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Acts 17:1-15
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.
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
I can sometimes be so gullible that it is embarrassing. It’s so embarrassing that I have put it out of my memory, so I can’t even share an example. Suffice it to say that in the moment, it sounds like, “Really?” Then come the snickers – and I don’t mean the candy bar variety. It’s embarrassing. Like I said…
But there is an equally dangerous posture toward ideas and reports of various kinds. Rejecting things out of hand because they don’t conform to your idea of what should be is dangerous. If a terrible tsunami is heading your way and you disbelieve it’s imminent arrival just because you’ve never seen one before, that could be deadly. Just as believing one is on its way when it is not can cause you to abandon valuables in your hurry to escape.
Those may not be the greatest examples, but the reality of the Thessalonians’ out-of-hand dismissal of Paul and Silas’ message is an example of a dangerous and destructive skepticism. On the other hand, the Bereans’ example of examining the teachings of Paul and Silas is laudable. They will neither reject out-of-hand, nor accept their message naively. They will study the Scriptures for themselves to see if these claims are true.
Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God? Is he the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets and promises? Do the prophets actually say that the Christ must suffer and die and then rise from the dead? These are important and far-reaching claims. If they are true, the whole of life and faith must change. If they are false, Paul and Silas should be beaten and jailed.
They say that a person convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. In other words, someone may parrot agreement with a manipulative teacher (or politician?). But under the surface of outward agreement lies a heart still unconvinced.
Sadly, also, someone whose mind is made up – no matter what you say – can too easily turn into a manipulative member of the thought police. The Thessalonians who come to Berea are those thought police. The people of Berea are, sadly, going to have to endure their coercive threats and innuendos.
The paradox of being of more noble character is that to be of noble character means that you are not easily swayed from convictions firmly founded. But it also means that you’re constantly willing to reexamine your beliefs in light of Scripture. It’s said that if you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for everything. On the other hand, if you refuse to change your stand, you may find you are standing for the wrong thing. The only way I know of to avoid that is to search the Scriptures in a constant effort to conform to what God has revealed there.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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