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Acts 17Acts 17:1-34(1) Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

I. 30 – 30 – 30: Luke doesn’t go into much detail about their trip to Thessalonica, but just so that you can keep it in proportion, it was 30 miles from Philippi to Amphipolis, another 30 miles to Apollonia, and another 30 miles to Thessalonica. So, this one trip alone will cost them almost 100 miles of walking.

(2) And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,(3) Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

II. To the Jew first: Paul’s desire to win the Jews to Christ was ever upon his heart, and he was never able to shake it. Although the majority of his ministry would be to the Gentiles, as it was his custom when the opportunity presented itself, Paul always went to the synagogue first.

a. Come, let us reason: I want you to notice here that Paul reasoned with them for three weeks. So often, we want instantaneous conversions. Too often, we want to say very little and yet see lives turn to Christ. No doubt, there’s plenty of examples of this in church history, but in dealing with the religious—those who think they are okay—those who believe they have a relationship with God but it’s based on something other than the finished work of Jesus—those people must be reasoned with from the scriptures.

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There is no doubt in my mind that for three straight sabbaths, Paul reasoned with them from Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and many other verses that pointed to the suffering and resurrection of the Messiah. He was able to use their scriptures, something that they, themselves, held dear but did not understand. Sometimes in our desire to win religious people to the Lord, we need to have a Pauline attitude; we need to be patient and not only willing, but able, to reason with them from the scriptures and show them why Jesus is the Messiah and, more importantly, why Jesus alone is enough.

(4) And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

III. Another church established: Just like in Philippi, by the time Paul and Silas leave Thessalonica, they will leave behind a strong church with many believers of both Jew and Gentile. If you want to get a better understanding of Paul’s relationship to this church, read both of his epistles that he wrote to it.

(5) But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.(6) And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

IV. Turning the world upside down: Oh, that the world would make that charge against us that we had “. . . turned the world upside down . . . ,” or more accurately, turned their world upside down. Earlier, Peter had been charged by the high priest that he had filled all of Jerusalem with the doctrine of Jesus. Now, Paul and Silas are being charged with turning the whole world upside down.

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Not to sound pessimistic, but I don’t really see anyone turning the world upside down anymore. No doubt, there have been times throughout church history when the Holy Spirit has caused a time of revival, but it has been a long time since that has happened. I don’t know about you, but I would love to be charged with turning the world upside down.

(7) Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.(8) And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.(9) And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.(10) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

V. On to Berea: Paul and Silas escaped and were sent out by the brethren for their own safety sake. They made their way to the town of Berea. Once again, as it was Paul’s custom, they went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

(11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

VI. Be a Berean: When Paul was in Thessalonica, he reasoned with those people for three weeks, but here we are told something quite different. We are told that the people of Berea, these particular Jews,

“ . . . were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind. . . .” However, they went one step further. They went home and they searched the scriptures for themselves to see whether the things Paul was saying were true. They were not searching the Talmud or any other commentary; they were searching the scriptures.

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a. The Word forsaken: There are very few Bereans left today, my friends. The church of Jesus Christ universally has almost totally turned its back on the Word of God, at least in principle and practice. True, in-depth study of the Word of God is almost non-existent any more. People just don’t seem to have a taste for it. In these last days, there most definitely needs to be a Berean call. We need to be Bereans and search the scriptures daily to see whether some of the junk being passed off as doctrine actually meets the muster of the unadulterated Word of God. We are, indeed, living in dark times. Once again, we are in need of revival—one that draws us back to the Word of God. So, be a Berean.

1 Thessalonians 5:21(21) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

(12) Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

VII. Therefore: I love this verse. The Bereans were studiers, and I have no doubt that they had endured Paul’s long preaching.

Acts 20:9(9) And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

They didn’t just take Paul’s word for it; they searched the scriptures to see whether the things Paul was saying about Jesus was true. Because their study of the scriptures confirmed what Paul said, therefore, they believed because “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

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(13) But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.(14) And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.(15) And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

(16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

VIII. Paul was stirred: We are told here that Paul’s spirit was stirred, but literally in the Greek it means “to be provoked.” But why was he provoked? Because “. . . he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.” It just bothered him, and I think not unlike Lot, whose spirit was vexed day by day by their evil deeds. I can relate to this. When you see all the craziness that goes on—the promotion of sexuality, seemingly everywhere—it just provokes you in the spirit. Therefore, Paul wanted to do something about it.

