Sermon Tone Analysis

Teaching the truth

, After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.

And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads!

I am innocent.

From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.

His house was next door to the synagogue.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household.

And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”

But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint.

But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves.

I refuse to be a judge of these things.”

And he drove them from the tribunal.

And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal.

But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.

And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads!

I am innocent.

From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.

His house was next door to the synagogue.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household.

And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”

But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint.

But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves.

I refuse to be a judge of these things.”

And he drove them from the tribunal.

And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal.

But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads!

I am innocent.

From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.

His house was next door to the synagogue.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household.

And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”

But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint.

But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves.

I refuse to be a judge of these things.”

And he drove them from the tribunal.

And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal.

But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

As we left Paul last week in verse 31, he was about to clarify his teaching about Jesus and His resurrection from the dead.

This teaching had prompted a negative response to Paul’s address.

Yet, even in skeptical atmosphere of the Areopagus, ‘some became followers of Paul and believed’.

The implication is that preaching Jesus and the resurrection to such an audience is the way forward (cf.

v. 18), despite the cynicism this arouses.

In both Jewish and Gentile contexts, it is ‘the Word of God, the truth of God’s Word’ by which God grows the church.

32, Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead some mocked, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

The Greek construction of this sentence (some mocked … others said) highlights the fact that there were two different reactions to Paul’s speech.

The mocking of some continued because of Paul’s return to the subject of the resurrection from the dead, because in their ignorance and the arrogance they could not believed in such a thing.

But others expressed a desire to hear Paul again ‘concerning this’, which could refers to the topic of the resurrection this person mentioned in v. 31 (the unnamed Jesus).

Those who became followers of Paul and believed must have had a later opportunity to ask their questions and hear more before turning to Christ.

Luke’s gives us an abbreviated version of the speech indicates that Paul said little about the way of salvation and the Saviour who makes it possible.

The text now tells us in 33-34, So Paul went out from their midst.

But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

The association of Damaris with Dionysius may imply that Damaris was also ‘a distinguished Areopagite’.

Her presence at the meeting addressed by Paul certainly implies some status, either in the council or in the philosophical schools represented on that occasion.

So Paul’s time in Athens was not a complete failure and the implication is that he left behind a small group of believers.

describes the household of Stephanas as ‘the first-fruit of Achaia’ (cf.

1:16).

Corinth was the capital city of the province of Achaia and soon became the center of Paul’s ministry in the region.

In the context of his argument to the Corinthians, he means that the household of Stephanas was ‘the first of more converts to come in Achaia’.

If Paul’s focus was on the newness of the situation in Corinth, this does not deny the possibility that there were previous converts in Athens, the other leading city of Achaia.

What, finally, can contemporary Christians learn from Paul’s apologetic and evangelistic strategies in ?

Simply, stated we should follow in Paul footsteps.

(1) By connecting with those hearers in the marketplace.

(2) Correcting their misconceptions about the gospel.

(3) Conversing and reasoning with them through the Scriptures.

(4) Convicting them of their compromises with their idols of this world.

(5) Confronting them with their need of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because of the coming day of judgment.

These are all the essential features of a dialogue that is distinctly Christian and biblical.

Let us pray…

Here in Corinth Luke links together four short scenes in this section ‘to show Paul having a long and fruitful ministry in Corinth in spite of strong Jewish opposition’.

The first scene deals with the fact that teaching the truth requires partnership.

Verses 1–4 confirms that, as usual, his ministry began in the synagogue, but that in this city he formed a new partnership with Aquila and Priscilla.

We are later told that this couple assisted Paul in establishing the gospel in Ephesus and ministered significantly to Apollos (vv.

18–28).

The second scene deals with the fact that teaching the truth rebukes people.

Verses 5–8 has Paul devoting himself to the evangelization of Jews in Corinth until they become resistant and abusive, at which point he warns them of impending judgment and states his intention to turn to Gentiles in the city.

The third scene deals with teaching the truth relies on power.

Verses 9–11 records that Jews and Gentiles continued to believe in the Lord Jesus, but that the opposition was such that Paul needed a special vision from the Lord to encourage him to stay there for a year and a half.

He needed power to persevere, which he did not have.

In the fourth scene he deals teaching the truth results in persecution.