Turn the World Upside Down
The world around us appears to spin out of control. In the last several months, we have faced an ongoing pandemic, protests, riots, murder hornets, cicadas, zombie fires, and an early active hurricane season. The tension, fear, and frustration that plague our society is real and seems to have no end or solution in sight. Though the struggle exists within society, the door opens for the church to participate in the ministry.
In Acts 17:1-9, the Apostle Paul and Silas enter Thessalonica. The Bible says that Paul entered and went to the synagogue for three separate Sabbaths and reasoned with the people from the Scriptures and declared the message of the gospel and that Jesus was and is the Messiah. We find that some of the people responded to the message while others rejected it. Those that rejected the message became angry and formed a mob that searched for Paul and Silas. The mob approached the home of Jason and eventually took him captive and arrested him as they were looking for the men that “turned the world upside down.” The story ends with the release of Jason as he made bail.
This passage identifies four key reminders for believers today and the need to be understood as people turning the world upside down. First, believers need to engage the world with the gospel. The Apostle Paul demonstrated how to approach the culture with the gospel. The Apostle began by approaching people where they were. He started by reaching people who would have been familiar with the message of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah; thus, he went to the synagogue. At the same time, Paul engaged the people in the marketplace between Sabbaths and attempted to reach them for Jesus. Today, we need to seek to meet people daily where they are and engage them with the message of the gospel.
Paul’s engagement did not come from a personal perspective but was based on the proper authority of Scripture. The Bible said that the Apostle reasoned with the Scripture. As a result, the Apostle modeled how we are to engage people. We must engage with the Bible and its truth and not with the thoughts and opinions of man. Likewise, Paul showed that the engagement needs to be centered on the work and necessity of Christ. Paul identified notably the death, resurrection, and messiahship of Christ.
Second, believers need to engage the world, knowing that people will respond in various ways. The people that received the message from Paul responded differently from one another. The Bible declares that “some” responded to the message and followed Jesus. The passage indicates that some were persuaded, meaning that the hearts were penetrated, and people said yes to Jesus.
Others that heard the message of the gospel rejected the message. If “some” responded, then “some” did not respond. In fact, the rejection is noticed not just in this terminology but in the response of hatred toward Paul, Silas, and other believers. The base understanding is that they were not persuaded to respond to the message of the gospel.
Third, believers need to engage the world, knowing that suffering for Christ is a reality. The mob approached Jason’s home due to his faith and support of the work of the Kingdom of God. Luke defined the people as Jews who were jealous and a mob of wicked people. These individuals set a course to stop the movement by creating a riot and attacking Jason’s home. When faithful to share the gospel’s message, the reality occurs that suffering will come. The desire to stop the movement of God brings pain to believers who seek to live for God’s Kingdom. The believer must remember that we suffer in serving Jesus as Jesus suffered in serving the Father.
Fourth, believers need to engage in turning the world upside down. The mob’s charge against believers is that the world was getting changed by the message of the gospel. The world becomes turned upside down when the truth is declared based on God’s authority and not the authority of the world. When believers declare the truth, the world gets turned upside down. The believer’s ways are counter to the ways of the world because of the presence of God in their life. The call to us is to be agents of truth who are turning the world upside down.
The world before us is in desperate need of a great movement of the Lord. As believers, we have been commanded to be the instrument by which God’s message of hope is declared. The world wants to identify the message as old fashion and old-fashioned. Still, the reality is that these terms are false as the message is a timeless, eternal message. Will you seek truth to define your life and engage the world with truth and be the agent of turning the world upsidedown.
