The believers at Thessalonica comply with the terms of the bond (17:9) by sending Paul and Silas, and presumably also Timothy, away during the night. They travel west-southwest along the Via Egnatia some twenty miles and then leave it and head south thirty more miles to Berea. This strategic withdrawal into the third district of Macedonia and to a city that Cicero labeled "off the beaten track" (Against Piso 36.89) is not a retreat but a means of further advance. A populous city in another district of Macedonia will hear the gospel through Paul's synagogue witness (compare Acts 17:1).

The Berean Jews and God-fearers are of more noble character (eugenesteroi), with open minds willing to learn and evaluate this new message fairly (Louw and Nida 1988:1:332). In Greek and biblical understanding, to be eugenos primarily was to be "of noble birth" (compare Lk 19:12; 1 Cor 1:26) and, derivatively, to have qualities that go with "good breeding": "being open, tolerant, generous" (Polhill 1992:363; compare Lk 8:15; Acts 16:14).

This noble character manifests itself in two ways. There is great eagerness (literally, "all eagerness") to receive the message. Yet the people's enthusiasm is not gullibility, for they subject Paul's message, the word of God, to thorough scrutiny. Daily they meet to examine the Old Testament Scriptures to see if the gospel declarations square with them (compare 17:2-3). Their examination parallels the best in human jurisprudence, unbiased investigation to get at the truth (anakrino; Lk 23:14; Acts 24:8). The result is that a large number of Jews and Greeks, prominent women as well as men, probably both God-fearers and pagans, believe the message and are saved (compare 20:4; Rom 16:21).

To be believers, then, we must eagerly embrace the gospel message with all openness, hearing it on its own terms and letting it master us. Many postmoderns seem ready to take such a step. They call it adopting a "second naivete."

To be a believer also means to engage our critical faculties in testing the gospel's truth claims. For postmoderns who will bow to no authority but what they have tested and approved, this is an essential step if faith is to have integrity. Yet since in the Christian order of things "faith precedes understanding," this scrutiny will be fruitful only after an initial positive embracing of the good news.