The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to
Beroe'a; and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Since these
Jews were more generous than those in Thessaloni'ca, they received the word
with all eagerness, examining the scriptures day after day to consider these
things. Thus many of them believed, and not just a few Greek women of high
standing but men as well. But when the Jews of Thessaloni'ca heard how Paul had
proclaimed the word of God at Beroe'a, they came there too, to incite crowds to
trouble. So the brethren straight away sent Paul on his way to the sea;
meanwhile Silas and Timothy remained. Those who conducted Paul took him as far
as Athens; and receiving Paul's request that Silas and Timothy come as soon as
possible, they made their return trip.
In a Nutshell
Beroea hears the gospel and another church is set up. But the civil strife fomented by Jewish jealousy means Paul is soon on his way to Athens.
Questions
Why did Silas and Timothy not go with Paul?
As we have read Luke's account we realise that the people Paul visited were those who had some knowledge of what has been happening throughout the Jewish world. These people would have heard something about Jesus of Nazareth. And clearly, it was not just people of Jewish background who opposed the spread of the news that the Jewish Messiah had come, died and rose from the dead. Among those who believed there were always Jews gladly accepting the news that their Messiah had come and so were convinced by the teaching of Paul and others teachers. Usually these teachers were of Jewish background.
Luke makes a point of telling us about the generosity of the Bereoan synagogue. Once more we hear that Greek women of high standing also believed. There was a response when the gospel was explained to them. It is clear that Paul's method was "look and see for yourself". His appeal was to the same authority - the holy scriptures, the law and prophets.
In Pisidian Antioch (13.50) Luke tells us that the Jewish resistance to Paul's message incited the Greek women of high standing in that community. Here, as with Thessalonica, the Greek women of high standing are mentioned among those who believed. These women were worshippers of the God of Israel. It seems Paul's preaching of the gospel was a harvest that came from a deep spiritual growth in that community by seed sown by those faithful to the law and the prophets.
There was an important point that Paul and his colleagues had to address: how were the Christians, the believers, the ones who believed that the Messiah had come, to respond to the hateful tactics of those Jews who didn't believe and who wanted the teaching suppressed? We can see that the brethren considered it important to "keep the peace". Paul was assisted in his travel to a new destination and meanwhile Timothy and Silas remained. They were not as controversial as the former Pharisee. Teaching continued but the civil tension was avoided with Paul's exit. Paul waited in Athens, expecting them to join him shortly, presumably when they had finished their work. They were learning to be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves (Matthew 10:16) as Jesus had prophetically taught.