Nobility

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, " he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

But the 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 brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible (Acts 17:1-15).

When Mrs. Obama met with England's queen recently, there was a lot of discussion regarding royal protocol. Periodically, we get news about princes William and Harry and what's going on in their lives. But why should we care about such things? Why should anyone care about the lives of the nobility?

We are interested in such things because we hold people of nobility to a higher standard than other folks. To be a noble is to be a member of the ruling class, part of a group of people who are leaders in their country and influence the wider world beyond their borders. People of nobility have greater responsibility than ordinary citizens, and so we expect them to be equipped with superior qualities in order to carry out their duties. Further, we expect people of the nobility to act noble. The dictionary offers this definition: "Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor". And so people are scandalized when members of the nobility show disregard for tradition, break laws, or put their personal pleasure ahead of the needs of the people. We hold the nobility to a higher standard.

In today’s Scripture lesson, Luke, who wrote the Book of Acts, shows us two cities in Europe, and compares the people living in each. The first city is Thessalonica, the second is Berea. Luke tells us that the people of Berea were of more noble character than the Thessalonians; in other words, they did a better job of acting like the nobility, like leaders in the kingdom. What was it that caused the Bereans to earn this praise from Luke?

Consider what happened in Thessalonica. Paul and Silas had come to tell people about Jesus Christ—about the Son of God incarnate in human form, who suffered God’s punishment for all of humanity’s sins so that we could have the joy of being forgiven for our wrongdoings. Using the Old Testament Bible of the local church, they showed how Scripture had predicted Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, a resurrection that had ended the power of the grave to hold His devoted followers. Paul and Silas came to town to announce that Satan had been dealt a mortal blow at Calvary’s holy mountain, that hell was no longer a danger for those adopted by God as His children through faith in Christ Jesus. Paul and Silas came with incredible news, incredible Good News, news that can completely transform lives from hopeless despair to blissful hope.

And how were they received? Some people were persuaded and joined the brotherhood of the faithful, but others became insanely jealous, resenting that the Gospel was winning hearts and changing lives. They organized a mob and incited a riot in the city, causing so much chaos that the apostles left town rather than put any innocent lives in danger. By allowing this to happen, the Thessalonians demonstrated that, as a group, they were not very interested in the teachings about Jesus Christ.

But the Bereans reacted differently. Acts records, they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Here is the difference: the Thessalonians did not respond with great eagerness, they did not examine the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Most of the Thessalonians were indifferent or hostile to the apostles’ teaching, but even among the converts there was no eagerness, no searching of the Scriptures; they were content to show up for services at church and listen, but nothing more than that; they were not excited about coming to worship; they did not go home and discuss the sermon or read from their Bibles to verify for themselves the wonderful truths that had been shared with them. They were unenthusiastic ‘Sunday morning Christians’—nothing more.

The Bereans, on the other hand, received the message with great eagerness. For them, church was not an obligation, not part of the week’s routine—they viewed it as an opportunity, a wonderful opportunity to gather with fellow believers and share in the joy of hearing God’s promises of salvation. They loved to sing songs of praise; they looked forward to joining together to lift their concerns to God in prayer. And their eagerness did not end at the church door; they…examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Daily, they were in the Word of God. Daily, they studied the Bible, singly or in small groups. They were hungry to understand everything that the Bible offered to teach them; they were thrilled to be among the privileged few who had been given keys to the kingdom of heaven. This is what caused them to be described as having noble character. And notice the effect—when religious extremists came to Berea to try and stir up trouble, this time they were far less successful—while Paul did leave for the coast to avoid being a lightning rod for trouble, Silas and Timothy remained in Berea, building the enthusiastic church founded there by the Gospel of Christ.

Christians are of the nobility. Christians are a part of the ruling class. We were not born as nobility, but we have been adopted into it. Romans chapter 8 tells us, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God…Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. What are we heirs of? Why, nothing less than the Kingdom of God! You are a citizen of the holy kingdom today, because Jesus asserted the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). And we are more than just citizens of the heavenly kingdom, we are leaders; in 2nd Timothy chapter two Paul writes, If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. This is why Peter can say you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9).

Since we are of God’s nobility, we have certain responsibilities. We expect earthly nobility to live to a higher standard, and that is true for us as well. We are called to be of more noble character than the Thessalonians; we are expected to be more than complacent ‘Sunday morning Christians’. Some churches post a sign at the door or the apron of the parking lot; as you leave, it reminds you that you are entering the mission field. It’s a wonderful sign, but you know what? You shouldn’t need that reminder! If you are excited about your faith like the Bereans, you don’t need a big metal Post-it Note to keep Jesus and His work front and center in your lives. If you are of noble character, you realize that you have the responsibilities of leadership in the Kingdom of God; you are Christ’s voice and hands and feet, participating in the work of his Church by bringing His love and His care to everyone you meet. You realize that you have an obligation to try and live a moral life guided by Christ, because your life is a living example to those who do not know Jesus. You realize that when you screw up, as we all do, you need to be the one to take the initiative and admit your mistake and ask for forgiveness, thereby demonstrating that we are only as noble as the grace of God enables us to be.

Does this sound too hard? It’s not. It’s not too hard, because like earthly nobility, we have resources beyond that of the common man or woman. But our resources are not a degree from a prestigious academy or the behind-the-scenes support of a series of professional advisors; no, our resource is the most comprehensive authority there is on what is good and right and just. Our resource is Holy Scripture, God’s words written for our learning. We have the same wonderful resource that the noble Bereans had, only better—because while they only had the Old Testament to study, we have the New Testament as well! They only had the words of Paul and Silas and Timothy; we also have the teaching of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and others. In a world where no one can agree on what is right and what is wrong, we have the security of God’s own words preserved by His prophets and apostles, words which tell us in no uncertain terms what we must do to be saved: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household" (Acts 16:31). It’s all there—all we need do is study these truths as the Bereans did, and they can be ours, the preparation we need to assume the responsibilities of nobility.

In many ways, the Christian Church here in America seems to be in retreat. Prayer has been chased from our schools, the Ten Commandments from our courthouses. Publicly reading Bible verses stating that homosexuality is a sin has resulted in Christians being arrested for committing a ‘hate-crime.’ A jury’s sentence of a convicted murderer has been thrown out because Bible verses were read during deliberations. Why is Christianity being pushed from the public arena? Could it be that too many Christians are like the Thessalonians, content to attend church periodically, but not moved to public display of their beliefs? Would things change if more of us were of noble character like the Bereans, getting excited about our faith, devoting our time to growing stronger in it, and resisting the pressures brought by anti-Christian extremists who want to shut up we who are God’s ambassadors and make us go away?

You are of the nobility; you are a child of the King of the universe, a child by adoption through the waters of Holy Baptism. And because we are nobles, let us behave nobly as Paul describes such behavior in Philippians chapter two: be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. But above all, remember that it all starts with the attitude demonstrated by the Bereans: they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day. This is the source of your noble character—a passion for the Good News of Christ, that your sins have been forgiven, the devil defeated, and death overcome. When it is this that thrills you and gives shape to each day of your life, you will be of more noble character, and it will show in your life as a leader in the kingdom of God.