it someone to be raised from the dead and then to live immortally especially in a glorified body. Rather they focused on the Caesars achieving divine status when they ascended to heaven after death. Yet to both of them Paul spoke as the authorized divine herald and told them “that this One is the Christ (of the Scripture promises), the Jesus whom I on my part, am proclaiming to you.” In 1 Thess 2:13 he affirm that his words had divine warrant when he tell them that they had accepted his words “not as a word of human beings, but as what it really is, the word of God.”
A miraculous movement? Sort of :
This is where Luke could well have made great publicity with just how well Paul had followed the principles taught at the Antioch (A.D. 48) “common ground conference” and that because he had employed them, “some were persuaded and joined…” his movement–not to mention the leading women of the city and the God-fearing Greeks. The second verb won’t allow us this delicious temptation, however. The verb which has the roots of receiving something by lot or inheritance conveys the fact that it was the sovereign grace of God that opened the people’s hearts, just as when God had “opened Lydia’s heart” to receive the words that Paul had spoken, and that “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Paul’s job was bring the gospel “not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:5) and it was the Spirit of God who would bring it home. No new and improved method, no 7 signs–of Jewish or Greek wisdom–in this case, no gospel parallels in the worship of Caesar could do the job.
The charges brought against Paul and Silas
The success of Spirit-empowered, bold and systematic proclamation of the whole Christ from the whole Scriptures, for the whole person, was too much for the members of the synagogue and they went crazy with jealousy. Very likely they saw their numbers as well drop as it would be rather doubtful that Paul would have encouraged the new converts to remain in the synagogue for long, or they would have been kicked out for showing just a bit too much of Gospel freedom to those enslaved by the law. Slaves never appreciate the freedom and status of sons. Thus we read that a group of under-employed rabble were used to cause trouble in the city, ironically where the reputation of a city was always linked to its keeping peace and order.
Thus the city was thrown into confusion by the lynch mob who in contrast to Paul’s clear and authoritative use of words were said to be shouting or yelling. They gave the apostles a backhanded compliment by calling them subversives or revolutionaries, and some translations colorfully describe this as “turning the world upside down.” The book of Acts describes the fact that everywhere they went, the apostles did so, but not for the sake of rebellion against the local authorities, but as a result of obedience to King Jesus. Obviously their ministry had been public enough to warrant this kind of a charge.
2. Illegal hospitality
There is a text which shows that in order to receive the benefactions (handouts or honors) of the Emperor; various cities had to show that they would keep any kind of questioning of his authority in check. One means was to forbid the housing of any kind of revolutionaries, and this is what Jason was accused of, even though he was likely a Christian who had offered shelter to Paul and Silas, possibly even at his house church. For Jason, conviction on this charge could be punishable by death.
3. Another King, namely Jesus
Part and parcel of Paul’s proclamation had been the Kingship of Jesus [i.e. …to the King, immortal…] (1 Tim 1:17). Thus the charge leveled was that “They all act contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, namely, Jesus” (v.7). Clearly what was charged was that the apostles were proclaiming another king, who was not Claudius the Emperor, but it was Jesus. As much as Paul and the apostles were law abiding citizens they did not hide the fact that their allegiances were no long