In Athens

Introduction

Acts 17:16–21 NIV

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

A City Full of Idols

I love Athens. It is probably my favorite city I in the world. I have been blessed to go a couple of times. Athens was the first place I stayed the first time I was in Europe.

The lighting of the Acropolis. The beauty and majesty of the city.

By this time Athens was not as grand as it had been a few centuries before, but it was still considered the cultural and intellectual center of the Roman Empire. It was filled with artists, students, and philosophers.

Interesting this is the first time we really hear Paul upset about the idols. He had been all over the Roman world and in every town there were idols everywhere. That gives me the idea it must have been even worse than the other places.

Paul is so upset because the whole city seemed to be an idol. Even its beautiful buildings, like the Parthenon and temple of Zeus were made to false Gods. The streets were lined with idols to all the Gods. Everywhere you looked you would have seen idols, but to the Romans these were not statues, they were their gods. Paul knew even though it was beautiful, and amazing, the false belief behind them could not be allowed to go unchecked.

So he pleaded with them all. He was at the synagogue on Saturday and in the market place the rest of the week proclaiming the good news. Jesus and the resurrection. The market place, The Agora, was the center of activity. It was huge.

It was where Socrates taught. It was the birthplace of democracy. You can see it was on the side hills of the Acropolis. It is only a short walk. It would have been full of people during the week. There would have been so many people their discussing philosophy, religion, news, art. Students would have been gathered around their teachers in discussion and learning.

It was the Greek and now Roman way of Learning to ask questions and discuss the answers. That is what Paul is now doing. He is telling the good news and then discussing and debating with the philosophers of the day.

Two main ones are mentioned.

Epicureans- Materialists. Everything came from matter and everything would return to matter. When you died you died. Nothing else. The only thing that is good is pleasure, things that don’t give you pleasure are bad. Probably believed in gods, but only as beings that lived own lives did not care about humans, just lived to be merry. They definitely did not believe in after life or in a God who wanted what was best for them.

Stoics- The opposite of Epicureans. They were pantheists that believed in divine providence. They believed we were all connected. They believed reason and thought were the key to everything. Seeking divine truth. They had a high sense of universal brotherhood and duty to your fellow man.

These were the two most popular thought patterns at the time. Paul used some of their own thought to share the gospel with them when he was taken to Aeropagus. Named after the Greek god of war Ares, but many know this as Mars Hill. Mars was the Roman god of war. It is just below the Acropolis and above the agora. It was where the Areopagus met. They were sort of a court named after where they met. It does not seem that Paul was on trial, but rather was brought before these leaders to discuss and for them to understand his teaching.

You see the people thought Paul was speaking about two new gods. Jesus and Anastasia, Which was sounds like the Greek word for Resurrection, Anastasis. So they thought Paul was polytheistic as well.

But Paul was about to let them know the truth. Now listen to what Paul says in light of this context.

Acts 17:22–31 NIV

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

We should never be surprised that Paul always found a way to preach the gospel. This is the most complete record of one of his gospel sermons. We are basically in the middle of the book of Acts. It has been building to this. Paul, sharing the gospel in the center of the Roman thought world. Sharing it with the smartest of the smart. The ones that have nothing better to do than to argue about thought all day long.

Let’s look closer at what he said.

I see that you are very religious...

What a start! You are so religious, but basically your religion is all wrong. You worship all these idols, all these things. You have gods for everything. There were at least 67 Roman gods. They were for everything. But just in case they might have missed a god, it was common for them to have idols marked to the unknown gods. They sure did not want to offend any of them.

Can you imagine that prayer time? 67 different gods and then at the end, “and just in case I missed one, will you unknown god watch out for me as well.” That would be exhausting. But remember they did not think these gods were involved in their life, basically they believed they were things.

Acts 17:23 NIV

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

But Paul uses it to his advantage. He introduces them to the true God.

Acts 17:24–28 NIV

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Look how he addresses so much Roman thought, philosophy and religion as he shares the story of the true God.

One God made the world and everything in it. He doesn’t live in Temples made by man, he doesn’t need us, he doesn’t need anything. He alone gave man breath and life. He made every nation, He has a divine plan that has been set forth throughout history. He planned what would happen. He planned how not only kingdoms and kings would come and go, but where each individual man or woman would live and when they would live. He has a plan for each of us, and he continues to be at work in the world and in you.

THAT IS SOME GOOD NEWS FOR US TODAY isn’t it?

But there is more:

God did all of this so that man could seek him, and reach out to him and FIND HIM because he is not far from us.

God did not make us and forget about us. He is not trying to hide from us. He did everything so we can find him. He is not hiding on a mountain or in a temple. He is right here.

Paul just showed them God was not a thing to admire or make idols of but rather a personal being that cared about them and seeks a relationship with them.

Because check out verse 28 again.

Acts 17:28 NIV

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

In Him we live and have our being.

This is the key to it all. In God alone we have our being. It is who we are. In him is life. Totally different than the impersonal, objects worshipped by the Athenians.

Then Paul tells them they cannot be ignorant anymore. God has revealed it all to them now. He is calling all men and women to repent from idol worship, repent from seeking pleasure alone, repent from sin. Because God has set a day of judgement. A day when we will be judged for our actions, our thoughts, and our beliefs. A day we will be judged by the man he has appointed the man he raised from the dead. We know that man is Jesus.

Paul never mentions Jesus by name in this whole sermon. He did not have to. He had been proclaiming everywhere for weeks that God had sent Jesus to die for our sins and that God had raised him from the dead. That is why he was before the leaders. They knew exactly who he was talking about.

The result of Paul’s obedience.

Acts 17:32–34 NIV

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Paul laid it out. He was fearless and faithful. God calls us to be fearless and faithful in sharing the gospel as well where ever we are.

Paul understood something we need to understand. Our job is to share the gospel, it is God’s job to save the people. Paul knew not all people would accept it, in fact, you might have picked up on this as we have studied ACTs. Many more people rejected the gospel than accepted it. But we and Paul are called to be faithful for those few that do accept it.

Today, in this world we need this same message don’t we. God created the world and everything in it. He set us each here for this moment in this time in this place. So that we might seek him, reach out to him and find him. Because in him is life, hope our salvation. All proved and made possible by death and resurrection of Jesus. In him is the only true life. Turn from our trust in anything but God and Believe.

For he is with us.