- This piece is part of a series on the book of Acts, specifically focusing on Paul's second missionary trip in Europe.
- The passage being discussed is Acts 17, which covers Paul's visits to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.
- The main theme is presenting the gospel with wisdom and discernment among different types of people.
- The speaker acknowledges discomfort with evangelizing but emphasizes the importance of sharing the gospel.
- The passage highlights Paul's approach to presenting the gospel and how it can be helpful for modern believers.
- The speaker encourages understanding and comprehensive presentation of the gospel to all kinds of people.
- The passage discusses the reactions to Paul's preaching in Thessalonica and Berea, and the subsequent move to Athens.
- The speaker concludes with a prayer for understanding and obedience to God's Word.

- The passage discusses Paul's pattern of proclaiming the gospel, starting in the Jewish synagogue and arguing from the scriptures that Jesus Christ is Lord.
- Paul faced opposition and uproar, but he did not let it hinder the message he preached.
- The importance of the scriptures in revealing the person of Jesus Christ is emphasized.
- The gospel is defined as the belief that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day.
- The scriptures, specifically the Tanakh, mention the Messiah's death, suffering, and resurrection.
- Many passages in the Hebrew scriptures refer to the Messiah and his reign.
- Examples of these passages are given, including the Messiah being a descendant of Eve, born of a virgin, and suffering for the sins of his people.
- The probability of one man fulfilling all these prophecies is extremely low, providing evidence for Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah.

- Peter Stoner's book "Science Speaks" applies the modern science of probability to prophecies about Jesus
- The probability of one man fulfilling just 8 prophecies is almost impossible
- Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and said the scriptures testify about him
- Events in Jesus' life, such as his birth in Bethlehem and crucifixion, fulfill prophecies
- Jesus fulfilled over 324 prophecies during his lifetime
- The Old Testament is relevant for Christians to understand Jesus
- The gospel is the good news of God's plan to save and restore creation through Jesus' work and ministry.

- The work and ministry of Jesus Christ includes his creation, suffering, death, resurrection, and continued ministry to the church.
- The gospel is summarized as God fulfilling his promise of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who offers forgiveness of sins and freedom from the law.
- The gospel also proclaims Jesus as king, which can be seen as a threat to earthly rulers.
- The response to the gospel varies, with some being open and receptive (Bereans) and others being contentious and resistant (Thessalonians).
- It is important for both presenters and listeners of the gospel to approach it with discernment and a willingness to examine and evaluate its truth.

- Importance of defending one's beliefs and standing up for what is right
- Emphasis on the need to study and love the scriptures
- Scriptures reveal Jesus and help us find Christ
- Through scriptures, we can present the gospel
- Prayer for enlightenment, discerning truth, and correction
- Gratitude for the gospel and growth in faith
- Dismissal of the audience

- This text discusses Paul's second missionary trip in Europe, specifically focusing on his visits to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.
- The main theme is presenting the gospel with wisdom and discernment among different types of people.
- The passage highlights Paul's approach to presenting the gospel and emphasizes the importance of sharing it.
- It discusses the reactions to Paul's preaching and the move to Athens.
- The importance of the scriptures in revealing Jesus as the Messiah is emphasized.
- The gospel is defined as the belief in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection for our sins.
- The probability of Jesus fulfilling prophecies about the Messiah is highlighted.
- The gospel is summarized as God fulfilling his promise through Jesus, offering forgiveness and freedom.
- The response to the gospel varies, with some being open and receptive and others being resistant.
- It is important to approach the gospel with discernment and a willingness to evaluate its truth.
- The importance of defending beliefs and studying the scriptures is emphasized.
- The text concludes with a prayer for enlightenment, discernment, and gratitude for the gospel.

Presenting the Gospel with Wisdom and Discernment Among the Religious - Acts 17:1-15

Well, as I was saying that we are still continuing in our studies and thinking and series on message on the book of Acts, and today we are going to continue in Acts 17.

