Acts 17:16-34 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Acts 17:16-34. Let’s go!
Acts 17:16-17 (NIV)
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
On verses 16-17: Because Paul was distressed to see so many idols being worshiped in Athens, Paul decided to do something about it. He begins to preach about Jesus in the synagogue and marketplace of Athens. When you are distressed by something that you see, don’t just complain about it or be frustrated by it. With your time and your talents, do something productive in light of it.
Acts 17:18 (NIV)
18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute 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.
On verse 18: As eloquent, intelligent and excellent Paul was as a communicator, there were still those who had trouble grasping the message he was preaching. What can we learn from this? It takes time for people who do not come from a Christian background to grasp what the Christian message is all about. In part it’s because the Christian message is so counterintuitive and so different from what people usually think about when it comes to God, people, heaven and hell. That’s why you need to give the unchurched people you’re trying to reach time to grasp the message about Jesus. They might need to hear it over and over in different ways and from different people before it will sink in.
Acts 17:19-21 (NIV)
19 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?
20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
On verses 19-21: What is this “meeting of the Areopagus” (v19)? The Areopagus was a hill where Athenians would set up a court to judge various legal matters. “Areopagus” literally means the hill of Ares, the Greek god of war (or, in Latin, the hill of Mars, thus the term “Mars’ hill”). In this case, Paul isn’t on trial for any charges. Rather it seems that the Areopagus was also a council (v33) that would hold public hearings and invite individuals to present new ideas, similar perhaps to TED talks today. Curious about what Paul has been preaching about in the synagogue and marketplace of Athens, some higher ups in Athens invite Paul to speak at a meeting of the Areopagus.
Acts 17:22-23 (NIV)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
23 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. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
On verses 22-23: Notice that Paul begins by speaking to the Athenians about things that they could relate to, such as the altar they walked past every day. What was Paul doing? Like Stephen was doing in Acts 7, Paul is building common ground with his audience. If you want people to listen to your message, you need to establish common ground with them early on.
Notice also that Paul uses something that his audience knew about as a launchpad to talking about something that his audience did not know about. Paul says to them, “You have this altar dedicated ‘to an unknown God’. Let me tell you who this unknown God is.” Paul is tickling his audience’s curiosity, giving them a reason to keep on listening to him.
Acts 17:24-27 (NIV)
24 “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 hands.
25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
On verses 24-27: According to verse 26, every circumstance God allows in your life – good, bad, joyful, painful – is ultimately for one reason: that you would recognize your need for God and reach out for Him. As Paul says, God is not far away from any one of us (v27). That’s because through Jesus Christ, God came near. Now He waits for us to respond to Him. That’s why we call God “Immanuel”, which means “God is with us”. Let’s thank God for not being far away, but for coming near.
Acts 17:28-31 (NIV)
28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “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 man’s design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 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 all men by raising him from the dead.”
On verses 24-31: Knowing that his audience is not well versed in the Hebrew scriptures, Paul doesn’t quote Scripture verses when trying to communicate with his non-Jewish audience. Rather, he speaks in a language that the Athenians can understand, using the language of philosophy and poetry to communicate his message. What is Paul doing? Everywhere Paul goes Paul is preaching the same message about Jesus, but Paul packages and presents that message differently based on where his audience is at. Likewise, if you want to effectively share Jesus with others, first understand where your audience is at and meet them there, speaking in ways that they can understand. That’s what Jesus did for us: instead of insisting that we go up to where He is, Jesus came down to our level.
Acts 17:32-34 (NIV)
32 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.”
33 At that, Paul left the Council.
34 A few men 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.
On verses 32-34: God uses Paul’s message to reach a few people in Athens. Some might conclude that Paul’s mission in Athens was not as successful as his mission in other places where Paul saw a much greater numerical response. I think of it differently. Paul did the best with what we had in Athens, choosing to respond in a positive way to the distress he felt when he saw so many idols in the city. He ends up gaining an audience in Athens’ most prestigious forum. There he plows the ground of people’s hearts with a message that is so different and unique compared to anything else the Athenians had ever heard. What can we learn from this? When you respond to your distress in positive, constructive ways, you give God room to work in your life in ways that you could not have anticipated yourself.
Thank You Father for being the God who didn’t stay far away, but who came near to be with us. Thank You that everything that happens in my life is ultimately for one reason: that I would see my need for You and reach for You. I pray for those around me who don’t know You yet. I pray that like Paul I would be wise and effective in how I share You with those around me, speaking in ways that the people around me can relate to so that the message can be as clear to them as possible. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
