Acts 17:16-34
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING - Acts 16:17-34]
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” So Paul went out of 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.
[PRAYER]
[CONNECTION] Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? What is right? How can I know?
Questions like these are life’s ultimate questions. Some disgruntled person once phrased them humorously like this…
“How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?” (attributed to Soren Kierkegaard)
These are the questions that every thinking person wrestles with. These are the questions that every religion and philosophy and worldview from ancient Athens to modern Mobile seek to answer.
[CONTEXT] As preacher of the Christ he once persecuted, Paul had been run out of Damascus, Jerusalem, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.
He now found himself alone in Athens, a city probably named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena.
The city was full of architectural marvels, pagan idols of every variety, and intellectual giants.
Athen’s most impressive attraction was the Parthenon, which was built on the highest part of the city, and house the 40ft tall statue of Athena.
Surrounding the Parthenon were sanctuaries and temples to other Greek gods like Nike, Pandion, Zeus, Roma and Augustus, and others.
The city had in fact so many gods, that one Roman writer said that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens (Petronius).
Another writer described Athens as “a city swimming in a sea of gods,” (Benjamin A. Foreman in LGCAR).
But Athens was also swimming in a sea of ideas. Athens was the birthplace of western thought on the fundamentals of knowledge, reality, and existence.
Socrates and Plato were from Athens.
Aristotle, who taught Alexander the Great, lived in Athens.
In Athens, Epicurus founded the “The Garden”, a school that taught his Epicurean philosophy of life, which focused on tranquility as the key to the good life.
And in Athens, Zeno of Citium founded his Stoic school of philosophy, which focused on virtue as the key to the good life.
As we read, Paul encountered both Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, but everywhere he looked in Athens he saw people turning to every idol and idea in hopes of answering life’s ultimate questions.
[CIT] But in Athens Paul’s spirit was provoked and his mouth was opened to answer those questions according to God’s Word.
[INTER] Do you want to know who you are, why you’re here, and what life is really about?
[PROP] Then you had better pay careful attention to what the Apostle Paul has to say in Athens before the Areopagus.
[TS] Let’s look at Paul’s time in Athens in three PARTS…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
PART #1: Provoked in a City Full of Idols (vv. 16-21)
PART #1: Provoked in a City Full of Idols (vv. 16-21)
[EXP] Look at Acts 17:16…
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
Those who escorted Paul to Athens from Berea were sent back with orders for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible (Acts 17:15).
While he was waiting for them, he was observing all the idols in Athens. The city was “full of idols”, “wholly given to idolatry” as the KJV says.
As he observed these idols, his spirit was provoked. He was deeply distressed and troubled within himself.
We would say, “This was eatin’ Paul up inside.”
Why was Paul so provoked, so troubled by what he saw in Athens?
It was because the things which the Athenians sacrificed to their idols, they sacrificed to demons and not to God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:20).
Behind every idol is a demon, and Paul was eager for the living God to get the worship that the Athenians were giving to idols, demons in disguise.
So Paul set to work. Notice v. 17…
So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.
As was his custom, Paul first went to the synagogue where Jews and God-fearing Gentiles met for worship. There, just as he did everywhere, he reasoned from the OT Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ who had to be crucified and raised from the dead.
He also did this in the marketplace with whoever happened to be present.
Athens had two marketplaces; there was the old Greek marketplace, which by this time had been supplanted by the market at the Roman forum, which was not only active commercially but also religiously.
At the Roman forum, in addition to the market, there was a temple of Ares, an altar of Zeus, a portico of Zeus, and a podium temple to the Eleusinian gods, Demeter and Persephone.
It was like in that marketplace full of shoppers and idolaters that Paul was approached by some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Notice v. 18…
And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
The Epicureans believed that tranquility was the key to happiness, and the way to achieve tranquility was to live free from pain, negativity, and fear.
The Epicureans would’ve balked at Proverbs 9:10, which says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...”
The Stoics believed that reason was the key to happiness, and the way to live by reason was to understand and live according to the logos—the logical, universal guiding principle that bound everything and everyone together.
The Stoics would’ve balked at Proverbs 3:5, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18), so Paul’s words sounded like foolishness to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. They thought he was a babbler or a proclaimer of strange deities.
The Greek word behind babbler refers to one who picks up seeds like a chicken pecking at its feed.
