Paul Addresses People at the Areopagus—and Us Today

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him.  Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being,’ as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’  Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.  The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.” –Acts 17:26-31 (ESV).

Paul the Apostle was at the Areopagus, also called Mars Hill, in Athens, Greece.  The name indicated both a hill and the court that met there to decide moral matters.  At that time Athens was the most learned city in the world.  Paul, looking around at the men and the setting, thought it a good opportunity to preach the message of the one true God and warn them of the judgment to come.  Paul had a relevant point at which to start, for he found an altar labeled “to the unknown God.”  Paul addressed Stoics and Epicureans and perhaps others of different persuasions.  The Stoics believed that everything was God and the fiery spirit of God was in everything—person, object and animal.  When man or anything died, the spark inside survived and would return to God and come forth again. Whatever happened was intended to be and man was not to worry.  The Epicureans believed everything happened by chance and death was the end of life.  They believed in gods (plural) but these were remote and not involved in the affairs of mankind.  Pleasure was the chief aim of man, but not pleasure that would eventually bring pain.  Paul in his sermon even quoted from a Greek poet, Aratus, with whom the philosophers hearing him would have been familiar.

Paul made these main points in his sermon: (1)  God is not made and formed by man; rather God is the maker of all.  (2) God has guided history from the beginning of time and has ordered the rise and fall of nations.  (3) God made man so that he longs to fellowship with God (as St. Augustine said, much later than Paul’s time:  “Man is made in the image of God and is restless until he finds rest in God”)  (4)  There were days of ignorance, but those days are past and now truth is available; repent, therefore, and get right with God. (5)  Judgment is coming for the whole world, all nations.  (6)  The person appointed to be judge is Jesus Christ whom God raised from the dead.  Paul held his own among the philosophers, yet he was less successful in winning converts in Athens than in other places.  It seems those at the Areopagus loved high-sounding words and ideas better than the truth of God and acting upon it.  And what if Paul were addressing our two houses of Congress and our political leaders on Capitol Hill today?  Would he still be confronted with those who put off making an important decision, mocked his message, and wished to hear “more about this again” (v. 32)  Two (Dionysius and Damarus) and others with them, believed.  The message reached them.  May Paul’s sermon touch us today, cause us to think on important spiritual matters, repent and turn to God.

Prayer:  Lord, in this period of forty days of concerted prayer when Christian leaders in America are calling us to repent and turn to God, may we think clearly through the truths Paul presented in his sermon on Mars Hill.  Indeed, God, in You alone “we live and move and have our being.”  We are “Your offspring.”  As citizens of our country, may we act responsibly, face reality, and know that our help comes only from God.  May we turn from the darkness of disbelief and rebellion into which our nation has fallen.  Cast us not away, Lord.  Give us another opportunity to right wrongs and live as godly people.  Amen.

Paul in Athens, Greece: The Situation and His Sermon

“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.  So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.  Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him.  And some said, ‘What does this babbler wish to say?’  Others said, ‘He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities’—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection…So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.  For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’  What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.’”-Acts 17: 16-18, 22-23 (ESV.  Read Acts 18-34)

Paul waited for Silas and Timothy to join him in Athens, Greece.  Perhaps it should have been a rest stop, a time of refreshment and vacation for Paul, but he spent his time, as usual, interacting with the people he met and witnessing to the power of Almighty God to save.  Consider a brief look at the situation, both culturally, philosophically and religiously in Athens at the time of Paul’s visit.  The largest university in the world at that time was located in Athens; it was a center of learning for its day.  Named for the Greek wisdom goddess Athene, the city held beliefs in a pantheon of gods and had statuary honoring them, including one (noted by Paul in his visit) “to the unknown God.”  An interesting story exists about how “the unknown god” statuary became a part of Athens’ “gods made by hands” or idols.  About 600 B. C. a terrible plague hit the city of Athens and nothing could assuage it.  A Greek poet named Epimenides from the island of Crete hit upon a plan.  He persuaded the leaders to release a flock of black and white sheep from the Areopagus (Mars Hill), the place where important civic and religious decisions were made.  As the sheep lay down, wherever they had traveled, the sheep would be sacrificed there to the nearest statue of a god and thus appease the wrath of whatever of the gods had brought the plague.  If the sheep lay down where there was not a nearby statue, then they would erect one and name it “to the unknown god.”  Thus, dotted throughout Athens were these statues with that designation. These, which Paul had observed, gave him a good point of reference for his famous sermon delivered on Mars Hill (Areopagus).  When Rome conquered the known world, Athens was left as a city-state, somewhat free to carry on their culture as  it had developed for about 3,000 years of human occupation.  Many philosophies were tossed about in the discussion groups so prevalent throughout Athens, at the university and in the agora (marketplace) and Areopagus (great collonaded porches and civic edifice, named for the Greek god Ares), and wherever people met to exchange ideas.  Two main groups stood out, however, and these are mentioned in Acts 17:18:  the Epicureans and the Stoics.  It would take a long essay to give the beliefs of each of these, but basically the Epicureans, after the Greek philosopher Epicureas (b. 341 B. C.), centered on the search for pleasure and fulfillment, to acquire a trouble-free mind, and to avoid pains of the body. He believed in gods, but thought them remote from and disinterested in people, and that death ended all of life—no eternal existence.  His ideas became distorted with time, but he himself practiced tranquility and contemplation.  Stoics, on the other hand, believed that everything was God and god was in everything.  Whatever happens is fated and we must not care or try to change it, for it is the will of God.  A spark of the spirit of God dwells in everyone and at death it returns to God.

