We return to join Paul on his second missionary journey, focusing on his time in Macedonia. Traveling through different lands and cultures, we draw lessons from how Paul approached different communities, and their reactions to the gospel.

In particular, we look at how the Berean Jews in Macedonia responded to the gospel preached by Paul. They were:

• Open-minded enough to listen to and consider the message of the gospel, but not blindly believing what the apostles said.
  
• Objective about evaluating the truth of the gospel against the Jewish Scriptures. “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

For these virtues, the Berean Jews were described as being of “noble character”. High praise indeed.

Yet, the Berean Jews needed the work of the Spirit as well, to have believed. If their own knowledge was sufficient, it would not explain why other Jews had reacted differently. Or indeed, why Gentile men and women were convinced by the gospel without any prior knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures.

As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” No Spirit, no gospel.