They likely thought he was a proclaimer of strange deities because they misunderstood the name Jesus and the word for resurrection as two separate deities.
Because they thought Paul was introducing some new gods, they invited him before the Areopagus.
In the past the court of the Areopagus decided civil, criminal, and religious cases; no god could be added to the Athenian pantheon without its approval, and the court enforced the recognition of the Athenian gods.
But by Paul’s visit, the court seemed to just be a meeting place for those who “(spent) their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new,” (Acts 17:21).
[ILLUS] In 399 B.C. the famed Greek philosopher Socrates was tried by the Areopagus on two counts: (1) not acknowledging the Athenian gods and (2) corrupting the Athenian youth.
In Plato’s account of the trial, Socrates was accused “introducing other new gods” (Apologia, 24B) while Paul is described by Luke as “introducing strange things” in v. 20, which were described as “strange deities” in v. 18.
The Areopagus found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. Refusing to flee or dodge execution by some other means, Socrates guzzled down a vile of hemlock and died.
Paul wasn’t on trial as Socrates was, but Socrates’ death reminds us that the stakes are real in the battle of ideas.
Someone might lose their life.
Someone might lose their soul.
The Areopagus understood this.
Paul understood this even more.
[APP] When’s the last time your spirit was provoked because of the idolatry and godless philosophies that fill this world?
When’s the last time you were moved to tell people about Jesus because you were eager to see them give worship to the living God instead of dead idols and empty ideas?
When the last time you really felt the weight of the souls at stake in the battle between ideas?
May the Lord provoke our spirits.
May the Lord move us to share Christ and win Him worship.
May the Lord remind us of what’s at stake on Mar’s Hill.
[TS] Let’s notice PART #2 of this passage…
PART #2: Proclaiming the “Unknown God” before the Areopagus (vv. 22-31)
PART #2: Proclaiming the “Unknown God” before the Areopagus (vv. 22-31)
[EXP] Look at vv. 22-23…
So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
In the second century A.D., the Greek geographer, Pansanias, reported altars to “the gods named Unknown” in Athens. He had similar altars in Olympia as well.
In the ancient city of Pergamum, archeologists have discovered an inscription that likely reads, “to unknown gods.”
One third century A.D. source, Diogenes Laertius, wrote that Epimenides built the altar to unknown gods in Athens to stop a plague that was sweeping through the city in 600 B.C.
Paul will soon quote Epimenides in his speech before the Areopagus, but it seems the ancient world was eager to appease all the so-called gods even the ones they were ignorant of.
Paul would now proclaim to them the God they didn’t know. Look at vv. 24-25...
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
The Athenians didn’t know the Creator God. They worshipped local deities who were confined to their temples; deities who were ill-tempered and needy.
The Creator God, however, is not confined and doesn’t need.
He doesn’t need a temple because he doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
He doesn’t need a gift because he isn’t served by human hands.
He is the Creator (i.e., the Maker and Sustainer) of the world and everything in it!
He is Lord (i.e., King and Ruler) of heaven and earth!
And He is a generous King. Instead of taking, He gives to all people life and breath and all things!
This is the Creator God you don’t know—the God unknown in Athens.
Notice vv. 26-27…
and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
The Athenians didn’t know the Providential God.
The Epicurean philosophers believed that gods were there but detached, unconcerned about the affairs of humanity. Thus, they were detached from the gods and sought to detach themselves as much as possible from the negative aspects of life such as pain and fear.
The Stoics believed the logos, the divine principle, was in everything and everyone and that one lived best when he lived according to his nature. But for the Stoics, living according to one’s nature often led to detachment; they held that the key to self-control was to feel nothing.
The Providential God, however, is not detached; He is not unconcerned with the affairs of humanity. He is the feeling God!
He made every nation of mankind from one man, a reference to the first man, Adam.
And He chose when a nation would be and where it would be, “appointing the times and the boundaries of their habitation,” (Acts 17:26).
And this Providential God did this for a purpose—that nations and individuals would seek Him, grope for Him, and find Him because He is not distant but close to each one of us.
But despite His closeness, this groping and finding are unlikely to lead to the true God.
Because of spiritual blindness, those who seek and grope often find an idol or idea of their own making.
Look at vv. 28-29…
for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.
The Athenians didn’t know the Worship of God. Trapped in spiritual darkness, they knew idolatry; they worshipped their own idols and their own ideas.
