June 29 2020 – Acts 17:1-3 (NIV)
Scripture
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said
Reflection
In verse three, the NIV translation states Paul ‘reasoned’ with the people in the Synagogues from the Scriptures by ‘explaining’ and ‘proving’ that the Messiah had to suffer, die and be raised from the dead. Note, the Scriptures referred to in verse two are not the New Testament books, as we know it today since it was not written yet. It consisted mostly of the Old Testament (OT) books. Thus, for Paul to explain and prove that Jesus is the Messiah, that he suffered, died and raised from the dead, was all substantiated by the OT books and proved by archaeologists when they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls between 1946 to 1956. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain 220 books and about a quarter of them are books from the OT dated 150 B.C. to 70. A.D. Most common among them are Psalms and Deuteronomy. The dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls proves that the authors in the OT were predicting the life of Jesus, his suffering, crucifixion and resurrection before Jesus lived. How marvellous to know that what we believe as Christians and the very essence of the gospel, namely that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, is true.
Thoughts for the day
- Why do you personally believe in Jesus as your Saviour?
Prayer
God, You hear. Please let the displaced people of the world know that they are heard. And help us to hear them.