Just to help us have a clear mindset of what is going on and what we've been looking into, throughout this second portion of our studies in the book of Acts, we have been looking and following Paul in his ministry to go around and proclaim the gospel.

We've been exactly looking into the second missionary, what is considered the second missionary trip of Paul, which happened in Europe, in the place exactly called Macedonia.

And today we are continuing in the book of, in the seventh chapter, we're still continuing to look into this trip that Paul is doing alongside other people like Silas and also even Luke to continue to proclaim the gospel.

And in this chapter 17, we are going to see exactly 2 moments in the passage.

The first moment starts for verse 1 to 15, Paul goes to Thessalonica and Berea, where Paul will be among those that are familiar to the God of Israel and the law of Moses.

And then the second movement, moments in the chapter, which start in verse 16, where we see Paul in Athens, among those that are not so familiar with the God of the Hebrews and the law of Moses.

The title of my message, as you can see, is Presenting the Gospel with Wisdom and Discernment Among the Religious.

In fact, it's very, very funny because 2 weeks ago, I was talking with Nick, and 1 of the things that I was saying, said, Nick, as I was giving feedback on his message, I said, Nick your message was good but your title was very very long.

And today I find myself that that's a long title that I'm bringing but the thing is that I wanted as I'm going through these chapters 17 I wanted us to be able to capture the idea of what I see in the passage that I think that it will be good for us to understand to get as we get out of chapter 17.

In fact I will be preaching not only this Sunday but next Sunday again I will be continuing to preach on these same chapters.

And what I want to do is to look to how, in fact, we can present the gospel with wisdom and discernment.

And dependently of the people we are to come in contact with.

And this is important for us today to look into this passage and to look to how Paul in fact approaches the presenting of the good of the gospel depending on the people that he's in contact with.

We are not all called to be full-time missionaries.

But we are all called to be testimony of Jesus Christ, to tell about his gospel, to tell about the good news, and to tell about what God has been doing in our lives.

We are called to be able to articulate the gospel and to present it in a very understandable ways to the people that we talk with.

A couple of weeks ago, our brother Bolaji, to encourage us as a congregation and challenge us as a congregation, brought to us the thoughts that we needed to be evangelizing and how we're going to evangelize, even propose that we will go evangelizing around us, even giving whether tracks or even talking to people about the gospel.

And I have to be sincere with you, like many of us, that kind of left me a little bit uncomfortable.

You know, I'm not a guy that goes out and gives a track to people and say, hey, stop them on the street.

Hey, get a track here in kind of 2, 1 minute trying to present the gospel.

So that kind of leave me a little bit uncomfortable.

Yet, we are all called to present the gospel.

You might be like this today, feeling with the idea of evangelization, kind of feeling uncomfortable.

I hope that as we go and we tackle today the Act 17, that we will be encouraged and challenged again to find ways to present the gospel Because indeed, yes, we are called to present the gospel.

So how Paul proceeds in doing that can actually be a good help for us.

So the big idea in going out through this chapter 17 is that for us to be a good witness of Jesus Christ we need to understand the gospel.

We need to be able to present it in a comprehensive way to all kind of people.

And as I said, I think and I believe that Paul's approach can help us.

So let's start by reading together today at 17 from verse 1 to 15.

When Paul and his companion had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue.

As I was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue and on 3 Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scripture explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.

This Jesus I'm proclaiming to you is the Messiah, he said.

Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of good God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

But others, Jews were jealous, so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city.

They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city's officials, shouting, These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here and Jason has welcomed them in his house.

They are all defying Caesar's decree saying that there is another king, 1 called Jesus.

When they heard this, the crowd and the city of his officials were thrown into turmoil.

Then they made Jason and the other postbound and let them go.

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.

On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

Now, the Bereans were of more noble characters than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scripture every day to see if what Paul said was true.

As a result, many of them believed and did as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowd and stirring them up.

The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.

Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and left with the instruction for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Father, we want to thank you for your Word.

