"Hey, Ya'll...I know this "unknown" God!"
Let's set the scene...Paul continues his journey stopping in Athens, the former jewel of the Greek Empire now downgraded to a town of little more than 10,000, mostly poor people. This, of course, due to the Greeks being on the wrong end of the war with the Romans in 164 B.C. Nonetheless, the Romans still thought enough of Athenian history that they were granted the status of a free city due to their illustrious past. Ah,...Athens could still boast of her right to be called a great center of philosophy, architecture, art, and...religion.
In this section of Acts, Paul really shows his versatility as a preacher. He's back in the familiar surroundings of the highly educated...the intellectual elites of the day. Remember, originally Paul was a highly educated, elitist, Pharisee...and noted Jesus hater. This, as you know, was prior to his unfortunate incident with the wrath of God on the Damascus Road...back when he was know as Saul, the persecutor. The incident changed Saul, the guy who held the coats of those who stoned to death Stephen, the first martyr, turning him into perhaps the greatest preacher of all time!
That's how Jesus changes us...we become a new creature in Him...the worldly sinner that was me turned in my
old, dead, body for a new body...alive in Christ. This one is way better...way more comfortable.
Back to the story...
They called themselves Stoics and Epicureans and considered themselves to be the real thinkers of the day, the
philosophical descendents of Socrates and Plato, likely imagening that the masses should pay to hear them expound on some deeply discussed topic of the day.
Today we would probably call them liberals or secular humanists...their gods were Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Hades, Poseidon, and numerous others...their religion was sky, earth, moon, trees, and lightning...the gods presided over; trees, owls, fish, hell, weaving and...carpentry.
Paul startles not only the elites, but those who just happened to be walking through the marketplace, with this story of a God who came to earth...for the express purpose of dying! You can only imagine the sarcasm that arose at Paul's explaining about Salvation only through Jesus Christ. Well, as expected by those types that when disagreed with, or when concerned that they might lose some level of “power”, tend to either try to shout down, or in some other way silence, those with whom they take issue...did what you expect them to do...push back. In this case the strategy was to haul Paul before the Areopagus...the Areopagus was both location, the top of a high Athenian hill, as well as the local legislature.
Acts 17:16-34 (NIV 1984 )
In Athens
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. 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. 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.)
As Paul has been touring Athens he has apparently become more and more upset about this forest of idols that he has been encountering. Seemingly everywhere he looked he saw one or another sort of god, and as one who truly understood the concept of Salvation only through Jesus Christ, Paul was distressed because he knew that there is “only one Way to the Father”. He knew that he had to find a way to get his message across, no doubt knowing that it would be no easy task to convince these elites of their need to turn their lives over to Christ.
These philosophers were, in addition to their lack of humility, also pretty protective of their assortment of gods. The verse says that Paul “reasoned” with them...some translations us the word “debate”. No matter what word is used, Paul is expressing ideas that are truly foreign to the locals.
So they take him before the local political/intellectual elites...the Areopagus...and Paul, ever mindful of the level of self-pride typically encountered when speaking to this type of crowd, begins with a some schmoozing to let their egos relax a little...he then begins to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ...the only Name under heaven by which men may be saved.
Hopefully this painting will help you to envision the scene.
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.
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.
Some of them gathered there listening to Paul's explanation must have been thinking...”well, now, finally a God that can handle anything...not just the lightning or just the sun, or just the sky, or just the trees...but all of them...including the olives, owls and carpentry! Finally, a universal God...a God who doesn't need anything from me...and is so Great that I can't do anything for Him...This God; Has, and Is, all things."
But, as you know...folks like this often feel challenged by what they consider to be claims of this magnitude. They must have proof of this story! The King James Version says they called Paul a “babbler” for the things he was saying...that's the thing about becoming a follower of Jesus, you don't get any “proof” of Heaven, Salvation, or that Jesus even exists! It is by faith alone that we are saved...So, consequently, it is often our pride that prevents us from allowing ourselves to acknowledged the existence of a Being greater than ourselves.
