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“He Reasoned With Them From the Scriptures”“Bearing Thorough Witness” About God’s Kingdom
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“They . . . were seeking to have Paul and Silas brought out to the mob.”—Acts 17:5
and Jason has received them as his guests. All these men act in opposition to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus.’” (Acts 17:5-7)
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“He Reasoned With Them From the Scriptures”“Bearing Thorough Witness” About God’s Kingdom
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The second charge was far more serious. The Jews argued that the missionaries proclaimed another King, Jesus, thereby violating the decrees of the emperor.a
12. What shows that the charges against Christians in Thessalonica could have brought serious consequences?
12 Recall that the religious leaders brought a similar charge against Jesus. To Pilate they said: “We found this man subverting our nation . . . and saying he himself is Christ a king.” (Luke 23:2) Possibly fearing that the emperor might conclude that Pilate condoned high treason, he sentenced Jesus to death. Similarly, the charges against the Christians in Thessalonica could have brought serious consequences. One reference work states: “It is hard to exaggerate the danger to which this exposed them, for ‘the very suggestion of treason against the Emperors often proved fatal to the accused.’”
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“He Reasoned With Them From the Scriptures”“Bearing Thorough Witness” About God’s Kingdom
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a According to one scholar, there was at that time a decree of Caesar forbidding the making of any prediction “of the coming of a new king or kingdom, especially one that might be said to supplant or judge the existing emperor.” Paul’s enemies might well have misrepresented the apostle’s message as a violation of such a decree. See the box “The Caesars and the Book of Acts.”
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