I praise your name for this Word which is true, which is reliable, and which you have given and recorded for us for our instructions so that through the Scriptures we will be taught, edified, challenged, corrected.

Father, as we listen again together to your word today, I pray that through your spirit, by your spirit, you would just open our heart and our mind that you will help us to listen to you.

That your word will have a great impact in our lives, an impact that leads us to obey, leads us to put into practice the things that we hear.

Yes Lord, work through us this morning through your word and by your Holy Spirit so that we'll be encouraged in following you and serving you in a way that is pleasing to you and in proclaiming the truth of your love and care and grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So I just want to break down the passage as I look, as we look into it.

There is a pattern that we see in the way that Paul goes on as he proceeds to proclaim the gospel.

We see that Paul would always start by going into the Jewish synagogue.

This is what we see in verse 1 and verse 11, as also in Act 13.

In the synagogue, he would argue from the scriptures that Jesus Christ is Lord.

This in general will provoke this kind of response to the audience that we see in verse 4 to 5, verse 12 to 13.

From this response Paul will leave when there is, when rise opposition uproar in the goal that this will not be an hindrance to the message that is being preached.

I want to make 3 points from this passage as we go through it together.

What I want to stress out as we look to the passage is that the scriptures are of great importance to reveal to us the person of Jesus Christ.

And then as we're talking about proclaiming and preaching the gospel and presenting the gospel, what exactly is the gospel?

To be able to understand it and articulate it, it's very very important.

And also to look to how important it is for us to listen, or how in fact do we listen when either a new ideology or the scripture are presented to us.

How it's important for us to listen well, with an open mind and a readiness to examine the things that are presented to us.

So verse 17, 2 and 4 tells us that as was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue and on the 3 Sabbath day he reasoned with them from the scripture, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.

This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah." And then in verse 11, Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica.

For they received the message with a great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul would say was true.

So Paul would proclaim and say that The Messiah had to suffer and resurrect.

That was a key note in his presenting of his gospel, the gospel.

In fact, even in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 and 2, it says the same thing.

For what I have received I pass on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to scriptures.

The scriptures Paul is referring to here is the Tanakh, the Jewish writings, which englobes Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.

So if Paul argues that the scriptures are telling about the Messiah's death, suffering, and resurrection.

1 of the questions that we we can ask and surely did the crowd of his time.

Are the scriptures talking about the Messiah?

Do the scriptures actually talk or say something about the life of the Messiah?

To us today at the 21st century, knowing the New Testament, that might sound strange.

That I might ask this question, does the scriptures in fact talks about the Messiah?

We have the New Testament, they had what we call the Old Testament.

Lewis Institute that most Greek, most Hebrews and Christian theologian consider that 800 verses in the Hebrew scriptures refers to the Messiah.

Verses 500 refers and talks about his reign.

The Messiah is supposed to be a human being who was promised, who is promised by God to accomplish his divine will.

Through this person, God will reign and his plans will be accomplished.

He will establish the reign of peace and prosperity all over the world that will endure.

That's what the Messiah is presented in the scriptures.

I was, I find it very interesting and I started to search in fact through all the, the whole testament some of these passages that actually talks about the Messiah.

I cannot bring all of them to you this morning, but at least I think that, okay, I thought, okay, let me at least bring 15.

From these 15, I won't List all of them, but I'll give you 8.

Genesis 3, 14-15, the Messiah will be a descendant of Eve, a human being who will oppose Satan and destroy his work.

Deuteronomy 18, 1 to 20, the Messiah will exercise the office of a prophet as important as Moses was.

Isaiah 7, 14, the Messiah will be born of a virgin.

As I hear that, as I said, you might be very familiar with all of these passages I'm referring to.

Isaiah 1, 1 to 10, and Jeremiah 23, 5, the Messiah will be born from the line of David and will rule with righteousness and knowledge of God.

He will establish a reign of peace and justice.

Isaiah 52, 13 to 53, a well-known passage to many of us.