Amidst all this philosopy, learning, art and history, Paul came with the message of the living God.  He went to the synagogue as was his custom, and talked and reasoned with the Jews.  Then amidst the statuary and grandeur of public Athens, he began to talk with philosophers and idea-mongers, and was even called by some of them “a babbler.”  He was invited by these Athenians and taken to the Areopagus where he spoke publicly.  Read carefully Paul’s sermon in Acts 17:23-31.  It is a masterpiece discourse of application of Paul’s philosophy and belief about God given in the manner characteristic of what his Athens audience would hear.  I read Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s commentary of this sermon by Paul, and I borrow from his mnemonic outline, using his alliteration for each point (Wiersbe,  New Testament. Acts. Colorado Springs:  David C. Cook, 2007, p. 378).  I have read and studied Paul’s sermon, keeping in mind Dr. Wiersbe’s outline, and find the spiritual exercise rich and enlightening.  I invite you to study it, too.

            I.  The greatness of God:  He is Creator (v. 24)

           II.  The goodness of God:  He is Provider (v. 25)

          III.  The government of God:  He is Ruler (vv. 26-29)

          IV.  The grace of God:  He is Savior (vv. 30-34)    

We have no biblical statement that a Christian church was formed in Athens.  Two named converts came as a result of Paul’s sermon at the Areopagus:  Demetrius, an Areopagite (perhaps a member of the council) and a woman, Damaris  (women were not usually at the area of the Areopagus, so she may have not had a good reputation prior to her conversion)—and “some men’ and “others with them” (that is, others with Demetrius and Damaris). 

What does Paul’s trip and witness in Athens teach us?  It is not always the large numbers of converts that matter.  Every soul is precious in the sight of God.  Relating Paul’s witness there to the parable of the seeds and the sower, wise, philosophical, proud Athenians were like the seeds of the gospel falling on poor soil already infested by many weeds.  Paul referred to the situation in his phrase, “the times of ignorance” (v. 30).  We, like Paul, need to be bold in our witness in places where false doctrines and philosophies abound, the “Athens areas” of our day.  But we cannot forget, as a benefit to us of Paul’s example there, we have his well-developed and strong sermon.  Many have read and benefited from it through two centuries, including us!  God’s word will not return void.  That is His promise, and this is a strong example of that promise fulfilled.  Amen.

Bereans Receive the Word Gladly but Opposition Arises

“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.  Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.  Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.” –Acts 17:10-13 (ESV.  Read Acts 17:10-15).

When trouble arose in Thessalonica over Paul’s teaching and preaching, and Jason, his host, and other believers were brought before the authorities by angry Jews, the brothers “smuggled” Paul and Silas out of Thessalonica “by night.”  They traveled 50 miles (some say 60) by road southwest to the town of Berea.  It had a large enough Jewish population to have a synagogue.  Paul went there and began preaching.  Dr. William Barclay points out three important points about Paul’s time in Berea.  (1) His preaching was scriptural and led his hearers “to examine the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”  Could the Messiah Paul preached about have been crucified?  Crucifixion indicated the victim was accursed.  The Messiah should have set up an earthly kingdom.  But the Jews in Berea are termed “more noble,” meaning not their rank in society or their “well-born” position, but their willingness to be open-minded and fair and to search out for themselves in their own Old Testament scriptures whether what Paul preached was true.  The result was that many believed among the Jewish community as well as the God-fearers, Greek men and women who heard the Word and accepted Christ as Savior.  The Bereans were exemplary in receiving the message gladly.  Many churches since that day have chosen the word “Bereans” to identify groups of people who diligently search the Scriptures.  (2) The second point about the Berean mission is that persecution came from the Jews.  Soon news reached the agitating group of Jews in Thessalonica and they went to Berea to seek to silence Paul.  The tragedy is that this persecution arose from a group who had the mistaken idea that they were doing the will of God by opposing Paul and the new believers.  Again, since Paul was the target of their wrath, the brethren sent him off immediately “on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.”  Berea would have further help from experienced teachers, even though Paul had to flee.  (3)  Paul’s courage stands out.  Previously imprisoned, beaten, and now threatened in Berea, Paul did not quit.  He was commissioned to bear the message in Gentile territory; he must move on.  And that he did.  Some of the believers accompanied Paul all the way to Athens and after they knew Silas and Timothy were going there to join Paul, these caring people from Berea left Paul.  They had no doubt helped to save Paul’s life and had attended him in troublous times.  Is it any wonder we think highly of Berean Christians, even over two thousand years after Paul’s mission trip there? 

