world. And as Christians we know the only way to affect lasting, legitimate change is through Jesus. So how can we be like Paul and be a people, be a church on mission that receives the front-handed insult, "These people are turning the world upside down!"
Today we will look at the characteristics of Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica and Berea and seek to discover what made him one who was characterized by his detractors in such a way, one who “turned the world upside down.” The first thing to notice about Paul is he had...
I. A Consistent PROCLAMATION of the Truth
If you've been with us through this study in Acts, one thing we know about Paul is that we was a person on mission. From the very point of his climactic conversion on the road to Damascus, he realized his life was intended to be spilled out for Jesus Christ. He was on a mission to take the gospel to places that had never heard it before. His life was one that was characterized by ongoing bravery and determination. Just in 2 Corinthians 11 alone, the list of Paul's sufferings is absolutely mind-boggling. If anyone questioned his sincerity, all he had to do was point to the scar tissue on his face and on his back. He was willing to endure such deep suffering, why? - because of love - because of his love for Christ and his love for others.
No matter where he went, he was consistently proclaiming the truth about the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. How did he do that? How did he consistently proclaim the truth? Well there’s a couple things I want you to notice from this passage. First…
A. He had a strategic PLAN
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica... Paul went to the port city of Thessalonica strategically. It was a 100-mile journey from Philippi to Thessalonica. He would have traveled, by foot, on the road known as the “Egnatian way.” This was the main artery for travel through Macedonia. As Luke records this for us he tells us that Paul traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, but he didn’t stop and minister there. Why not? Because he had a strategic plan. Well the distance from Philippi to Amphipolis was about 30 miles (a day’s journey). And from Amphipolis to Apollonia 30 miles, and Apollonia to Thessalonica just under 40 miles. Why didn’t Paul stay a while in those other cities? Because he had a specific strategy that he was going to implement.
He had already established a church in Philippi - which we learned 2 weeks ago was a major Roman City. He fully expected those believers to be on mission with their lives, reaching the city of Amphipolis as well as other surrounding cities. Now he’s in Thessalonica. Thessalonica was the largest city in Macedonia. It was a cultural, trade and religious center point. It had a population of over 200,000. For that day and time it was a major metropolis. Paul knew that his time would best be served investing it in a place where the message of Jesus could most effectively reach the most people. If a church was established in Thessalonica, they would be expected to reach Apollonia, a day’s journey from there.
It's obvious that Paul had a clear strategy and had thought through how he was going to implement that strategy. An application for us as a church is that it’s altogether appropriate for us to strategize, for us to plan, for us to think through our ministries and our missions endeavors and develop – like Paul – a strategic plan.
The second thing to notice about his proclamation of the truth is that…
B. He had a standard PRACTICE
Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days
In both Thessalonica and Berea Paul followed his standard operating procedure. When arriving in a city he would go into a synagogue first - if one existed - to proclaim the gospel to the Jews. Why did he do that? Because he had a heart for his people. Even though he calls himself, “the apostle to the Gentiles,” Paul wanted his own countrymen – the Jews - to hear the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and respond in faith and repentance. Additionally, there would also be a basis of understanding of the promises of the Old Covenant, and an expectation of Messiah.
Now, despite his frequent mistreatment at their hands, Paul never lost his passion for the souls of his people. As we've been tracing his ministry in this series we've seen him already face tremendous opposition from his own people.
• On the island of Cyprus, he was opposed by the Jewish false prophet Bar-Jesus (Acts 13:6).
• Leaving there he went to Antioch of Pisidia where when the Jews saw the crowds they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul.
• Later the Jews aroused the devout women of the city and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against him and drove him out of their district.
• They then went to Iconium, where the Bible says “the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles, and embittered them against them.”
• Then they were forced to flee Iconium and came to Lystra where Paul nearly lost his life.
• In spite of all that and his recent persecution in Philippi, Paul did not hesitate to courageously enter the synagogue at Thessalonica.
• And as we just read Paul was run out of Thessalonica too at the hands of the jealous Jews, and goes right to Berea to start the process all over.
But before he was run out of town, he remained there with them for three consecutive Sabbaths. One thing you’ve got to give Paul props for is his courage. Time after time, city after city, synagogue after synagogue, Paul and his message of Truth are rejected. And not just rejected, but vehemently opposed. But it didn’t matter to Paul, he consistently proclaimed the truth. Tremendous determination in the face of danger.