That is the same pride that keeps us from even wanting to find out if this story is true, because if it is true...then there is a big intellectual decision to be made..."do I acknowledge the existence of God (the logical thing to do), or do I continue to deny the obvious?...hmmm, which decision would the smart person make?" But Paul understanding his audience, gives them a reason to believe...he explains God's love...the Love that surpasses all understanding...the Agape Love...without limit and freely given to all who call upon the Name of Jesus.
He explains the God of our everyday life...not just a god of a particular issue or day...but a God who loves us so much that in order for us to avoid having to die to an eternity in hell in payment for our sins...sent His only Son to die the most horrible, humiliating, death that any other man has ever faced, or could sustain.
Paul gives further explanation...plus a huge bonus...we can have a relationship with this great God of everything that is, was, or might be...not just a statue with no ears to hear, nor mouth to speak...not some inanimate object of metal or stone...this God is a living God...an active God...fully involved in our lives....his explanation also comes with a warning to repent...for this living God is also a just God and He will one day come to judge all of the people...some to eternal life with Him...most self-comdemned by their refusal to follow Jesus to an eternity of torment in hell...
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. 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.”
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.
His offspring! Well, it isn't very hard to imagine the looks and/or comments coming from that group listening to Paul...the sarcasm...the condescending remarks...”this guy is going to come in here and introduce this crazy idea to us and tell us who the “unknown god” is...?”
But, it's the warning that Paul gives regarding the coming judgment of God on all people that no doubt really irritates them...well most of them...after Paul explained about the resurrection, many scoffed, but some of them were interested enough to admit that they would like to hear more on the subject. Of this group some probably genuinely wanted to learn more about this “Unknown God” and I’m sure that some others simply wanted another chance to further debate with Paul in hopes of showing him to be wrong with their "superior intelligence"...
The really good news of the story is that some were saved because of Paul's testimony...it's a shame it wasn't all of them...
Maybe you aren't really acquainted with this “Unknown God”...get to know Him...make sure that first you know Him as your Savior...put your trust in Jesus and commit your life to Him...your greatest fear of a life in hell will be ended, and greater joy than you ever knew existed, is yours...He promises to provide for all of our needs, and “in Him we live, and move, and have our being”...don't wait until tomorrow...you may not have one...Blessings.
In this section of Acts, Paul really shows his versatility as a preacher. He's back in the familiar surroundings of the highly educated...the intellectual elites of the day. Remember, originally Paul was a highly educated, elitist, Pharisee...and noted Jesus hater. This, as you know, was prior to his unfortunate incident with the wrath of God on the Damascus Road...back when he was know as Saul, the persecutor. The incident changed Saul, the guy who held the coats of those who stoned to death Stephen, the first martyr, turning him into perhaps the greatest preacher of all time!
That's how Jesus changes us...we become a new creature in Him...the worldly sinner that was me turned in my
old, dead, body for a new body...alive in Christ. This one is way better...way more comfortable.
Back to the story...
They called themselves Stoics and Epicureans and considered themselves to be the real thinkers of the day, the
philosophical descendents of Socrates and Plato, likely imagening that the masses should pay to hear them expound on some deeply discussed topic of the day.
Today we would probably call them liberals or secular humanists...their gods were Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Hades, Poseidon, and numerous others...their religion was sky, earth, moon, trees, and lightning...the gods presided over; trees, owls, fish, hell, weaving and...carpentry.
Paul startles not only the elites, but those who just happened to be walking through the marketplace, with this story of a God who came to earth...for the express purpose of dying! You can only imagine the sarcasm that arose at Paul's explaining about Salvation only through Jesus Christ. Well, as expected by those types that when disagreed with, or when concerned that they might lose some level of “power”, tend to either try to shout down, or in some other way silence, those with whom they take issue...did what you expect them to do...push back. In this case the strategy was to haul Paul before the Areopagus...the Areopagus was both location, the top of a high Athenian hill, as well as the local legislature.
Acts 17:16-34 (NIV 1984 )
In Athens
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. 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. 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.)
