Thursday, August 6, 2026
Acts 17:10–15
In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 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. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 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. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
What is going on with these Thessalonians?
For three weeks before arriving in Berea, Paul preached in the synagogue in Thessalonica. The good news was that many people heard the gospel and began to follow the new Jesus movement. Unfortunately, some who rejected the message became jealous, stirred up the city, and forced Paul to escape to Berea, where we find him in today’s reading.
I’ve never given a sermon that I had to run away from, but every once in a while my newsfeed will show me a town hall where the room is boiling over, and I can imagine how tense it must have felt. At the very least, I would be nervous to stand up and speak again.
But faithful Paul keeps right on going, preaching again in the synagogue in Berea.
Because this account is written after the fact, Luke tells us right away that the Bereans were “of more noble character.”
They are not noble because of their birth, status, or certainty. They are noble because they receive the message eagerly, open the Scriptures, ask honest questions, and seek understanding.
According to Luke, that kind of faithful curiosity is a sign of Christian nobility.
My ten-year-old son has been watching Young Sheldon. One of the recurring themes in the show is the tension between science and a fundamentalist Christian worldview. In my opinion, it is often a straw-man-versus-straw-man situation. The short version is that their pastor cannot allow much nuance or questioning of official teaching.
Then, in season four, the church Sheldon’s family attends hires a youth director who actually encourages the kids to ask hard questions and take their doubts seriously. He quotes Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian and philosopher, who reminds us that doubt can create the space where a leap of faith becomes possible.
We may not live in Medford, Texas, like Sheldon, or in ancient Berea, but we do sometimes find that our questions and doubts are discouraged. What if, instead, they are part of what makes faith noble? What if they create the conditions for mature Christian faith? Where are you faithfully questioning today?
– Pr. Jason
God, thank you for being big enough for my questions. Thank you for giving me an intellect that I can use to know you more deeply. Give me the courage to bring my doubts to you and to search the Scriptures with an open and faithful heart. Amen.
