The World Turned Right Side Up Text: Acts 17:1-9
Introduction: The Unavoidable Collision
We live in an age that is desperate to domesticate Jesus. Our generation wants a Jesus who is a life coach, a spiritual guru, a celestial therapist whose primary job is to affirm our choices and help us feel good about ourselves. They want a Christ without a crown, a savior without sovereignty, and a gospel without government. In short, they want a Jesus who will politely take a seat in the pantheon of modern gods, right next to tolerance, self-expression, and the free market, and not make a fuss.
But the Jesus of the Scriptures is not so accommodating. The gospel, when it is truly preached, is not a gentle suggestion. It is a declaration of war. It is a royal summons from the true King of the universe, demanding unconditional surrender. It does not come to coexist with the other lords of this age; it comes to depose them. This is why the gospel always, always causes an uproar. It is not an opiate; it is dynamite. It does not soothe; it subverts. And the moment it is proclaimed in its fullness, a collision with the reigning powers of the age becomes absolutely inevitable.
In our text today, we see this collision play out in the city of Thessalonica. Paul and Silas arrive, and they do what they always do. They preach Christ. They don't preach a self-help program. They don't preach a method for personal fulfillment. They preach a Person who is a King, and a kingdom that demands total allegiance. And the reaction is immediate and violent. The world recognizes, far more clearly than many modern Christians do, that the gospel of King Jesus is a fundamental threat to the established order. The charge leveled against the Christians is not that they are being too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. The charge is that they have "upset the world" and are acting "contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."
This is the central conflict of all history: Christ or Caesar? There is no neutrality. Every law, every school, every court, and every heart will ultimately answer to one or the other. The enemies of the gospel in Thessalonica understood this perfectly. They saw that the Christian claim is totalizing. If Jesus is King, then Caesar is not. If Jesus is Lord, then the state is not, the mob is not, and the self is not. This passage forces us to ask ourselves: is the gospel we believe and proclaim the same gospel that turned the world upside down? Or have we so neutered it, so tamed it, that it no longer poses a threat to anyone or anything? Because if your gospel isn't upsetting the world, it is likely because it has been absorbed by the world.
The Text
Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received the bond from Jason and the others, they released them.
(Acts 17:1-9 LSB)
Reasoning from the Scriptures (vv. 1-3)
We begin with Paul's method of evangelism.
"Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that Christ.'" (Acts 17:1-3)
Notice Paul's unwavering strategy. He goes "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." He starts in the synagogue. Why? Because that is where the Scriptures were. That is where the covenant history resided. He is not inventing a new religion; he is announcing the fulfillment of the old one. The Christian faith is not a leap in the dark; it is the logical, necessary, and prophesied culmination of everything God had been doing with Israel for two millennia.
And what does he do there? He "reasoned with them from the Scriptures." The gospel is not a sentimental appeal. It is a robust, logical, scriptural argument. Paul's evangelism is expository preaching. He lays open the Old Testament and demonstrates, point by point, how Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of it all. This is presuppositional apologetics in action. He doesn't start with their experience or their felt needs. He starts with "Thus saith the Lord." He opens the book and shows them the blueprint.
His sermon has two main points, which are the two hinges of the entire gospel. First, he was "explaining and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead." This was the great stumbling block for the Jews. They were looking for a conquering, political Messiah who would throw off the Roman yoke. They were not looking for a crucified Messiah. So Paul had to show them from their own Scriptures, from places like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, that the Messiah's path to glory was necessarily through suffering. The cross was not a tragic accident; it was a divine appointment. The resurrection was not a clever resuscitation; it was the Father's public vindication of the Son.
Second, he makes the identification explicit: "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that Christ." The argument is not abstract. It is a direct, personal confrontation. The Messiah you have been waiting for, the King promised to David, the suffering servant of Isaiah, this is Him. His name is Jesus. This is the exclusive claim of the gospel. It is not that Jesus is one way to God; it is that He is the Christ, the one and only. There is no other name.
A Divided Response (v. 4)
As is always the case when the true gospel is preached, the response is a division.
"And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the leading women." (Acts 17:4)
The Word of God never returns void. It always accomplishes its purpose. And its purpose is to separate. It is a sword that divides. Some are persuaded. The Spirit of God opens their hearts, and they bow the knee. Notice the composition of this new church. It is a motley crew. There are some Jews, a "great multitude" of Gentile converts to Judaism ("God-fearing Greeks"), and "not a few of the leading women." The gospel cuts across all social, ethnic, and gender lines. In Christ, the dividing walls are torn down.
This is a picture of the catholicity of the church. It is not a Jewish sect or a Greek philosophical school. It is a new humanity, a third race, drawn from every tribe and tongue and nation. And it is particularly noteworthy that influential women were being converted. The gospel elevates the status of women in a way the pagan world never could, and these women of high standing were recognizing the dignity and freedom found in submission to King Jesus.