The Messiah will suffer and be despised by his own people.

He will bear their sin and receive the punishment of God for them.

He will die and be laid on the grave of a rich person.

Dina 7, 8, 1 to 28, Messiah's kingdom will be forever and over all the kingdom of the earth.

Dina 9, 24 to 27, the Messiah will come at the period of great turmoil for Israel, in the period of time which is comprised between the age of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the second destruction of the Temple.

He will be killed and after his death the temple will be destroyed.

It is understood that this prophecy was accomplished in AD 70 by the Romans under the Emperor Titus when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

Micah 8, the Messiah will come from Bethlehem and I could go on and go on and go on and go on.

The point is, and I want to make, is that as we look through all these passages, we cannot deny that those scriptures, the Hebrew Bible, the whole Testament, talks about the Messiah, present the Messiah, foretells about the story, paint a picture of the Messiah.

Question is, Does Jesus of Nazareth that Paul is proclaiming corresponds to the Messiah?

Does he pass the test of the scriptures that are presented about the Messiah?

Now there is a Christian mathematician who is called Peter Stoner.

You might have heard of him, I don't know.

But in his book Science Speaks, Peter Stoner says that to apply the modern science of probability to just 8 of these prophecies, we find that the chance that any man might have lived to the present time and fulfill all 8 prophecy is of 1 over 10 had a power 17 that's mean you have 17 0 after the 1 The probability that 1 man will accomplish 48 of his prophecies of the Hebrew scriptures jump from 1 to 1 to in from what the number 1 of 1 to over 10 at power 17 to 1 over power 157 that's 157 zeros after the 1.

That's a huge number, almost saying that it's almost impossible.

Now, Jesus attest over and over that he is the Messiah and that the scriptures talk about him.

He says in John 5, 39 and 40, you study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.

These are the very scripture that testifies about me.

But do not think that I accused you before the Father.

Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have your hopes set.

If you believed Moses, you will believe me, For he wrote about me.

But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?

The same idea, the same claim is made in Luke 24, 24-44.

He said, this is what I told you while I was still with you.

Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.

So to respond to the question, does Jesus Christ or the Jesus of Nazareth pass the test of the Messiah, we just need to look beyond this claim to some of the events of his life.

Events, Some of the events that he will either voluntarily fulfill or involuntarily happen in his life.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the city of David.

We found that in Matthew 2, 1-7, John 2, 42.

In Luke 1, 26 and 33, Jesus was born of a virgin and conceived by the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 17, 5, Jesus is declared Son of God by God himself.

In Luke 34-37, he entered voluntary Jerusalem on a donkey to fulfill a prophecy.

On March 26, 15, Jesus' life is a steam 30 pieces of money, of silver at his betrayal.

John 19, 28, Jesus is unjustly Accused, humiliated, crucified, his hands, his feet are pierced.

On the cross, he cries the Psalms 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

He is offered vinegar to drink, as we read in Matthew 27, 38, 34.

His clothes are divided by lot while he hangs on the tree, Matthew 27, 35.

The bones of his feet are not broken as it will happen to most of the condemned in John 29, 33 to 36.

It will be pierced on his side, John 19, 39, 37.

His body is laid on the tomb of a rich man in Matthew 27, 57 to 60.

His body will not stay on the tomb for more than 3 days because God will raise him from the dead in Luke 27, 1-8.

40 days after that, Jesus will be taken in heaven in Act 1, 9-10.

It is calculated that Jesus didn't only fulfill 8 prophecies.

He fulfilled throughout during his lifetime 324 prophecies.

Some prophecies are not yet completed, as we know.

Jesus talks about, some of the prophecies talks about the coming of the Messiah, the return of the Messiah, when the Messiah would come in glory.

The point is that when Paul says, Jesus is the Messiah that I'm proclaiming to you, there is great evidence of that fact and we can rest assured of that.

Now, all these are very important for us.

As I said a couple of times before, we Christians living in the 21st century, most of the time, we look to the New Testament.