(17) Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

IX. Therefore, once again: Here’s another “therefore.” Because Paul was stirred in his spirit when he saw how the city was given to idolatry, the first place he went was to the synagogue. He not only disputed with the Jews and with those who were devout, but also in the market place. I guess what my point is here is that when Paul saw the city given over to idolatry, the first thing he started doing was preaching the Gospel. It really is no different today.

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Though we want to think we live in exceptional times as far as sin is concerned, the truth is things are still sinful, and much of the world is still given to idolatry. The answer is still the same today as it was then. We need to preach the Gospel in the churches, with people who will listen, and we need to do it everywhere—even at work.

(18) Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

X. Epicureans: Epicurus lived somewhere between 342 and 271 BC. This event with Paul took place around 53 AD. By this time, it had been over 300 years since the death of Epicurus. He had been a very influential philosopher, whose original philosophy basically said that the chief good was pleasure. He made it clear that true pleasure came from a simple life. Epicurus believed and taught that the more complex someone’s life was, the more problems they would have and that the abundance of possessions only brought about the abundance of worry because the more things you had, the more things you had to worry about, as far as taking care of them. So, he believed that the simpler your life was, the more pleasure you would experience. Therefore, in his mind, pleasure was the ultimate good. This was the philosophy of the Epicureans.

By this time, his philosophy had become degenerated and was being interpreted that the chief good of life was pleasure. Thus, they pursued pleasure above everything else. Because they sought pleasure more than anything else, the Epicureans were wholly given over to sensual lust. It basically identified them as a subculture.

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The Epicurean philosophy had infiltrated much of the Roman society and could be seen in the Roman orgies that they would so often throw. This was applied to everything, including eating. They would sit at a feast and would eat as much as they could on the first course, savoring every bite, only to take a break so that they could purge themselves and then go back in and gorge themselves on the second course, trying to draw as much pleasure from eating as they could. This applied to every aspect of their lives. It has been observed that the Epicurean philosophy actually degraded even further into pure Pantheism, which is the worship of everything.

Stoicks: The philosophy of the Stoicks basically said that the ultimate good was virtue, but that virtue could not ultimately be obtained by someone who was emotionally involved. So, they were driven to try to not have any feelings. Their ultimate goal was to be totally unfeeling. They would apply this to everything—to pain, to grief, to joy. They wanted to be stoic about everything—untouched, unmoved in their emotions about everything. This led them to atheism. These were the two philosophies that Paul encountered at Athens.

(19) And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?(20) For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.(21) (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

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XI. The Athenians: I do think it is interesting that there are cities in certain parts of the world—even here in the United States—(and I would suggest that Columbus is one of those places) which reflects the Athenian mindset in that they spend their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

(22) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

XII. Mars’ hill: There is a hill in Athens on which stands the Pantheon, one of the greatest monuments of Greek architecture. Partially down the hill, there was an outcropping of rock that was called the “Stone of Impudence.” This is where men would go to proclaim their philosophies and ideas. They would all be gathered there, and men would be gathered there to listen. They would engage in all kinds of philosophical debates and discussions. So, Paul was sitting in the midst of Mars’ hill on this “Stone of Impudence” when he told the people . . .

Superstitious: This is one of the few places that I think that the 1611 translators could have done a better job. It is more accurate to say “religious.” Because of all that Paul saw in the city—all the statues and idols—he knew that these people were worshippers (albeit worshippers of anything, but worshippers nonetheless). So, Paul started his dissertation not with an insult but by acknowledging their devotion to worship. Paul said, I perceive that in all things you are too religious, or, more accurately, I perceive that you are very religious. This they were.

