Luke the beloved physician shared when Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke himself shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people in Thessalonica, “some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come here also”, and in chapter seventeen and verse seven of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar” where we read:
Whom Jason has received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar,
saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
The verse begins, “Whom Jason has received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, ...” Luke began with the words, “whom Jason has received” which means “who are the men that Jason whose name means one who will heal and was a Thessalonians who entertained Paul and Silas, and maybe a cousin of Paul”: “and these all do contrary to” or “and Paul, Silas, Jason and the fellow believers each, every, the whole and everyone perform, make ready and produce acts in opposition to and against” “the decrees of Caesar” which means “the doctrines, ordinances and public decrees belonging to Caesar whose name means severed and was the surname of Julius Caesar, which adopted by Octavius Augustus and his successors afterwards became a title, and was appropriated by the Roman emperors as part of their title”. Luke shared how the envious Jews complained that “Jason” accepted “Paul and Silas” into his home even though they were promoting ideas that were “in opposition” to the mandates and ordinances belonging to “Caesar”.
The verse continues, “... saying that there is another king, one Jesus.” Luke added the words, “saying that there is another king” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming that there exists a different leader, prince, commander and lord of the land”, “one Jesus” which means “who was known as Jesus whose name means Jehovah is Salvation and is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate”. Luke shared how the envious Jews told the “magistrates” that “Paul, Silas, Jason and the fellow believers” were declaring that a different “ruler or king” existed whose name was “Jesus”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the envious “Jews” were relentless in their efforts to arrest the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though God sent “Paul and Silas” with the mission of sharing His “good news of salvation”, these “Jewish people” wanted them stopped. God desires to forgive the sins of every person through a personal relationship with His Son Jesus, and when they submit to Him, they will receive everlasting life. Let all who read these words understand, “Jesus” is the “King of Kings” and everyone who submits to Him proves themselves wise regardless of what others may say or do.
Next time Luke shares how the Jews, “troubled the people and the rulers of the city”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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