Scripture Reference:
Acts 17:1-15
Suggested Emphasis:
Study the Scripture to know the truth.
Memory Verse:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right.” 2 Timothy 3:16,ICB
Story Overview:
Paul continues his 2nd Missionary Journey by visiting the cities of Thessalonica and Berea. In Thessalonica, a number of people began to follow Jesus, but others were jealous and caused trouble. Paul went on to Berea where the people received the message of Jesus with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Troublemakers from Thessalonica soon followed and caused so much trouble that the Christians escorted Paul to Athens for his own safety.
Background Study:
Click here for an overview of the Book of Acts
Maps available from https://www.freebibleimages.org/
This lesson is a continuation of Paul’s 2nd missionary journey. The journey had begun with Paul and Silas setting off from Antioch and traveling across Asia Minor, re-visiting the churches that Paul and Barnabas had established during their 1st journey. By the time they arrive in Thessalonica they had already spent time in Philippi.
What happens in Thessalonica sets the scene for their next stop in Berea.
Thessalonica:
From Philippi, Paul would have traveled on the Roman road system called the Via Egnacia. This was the 1,120-kilometre (696-mile) Roman road system that connected a string of Roman colonies from the Adriatic Sea to the Bosphorus. Like other major Roman roads, it was about six metres (19.6 ft) wide, paved with large polygonal stone slabs or covered with a hard layer of sand. (information about the Via Egnacia has been taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Egnatia).
This brought Paul and his companions to the port city of Thessalonica, now the modern-day city of Thessaloniki, Greece.
There had been no synagogue in Philippi but Thessalonica had a synagogue and Jewish community. Just as he had done many times before, Paul begins his mission work in the city by first visiting the synagogue.
Some of the Jewish leaders were jeolous when members of their synagogue and even people from the community began following Jesus. They were angry and convinced people of bad character to form a mob and riot. When they could not find Paul, the mob dragged a man named Jason in front of the city officials and said Jason had allowed Paul to stay at his house. The group falsely accused Jason of the high Roman offence of treason. To them, there was only one king, Caesar so they said it was treason when Paul preached that Jesus was the king over all.
Jason and other believers had to pay fines but Paul and Silas left the city that night and traveled on to Berea.
Years later, we will hear of Thessalonica again. As time goes by, the church will grow and becomes established in Thessalonica. Paul would later write letters to them, and the letters, 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians, form part of the New Testament.
Berea:
Berea is now known as Veria, Greece, and it is 73 kilometres (just over 45 miles) west-southwest of Thessaloniki.
Again, Paul and Silas begin their visit with a trip to the local synagogue. The only Scriptures Paul and Silas would have used would have been those of the Old Testament. The documents that would make up the New Testament had not yet been written. But Paul knew that Jesus had been prophesied about throughout the Old Testament. The Jews were awaiting a Messiah. God was fulfilling his promises through the Jewish nation, so speaking to Jews was the right place to begin.
The writer of Acts points out that the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians. They were called noble because
- They received the message with great eagerness.
- They examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true.
The Jews that had caused so much trouble in Thessalonica heard about Paul’s success in Berea. They travelled over to Berea for the express purpose of stirring up trouble. This action confirms Paul’s statement about their lack of noble character.
Again, Christians stepped in to protect these missionaries. Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea, while Paul was sent on to the coast. This either meant he would sail or follow the road along the coast to his next destination. The brothers escorted Paul to Athens, and arrangements were made for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Study of God’s Word
The noble people of Berea are a good example for us. With open minds and hearts, they were eager and open to what God had to say to them. But, at the same time, they were willing to study the Scripture to ensure that whatever a preacher said measured up to what God had said in His Word. Encourage children always to compare what they hear to what the Scripture says.
Here are some verses about the importance of Scripture. I especially like the first one because it is from a letter Paul later wrote to Timothy. Paul knew Timothy’s mother and grandmother had taught him Scripture since he was a small child.
