Homily 37 — Acts 17, verses 1 to 15

“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, opening them up and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and that ‘this Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ.’” [a]

Again they hurry past the small cities and press on to the greater ones, since it was from those that the word was to flow out, as from a fountain, into the neighboring cities. “And Paul, as his custom was, went into the synagogue of the Jews.” Although he had said, “We turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13, verse 46), he did not leave these people alone; such was the longing and affection he had for them. For listen to him saying, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Romans 10, verse 1); and, “I wished that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers” (Romans 9, verse 3). But he did this because of God’s promise and the glory; and also so that it would not become a cause of offense to the Gentiles.

“Opening the Scriptures,” it says, “he reasoned with them for three Sabbaths, setting before them that the Christ had to suffer.” Notice how, before everything else, he preaches Christ’s suffering. So far were they from being ashamed of it, since they knew it to be the cause of salvation. “And some of them believed and joined Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the leading women not a few” (verse 4). The writer gives only the sum and substance of the discourses. He is not given to wordiness, and he does not report the sermons on every occasion.

“But the Jews who did not believe, moved with envy, took some worthless men of the lowest sort, gathered a crowd, set the whole city in an uproar, attacked the house of Jason, and tried to bring them out to the people. And when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, and Jason has taken them in. And these all act against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus’” (verses 5 to 7). Oh, what an accusation! Once again they cook up a charge of treason against them, “saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. And when they had taken security from Jason and the others, they let them go” (verses 8 and 9). Here is a man worthy of admiration: he put himself into danger and sent them away out of it!

“And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived there, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble,” it says, “than those in Thessalonica.” “More noble”: that is, more considerate in their behavior, “in that they received the word with all readiness”; and they did this not thoughtlessly, but with a careful strictness that had no passion in it, “searching the Scriptures to see whether these things were so” (verses 10 and 11). “Therefore many of them believed, and also of the honorable Greek women, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God was being preached by Paul at Berea, they came there too and stirred up the people. And then the brothers immediately sent Paul away, to go as if to the sea; but Silas and Timothy stayed on there” (verses 12 to 14). See how at one time he gives way, and at another presses on, and in many things he makes his plans by human reckoning. “And those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens; and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed” (verse 15). But let us look again at what has been said.

“Three Sabbath days,” it says — the time when they were free from work — “he reasoned with them, opening the Scriptures” (verse 2). For this is what Christ also used to do: on many occasions we find him reasoning from the Scriptures, and not on every occasion persuading people by miracles. For people took a hostile stand toward miracles, calling those who worked them deceivers and conjurers; but the man who persuades people with reasons from the Scriptures is not open to this charge. And on many occasions we find Paul convincing people simply by the force of his teaching. At Antioch “the whole city was gathered together” (Acts 13, verse 44). So great a thing is this too; for indeed this is itself no small miracle — no, it is a very great one. [f]

And so that they would not think they had done it all by their own strength, but rather that God allowed it, two things happened. “Some of them were persuaded,” and so on, “and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the leading women not a few”; but the others did the opposite: “The Jews, moved with envy,” and so on (verses 4 and 5). And since the calling itself was a matter of God’s ordering beforehand, they neither thought highly of themselves, as though the triumph were their own, nor were they terrified, as though everything rested on them.

But how is it that he said, “that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised” (Galatians 2, verse 9), and yet he preached to the Jews? He did this as something over and above. For he did other things too, beyond what he was obliged to do. For instance, Christ ordained that they should “live by the good news” (First Corinthians 9, verse 14), but our apostle did not do so. Christ did not send him to baptize (First Corinthians 1, verse 17), yet he did baptize. See how he was a match for all of them! Peter was sent to the circumcised, he to the Gentiles, the greater part.

But if he had to preach to Jews, how is it that he said again, “For he who worked effectively in him toward the circumcised was also mighty in me toward the Gentiles” (Galatians 2, verse 8)? In the same way that those apostles also had dealings with the Gentiles, though they had been set apart for the circumcised, so too did our apostle. The greater part of his work was indeed with the Gentiles; still, he did not neglect the Jews either, so that they would not seem to be cut off from them.

You will ask: “And how is it that he went into the synagogues first, as though this were his main aim?” True; but he persuaded the Gentiles through the Jews, and through the things he discussed with the Jews. And he knew that this was the most suitable course for the Gentiles, and the most likely to lead them to believe. That is why he says, “Since I am the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11, verse 13). And all his letters, too, do battle with the Jews.

“That the Christ,” he says, “had to suffer” (verse 3). If there was a necessity for his suffering, there was certainly a necessity for his rising again; for the first was far more wonderful than the second. For if God gave up to death the one who had done no wrong, much more did he raise him up again.