As Paul has been touring Athens he has apparently become more and more upset about this forest of idols that he has been encountering. Seemingly everywhere he looked he saw one or another sort of god, and as one who truly understood the concept of Salvation only through Jesus Christ, Paul was distressed because he knew that there is “only one Way to the Father”. He knew that he had to find a way to get his message across, no doubt knowing that it would be no easy task to convince these elites of their need to turn their lives over to Christ.
These philosophers were, in addition to their lack of humility, also pretty protective of their assortment of gods. The verse says that Paul “reasoned” with them...some translations us the word “debate”. No matter what word is used, Paul is expressing ideas that are truly foreign to the locals.
So they take him before the local political/intellectual elites...the Areopagus...and Paul, ever mindful of the level of self-pride typically encountered when speaking to this type of crowd, begins with a some schmoozing to let their egos relax a little...he then begins to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ...the only Name under heaven by which men may be saved.
Hopefully this painting will help you to envision the scene.
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.
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.
Some of them gathered there listening to Paul's explanation must have been thinking...”well, now, finally a God that can handle anything...not just the lightning or just the sun, or just the sky, or just the trees...but all of them...including the olives, owls and carpentry! Finally, a universal God...a God who doesn't need anything from me...and is so Great that I can't do anything for Him...This God; Has, and Is, all things."
But, as you know...folks like this often feel challenged by what they consider to be claims of this magnitude. They must have proof of this story! The King James Version says they called Paul a “babbler” for the things he was saying...that's the thing about becoming a follower of Jesus, you don't get any “proof” of Heaven, Salvation, or that Jesus even exists! It is by faith alone that we are saved...So, consequently, it is often our pride that prevents us from allowing ourselves to acknowledged the existence of a Being greater than ourselves.
That is the same pride that keeps us from even wanting to find out if this story is true, because if it is true...then there is a big intellectual decision to be made..."do I acknowledge the existence of God (the logical thing to do), or do I continue to deny the obvious?...hmmm, which decision would the smart person make?" But Paul understanding his audience, gives them a reason to believe...he explains God's love...the Love that surpasses all understanding...the Agape Love...without limit and freely given to all who call upon the Name of Jesus.
He explains the God of our everyday life...not just a god of a particular issue or day...but a God who loves us so much that in order for us to avoid having to die to an eternity in hell in payment for our sins...sent His only Son to die the most horrible, humiliating, death that any other man has ever faced, or could sustain.
Paul gives further explanation...plus a huge bonus...we can have a relationship with this great God of everything that is, was, or might be...not just a statue with no ears to hear, nor mouth to speak...not some inanimate object of metal or stone...this God is a living God...an active God...fully involved in our lives....his explanation also comes with a warning to repent...for this living God is also a just God and He will one day come to judge all of the people...some to eternal life with Him...most self-comdemned by their refusal to follow Jesus to an eternity of torment in hell...
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. 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.”
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.
His offspring! Well, it isn't very hard to imagine the looks and/or comments coming from that group listening to Paul...the sarcasm...the condescending remarks...”this guy is going to come in here and introduce this crazy idea to us and tell us who the “unknown god” is...?”
But, it's the warning that Paul gives regarding the coming judgment of God on all people that no doubt really irritates them...well most of them...after Paul explained about the resurrection, many scoffed, but some of them were interested enough to admit that they would like to hear more on the subject. Of this group some probably genuinely wanted to learn more about this “Unknown God” and I’m sure that some others simply wanted another chance to further debate with Paul in hopes of showing him to be wrong with their "superior intelligence"...
The really good news of the story is that some were saved because of Paul's testimony...it's a shame it wasn't all of them...
Maybe you aren't really acquainted with this “Unknown God”...get to know Him...make sure that first you know Him as your Savior...put your trust in Jesus and commit your life to Him...your greatest fear of a life in hell will be ended, and greater joy than you ever knew existed, is yours...He promises to provide for all of our needs, and “in Him we live, and move, and have our being”...don't wait until tomorrow...you may not have one...Blessings.