Acts 17:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."

NIV: and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus."

NASB: and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.'

CSB: and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus."

NLT: And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.'

KJV: Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

NKJV: Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”

Jason is either the host of Paul and his team, or the host of the new church in Thessalonica, or both. Paul started his ministry in Thessalonica in the synagogue, as he usually did. Many of the Gentile God-fearers and some of the Jews accept Paul's interpretation, which echoes Isaiah's prophecy of the "Suffering Servant"—that the Messiah had to die and rise again. Some of the Jews, however, grow jealous of Paul's following and seek for a way to remove him from the city (Acts 17:1–6).

In Paul's travels, his adversaries generally fall into one of two groups: Jews from the synagogue who grow jealous of his quick-growing influence (Acts 13:45), and Gentiles who stand to lose money (Acts 16:19; 19:24–27). Neither influence nor business competition are illegal. Paul's message, however, does break Roman law: he advocates for the worship of a foreign God—Jesus—not authorized by the government, and he promotes a King—Jesus—in opposition to Caesar. In stricter Roman cities, such as Philippi, Paul's adversaries use the former charge (Acts 16:21). In free cities, which are less loyal to the Roman gods, they use the latter. This is the same charge the Sanhedrin used to get Pilate to crucify Jesus (John 19:12).

Caesar is occasionally considered the son of a god or a demigod; in Paul's later letter to the church in Thessalonica, he refers to Jesus as the "Son from heaven" (1 Thessalonians 1:10). In his second letter, Paul talks about waiting for Christ to take down the "man of lawlessness," which could be seen as Caesar (2 Thessalonians 2:3–12). Considering others have used the concept of a "messiah" to stir up political trouble with people in Rome and Alexandria, Paul and Silas' adversaries are crafty to use this charge. Besides touching a raw nerve in the Roman Empire, it happens to be true.

Acts 17:1–9 relates that Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveled to Thessalonica, having left Luke in Philippi. As usual, they start in the synagogue, showing how the prophecies of the Jewish Scriptures say the Messiah must die and rise from the dead. And as usual some of the Jews and many of the Gentiles believe them, while other Jews reject their message. For the first time, however, Paul's antagonists can't find him or his team, so they attack several converts. The new church protects Paul, Silas, and Timothy and sends them southwest to Berea.

Acts 17 describes how Paul's ministry travels down the coast of Greece. In Thessalonica, some Jews and God-fearing Gentiles believe while other Jews start a riot (Acts 17:1–9). The Bereans study the veracity of Paul's statements—until the Thessalonian Jews arrive and threaten to start another riot (Acts 17:10–15). Paul flees to Athens where the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers accept Paul's argument when he uses Greek poets to introduce God as the creator of the world, but lose interest when he mentions the resurrection from the dead (Acts 17:16–34).

Acts 17 continues Paul and Silas' travels out of Macedonia and on to Greece. The two have been through modern-day Asia minor where they picked up Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas (Acts 16:1–10). They have established a strong church in Philippi but were forced to leave after being falsely imprisoned (Acts 16:11–40). They now skip down the coast to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. From here, they will spend a considerable amount of time in Corinth before heading back to Judea and Syrian Antioch (Acts 18:1–22).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.