Out of Jail!

• Escorted out by magistrates

• One last visit at Lydia’s house

Was Paul Was Paul Headed To Headed To

Rome?Rome?

In A.D. 49, the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from

the city of Rome.

AmphipolisAmphipolis&&

ApolloniaApollonia

Probably skipped by Paul because there were no synagogues there.

AmphipolisAmphipolis&&

ApolloniaApollonia

The Lion Of

Amphilipolis

AmphipolisAmphipolis&&

ApolloniaApollonia

…came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue. (17:1)

Thessalonica:Thessalonica:22ndnd Largest City Largest City In both Ancient In both Ancient

& Modern & Modern GreeceGreece

1st Century Population – 200,000

Paul in ThessalonicaPaul in Thessalonica

• Taught on 3 Sabbath days

• Reasoned …from the Scriptures

• Proved that Jesus is the Christ

• Some Jews & many God-fearers responded

• No pagans (compare 1 Thess. 1:9)

Paul in ThessalonicaPaul in Thessalonica

• Jews became jealous (17:5; 13:45)

• Rounded up bad characters from the agora (5)

• Jason (Joshua in Hebrew) was host

• These men have caused trouble all over the world…. (6)

Archeology Archeology and and

The BibleThe Bible• Politarch (“city

officials”) does not appear in any Greek literature.

• Found on inscription on an arch in Thessalonica in 1835

On To Berea!

• Escaped at night (10)

• Came to Berea

• An out-of-the-way town

• Began in Synagogue

The The Noble Noble

BereansBereansThe Bereans were of more noble character…for they received the

message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (11)

The The Noble Noble

BereansBereans

• Many of the Jews believed as did a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. (13)

Out Out of of

BereaBerea• Ship to

Athens

• Paul left alone there

Paul Paul in in

AthensAthens

• Athens was a small university town of 25,000 people – more concerned with ideas than with commerce.

Petronius Roman Consuldied A.D. 66

It is easier to find a god than a man in

Athens!

Paul Paul in in

AthensAthens

• Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy (15-16)

• “Greatly distressed” by idols (16)• Synagogue & Marketplace (17)

EpicureansEpicureans

• Epicurus (340-270 B.C.)

• No afterlife

• Gods are uninvolved

• Eat, drink, be merry!

• Similar to today’s secularists

StoicsStoics• Zeno (340-265 B.C.)• Met in Stoa in Athens• Logos/Universal Reason• Accept fate!• Divine spark in all• Today’s New Agers

Paul’s Debates in AthensPaul’s Debates in Athens

• Babbler – “seed-picker” (18)

• Foreign gods – Jesus and “Resurrection” (18)

• Taken to the Areopagus which met in the Roman forum (agora)

Paul Paul to to

The AreopagusThe Areopagus

• Acknowledged their idols – altar to the “unknown god” (19-23)

• God created everything (24-26)• God is very near (27-29)• God judges/Call to repent (30-31)

(From: Dennis Gaertner, Acts, pp. 275-280)

Quotes in Paul’s SermonQuotes in Paul’s Sermon

• In him we live and move and have our being (Epimenides – 600 B.C.)

• We are his offspring (Aratus – 315-240 B.C.)

When they heard about the

resurrection of the dead, some of them

sneered (32)

1 Corinthians 15:12-13

Greeks Greeks andand

ResurrectionResurrection

The Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul but not in the resurrection of the body

ResponseResponseinin

AthensAthens

• Very little response• Some sneered• Some wanted to hear more• Dionysius (a member of the

Areopagus) and a woman named Damaris responded and others

Paul’s different Paul’s different approaches to Preachingapproaches to Preaching

• To Jews in a synagogue in Antioch (13)

• To pagans in Lystra (14)

• To philosophers in Athens (17)

Outline of ActsOutline of Acts

1:8