They attributed to their idols what should’ve been attributed to God alone. Paul quotes from some of their poets who attributed to the idol Zeus what should’ve been attributed to YHWH.
The phrase “in Him we live and move and exist” may have been from a poem in honor of Zeus by Epimenides (I think the same one who reportedly built the altar to the Unknown God).
The phrase “we also are His children” may come from a poem in honor of Zeus by a poet named Aratus, but he may have been quoting an earlier poem in honor of Zeus by a poet named Cleanthes.
No matter the case, it is only in YHWH (and not Zeus) that we live and move and have our being.
And we are all children of YHWH (and not Zeus) in the sense that we have all been created by YHWH.
As children of God (i.e., as creatures created by the Creator), the Athenians should have realized that the true God couldn’t be worshipped as a creature of creation, as an idol formed by their own hands or as an idea formed by their own minds.
The Epicureans were idolaters. In their detachment they become their own idols worshipping their own pleasure.
The Stoics were idolaters. In their detachment they became their own idols worshipping their own virtue.
“Self” is the common source of all pagan idolatry and every godless ideology.
God will not put up with the worship of self for much longer.
Look at vv. 30-31…
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
The Athenians didn’t know the Judgment of God. God temporarily overlooked their idolatry in the past, but now in Paul’s preaching before them, God was declaring that all men (including those of the Areopagus) should repent.
This repentance is crucial because God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world.
That judgment is fixed.
God will not change His mind about it. All will be judged by Him.
That judgment is righteous.
God will judge everyone with equity. Everyone will be measured by the same righteous standard—the standard of His righteousness.
That judgment is assigned.
God will judge the world through a Man—a man whom He raised from the dead.
The crucifixion of Jesus is proof that judgment has passed over all who repent and believe.
The resurrection of Jesus is proof that judgment is coming for all who refuse to repent and believe.
Life’s ultimate questions are answered in YHWH who made us and cares for us and sent His Son to live and die for us and will one day soon send Him again to judge us.
[ILLUS] On Wednesday of this past week, NASA reported finding water, carbon, and organic material on an asteroid.
Samples were collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from an asteroid called ‘Bennu’. The sample was collected in 2020, and the spacecraft just returned to Earth last month.
Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, said “(These) are crucial elements in the formation of our own planet, and they're going to help us determine the origin of elements that could have led to life.”
During the unveiling of NASA’s findings, Nelson asked rhetorically, “…why are we doing this? Because at NASA we are trying to find out who we are, what we are, where we came from.”
NASA is looking to asteroids to answer life’s ultimate questions.
The Athenians were looking to pagan idols and empty idols.
Where are you looking?
[APP] Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? What is right? How can I know?
Who am I?
I am a child of God.
Where did I come from?
I came from God who made me.
Why am I here?
I am here to worship Him.
What is right?
His righteousness is right.
How can I know?
I can know because the living God has raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus is the center of God’s plan for history. It is the central evidence to persuade unbelievers.
We look to Jesus, and we call on others to look to Jesus, because if He is true, it’s all true.
[TS] Let’s look at Part #3…
PART #3: Persuading Some to Join and Believe (vv. 32-34)
PART #3: Persuading Some to Join and Believe (vv. 32-34)
[EXP] Look at v. 32…
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”
When Paul brought up the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer but others wanted to hear.
That’s how it goes preaching the Gospel, some sneered and are hardened in unbelief and some want to hear more on the way to belief, but the Word of God never returns void.
Notice vv. 33-34…
So Paul went out of 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.
Some of those who wanted to hear more heard with faith and believed on Jesus as the Christ crucified and resurrected.
Paul had picked their interest by talking about Jesus rising from the dead.
He no doubt then reasoned with them from the Scriptures when they wanted to hear more.
Among those who believed were Dionysius the Areopagite, a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris and others.
Dionysius may have been a notable figure in Athens.
Perhaps Damaris was too given that Luke named her specifically.
But I think these two are name because Theophilus knew them, and Luke was citing his sources.
It doesn’t appear that Luke was with Paul in Athens, so how did he know what took place.
Well, Paul told him, as did Dionysius and Damaris.
If he knew them, Theophilus could speak with them, check Luke’s account, and hear for himself that the living God went to war on Mar’s Hill in the preaching of Jesus Christ and took captives for Himself.
[TS]…
Conclusion
Conclusion
[PRAYER]