Way to Introduce the Story:
Make sure every student has a bible (Old and New Testaments) and have a “sword drill” (The name of this game comes from the Bible being referred to as a sword in Hebrews 4:12 and Ephesians 6:17). The teacher calls out a scripture (make sure you do some of the memory verses!) and the students all search for the verse in their bibles. The winner of that round is the first to find, read, and begin reading it out loud. Play a few rounds. Point out the importance of knowing how to search for scriptures in the bible. “In today’s story we are going to read about two cities where Paul preached. Most of the people in one of the cities did not search the scriptures. Paul left there and went to another city where the people studied God’s word. Luke, the writer of Acts, called these people noble.”
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The Story:
Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey began in Antioch. He and Silas travelled through Asia Minor, visiting the churches Paul helped establish on his 1st Journey. Then, they sailed across the Aegean Sea to teach people in Macedonia. These men travelled wherever God wanted them to teach people about Jesus.
One of the places where Paul and Silas preached was in the city of Thessalonica. There were many Jewish people in this city, and they often gathered together in their meeting place, called a “synagogue”. Since Paul was an educated Jewish teacher, he went to the synagogue to tell the other Jews about Jesus.
Long ago, in the times of the Old Testament, God chose the Jewish people to be his nation and follow him. God would use the Jewish people to bless the world. A Messiah would come from this nation. He would be their king and the true king of the world. The Messiah would rescue the world from the power of sin and death.
Paul’s message for the Jewish people in the synagogue was that the Messiah had come and that the Messiah was Jesus. He had died on the cross but was raised alive again to reign as the world’s true king so that everyone could be saved from the power of sin and death.
Some Jews believed in Paul and decided to become followers of King Jesus. Other people in the city were not Jews but believed in God. When they heard about Jesus, they became followers, too. Even some important women in Thessalonica heard Paul speak and decided to become Christ-followers (Christians).
But not all of the Jews believed what Paul was saying about Jesus. Some did not believe Jesus was the Messiah and did not want anyone else to believe it either. They were jealous that so many people were listening to Paul and Silas.
These were not nice people. They found some bad people in the town and got them to cause trouble and make everyone angry. They thought that Paul was staying at the home of a man named Jason, so they rushed to Jason’s house. Paul wasn’t there, but they drug Jason out of his house and took him to the court officials.
Jason was innocent, but the men accused him and his friends of causing trouble in the city. Finally, the court officials told Jason he could return home if he paid them money and promised to stay out of trouble.
Thessalonica had become a dangerous place, so that night, some Christians helped Paul and Silas leave the city. They sent them to the city of Berea.
When he arrived in Berea, Paul went to their synagogue to tell the Jewish people of Berea that Jesus was the Messiah. But when Paul spoke to them, he found they were very different from the people in Thessalonica. Luke writes that the Bereans were “more noble”.
A noble person has good personal qualities and is moral, as evidenced by their open mind and heart. The noble Bereans listened carefully to what Paul said and then studied the Scripture to learn more. They read about what God had to say about the Messiah. They knew the Scripture was true and wanted to ensure that everything Paul said agreed with what God said.
And it did! Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus was the King of the whole world! Because of this, many of the Bereans in the synagogue decided to follow Jesus. As Paul and Silas continued to speak with people, many other people besides Jews became followers of Jesus, too.
Paul, Silas, and even their friend, Timothy, continued talking to people about Jesus in Berea. Meanwhile, the news got back to Thessalonica, and the angry Jews from there travelled to Berea to cause trouble. Soon, they convinced some people in Berea to be angry with Paul. Paul’s life was in danger.
Now, Berea had become a dangerous place for Paul. But the Christians in Berea made sure he was safe. They took Paul to the coast and then escorted him down to Athens. They promised to send Silas and Timothy to him soon.
