Acts 17:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Here again Greeks believe. Note that they withdrew out of prudence, not fear. Otherwise they would have stopped preaching and would have provoked those men even more. But now two good things happened: their frenzy ceased, and the preaching spread.

They examined not as unbelievers, for they had already believed, but as those deprived of the tradition of the ancient prophets. Most likely, for this reason they believed still more. They searched the Scriptures and found that the circumstances of the Incarnation of the Lord agreed with the words of the ancient prophets.

In Berea, about ten miles from Thessalonica, the Jews received them better. Many Gentiles also converted. But the disturbance stirred up by the Thessalonian Jews forced Paul soon to leave this city. Accompanied by some of the believers, he took the road to Athens. Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.

Here the apostles' preaching had even greater success. But when the Thessalonian Jews learned that the word of God had also been preached by Paul in Berea, they came there and began stirring up the people against him. Then Paul left Silas and Timothy in Berea to strengthen in the faith those who had turned to Christ. He himself went farther and arrived in Athens.

In Berea there was also a large Jewish population, but these Jews were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians. Among them the Apostle Paul could rest from the upheavals he had endured.

According to his custom, he preached in the synagogue. The Bereans not only did not hinder him in this respect, nor reject the preached Gospel with blind fanaticism, as happened elsewhere.

They themselves daily and diligently examined Holy Scripture, in order to test the Apostle Paul's arguments and references against the authentic testimony of God's word.

The result was that both Greeks and many Jews believed, not only men, but also women from the more respected classes.

The result of this attitude toward the apostles' preaching was that many of the Jews believed, not only some as in Thessalonica (v. 4).

There also believed not a few of the Greek women and men who were honorable by social position and standing.

By these women and men are meant both male and female proselytes, who heard the preaching of the Gospel in synagogues, where they had access, and true pagans.

The latter heard the preaching in private house gatherings (cf. the note on Acts 11:20). The same was true in Thessalonica (v. 4).

The apostles' secret departure from Salonika shows that even after their failure, the Jews did not abandon their persecution of the apostles.

Therefore the Christians considered it better to escort them by night to Berea, in southwest Macedonia, where even the Jews received them kindly.

Many turned to Christ, but only after carefully examining all the proofs from the Scriptures to which the holy apostles appealed in their gospel proclamation.

It is noteworthy that here too the writer of Acts especially notes the conversion of noble Greek women, and also of the Greeks themselves in no small number.

At the same time many Jews were converted. Therefore the writer calls them more noble than the Thessalonian Jews had shown themselves to be.