When Paul entered a new town to proclaim the gospel message, he always went first to the Jewish synagogues. The Jews would be the easiest group to explain how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures (which Jews follow and believe). In Berea, Luke tells us that the Berean Jews were nobler than the Thessalonian Jews and eager to examine the Scriptures to verify Paul's message.

Luke, the writer of Luke and Acts, constantly highlights the role of women in Jesus' ministry and the early church. Luke mentions that many "prominent Greek women" believed in Jesus. Throughout his writings, Luke is concerned with showing how the gospel message of Jesus is for everyone - men and women, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, young and old. The question for the reader, Theophilus (and us today), is how will you respond to who Jesus is and what He did through his life, death, and resurrection?

Conquered by Rome in 168 BC, Berea (alternately spelled Beroea) was one of the most populous Macedonian cities in the time of Paul. Today the city is known as Verria. This city, lying in the foothills of the Olympian range, was not on the Via Egnatia but rather some fifty miles south and west of Thessalonica by means of a lesser road.

Click the map to explore when Paul visited the city of Berea and the other key locations in the book of Acts.