Paul remembered the noble Christians in Berea, but as he looked around at all of the idols in Athens, he knew that these people needed to hear about God and Jesus, too. There was still much work to do.
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Ways to Tell the Story:
This story can be told using a variety of methods. Always remain true to the facts found in the Bible but help children connect to its meaning by using drama, visual aids, voice inflection, student interaction and/or emotion.
Click here for visual aids and story-telling methods.
Click here to download the slideshow or click here for the printable illustrations.
Be selective. Each teacher is unique, so only use the illustrations that best relate to how YOU tell the story in THIS lesson. Too many illustrations can be confusing, so eliminate any that cover other stories or details you do not wish to emphasise in this lesson.
Or use the video below.
Review Questions:
- What is a synagogue? The building where Jews met together to learn about God
- Who was the Christian who was accused of teason in Thessalonica? Jason
- Why are the Bereans said to be of “more noble character than the Thessalonians”? They received the message about Jesus with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul was preaching was true.
Song Suggestions:
- B-I-B-L-E
- Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day
- The Books of the New Testament.
- Refer to the Song Page on this website for more options.
Learning Activities and Crafts:
(How to choose the best learning activities for my teaching situation)
Activities:
- Trace Paul’s Second Journey on a Map
- Make sure every student has a bible (Old and New Testaments) and has a “sword drill” where you call out scriptures, and the class races to find them in their bibles. (The name of this game comes from the Bible being referred to as a sword in Hebrews 4:12 and Ephesians 6:17).
- Be sure to spend extra time on today’s memory verse. You can work on it for the next few weeks. This is one the children need to know.
- Learn how to study the scripture like the Bereans. Older children can be introduced to bible dictionaries, concordances, atlases, and commentaries. You might visit the church library to see some available study material.
- Help the children to begin their bible dictionary. Please write down the new words they have learned this term and give some Scripture references.
- Object Lesson: Bring a food item or candy bar to class and place it in front of the children. Lay your bible beside it. Talk about how simply looking at the candy bar is not enough. It is not until we take it and eat it that we can enjoy it. The Bible is the same. Just carrying it around or looking at it is not enough. It is not until we read it that we can receive the benefits. Read a few Scriptures you have chosen beforehand. After discussing this with the children, let them enjoy the candy bar.
- To review, you or the children can draw a large outline of Paul on a whiteboard or piece of paper (even drawing with a stick in the sand works fine if you are outside). Then, after you have taught the lesson, ask the children to think about what they have just learned from the Bible. Have them write descriptive words and/or draw pictures inside and around the outlined illustration of Paul. When you see what the children are writing or drawing, you may be surprised or encouraged by what insights they have picked up from the story. This is also a good opportunity to correct or add to anything you might not have covered as well as you could have when you were teaching.
If you prefer, you can download and print the illustration of Paul provided here and then have the children write and draw on it for the review. - Alternatively, if you are teaching a series of lessons about Paul, you might outline his shape on a large poster or paper and then add descriptive words about him each time you study a new lesson.
- Click here for the 16 lessons about the Life of Paul grouped together as a set.
Crafts:
- Make a relief map of Paul’s Journeys featuring the place in today’s story. If you are studying Paul’s journeys over a few lessons, then you could add more details to the map each time you learn about another stop on the journey. Instructions on how to make a relief map at https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/step-by-step-to-making-salt-dough-map/
- Make a scroll. Click here for instructions. Write this verse on it: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, NIV.
Print bookmarks, trading cards or timelines (printable pages).- Visit the Teaching Ideas page for additional activities and crafts.
Other Online Resources:
- Worksheet, Wordsearch of Books of New Testament (christiananswers.net)
- Map of Paul’s 2nd journey (deeperstudy.com)
- Review: Create a “passport” that covers Paul’s life. Good visual ideas and activities. Could be split up to go with several lessons or taught all together as a review of previous lessons concerning Paul found (kidsbibledebjackson.blogspot.co.nz)
