Acts 17:11,12

THE STORY OF THE BEREANS

‘These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.’

Acts 17:11

The same sun that hardens clay, melts wax. The same truth which aroused the tumult in Thessalonica met with a loving reception at Berea. These men were accounted noble because they ‘searched the Scriptures.’

I. The object of their search.—Why did they take this pains with the Scripture? Well, not to cavil at the truth they found in it. There is such a thing as searching the Scriptures to discover, if possible, some flaw in them. The Bereans were not seekers of this order. They searched the Scriptures, but it was—

(a) To ascertain the truth through them. In their eyes the Scriptures constituted the final Court of Appeal. ‘What is Truth?’ asks one; ‘where shall we find it?’ The Bereans could have informed him—you will find it in the Scriptures. The Scriptures for them were the source and fountain of truth.

(b) That they might ascertain the truth about Christ. St. Paul and the Apostles brought certain strange things to their ears. They had been accustomed to hear of Christ in the Old Testament Scripture, but they had not thought of Him as a suffering, but as a reigning Messiah. St. Paul’s theme was a Suffering Christ. ‘Christ must needs have suffered’ was his constant cry. This was new doctrine to them. That He must needs reign, they all understood. Had not Jeremiah said: ‘A King shall reign in righteousness’? But that He must be numbered with the transgressors—that they had overlooked.

II. The manner of their search.—How did they conduct it?

(a) Candidly. They had their difficulties, but they were willing to be convinced. Prejudice was laid aside. What a hindrance is prejudice!

(b) Cordially. By which I mean their hearts as well as their heads were interested in the result. They did not regard the study merely as an intellectual exercise; they were not about to look upon the verification of St. Paul’s statements as merely a new view of truth, something which would interest the mind without affecting the heart or the life. It is clear from the whole tenor of the narrative that their hearts were profoundly touched, that they felt that this might be a turning-point in their history.

(c) Critically. Interested as they were, they were not credulous. They resolved to know the truth. They would exercise their private judgment. Notice that the Apostles did—

(d) Continually. They felt that not much could be done by a hasty or a cursory perusal. No certain results could be obtained at a single sitting; they must come again and again, until the truth began to dawn on their minds. The hurried, careless reader will never gain much knowledge of the truth. You cannot know a country, it has been well said, by driving through it on the highways. ways. You must sojourn in it, you must explore its hills and valleys. It takes time to enter into its treasures and scenes of beauty. So it is with the Scriptures. How few there are who really know their Bibles.

III. What were the results of this searching the Scriptures?—‘Therefore many of them believed.’

(a) The results were faith. ‘Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.’ If you want faith, occupy yourself with truth. Truth will make you believe before you are aware.

(b) Fellowship. A society was formed, a little church gathered—a church in which Jew and Greek, rich and poor, united. Honourable women threw in their lot with the despised and poor. Here is a true Christian revolution—worked not by compulsion from without but by inspiration from within—Christian love rising above all barriers and uniting in common worship and in common interest. ‘All one in Christ Jesus.’

(c) Fortitude. There are some, said our Lord, who receive the Word, but when troubles or persecutions arise, presently, they are offended. But that was not the case with the little Church at Berea. Persecution followed hard upon their profession of faith in Christ. The Jews at Thessalonica, when they learnt what Paul was doing, sent men to Berea to stir up the people, but the little Church stood firm. The children stood by their spiritual father, and stood by the truth. Paul was conveyed away to a place of safety, and in later days was accompanied by one of the converts of Berea—Sosipater—who is mentioned in the twentieth of Acts, and again in the list of helpers at the close of the Epistle to the Romans.

—Rev. E. W. Moore.

Illustration

‘What a confession was that of Tom Paine, the infidel, who admitted that while he was writing against the New Testament, he had not a copy of it in his possession, nor ever referred to it! The majority of the unbelievers in the Bible never read it. If they did, their unbelief would be untenable.’