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In fact, in one of the ancient historical writings, one of the travelers to Athens said that Athens had more gods than people. They could be found on every street corner and along the blocks—gods of all shapes and sizes, representing almost anything that you could imagine—and carved in marble, silver, and gold. These idols were worshipped by all the people, and they built many great temples to these gods. Some of their ruins still stand today.

(23) For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

XIII. Beholding their devotions: As Paul was walking through, he had, no doubt, witnessed many people stopping and praying to the various gods that were in Athens, not unlike a lot of the devotions that we see going on today, even within some Christian churches with the veneration of icons and images, relics, and the such. It is a very interesting thing and very sad to see people bow down, pray to, and kiss these objects. It’s like watching devout Muslims who carry a little rug and wash their feet before they pray five times a day. It was these types of things that Paul was observing.

XIV. To the Unknown God: As I’ve already noted, the Athenians were worshippers of just about anything and had made graven images to just about anything and had called them gods. Just in case they had forgotten one who they did not know, they erected an altar to this “Unknown God,” lest they should offend Him and incur His wrath.

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a. Ignorant worship: I like the way that Paul starts off with these guys by acknowledging that they are very religious, but then he said that, “as he passed by an altar, it said TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. This is the God that I want to talk to you about because Him you ignorantly worship.”

Many people today still worship God in ignorance. In John 4:24, Jesus told the woman at the well, “God is a Spirit: and [those] that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” Many today still worship Him ignorantly.

(24) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Paul declared here that God made the world and all things therein. He is not a God that can be fashioned with men’s hands from things that are found on the earth, such as stone, or gold, or silver. He has created all these things.

There was a study done a long time ago that showed that the majority of people in the United States believe in God, which very well may be true. However, I think it is also true that though they believe in God, the majority of people in the United States worship materialism. They very well may believe in God, but they do not worship God. As Paul the Apostle said in Romans, they “. . . worship and serve the creation more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:25). So, Paul told these men, “This unknown God, whom you ignorantly worship, is the creator of all things—of the heavens, of the world, and all things therein contained, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, and does not dwell in temples made with hands.”

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Does not dwell in temples made with hands: Athens was filled with temples, but Paul declared that the unknown God—the One who had created all things—did not dwell in temples made with hands. Before you scoff at them for believing such a thing, we are all guilty—to some extent—in believing that God is in some places, and in some places, He is not. We come into a church building, we see the stained glass, and we think, “God surely dwells in this place.” Or, we pass by a bar downtown, and we would think that that place is God forsaken. The truth is that God’s dwelling place is the universe. Even Solomon, when dedicating the temple that he built, said, “Oh God, we know that the heaven of heavens cannot contain You.” That is the truth of the matter. The buildings that we build are simply places for us to come and unify our worship, but God, my friends, is literally everywhere.

(25) Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

XV. Man’s handiwork: As I said before, Jesus told the woman at the well, “God is a Spirit: and [those] that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). God is not worshipped with the handiwork of man. He cannot be worshipped through idols, icons, or images. Yet, there are many churches today who do not believe that, but this is exactly what Paul was declaring. You would think that the preaching of Paul here and the way some Christian churches worship God would be in direct contradiction, and you would be right. Just look at the money that is spent on buildings, and I’m not just talking about cathedrals. Churches spend millions upon millions of dollars to have the finest and technologically-savvy services.

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Some try to worship God with ornate altars overlaid with gold; yet, the Apostle Paul said that God is not worshipped that way. The truth of the matter is that it is just as easy to worship God under a tree in the woods, or with your feet in the sand at the ocean, or sitting in your own house. You could even have a deeper worship experience than those who try to achieve it with the works of men’s hands.

a. God doesn’t need it: Paul then added “. . . as though [God] needed any thing. . . .” The implication of what Paul was saying is that somehow through the buildings or the works of our hands, we think that we are supplying something that God needs. The truth is what could you give to God that He could possibly need? David said in the Psalms . . .

Psalm 116:12(12) What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

That question is rhetorical because the answer is obvious: Nothing. The only thing that you and I can do is to simply call upon the name of the Lord. Anything that I give to Him doesn’t really benefit Him; it benefits me.