“But the Jews who did not believe took some worthless men of the lowest sort, and set the whole city in an uproar” (verse 5), so that the Gentiles were the greater number. The Jews did not think themselves enough to raise the disturbance. For since they had no reasonable pretext, they always carry out schemes like this by means of an uproar and by taking worthless men to their side. “And when they did not find them,” it says, “they dragged Jason and some of the brothers” (verse 6). What tyranny! Without any cause they dragged them out of their houses. “These all,” they say, “act against the decrees of Caesar” (verse 7). For since these men said nothing contrary to what had been decreed, and made no commotion in the city, they bring them up on a different charge: “saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people,” and so on (verse 8). And what are you afraid of, since he is dead?

“And when they had taken security,” and so on (verse 9). See how Jason, by giving security, sent Paul away, so that he put his own life at risk for him. “And the brothers,” and so on (verse 10). See how in every case the persecutions spread the preaching.

“Now these,” it says, “were more noble than those in Thessalonica” (verse 11). That is, they did nothing base: some were convinced, and the others, who were not, did nothing of that kind. “Daily,” it says, “searching the Scriptures to see whether these things were so”: not merely on a sudden impulse or a burst of zeal. “More noble,” it says: that is, in point of virtue. “Therefore many of them,” and so on (verse 12). And here again there are Greeks. [j]

“But when the Jews of Thessalonica,” and so on (verse 13): because there were worthless men there. And yet that city was the greater one. But it is no wonder that in the greater city the people were worse. No, of course the worse men go to the greater city, where the occasions for disturbance are many. Just as in the body, where the disease is more violent because it has more matter and fuel, so it is here.

But look, I beg you, at how their flight was arranged by God, and did not come from cowardice; otherwise they would have stopped preaching and would not have provoked them still more. But from this flight two things resulted: the rage of those Jews was quenched, and the preaching spread. And in words that suit their disorderly conduct he says, “stirring up the crowds.” It is just what was done at Iconium (Acts 14, verses 2 and 19): so that they might carry the added condemnation of destroying others besides themselves. This is what Paul says of them: “Forbidding the preaching to the Gentiles, so as always to fill up their sins; for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost” (First Thessalonians 2, verse 16).

Why did he not stay? For if at Lystra, where he was stoned (Acts 14, verses 19 and 21), he still stayed a long time, much more should he have stayed here. Why, then? The Lord did not wish them to be always working signs. For this itself is a sign, no less than the working of signs: that though they were persecuted, they won the victory without signs. So just as now he prevails without signs, so on many occasions it was his will to prevail that way then too. That is why the apostles did not run after signs either, as indeed Paul himself says: “We preach Christ crucified” (First Corinthians 1, verse 23). To those who crave signs, to those who crave wisdom, we give what cannot persuade even after signs — and yet we do persuade! So this was a mighty sign. See, then, how when the preaching spreads, they are in no hurry to run after signs. For it was right that from then on the believers themselves should be mighty signs to the rest. But they did these things by retreating and by advancing.

“And immediately,” it says, “the brothers sent Paul away” (verse 14). Now they send Paul away alone, for it was for him that they feared, that he might suffer some harm, since the head and leader of them all was none other than he. “They sent him away,” it says, “to go as if to the sea,” so that it would not be easy for them to seize him. For at that time they could not have done much by themselves, while with him they accomplished and achieved a great deal. For the present, it says, they wanted to rescue him.

So far is it from true that grace from above did everything in the same way on every occasion! On the contrary, it left them to make their plans by human judgment, only stirring them up, rousing them out of sleep, and making them take pains. Notice, for instance, that it brought them safely only as far as Philippi, and no further after that. “And receiving a command,” it says, “for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed” (verse 15). For though he was Paul, he still needed them. And it is with good reason that they are urged by God to go into Macedonia (Acts 16, verse 9), for Greece, too, lay bright before them there.

See what zeal the rest of the disciples showed toward their leaders! It is not as it is now with us, who are split apart and divided into great and small, some of us exalted and others envious. For this is why those others are envious: because we are puffed up, because we will not bear to be put on an equal footing with them. The reason there is harmony in the body is that there is no puffing up there; and there is no puffing up, because the members are made, of necessity, to need one another, and the head needs the feet. God has made it so with us too, and for all that we will not accept it — although even without this there ought to be love among us. [m]

Do you not hear how those outside accuse us when they say, “Need makes friendships”? The lay people need us, and we in turn exist for them. For there would be no teacher or ruler if there were no one to be taught; nor could he do his part, for it would not be possible. As the land needs the farmer, and the farmer the land, so it is here. What reward is there for the teacher to receive, when he has no one to present whom he has taught? And what reward for those who are taught, if they have not had the benefit of the best teaching?

