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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Paul and Silas in Thessalonica Bible Verse:Acts 17:1-9 (ESV) "Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining 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.” And 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. But 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. And 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, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. " Message:
Paul and Silas continue their route through Macedonia (modern day northern Greece), east to west, and today they reach a major city. It was called Thessalonica and was a major port; today it is called “Thessaloniki” and is the second-largest city in Greece. (See Map.)
If we step back and look at the big picture, we see that Paul has had success converting both Jews and Gentiles. Women, although they did not speak in synagogues, are frequently mentioned both individually and generally; Paul apparently considered them important to his mission.
The resistance to Christian conversion is growing. To engage the power of the Roman authorities, the Jewish leaders attempt to convince them that Jesus is a temporal king, and therefore Paul and Silas are political enemies of Rome. Does this sound familiar? The parallel to the charges brought by Caiphas against Jesus before Pontius Pilate is unmistakeable.
Agnus Dei by Zuberan
The Jewish opponents form a violent mob; when they cannot find Paul, they drag out his main supporter, Jason, and other converts; they haul them before the Roman magistrate, claiming that they are political rebels.
Rome allowed an unusual degree of religious freedom to conquered territories, but any sign of political rebellion was dealt with swiftly and harshly. So the enemies of Christianity attempted to convince Roman authorities that Christianity was a political party, rather than a religion, just as they had attempted to convince Pilate that Christ had set himself up as the “King of the Jews”.
These events occurred during the reign of Claudius, a relatively sane and beneficent Roman Emperor. But his reign saw violent disruptions in Rome itself, resulting in the expulsion of all Jews. The date and reason for the Claudius expulsion are unclear, but one major historian (Suetonius) blames them on “Chrestus”. The riots were probably Jews attacking Christian converts in Rome; Claudius was not interested in what he considered an internal religious dispute and simply threw all the “Jews” out of Rome.
Note that the mob, instead of simply beating and stoning Paul and Silas as they had in Lystra (Acts 14:19), take them to the “police”; and the magistrate arrests them and then lets them free on bail, pending trial. Roman law has more power in civilized Macedonia than in the remote lands of Anatolia.
Meditation : Prayer : May the love of the Father, the tenderness of the Son, and the presence of the Spirit, gladden our hearts and bring peace to our souls, this day and all days,........Amen |
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