The Narrative
Most Latin American Countries gain their independence during the 19th century. Puerto Rico was one of the few that did not. Most Puerto Ricans were afraid of independence, partly because of Haiti. Early in the 19th-century slaves in Haiti revolted against their French masters, and took over Haiti. Some of those French ended up in exile in Puerto Rico. Of course, they told their stories. After this, independence was equated with slaves subverting against their European masters and taking control of the territory. Puerto Ricans, who owned slaves, did not want that happening to them. This narrative lasted for years.
When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, any talk of independence was shut down with, "Do you want us to be like Cuba?" In 1959, the Cuban revolutionaries entered Havana, marking the end of the revolution and the success of Fidel Castro and his forces. Many Cubans were forced to leave the Island. Some landed in Puerto Rico. Soon after that, Castro declared Cuba a communist country. So, somehow, independence now became equated with the Cuban experience. The belief mentioned above brought Puerto Ricans to believe that the Communist would take over and force everyone else to work in the sugar cane field. Puerto Rico had long since transformed from a sugar cane economy to a more industrial one. The prospect of going back to cutting sugar cane to Puerto Ricans was terrifying. This narrative still exists.
Whether the narrative ended up being true or not, it did not matter. It accomplished its purpose: to instill fear in the masses so they would not pursue that option. Paul went through something similar in Thessalonica.
Paul spent three weeks in Thessalonica reasoning and proving the Jesus was the Christ from the scriptures. Many accepted Christ, but his success incited opposition from local religious leaders and a gang of thugs. The city council finally expelled Paul and sought to prevent his return. When someone preaches new teachings, and people get excited, the leaders and teachers of other religious groups may become jealous.
People placed the attention upon them toward others. As a result, they may behave in irrational ways to try to reduce the influence of the new teacher.
According to Acts 17:5, Paul's success in Thessalonica infuriated some of the Jews who were not persuaded by his message. Jealous of Paul's success with the Gentiles, and indeed not very happy that some of their fellow countrymen had joined him, they decided to enlist the help of "some wicked men of the rabble" (ESV) to stir up trouble. In Greek, the phrase "wicked men of the rabble" literally means "men of the marketplace." It refers to a group of unemployed ruffians who hung out in the marketplace looking for something to do.
The wicked men of the rabble contrasted to the people who responded to Paul's gospel. According to Luke, these hooligans barged into Jason's home to drag Paul out to the crowd (17:5). The Greek word translated as "people" or "crowd" (demos) can also refer to the public assembly of citizens who had authority over local legal matters. Unable to lay their hands on Paul, they decided instead to haul Jason and others before the local magistrates. When they arrived, they laid two accusations against Paul: (1) Paul was an itinerant troublemaker with a track record of causing problems in other cities; (2) Paul was guilty of treason for claiming that Jesus, not Caesar, was King.
According to the Roman historian Suetonius, shortly before the events described in Acts 17, conflict arose among the Jews of Rome over a man Suetonius calls "Chrestus." This term probably reflects a Roman misunderstanding of the Jewish concept of the Messiah or, in Greek, "the Christ." Someone's preaching of the gospel had just split the Jewish community of Rome. To Roman officials, the debate over the Messiah sounded like preparation for the installation of a new king on the throne of Rome (see Acts 17:7). Probably for that reason, the emperor expelled all Jews from his capital city (Acts 18:2). Some of these exiles probably settled in or passed through Thessalonica, bringing knowledge of these events to the city. Because the gospel had turned the world of Rome's Jews upside down, religious leaders in Thessalonica were determined to prevent something similar from happening there. Notice that it was not their primary concern. They used that story to drum up the charges against Paul and gain favor with the rulers of the city. Sufficiently alarmed by these charges, the magistrates banned Paul and Silas from their city and required Jason to pay a fee to ensure that the two men would not return.
A city council of perhaps five or six "mayors" who made decisions as a group ruled Thessalonica. This arrangement allowed for a considerable amount of independence from Rome, which they would be reluctant to give up. So, the behavior of the city officials in this matter was quite impressive under the circumstances. The similarity to recent events in Rome could have led to severe physical punishment for the new Christians. Instead, the city leaders responded evenhandedly (contrast Acts 16:22–40). They took a significant amount of money from the new Christians as security so that they would not be the cause of further disturbances. Then the leaders let everyone go. The narrative worked.
We see those who professed to be defending the law of God, breaking it to accomplish their goal. Could we be caught in the same trap? When we are dealing with accusations, we should ask ourselves: is there something else? Is the immediate allegation being used to cover the real reason for the attack? Why is God allowing it? Nehemiah is an excellent example of how we can handle these situations. Ellen White states about Nehemiah,
"In Nehemiah's firm devotion to the work of God, and his equally firm reliance on God, lay the reason of the failure of his enemies to draw him into their power. The soul that is indolent falls an easy prey to temptation; but in the life that has a noble aim, an absorbing purpose, evil finds little foothold. The faith of him who is constantly advancing does not weaken; for above, beneath, beyond, he recognizes Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish His good purpose. God's true servants work with a determination that will not fail because the throne of grace is their constant dependence" (Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 659-660.) May we learn from Nehemiah.
| RR |