So we need one another alike, each in turn: the governed need those who govern, and the leaders need those who obey; for rulers exist for the sake of the many. For no one is able to do anything alone by himself, whether it is a matter of ordaining or of weighing people’s counsels and opinions; such things carry more honor when they are done in assembly and by numbers. For instance, the poor need givers, and the givers in turn need receivers.

“Let us consider one another,” he says, “to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10, verse 24). This is why the assembly of the whole church has more power: what each person cannot do by himself alone, he is able to do when joined with the rest. That is why the prayers offered up here are so necessary: for the world, for the church from one end of the earth to the other, for peace, for those in trouble. And Paul shows this when he says, “so that for the gift given to us through many people, thanks may be given by many on our behalf” (Second Corinthians 1, verse 11); that is, so that God might grant the favor to many. And he often asks for their prayers.

See also what God says about the people of Nineveh: “And should I not spare that city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people?” (Jonah 4, verse 11). For if, he says, “where two or three are gathered together in my name” (Matthew 18, verse 20), they have great power, how much more when they are many?

And yet you can prevail even though you are only one — but not to the same degree. For why are you only one? Why do you not make many? Why do you not become a maker of love? Why do you not build friendship? You are lacking the chief excellence of virtue. For just as people being bad in agreement with one another provokes God more, so people being good with one mind delights him more.

“You shall not follow a crowd,” he says, “to do evil” (Exodus 23, verse 2). “They have all turned aside; together they have become worthless” (Romans 3, verse 12): they have become like people singing together in a chorus of wickedness. Make friends for yourself, ahead of household servants and ahead of everything else. If the peacemaker is a son of God (Matthew 5, verse 9), how much more the one who also makes friends? If the one who only reconciles is called a son of God, what will the one not deserve who makes friends of those who have been reconciled? [o]

Let us take up this trade. Let us make friends of those who are enemies to one another; and those who are not actually enemies, but are not friends either, let us bring them together — and, before all others, ourselves. For just as the man who is at odds with his own household and quarrels with his wife carries no authority when he reconciles others, but will be told, “Physician, heal yourself” (Luke 4, verse 23), so a man will be told in this case too. What, then, is the enmity within us? That of the soul against the body, that of vice against virtue. Let us put an end to this enmity; let us take away this war; and then, being at peace, we will also speak to others with great boldness, since our conscience will not be accusing us. Anger fights against gentleness, love of money against contempt for it, envy against goodness of heart. Let us put an end to this war, let us overthrow these enemies, let us set up these trophies, let us establish peace in our own city.

We have within us a city, with its own way of life, and many citizens and many foreigners. But let us banish the foreigners, so that our own people are not ruined. Let no foreign or counterfeit teaching come in, no fleshly desire. Do we not see that if an enemy is caught in a city, he is tried as a spy? Then let us not only banish foreigners; let us drive out enemies as well. If we see one, let us hand over to the ruler — that is, to the conscience — that thought which is truly a foreigner, a barbarian, even though it is dressed up in a citizen’s clothes. For there are many thoughts of this kind within us, enemies by nature, but dressed in sheep’s skins.

Think of the Persians. When they have taken off the tiara, the trousers, and the barbarian shoes, and put on the other clothing that is usual among us, and have cut their hair close and speak our own language, they hide war under their outward dress. But once you apply torture, you bring what is hidden to light. So it is here: examine such a thought under torture, again and again, and you will quickly see that its spirit is a stranger’s. And to show you by example the kind of spies the devil sends into us to spy out what is within us, come, let us strip one of them and examine it strictly at the judgment seat; and, if you like, let us bring forward some of those that Paul exposed.

“These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-made worship, and humility, and neglect of the body, not in any honor, to the satisfying of the flesh” (Colossians 2, verse 23). The devil wanted to bring in Judaism. Now if he had brought it in under its own form, he would not have gotten his way. So notice how he managed it: “You must neglect the body. This is the true philosophy: not to accept foods, but to guard against them. This is humility.” [q]

And now again, in our own times, in the case of the heretics, he wanted to bring us down to the creature. See, then, how he dressed up his deceit. If he had said, “Worship a creature,” he would have been caught. But what does he say? “God is a created being.” By God he means the Son and the Holy Spirit. But let us lay open the meaning of the apostles’ writings for the judges to decide; let us bring him there. They themselves will recognize both the preaching and the language.

Many people make unjust gains “so that they may have something to give to the poor”: this too is a wicked thought. But let us strip it, let us convict it, so that we may not be taken in by it, but may escape all the devil’s schemes and hold to sound teaching with strictness, and so be able both to pass safely through this present life and to obtain the good things promised, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.