But determination alone will not turn the world upside down. There was great substance to his message. Well, exactly what was it that he was proclaiming? What was it about his message that was so provoking? Well, we see not only the courage in his preaching, but also the content of his preaching. He gave not only a consistent proclamation of the truth, but he gave…
II. A Clear PRESENTATION of the Truth
You see courage must be coupled with the proper content if a believer is to shake the world and turn it on its end. To have the right message but not the boldness to proclaim it renders that message useless. On the other hand, to boldly proclaim error, as cults do, causes even greater harm.
Proclaiming the truth with great boldness as Paul did, cannot help but change the world. Well Paul boldly confronted the Jews of Thessalonica and for three Sabbaths clearly presented the truth. For the Jews, this gospel was a hard thing to swallow. You’ll remember that even the disciples who were eyewitnesses of Christ's miracles and teaching, they had difficulty understanding that Jesus as Messiah would die. They expected a conquering military leader who would defeat their political opponents and restore the fortunes of the Jewish kingdom. The fact that the Messiah had come to die at the hands of his own people was beyond their comprehension.
Paul even said in 1 Corinthians 1:23 that “Christ crucified” was “to Jews a stumbling block,” and was "foolishness to the Gentiles.
But as we look at this text we can see a couple things about Paul’s presentation of the truth in the synagogue. First of all,
A. The METHOD – How he presented the truth
The text says: …he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving…
I want us to consider three verbs Luke used to describe Paul's method of presenting truth.
First he says Paul “reasoned” with them. The Greek word used here is the word dialegomai, from which we get our English word dialogue. It describes not a formal sermon but a discussion, during which Paul repeatedly fielded questions from his hearers.. That was the way he commonly ministered in the synagogues. An effective Christian witness includes being able to answer questions about the faith. Look what Peter says in 1 Peter 3: But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
Paul REASONED with them
The Bible also says that he was explaining. The Greek word here is often used of a judicial investigation. Think of an attorney laying out the facts of a case. He was saying if A is true, and B is true, then C must not be true; or if A is false, and B is false, then C must be true. He's connecting the dots for them like a good litigator in a judicial trial; he's explaining.
Explaining is linked to the next word: PROVING. Proving means to give evidence. The literal translation would be, "to set before." He's setting the table of truth, laying it all out there before them, giving evidence, proving, explaining, and reasoning from the Scriptures.
Can you see Paul’s method? Our faith in Christ is not just some blind faith that has no basis in logic or reason or evidence. That’s why I’ve said to you before, that my heart cannot rejoice in what my head rejects. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. That's his method...
B. The MESSAGE – What he presented
What was the substance of Paul's message? We have a summary of it in verse 3: it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” He presented that Jesus is the one who fulfilled the prophecies of the Suffering Servant.
The foundation for Paul’s apologetic method was not the emptiness of human wisdom, or the extrabiblical traditions so revered by the Jews; or even human emotions. Paul reasoned with them from the Old Testament Scriptures. He proved his case from the very source the Jews revered.
Luke does not give a full catalog of Paul’s arguments here, though you can find a summary of one of his messages in Acts 13:16 and following. From that account and others we can say with some degree of certainty that Paul appealed to the sacrificial system of the Mosaic law and described how the OT sacrifices served as a type, a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ. He undoubtedly appealed to Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 to prove that the Messiah had to die. I’m sure he reminded his Jewish audience of Psalm 16 to show that the Messiah would not be abandoned in the grave, but would rise from the dead.
Having thus shown that the OT prophesied the death and resurrection of the Messiah, Paul’s powerful conclusion was that this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ. He alone fulfilled those prophecies.
Notice, Paul is not just appealing to their emotions - this is not an emotional ploy with just the right kind of music, and the perfect mood lighting, a fog machine blowing a light mist through the synagogue to play on people's emotional state. He's using reason, persuasion, arguments. He's giving them evidence to believe.
Some of you may remember this hymn - it's usually sung around Easter. The ending line says, "You ask me how I know He lives, he lives within my heart." Now you can sing that song and worship God with all your gusto singing it, and that's fine - but appealing to a feeling in your heart as evidence for the resurrection is at best insufficient, and at worst, misleading.
Imagine if Paul would have said that to the Thessalonians, or next week when we see him in Athens at the Areopagus with all the intellectual elite. "You ask me how I know Jesus lives, he lives within my heart." They would say, "That's great, Hercules lives in my heart; yeah Zeus lives in my heart."
