And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 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. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

Acts 17:10-15

Travelling at night is not my favorite. I remember as a teenager, my mother would tell me how she didn’t like to drive at night. I thought she was just being overly cautious. Now that I’m older, I agree with her. I do not like driving at night; and my children think I’m being overly cautious.

With the unrest at Jason’s house, the believers got Paul and Silas out of Thessalonica as fast as they could and sent them to Berea about 50 miles away in the middle of the night. I wonder what that looked like since they surely didn’t want a lighted path to show their pursuers where they were going. Travelling like that had to be difficult. They finally reach Athens and guess what? They go to the synagogue to preach.

Now the Bereans are commended in scripture differently than any other group of believers. As an intellectual city, they examined the scriptures daily and eagerly accepted the good news of the gospel affirming the teachings of Christ. They did not blindly receive Paul and Silas’ word; they were discerning and searched for themselves to see that their preaching was true.

Many believed (or as the KJV puts it “not a few”) and among them, many prominent people including prominent Greeks, and Thessalonians received news about the conversions. The jealous Jews took action and travelled down to Berea to bring trouble to Paul and Silas. This time believers sent Paul further away, over 200 miles away to Athens. However, Silas and Timothy stayed with the Bereans a while longer before joining Paul.

God wants us to search scriptures ourselves and to know what we believe. He did not create us to be robots, but intelligent beings able to think with logic and faith at the same time. Bible study draws us nearer to Him. We do, however, have an enemy that tries to do everything to get us out of the scripture or steal our time away from God. God’s Word is our Light in this dark world, showing us His way for a blessed life. Are you searching daily?

Written by Kaye Dee Richards. Kaye Dee lives with her husband Colin in Morrison, CO. They have 4 children, Joshua, Amelia, Victoria, and Julia.
To contact Kaye Dee, leave a comment, message us on Facebook or email comments@thebeautifulspirit.org.