Paul
Leaves Berea for Athens,
Leaving
Silas and Timothy Behind
[Acts
chapter 17, verses 13-23]
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Last
week as we finished part one of Acts chapter 17, Paul, Silas and
Timothy had traveled from Thessalonica to Berea to escape persecution
from the Jews at the Temple at Thessalonica. But their efforts were
not in vain. In point of fact they gained immortality, as Paul's
first and second letters to the Thessalonians in our New Testament
testify today. This week as we move on to part 2 of Acts 17, Paul and
Silas' tormentors – like modern-day trolls – have discovered
through their informants that Paul and Silas are now preaching and
teaching the Word in Berea, a small city about 45 miles to the west
of Thessalonica. It is at this point that we will begin this week's
lesson, starting at verse 13.
“13)
But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the
word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the
crowds and stirring them up. 14) The believers immediately sent Paul
to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15) Those who
escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions
for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.”
(Acts 17, verses 13-15)
Notice
that even though Silas and Timothy were with him, Paul was the only
one the Jewish leaders from Thessalonica were interested in. Let's
recall how Paul was converted back in chapter nine – how he was a
former member of the same Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, that
had handed Christ over to Pilate to be crucified. Now that Paul had
been totally converted, he was devoting the rest of his life to
spreading the Good News of Christ, and to disavowing his former
compatriots from the Sanhedrin. But what infuriated the Jewish
religious leadership the most was Paul's charging them all with
complicity in the murder of the very Man who was their Savior and
Redeemer. It was for this very reason that the Sanhedrin wanted to
crucify Paul just like they had Jesus Christ.
“....
when the Jews…. learned
that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went
there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14) The
believers immediately sent Paul to the coast...”
Like the believers at Jerusalem who spirited Paul out of there in
Acts chapter 9 in order to spare his life, Paul found that very thing
happening again as he was spirited out of Berea to lay low in Athens
for awhile. Being a Christian preacher back in those days was a very
hazardous calling. In some parts of the world, it still is. “....
Silas and Timothy
stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and
then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon
as possible.”
So Paul, after being escorted to the coast for his own safety, grabs
the next ship to Athens, with his passage presumably paid by the
church since Paul worked without a salary. At this point we can
comfortably move on to part 2 of this week's study, beginning at
verse 16.
“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 both Jews and 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 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. 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 would like 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.)' 22) 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. 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. So you are ignorant of
the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to
proclaim to you.'”
The sights that the apostle Paul saw
in Athens reminded him of the first commandment of the traditional
Ten: “1) And God spoke all
these words: 2) 'I am the Lord
your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3) You shall have no other gods before me. 4) You shall not make for
yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the waters below.'”
(Exodus 20, verses 1-4) So now you know why Paul was so, frankly,
offended by what he saw in Athens, where there were all these
different statues everywhere, these monuments to gods that existed
only in the imaginations of the people. “17)
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. 18) 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.”
Acts 17: 17-18)
The first century Greeks were similar
in some ways to modern India. They had a god for just about anything
you can think of, from money to sex to political power, plus a lot of
things we normally consider to be carnal, such as gods of masculinity
and femininity, and so on. But Paul was a Jewish man raised on the 10
commandments, and he correctly believed in them, particularly the
first one, which I quoted above. Paul saw an opportunity to introduce
them to the one true God, whose only Son had saved them from all
their sins, and he immediately took the opportunity when asked. “'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.'” There are times in life when we receive
instruction that, while correct at the time it was taught, is
ultimately replaced through the advancement of knowledge and human
progress. This was one of those times. All their lives these Greeks
had been taught that there were a multitude of gods for as many
different things, but they were about to find out otherwise.
“'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....
and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.'”
In the very next verses Paul begins to teach them – word upon word,
thought upon thought, precept upon precept as he leads the Greeks to
their risen Savior. The apostle Paul, who could have shown his
displeasure at the Greeks' flagrant idolatry as a means of trying to
convict them of their wrongdoing, showed much mercy and forgiveness
toward these Greeks for their idolatry – not to be tolerant towards
it, but rather to show them the mercy, loving-kindness and compassion
for all of humanity. So, how well did this resonate with the crowd
who had by now gathered around Paul? Come on back next week as we
examine part 3 of Acts 17, and you will see. But most of all, you may
find yourselves being able to identify with some of those in Paul's
audience during those days. In so doing, I hope to lead even more of
my readers to their risen Lord and Savior, who does not live in
churches, but inside the hearts of men and women the world over.
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