Sometimes when I hear people’s testimonies, they talk about giving their lives to the Lord as though they did God a favor—as though somehow God benefitted from the fact that they turned their lives over to Him. Believe me, I can declare unto you on the authority of scripture that when I surrendered my life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, I was the one who benefitted. The fact is there is nothing that we can give to God that He needs. God is totally whole; He is totally complete—always has been; always will be. We need to get away from the mentality of exalting people

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who have given to the Lord as though God needed something.

b. God’s the One that gives: Paul then finished that sentence by saying, “. . . Seeing He giveth to all life, breath, and all things.” Unfortunately, in Christendom today, the emphasis in most preaching is upon what we should be doing for God, or, more accurately, what we should be giving to God. It emphasizes man’s responsibility in giving to God rather than man’s response to the giving of God.

There have been more schemes within the Body of Christ to motivate people to either give or to do something for God. I am reminded of The Prayer of Jabez books, where the emphasis was that if you pray this for 30 days, bro, God will expand your borders. Books on fasting: If you will just fast for two weeks and give that time wholly to God, then the Lord will bless you with visions. There’s always something, it seems, that they are trying to motivate us to do in order to merit a response from God. If you just praise harder, lift your hands higher, sing louder, then God will bless you. This is a desperate attempt to seek God’s response by doing something.

The truth is that true praise/true worship is our response to the blessing of God, to all that God has given us. Think of it as “An attitude of gratitude.” I just want to thank the Lord because He has been so good to me; He has given me so much, and I deserve none of it. Yet, He is my benefactor, and I am the beneficiary. Because the love of Christ constrains me, I respond to that love; I respond to the goodness of God; I respond to the grace of God. It is a response. God is the initiator, and we are merely the respondents.

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(26) And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

XVI. One blood: If there was ever one verse that should wake the church against any form of prejudice, it is this one, for God has made all men from all nations of one blood. By the blood of Jesus, there is neither Greek nor Jew, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free. Jesus is all and in all because He has made us one (Colossians 3:11).

(27) That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

XVII. Feeling after God: I’ve heard it said that many people have sought after the Lord on a purely maybe basis. They really didn’t know the Word, and they weren’t really sure about anything, but they thought, “Well, you never know. Maybe there really is a God, and maybe He will be merciful.”

I have to admit that it does remind me of the story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who was sent to Nineveh, a very wicked city. Jonah didn’t go there with a message of repentance; he gave them no indication of hope; he gave them no indication of grace; he wasn’t preaching salvation. In fact, what Jonah delivered was a proclamation of death and destruction. Jonah told the people of Nineveh, “It will be 40 days, and you’re all going to die.” That was pretty much it. Then he went up on the hill to watch the fireworks. But what happened? We are told that the people of Nineveh repented with sackcloth and ashes, and said, “Who can tell? Maybe the Lord will be merciful and spare us.” They had no promise of mercy, but they thought, “Just maybe.” So, by chance, some have felt after

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God and have found him even though He be not far from every one of us.

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a. Where is the Lord: The last thing that Paul said was “. . . though He be not far from every one of us.” This is called the “Doctrine of the Imminence of God.” It is that all-prevailing presence of God within His universe. David spoke about this in the Psalms.

Psalm 139:7-10(7) Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?(8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.(9) If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;(10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Therefore, God is not far from any of you.

(28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

XVIII. For in Him we live: Let that one sink in for a moment. In Him we live, and not only live, but move, and have our being. Because I am totally surrounded by God, I am totally dependent upon God for my very existence. The very air that I breathe, and the motions that I make are all dependent upon Him. We exist both in Him and by Him.

a. Certain poets: I find it interesting that Paul quoted two secular Greek poets, who had declared that we are all God’s offspring. Paul said that they were right, but he went on.

(29) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

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XIX. We are God’s offspring: We are God’s offspring and not the other way around, as some want to declare. God created man and made him in His own likeness. Because of sin, man fell, so man is a fallen image of God. We see the effect of sin that it not only caused the fall of mankind but of all creation.

