Tuesday, May 3 I, if anyone, do have grounds for confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more.​—Phil. 3:4.

[Áine]

Tuesday, May 3

I, if anyone, do have grounds for confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more.—Phil. 3:4.

 

The apostle Paul preached often in Jewish synagogues. In the synagogue in Thessalonica, for example, “for three sabbaths he reasoned with [the Jews] from the Scriptures.” (Acts 17:1, 2) Paul likely felt comfortable in the synagogue. He was raised as a Jew. (Acts 26:4, 5) Paul could relate to the Jews, so he was able to preach to them with confidence. (Phil. 3:5) After Paul was forced by persecutors to flee Thessalonica and then Beroea, he arrived in Athens. Once again, “he began to reason in the synagogue with the Jews and the other people who worshipped God.” (Acts 17:17) While preaching in the marketplace, however, Paul now had a different audience. Among his listeners were philosophers and other Gentiles who viewed Paul’s message as a “new teaching.” They said to him: “You are introducing some things that are strange to our ears.”—Acts 17:18-20. w20.04 9 ¶5-6