These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11
A man who claimed to be an atheist challenged my claim that there is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ than there is for Christopher Columbus’ claim to have discovered America. This self-proclaimed atheist insisted that there is no such evidence, and that I should look up the definition of evidence. I tried to explain to him that I have sat in many courtrooms over many years, listening to judges define evidence, and I have listened to hundreds of hours of evidence from dozens of witness boxes, so I know what evidence is when I see and hear it. But he rejected that extensive experience with some silly psychobabble that shows he has a very narrow definition of evidence. His definition does not allow for any consideration that would include an acknowledgement of God. Is it any wonder that the Bible identifies such people as fools? Unlike the Bereans in our text, they refuse to even look at the truth.
God calls the Bereans noble because, unlike so many around us today, they checked out the facts. When the missionaries presented the Gospel message to them, this may well have been the first time they had heard of Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas would have presented Christ as the fulfilment of prophecy, the One of Whom the Old Testament writers spoke. As prudent people, they delved into the Scriptures themselves to see whether Jesus Christ could be the Messiah. They did not, as some in Thessalonica did, reject the message simply because it clashed with their religion. Someday, the noble people of Berea will stand in judgment against the diehards and rejectors of Thessalonica, just as the Lord’s people of today will stand in judgment against the atheists and mockers of our day. Like the noble folks in Berea, we need to study and examine the Scriptures, to make sure we are on solid footing.
The people in Berea who heard the Gospel were mostly Jews who would know the Old Testament scriptures well. This is why the missionaries reached out to them first. They had a basis of knowledge from which the Gospel could be presented. They did not have the New Testament in any of its parts. So the Old Testament was critical for the people to know and for the preachers to explain. And the Old Testament is rich in its presentation of Christ. It contained all of the promises and prophecies concerning Immanuel. It contained the types and shadows that are revealed in the New Testament. From the history and poetry and prophecy of the Old Testament, the Bereans could find the One Who was promised, and could accept the word of the missionaries that He had indeed come. We tend to major on the New Testament, but we would do well to study the Old, as the Bereans did, to confirm our faith in the Christ.
Searching the Scriptures daily is a noble endeavour, and one from which we will grow in our appreciation of our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh