In Acts 17, Paul and Silas went first to Thessalonica, then to Berea. Some of the Jews and Gentiles received the message of Jesus, but many didn’t, so Paul and Silas had to leave the city and go to Berea. We’re told the Bereans were of more noble character, and they examined the Scriptures to see whether what Paul said was true. This is always the best course to take: examine the claims of Jesus to see whether they are true. They are! At the end of the chapter, Paul has some time alone in Athens, while he was waiting for some of the others to come. He took the time to speak to the philosophers there. The end result of their dialogue is a few people trusted Jesus. Paul shows us how to meet people where they are and lead them to Jesus through reasoned conversation.
In Acts 18, we read of Paul’s time in Corinth. It was a time of building up the church and mentoring individual leaders. The Lord gave Paul a personal message of encouragement while he was there, letting Paul know he had many people in the city.
In Acts 19, Paul visits Ephesus. While in Ephesus, Paul performed many signs and wonders in Jesus’ name. As a result, seven sons of a Jewish priest decided to cast out demons in Jesus’ name. One of the men from whom they attempted to cast out a demon “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches,” responded “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” At that point he attacked and beat the seven sons severely. The news of this caused many to respond to the gospel. As the gospel gained traction in Ephesus, a silversmith realized their business would be impacted greatly if people stopped worshiping idols and started worshiping the invisible God of the universe. He couched it in religious terms, but convinced the people to riot against the gospel, because of the implicit attack it made on their “gods.”
As we return to Matthew 7, Jesus closes out the Sermon on the Mount. In this chapter Jesus reminds us how crucial it is to always put Him first. In a number of different ways, Jesus reminds us when we pray in faith to the Lord, He responds, when we cry out, “Lord, Lord,” we better be following the Lord, and at the end of the day every “tree” is known by its “fruit.” The end result of Jesus’ message was the people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one with authority, and not as the teachers of religious law. In every era, the teachings of Jesus carry an authority not found in any other type of speech. Jesus was and is the Son of the living God. His words are the word of God. That means when we speak them in His love, they still compel people. Of course, anyone can reject their truth and authority, but the truth remains they are the word of God, and when we respond to them appropriately, they change us from the inside out, and advance the cause of God’s Kingdom.