Sadly, this is what some people think of Christianity. They think, Christianity is what some people have to help them feel better about themselves, to help them make it through the day - "Oh, you have Jesus in your heart, I've got my grandmother in my heart; my childhood dog Fido lives in my heart." Making a purely emotional appeal is insufficient. That's not what Paul does at all. He gives them reasons and persuasions and arguments. Jesus was a real man, and he really died, and he really rose from the dead, and over 500 people saw him at once after his resurrection - in history. He proves through the Scriptures. We have a reasonable faith.
If we would be like Paul, those who would turn the world upside down, we must remember that the lever through which it must be done is the Word of God. That’s why it’s so important to be students of the Word, to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us.
And do you know what? It doesn’t matter what age you are teaching whether its preschoolers or senior adults. God can use your faithfulness in the proclamation of truth to impact many with the gospel and to create a legacy of faith that you can not imagine.
Paul was given the front-handed insult, "They're turning the world upside down" because he had a CONSISTENT PROCLAMATION of the truth;
a CLEAR PRESENTATION of the truth; and finally, God used him as an agent of change to turn the world upside down because he had...
III. A Continual PERSEVERENCE For The Truth
Paul’s suffering for the sake of the gospel is well known and well documented. But regardless, he was still willing to persevere and go forward. Three things specifically he persevered through. Paul persevered...
A. In spite of the OUTCOME.
And some of them were persuaded…
Paul, I suspect, is like any preacher. When the message has been proclaimed and the truth explained you desire to see people accept the message; to respond positively to the truth.
When I preach a sermon, particularly one in which the truth of that sermon has gripped my own heart, and I preach it with all the passion and gut-level honesty I can, there is a desire that people will catch a glimpse of that passion and respond. Every preacher wants to preach that perfect sermon that grips the hearts of people and you see them respond.
That didn’t always happen with Paul. He did experience varying degrees of success in different places. In fact notice again what verse 11-12 says about those who heard the message in Berea. 11Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. Acts 17:11-12
Sometimes when you lay it all out and the visible response to your message is limited, it can be discouraging. But Paul persevered regardless of the outcome. Not only that but, Paul persevered
B. In the face of OPPOSITION
taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar
So not only was the harvest of souls small, but many were actually ready to kill Paul. Fortunately I’ve never had anyone respond to one of my sermons in that way. Paul had to get out of town in the night to avoid an ambush from a crazed mob who was after him. Then when he's in Berea - a 2-day journey by foot from Thessalonica - the opposition follows him there. The text says they were "agitating and stirring up the crowds." I mean, these people hate Paul and his message so much they're willing to travel for two days by foot just to oppose him? But regardless of the persecution, in the face of opposition, Paul kept on persevering. He persevered, finally...
C. Into new OPPORTUNITIES
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue… Paul didn’t stop in Thessalonica. As soon as he arrived in the next city, Berea, he started to process all over again. Reasoning, explaining, giving evidence, communicating from the Scripture that Jesus is the promised Messiah; a message that was turning the world upside down.
What does it mean to turn the world upside down; to challenge the status quo. We have a word for it - it's called a revolution. The timeline of human history is dotted with political and cultural revolutions. A revolution happens when a group of people no longer desire to live under present conditions and resolve to do all in their power to make a change.
As Americans we are beneficiaries of the American Revolution; a revolution that officially began on July 4, 1776. That's when the declaration of Independence was officially adopted at the continental congress in Philadelphia. 56 men would sign their names to that document. When each of them signed their names, they knew full well that they were committing an act of treason against the British crown - an act punishable by death.
Most of us are familiar with the preamble of that document begins, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." But we are much less familiar with how that document ends. What are the last words that those 56 men would have read before signing? Here's the last sentence of the Declaration of Independence:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Those 56 men pledged everything they had - and many ended up giving everything they had including their fortunes and their lives - to see the American Revolution happen.
But God has called us to world-turning revolution of much greater significance than the American Revolution will ever have. We live in an upside down world and we're called to proclaim the revolutionary message of the gospel - and to that end may we be like Paul and place our lives on the line, signing our lives over in declaration to that end.
Last Thought: God has called every believer to proclaim the REVOLUTIONARY message; to see lives turned over, one HEART at a time!
