Reason, Explain, Demonstrate, Proclaim

Acts 17 says,
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. (NKJV)

There are four descriptive terms used in this text for what Paul did when he went into the synagogue to share Jesus with the Jews from the Old Testament Scriptures.

The first is "reasoned," translated from the Greek dialégomai which means to converse, or dialogue. Very likely Paul sat with them, read the Scriptures, and then listened to how they understood the text. This would likely have been an open and respectful exchange.

The second is "explaining," from the Greek dianoigō; which means to open up completely. Here Paul would have shown them how the verses were fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Likely, they did not yet know about Jesus, and they needed someone to show them Jesus as Messiah.

The third is "demonstrating," from paratithēmi; meaning to place beside or set before. The usage here implies Paul attempted to prove his claim by evidences and commendations to his listeners. His own witness and the witness of his traveling companions would have been significant.

Finally, is "preach," from katangellō, meaning to proclaim throughout, report, or tell with conviction, i.e., preach and advocate. In the end Paul simply declared the truth of Jesus.

We may make use of all these forms of sharing Jesus as well. It makes perfect sense to dialogue with people in order to see where they stand with God, then to explain to them the truth of Jesus Christ, opening up the redemptive working of God throughout history. We certainly can demonstrate from Scripture, our own lives, and the witness of the church the truth of what we believe, but ultimately we proclaim Jesus Christ as risen Lord and Savior.

As believers we can't argue or persuade someone into accepting Jesus as Christ. We can reason with them and communicate so that they understand, but in the end we simply proclaim the truth of the gospel, which is that the dead shall live again... eternally!

This is certainly truth worth proclaiming from the rooftops.