As we think about Jesus, as we we want to learn about Jesus, we look to the New Testament.

We look to the Gospels and the writings of the Apostles.

These apostles and these first Christians at their time didn't have what we call the New Testament.

How many times do we read the whole testament and just pass it through and even say it's not relevant for us.

If you are a Christian, if you are here today and you think that the whole testament is not relevant for you, I just want to encourage you to reconsider your position and your view of the whole Testament.

Because all these are what God, a scripture that God has given us to reveal to us his son and his Messiah.

It's very interesting because that's exactly what the author of Hebrews did.

It's astonishing to see how only in looking on the whole Testament he's able to get a great understanding of the person of Jesus Christ.

And this is just what he says in Hebrews 1, verse 1 to 3.

In the past God spoke to us, to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in the last days he has spoken to us by his son, who he appointed heirs of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

The sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

After he had provided purification for sin, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.

My point is that if we study, and by studying the whole Testament, we can get great understanding of who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus said that the scriptures talks about him.

That means that when Moses wrote what we consider the 5 book, the Pentateuch, everything that he was revealing about God is revealing about Jesus Christ.

So coming to the question, what is the gospel?

Sometimes we hear the word of God, sometimes we hear the gospel of the kingdom of God, sometimes we can hear the gospel of God or even the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

The Greek word is evangelion which means good news.

The gospel, the way I understand it, is and starts with God, His Majesty and His goodness.

The revelation of our human corruption and human disobedience to our God.

And how this God plans to save and restore the entire creation that he has made.

And his plan for restoration and for salvation pass through and happens through the work and the ministry of his son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

When I say the work and the ministry of the son, Jesus Christ, I'm talking about his work in creation, his work in his suffering, coming as a human being, suffering for our sins, dying on the cross, going up to heaven, and now still continuing to minister to his church in the world.

Basing on Act 13, I've kind of put up to you there, if we have to sum up the gospel that Paul was preaching from the scripture, this is what is the gospel.

And I hope that as you listen to it, if you are not a Christian, that you might understand what who God is, what he has done, what he desires for you, and how you can indeed come to know God through Jesus Christ.

For God has brought from us, from the line of David, a Savior, Jesus Christ, who he has promised.

By doing so, he has accomplished the promise that he has given to our forefathers.

It is to us children, not only the children of Abraham, but also the God-fearing Gentiles that this message of salvation is sent.

What God has promised, he has fulfilled for us, their children, by rising Jesus Christ from the dead.

As it is written in the Psalms, you are my son today I have become your father.

Therefore my dear friends, I want you to know that through Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of your sins is proclaimed to you.

That through him, everyone who believes, that means you too, can have freedom from your sins.

The justification that you cannot acquire either by you trying to obey the law, to respect everything that God has done, or either you by trying to live a moral life that you think pure and blameless.

Even a life that you would say that I don't do any harm to anybody.

This kind of life will never make you just before God.

And by your own and your work you cannot save yourself.

You cannot pay to God the price of the punishment that you deserve for disobeying and for going against His Majesty.

He's the maker for everything that's here.

His majesty is beyond what we can imagine.

Now I know that if somebody goes and insults, now can say the king of England, because in a few times I will say the Queen of England, at a time, yes, his punishment will be big.

Now how much punishment do you think that deserves the 1 who goes and insults the majesty of the living God?

Yet Christ died for such disobedience and rebellion so that you will be able to enter into the grace and the favor of the mighty God.

Interestingly, as we look here, we see that this is what we're seeing in verse 17.

And Jason has welcomed them in his house.

You see when they heard that they're all in turmoil because Caesar is considered king.

To say at that time that there was another king out of Caesar was considered treason.

And that would be the accusation that they brought before the officials that the gospel is proclaiming another king.

Jews in general throughout their history always refused to bow to another king because they thought and they understood that God the creator of the universe is the true king, the only 1 who is worthy of worship.

So at that time the Roman accepted that the Jewish will not worship the Roman emperor.

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