When God created man, He created us to be spiritual beings—made to live after the spirit, to be ruled by the spirit. But man fell from that and became a follower of the flesh, ruled by the flesh. Because man followed after what his body told him to do, he became like an animal, which is totally body conscious. Because we are God’s offspring, we can never have a truly fulfilling life until our spirit is made alive again by the power of God. Jesus came in order to do just that—to restore man to the image of God. Before I was born again, I was body, soul, and spirit—in that order. Once I became born again, I became spirit, soul, and body. I became mindful of the spirit, led by the spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18(18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Because of Adam’s sin, man fell from the image of God; because of Jesus, we are restored to that image.

Romans 8:29(29) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

(30) And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

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XX. Winked at: When God was revealing himself to only the nation of Israel, God winked at or overlooked the pagans’ ignorance of worshiping idols. Paul had just told these pagans about the unknown god that they had worshipped ignorantly, and up to this point, God had winked at that ignorance. Now, that has come to an end. God will no longer overlook man’s ignorance. There is no excuse.

a. Agnostics: The agnostic thinks that he can get away with saying that he believes that there is a higher power or god, but this god is totally unknowable. This is totally untrue. God has totally revealed Himself through His Word and through nature. The real problem is that the agnostic does not really want to know God, so he simply rejects the revelation of God. This is not an intelligent position; it is a position of ignorance. I have often found it amusing that the word, “agnostic,” in the Greek translated into Latin is “ignoramus.”

There was a time when God overlooked this kind of ignorance of man, but not now. He is totally knowable as is His Will, for He has revealed himself not only through His Word but through His Incarnate Word, which is Jesus Christ. There’s no real excuse for not knowing God.

(31) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

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XXI. A Day of Judgment: We must never forget that there is a day of judgment. This world is on a collision course with it. All those who have not bowed a knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ on this side of eternity will bow a knee and confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God, the Father, at the Great White Throne (Romans 14:11). That judgment will be overseen by Jesus Christ.

a. The resurrection: I love the fact that God said that He has assured all men of these things, and that He has raised Him from the dead. God not only declared, but He has proven Himself and His Word through the resurrection. Thus, the day of judgment is coming. So, God tells all men everywhere, “Repent!”

(32) And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

XXII. Two responses: In a nutshell, these are the two most-common responses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some mock at it and reject it outright; some put it off for another day. They want to hear it again later. I can relate to this because I was like that. Every time I would hear somebody preach the Gospel, the Holy Spirit would nudge me to not only acknowledge the truth of the Gospel but to repent and to change my mind about Jesus Christ. Many people fall into this category. There are those who continue to listen to me preach—day after day—and they keep tuning in, but they keep putting off their repentance until the next day. I would caution those who are procrastinating. There is a time when you can put it off too long, and that next day might never come. So, it’s best to just give in to the commandment, and that commandment is that God says all men everywhere should repent because there is a day

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coming when God will be judging men through Jesus Christ.

(33) So Paul departed from among them.

XXIII. Paul departed: Don’t you find it interesting that every time we’ve seen Paul persecuted—when they have thrown him in jail and beat him—Paul did not depart from those who were the most antagonistic toward him, but the Apostle got back up and went back to them and continued preaching. That’s not what he did here. When confronted with the procrastinator, who said, “Yea, I kind of like what you’re saying, but I think I’ll listen to it some other time,” Paul departed. Why? Because those who are complacent about the Gospel of Jesus Christ are the hardest to reach. It is better to preach to a man who gets angry at you, who will yell at you, and who is downright antagonistic, than to deal with someone who is complacent because the man who is antagonistic is being stirred by the Holy Spirit. When those type of men are converted, they make the best preachers. To those who are complacent, sometimes it’s like casting pearls.

(34) Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

XXIV. There’s always a few: Even though Paul moved on, there were a few in Athens who believed. There was a church established there, and we know that some of the early church leaders came from the church in Athens. On this particular visit, however, Paul really established no work in Athens. Instead, he pointed his interest toward Corinth. So, as a side endeavor, I would encourage you to read I and II Corinthians so that you can get a handle on the background of that church.