Marvel at the Power of Our Risen Savior’s Word!

5th Sunday of Easter, 5/18/14
Acts 17:1-12


Marvel at the Power of Our Risen Savior’s Word!
I. It overcomes strong opposition.
II. It works wonders in humble hearts.


Talk is cheap. I’m sure you’ve heard or spoken those words, maybe countless times. You’ve lived long enough to know that some people have a problem backing up what they say. In fact, we’re convinced that all too often the speaker has no intention of doing what he or she said they were going to do. Their words don’t mean much. So we won’t get our hopes up until we see them do what they say.

But there is one person who never had that problem. You can guess who that is. Jesus always did what he said he would do. The greatest example of that is telling his disciples and others that he would be put to death in Jerusalem at the hands of his enemies but would rise again in three days. And that’s exactly what he did. Without a doubt, his resurrection is the most astounding display of his almighty power.

And because of his resurrection, his word has power—the power to save. Paul once wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). The power behind the good news of Jesus as the world’s only Savior from sin is the risen Savior himself. Every time a sinner comes to faith in Jesus, a miracle has taken place. And it makes no difference if that miracle occurs in an infant just weeks old or in an adult decades old.

Nor does it matter if the environment is friendly or hostile to the gospel. That’s what we hear happening in the account from Acts before us this morning. Two different cities—Thessalonica and Berea. Two different environments—one, open hostility to the gospel; the other, humble reception. But in both cases the word of our risen Lord was powerful to save. Join me, my Christian friends, in marveling at that power. Marvel at the power of our risen Lord’s word! May this word of our Lord fill us with quiet admiration and brimming gratitude for the gospel’s saving work in our hearts and lives.

Part I.

I began this sermon with a familiar quip. Have you heard this one: “shoot the dog, ride the horse, feed the tiger”? I heard it from a business executive. In the business world, you shoot the dog. In other words, you get rid of what’s not working or making money. You ride the horse. In other words, you keep doing what’s working and making money. And you feed the tiger. In other words, you invest time and energy into the most promising idea or new effort.

The Apostle Paul rode the horse in Thessalonica. By that I mean he went into town and once again relied on a method for sharing the gospel that was tried and true. Did you catch it when I read these words earlier? If not, listen again. “When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.” He went to the local synagogue. Why? Because that’s where people gathered to hear about the Messiah whom God had promised to send. As the text indicates, many of them were Jewish by race; others were Gentiles who had converted to Judaism. On three successive Saturdays Paul went there to present the good news that Jesus was that promised Messiah.

But don’t overlook the detail of how he did that. It says he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” These people were familiar with what we call the Old Testament. Paul showed them the promises about the Messiah in the Old Testament and how Jesus filled every one of them, especially regarding his death on Calvary’s cross and his resurrection.

And that message had power. It did what Jesus wanted it to do. “Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.” Paul and his co-worker, Silas, must have been ecstatic. The gospel had previously taken hold in Asia Minor; now it was doing the same in Europe. The power of the risen Lord’s word!

But almost immediately deep trouble arose. “But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.” These are the Jews who didn’t believe what Paul had explained to them. They were jealous of the success of the gospel. That sounds odd to us, but it makes sense if you’re Jewish by faith. That word “jealous” can also mean that they were trying to defend the honor of God. In other words, they considered what Paul said to be blasphemy.

The rioters got the attention of the rulers of Thessalonica. They dragged some of the Christians before the rulers and then we hear them speak a familiar lie, “They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” Aren’t those almost exactly the charges the Jews brought against Jesus before Pilate? It wasn’t true then. Pilate himself said so. It still wasn’t true.

But the false charges still had their desired effect. “When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.” I imagine a scene much like the ones we see coming out of the Middle East today. Not pretty. Not what God intended. Not the kind of reception Jesus wanted.

But that didn’t stop the power of our risen Lord’s word. Paul and Silas had to leave Thessalonica, but that didn’t end Christianity there. Far from it. Paul later wrote two letters to the Christians in Thessalonica to encourage them to remain faithful to the Lord in spite of persecution and open opposition. Amazing, isn’t it? But that’s what our Lord’s word does.

Marvel at the power of our risen Lord’s word! It overcomes strong opposition.

Have you ever shared the truth of God with someone but they didn’t believe what you were telling them? It’s probably happened to all of us. Remember how disappointed you felt? Maybe even crushed? But that’s what happens at times with the word of our Savior. People reject it. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. It is still the power of God for salvation. So let go of the guilt. You did what your Savior asks you to do—simply to share his powerful word. And then let that word be your own power—the power to remove the pain of guilt or the dark cloud of failure. That power will convince you of your own forgiveness and eternal life. That power will restore your confidence in your God to accomplish his saving will when and where it pleases him, not you. And then, when what you say about your Lord does take hold and changes a person’s heart, marvel. Marvel at the power of our risen Lord’s word. It overcomes even strong opposition.

Part II.

What’s your opinion of God’s word? Since you made the effort to be in this church this morning and not some other church, I’m going to assume that your opinion of God’s word is high. That’s not the case among some Christians who consider much of the Bible to be myths. But we believe and confess that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God.

The Christians in Berea held the same opinion. After leaving Thessalonica, Paul and Silas travelled about 50 miles southwest to a city called Berea. And what a different reception they received! Our text tells us, “On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Once again Paul rode the horse. He went to the synagogue in Berea and spoke with Jews who were waiting for the promised Messiah to come. Paul told them how Jesus fulfilled every one of those promises. And “they received the message with great eagerness.” It sounds like they couldn’t hear enough of God’s word from Paul. Amazing!

But it didn’t end on the Sabbath day. They “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” They went back to the written word of God to make sure that Paul had been quoting the word correctly. And sure enough, what Paul said was true. Imagine them sharing those promises back and forth with each other and matching them up with what Paul told them about Jesus. In this regard they were model Christians. They focused their faith on the sure word of God.

And then we don’t hear of them in the Bible again. We don’t know if Paul wrote them to them. This was Paul’s second journey. He traveled through this area on his third journey but we don’t know if he stopped in Berea or not. It’s likely he did, but we’re not sure. Why is that? I’ve got a guess. The gospel received such a wonderful reception from humble hearts in Berea that this is what the Holy Spirit wanted us to focus on. This is what he wanted us to remember about the Bereans. They studied God’s word and humbly received it by faith.

Marvelous, isn’t it? Marvel at the power of our risen Lord’s word. It works wonders in humble hearts.

Have you ever received just what you needed from a particular passage in the Bible? In a dark moment you recited Psalm 23. In a terrible situation you recalled God’s promise to work everything out for your good. When bothered by sin and guilt, you remembered that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. I’m sure there are others. The word of God works. Shame on us for not going to it more often in time of need! Your Savior wants to share his comfort and strength with you. It comes through his word. Marvel at the power of our risen Savior’s word! It works wonders in humble hearts like yours and mine. Amen.