David Bahn – Reflections

Acts 17:1-9

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,³ 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.” ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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, ⁷ and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. ⁹ And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Here’s a not-so-funny bit of fanciful humor:

In the middle of a big field, there stood a fence where a group of people were gathered near the opening.
On one side of the fence stood Jesus who called to the group of people to come be with him. On the other side of the fence stood the devil, also calling to the group of people.
It wasn’t long before some of the people went through the opening on Jesus’ side…and some of the people went through the fence on the devil’s side.
One man remained in the middle. He sat upon the fence trying to decide which side he belonged on while the two groups went their separate ways.
After a time, the devil reappeared, seemingly looking for something.
Spotting the man sitting on the fence, the devil called to him. The man shook his head and said, “I have not made up my mind yet. I haven’t decided which side of the fence I belong on.”
To which the devil replied, “Hey, you’ve already made your decision, you see, I OWN the fence.”

Some of the people to whom Paul spoke on this occasion “were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas…” But others were jealous, aligned themselves with “wicked men of the rabble,” and formed a mob in order to undercut the message of the Gospel.

I know better, but I still marvel at how anyone could seek to undo the work of God and stand in the way of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ message is Good News. But some do not see it that way and refuse to embrace the invitation that he offers. Sometimes that is because they don’t want to give up their power, other times it is because they don’t want to bow their knee to Jesus as Lord. Many times, they don’t even know what they are rejecting; so often they reject a caricature of the message of Jesus, and a misunderstanding of his call to repentance and faith.

But the truth is that Jesus changes everything: including how we deal with our money, how we relate to other people, how we understand the workings of the world, and what we live for. Let’s not be on the fence in regard to Jesus’ call and claim. He has risen from the dead: all glory to him! Because he lives we live a new life – now and throughout all eternity. Thanks be to God!