The Green-Eyed Monster (vv. 5-6a)
Where there is conversion, there will always be conflict. The success of the gospel enrages the kingdom of darkness.
"But the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities..." (Acts 17:5-6a)
What is the root of the opposition? It is not theological conviction. It is not righteous indignation. Luke tells us plainly: it was "jealousy." Or, to use the more biblical term, envy. Envy is the central villain in the story of the gospel. It was envy that drove the Sanhedrin to hand Jesus over to Pilate (Matt. 27:18). And it is envy that drives the Jews here. They see their congregations, their influence, their status being eroded by this new message. Paul is getting results they are not getting. And they cannot stand it.
Envy is the hatred of the good for being good. It cannot create, so it seeks to destroy. And notice how it operates. When you cannot win the argument, you start a riot. These envious Jews, unable to refute Paul from the Scriptures, resort to the tactics of the devil. They hire "wicked men from the marketplace", literally, agora men, loafers, thugs for hire. They form a mob and set the city in an uproar. This is what happens when theological debate is abandoned for raw power politics. They cannot win in the synagogue, so they will try to win in the street. They attack the house of Jason, a new believer, showing that the cost of discipleship immediately involves your property and your personal safety.
The Treasonous Accusation (vv. 6b-9)
Now we come to the heart of the matter, the specific charge brought before the civil magistrate.
"...shouting, 'These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.' And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received the bond from Jason and the others, they released them." (Acts 17:6b-9)
The accusation has two parts, and both are, from a certain point of view, entirely true. First, "These men who have upset the world have come here also." The Greek word for "upset" means to turn upside down. Of course the gospel turns the world upside down. The world has been upside down ever since the fall in Genesis 3. It is a world in rebellion, a world where creatures pretend to be creators, a world where man is the measure of all things. The gospel comes to turn the world right side up again, to put God back on the throne and man back on his knees. This is not a quiet, internal revolution. It is a cosmic regime change. The charge is true, and it is glorious.
The second charge is the political bombshell: "they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." This was a charge of high treason. The Roman Empire, particularly since Augustus, was built on a salvation-and-lordship cult centered on Caesar. Coins proclaimed that there was no other name by which men could be saved but Caesar's. To proclaim "another king" was to declare your allegiance to a rival government. And the enemies of the gospel were exactly right. Christians do have another king. His name is Jesus.
This is the fundamental political statement of the Christian faith: Jesus is Lord. And if Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not. This does not mean Christians are anarchists. We are commanded to honor the emperor. But we are also commanded to obey God rather than men. When the decrees of Caesar conflict with the law of King Jesus, our allegiance is not divided. Our allegiance is to Christ, and Christ alone. The state is not ultimate. It is a ministry established by God, and it is under God. When the state pretends to be God, Christians must, and will, resist.
Notice the effect of this charge: it "disturbed the crowd and the city authorities." They were troubled because this was a seditious accusation, and if they failed to deal with it, Rome could come down hard on them. The gospel introduces a political crisis because it introduces a rival king. The authorities take a bond from Jason, a financial guarantee that he will keep the peace, and let them go. But the issue is not settled. The battle lines have been drawn.
Conclusion: Whose King?
The events in Thessalonica are not just a historical report. They are a diagnostic test for the church in every age. The world accused the first Christians of proclaiming another king. Would they accuse us of the same thing? Or is our gospel so focused on a "personal relationship" with Jesus that it has no public, political, or cosmic implications?
We have been taught for a century to privatize our faith, to keep it within the four walls of the church and the quiet confines of our hearts. We have been told that religion and politics don't mix. But this is a lie from the pit of Hell. The gospel is the most political message in the world, because it is the announcement of a King and a Kingdom. It is the declaration that Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Not some authority. All authority.
This means His kingship extends over every square inch of creation. It extends over the church, yes, but also over the family, the arts, the sciences, the marketplace, and, yes, over the civil magistrate. Every politician, every judge, every president, and every king will one day give an account to King Jesus. They are his deacons, whether they know it or not, and they are responsible to rule according to His law.
To say "Jesus is Lord" is to say that the President is not. It is to say that the Supreme Court is not. It is to say that the spirit of the age is not. It is to say that my autonomous self is not. There is another king, one Jesus. This is the confession that built Western civilization. And it is the only confession that can save it from the suicidal path it is now on.
The question for us is simple. Are we willing to be accused of what the first Christians were accused of? Are we willing to live in such a way that the world knows we serve another king? Are we willing to see our cities in an uproar for the sake of the gospel? Because the choice is the same today as it was in Thessalonica. You will have Christ, or you will have Caesar. You will have the Kingdom of God, or you will have the tyranny of man. There is no third way.