Luke in his summary account of activities in Berea does not make clear Paul’s escape ‘by sea.’  We would think that he went to the coast and boarded a ship for Athens.  But by some of the Berean Christians remaining with him until he reached Athens, they could have traveled on the coastal road, some 222 miles from Berea to Athens, Greece.  Scholars who have looked more closely into this section of Paul’s second missionary journey favor the seacoast road route from Berea to Athens. Their mode of travel does not matter as much as the fact that Paul was protected and accompanied on a long journey.  God provided human and spiritual means of preserving His spokesman to take the Word to other waiting and truth-seeking people. This Berean interlude teaches us the importance of studying the scriptures diligently and of helping those in trouble.  To God be the glory!      

World Changers Witnessing in Thessalonica

“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.  And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”…And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.’”-Acts 17:1-3, 6 (ESV. Read Acts 17:1-9).

Still in his second missionary journey, Paul and his companion Silas traveled from Philippi to Thessalonica, capital of Macedonia, a journey overland on the Egnatian Way of about 94 miles.  They passed through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, which were about a day’s journey apart by foot; but they did not remain in those locations.  Thessalonica was a large city with a population of about 100,000.  It had a natural harbor and was also on the main east-west and north-south trade routes.  In his epistle to the Thessalonian church, Paul wrote later of his stay with them: “we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict” (I Thes. 2:2). Thessalonica was a free city and had its own rulers called “politarchs.”  Religiously, the Greco-Roman pantheon (many gods, idolatry) was practiced, as was emperor-worship and Egyptian cults. Enough Jews lived in the city for a synagogue to be built there.  It was to this Jewish worship center that Paul and Silas went on three successive Sabbath days to teach and preach, proclaiming the Christ prophesied in the Old Testament.  Some of them (referring to Jews) believed, “a great many of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women” (v. 4).  It would seem by the account that Paul only remained three weeks in Thessalonica.  However, his letter to the church indicates a longer stay in the city (I Thes. 2:9, and 5:12).  A man named Jason was host to the missionaries and they lodged in his house. Paul also worked to make his own way during the time he was in the city, plying his trade of tentmaking (I Thes. 2:9; I Thes. 3:7-10).  Paul probably used every opportunity, even while he worked, to teach the people about the Lord Christ.

But when things were going well, persecution arose.  A mob was formed “wicked men of the rabble” incited by jealous and discontented Jews.  They went to Jason’s house, seeking the missionaries, but could not find them.  They dragged Jason and some of the believers before the city council (the politarchs), making the accusation that they were acting against the Roman Emperor by claiming another ruler, “king Jesus.”  In the charge against Paul and his team, the rabble and dissenting Jews were actually paying the missionaries a great compliment:  “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also!”  (v. 6).  To be called “World Changers” is indeed to take notice of the impact of the message they proclaimed and the way of life believers led that set them apart as different and changed from the general populace that continued to follow idolatry, or, in the case of the Jews, the strictures of the law.  Jason and those arrested with him had to, as we would say, pay bail as security before they were released.  This meant that Paul’s team would have to leave Thessalonica since his Jewish opponents would continue to stir up trouble.  In I Thessalonians 2:18, Paul called this “Satan’s hindrance.”  A church grew up in Thessalonica and Paul’s labors there bore lasting results for the kingdom of God.  He and Silas were faithful to their calling; indeed they had changed the world of many in Thessalonica.

Oh, that we might be “world changers” wherever we are—light and yeast and salt—permeating our environment with the good news that Jesus saves. People-to-people, Christian-to-non-Christian, can make a difference as the Holy Spirit leads and empowers us to be faithful witnesses. Let us pray to be world changers.

“The best place for us to be missionaries is wherever we are,” carries great challenge and truth for each believer.