ACTS 17:1-9
2. The religionists were so envious that they “moved” to do something about it. Just what they did is seen in Paul’s let-
ter to the Thessalonians (1 Th.2:3-10). The religionists talked against Paul, spreading rumors about him.
a. They spread the rumor that his preaching...
• was deceitful (v.3).
• was from unclean or impure motives (v.3).
• was a fraud, a false gospel (v.3).
b. They spread the rumor that Paul...
• was a man-pleaser (v.4).
• resorted to flattery to achieve his ends (v.5).
• used a cloak of covetousness—deceived to make money—preached out of greed (v.5).
• was seeking glory (v.6).
• was unjust or crooked (v.10).
• was to be blamed, reproached, exposed (v.10).

Thought 1. Rumors are the very things often used against the servants of God. However, this is not the most shock-
ing fact. In this case it was preachers attacking a preacher; Jewish ministers attacking a Christian minister. Note this:
a person is usually attacked by his own professional peers more than by anyone else. And the reason is too often
envy and jealousy.


5
(17:6-7) Gospel—Preaching: the charge against the messengers and the message. The mob could not find Paul and Si-
las. They were out someplace. Paul had been staying at the house of a man named Jason. The mob dragged him and
some other believers before the rulers of the city and made two charges.
1. The charge was that the message was revolutionary, a message of insurrection; it turned the world upside down.
a. The charge was true in one sense. The gospel does change lives. It turns men from sin and shame to God
and from immorality to purity.
b. The charge was false in the sense the accusers meant. They said that the message disturbed the community
and threatened the public peace, put people in an uproar and infringed upon their rights.

Thought 1. The same charges are often made against the church and believers, especially when the needs of a large
number of people are beginning to be met.

2. The message was the claim that Jesus is King. Note that one of the major teachings of Scripture is the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ to earth. Paul had been teaching the glorious truth to the believers (1 Th.4:13f). The public at large had mi-
sunderstood the teaching, “Jesus Christ is King.” But He is the King of man’s spirit and of heaven, of the spiritual world and
dimension of being, not of this world (Jn.18:36-37). He came to rule and reign in the hearts and lives of men, in the realm of
the spiritual and eternal, not of the physical and temporal. No earthly power need be concerned about Christ usurping the au-
thorities and kingdoms of this earth. The Lord’s concern is the spiritual revolution of men, the changing of their hearts and
lives to live righteously and godly in this present world.
Note: a righteous and godly man becomes a much more loyal and responsible citizen than an immoral and unjust man. The
latter is much more likely to cause the collapse of his government through the sowing of dishonesty and corruption, immoral-
ity and unfaithfulness, unattachment and selfishness, dishonor and betrayal.

“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the
wicked” (Pr.11:11).
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Pr.14:34).
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that ta-
keth a city” (Pr.16:32).
“Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteous-
ness” (Pr.25:5).
“For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding
and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged” (Pr.28:2).

6
(17:8-9) World, Reaction—Gospel, Reaction: the world’s fear of the message. Very simply, the city leaders feared the
loss of their positions and authority, esteem and recognition, power and rule, wealth and livelihood. If the news of anoth-
er King reached Caesar, Rome would react and remove the city leaders and they would lose all. Apparently, the officials only
took notice of Paul’s preaching so they could keep an eye on things and prevent the rise of a Christian King in their midst.
They put Jason under a bond that apparently was to prevent him from housing the ministers again and to see to it that they
left the city immediately (cp. 1 Th.2:17-18).

Thought 1. Men reject Christ because of what it will cost them. Christ demands the denial of this world and death to
all selfish desires and ambitions.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever
will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Lk.9:23-24).
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple” (Lk.14:33).
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Ro.8:13).
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