In a famous old movie starring Steve Martin, a lone gunman begins to shoot at Martin’s character Naven, at a service station. Naven tries to get away but the sniper continues to shoot. Bullets whistle around him as he ducks behind some oil cans. Finally, Naven, playing a bit of a dim bulb, concludes that the gunman doesn’t like the oil cans. It never occurs to him that he might be the target of the sniper’s ire.
Soren Kierkegaard once observed about preaching that provokes opposition: “But when one preaches Christianity in such a way that the echo answers, ‘Away with that man, he does not deserve to live,’ know that this is the Christianity of the New Testament.” This was certainly true for Paul. What gospel are we preaching?
Paul had to know by now that people were after him. Reading Paul’s story through the eyes of Luke, we conclude that Paul evoked the anger of some of the Jews. After running him out of town, members of the Thessalonian synagogue heard he was preaching in Berea and followed him there. They kept on shooting negative words at him, stirring up the crowds with their verbal assaults. Once again, Paul had to leave town. Preaching the gospel cost him so much. Why didn’t he just quit? God had called him. He wrote, “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel . . .” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Why didn’t Silas and Timothy have to escape to the coast with Paul to go to Athens? Paul was the lightning rod. His message had roused the wrath of the synagogue crowds. His message threatened their whole understanding of God’s work in the world. People become angry over religion. Silas and Timothy had work to do in Berea. They could confirm Paul’s work without gaining the negative attention of the crowds.
We all have a role to play in the work of the Kingdom of God. If we are faithful to preach the gospel, we will likely encounter others who disagree with us. Someone said, “A leader never knows whether the crowd is following him or chasing him out of town.” We must obey God rather than human beings (Acts 5:41). Fellow believers can help us and carry our work forward, even if we have to move on to a new work. We win in the end.
