Acts | Chapter 17

 

Acts 17:1-15

“Right side up in an upside down world ”

Vs. 1-4 A war of words

Vs. 5-9 Smoke and mirrors

Vs. 10-15 A search for Messiah

Intro.

For several years as I drove down “Bear Creek” heading towards my then Church in Hamilton Montana, I always noticed this one house on Rambler. It’s not the house that catches my attention, it’s the two planters at the start of the walkway going towards the front door. They are made of wood stained in a dark color with some sort of bush in them. What’s unusual is that they are made in the shape of pyramids with the point of the pyramid towards the ground instead of towards the sky. They are upside down; I always used to think! Perhaps from what we normally associate their use for but as planters they would not work any other way. In other words as planters they are right side up! In a similar fashion we Christians appear to be upside down to the philosophy of the world system. We stand out in sharp contrast to what the world preaches.

This week I became very aware of something that I had forgotten, I was once upside down. My belief system went through a complete change. You see I had ordered an old C.D. of music that since I had become a Christian I have really not listened to. Now what I remembered liking about “my music” was the melodies and the seamless way in which the group played the tunes. What I had forgotten, if I had ever realized 25 years ago, was how radical the philosophy of the lyrics was. You see much of the music that Pink Floyd played is with little or no words. So I put on the C.D. and played one of the songs that I remembered liking.

To my surprise was their cynical view of life and total hopelessness, “We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year running over the same old ground. What have we found the same old fears, wish you were here.” YUK! Something happened to me that forever changed my view of life and man am I ever glad! Listening to those songs made me thank God for making me a planter instead of a pyramid, a container for something living instead of something dead! Paul now moves into two more towns in Europe but like us he is living right side up in an upside down world.

Vs. 1-4 A war of words

Vs.1 As we noted last week Luke who writes for us this narrative leaves himself out of the story and probably stayed in Philippi to help with the young Church that started there. So the “they” that are travelling south along the 500-mile Roman road called the Egnatian Way are Paul, Silas and Timothy. They travel 33 miles to Amphipolis (Am-fip-olis, which means a city surrounded. So named because it was 3 miles from the sea and a river surrounded it) most likely they stayed the night and the next day they traveled another 27 miles to Apollonia (Ap-ol-onia, belonging to Apollo) and again stayed the night. All that Luke tells us is that they just “passed through” these two cites which as far as size and importance were larger then Philippi. Perhaps the reason is to be found in the statement that in “Thessalonica there was a synagogue of the Jews?” It is one of those mysteries why God in His sovereignty chooses some areas to be centers where the gospel is to be spread and not others. But where there were synagogues meant that there was a hunger for spiritual truth.

It is the same today, you go down to Southern California and Christianity is everywhere and people are into it. Then you come up to say, Merced, and there’s a lot of Churches and all but just not the same spiritual hunger. Instead of the Church really impacting the community the community has impacted the Church. So what’s the answer? Well, I think we ought to all pack our bags and move to L.A. No I’m kidding, what we fail to realize is that Southern California’s spiritual climate was not always as it is now.

Paul may have passed by these two cities but it is safe to say that eventually those from Thessalonica came the 37 miles back and perhaps those from Philippi went forward the 33 miles to Am-fip-olis. You say, “Pastor, how do you know that?” Well I’ve read Paul’s words to the Church in Thessalonica and he says, “that they became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For them the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Their faith toward God has gone out.” And Paul commends the Philippians because, “you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.

For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.” Do you see what happened? God started a work in one area and then instead of it just staying in that area the Word of God, like “seeds carried by the wind” blew into another city and sprouted. You see, the believers in Thessalonica  and Philippi were the seeds.

Vs. 2-3 But what was the way God used Paul and the missionary team to turn the world right side up? Well, Paul came into the town with a catchy slogan or mission statement, a hot worship band and a practical message geared to share only what Jesus has to offer the non-believer to improve his life. NO! Instead we see FIVE specific things that Paul employed to turn Thessalonica and through them every place right side up.

Vs. 2a “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them”: Paul went, as he always did, to a place where there was already an interest in spiritual truth, the synagogue where the Jews met to study the Word of God. Do you get that? Paul sought the one place in all of Thessalonica where the people that gathered there were the most informed in truth. And where today in Merced would you find such a place? Now you all better get this right, THE CHURCH! Man this speaks volumes to me. We often say that our community needs a revival and what we are speaking of is that non-believers need to come to Christ and this is true they do. But I find it interesting that the place throughout church history that is the flash point of revival has always been the Church. In fact that is true with Israel as well.

I’ll give you a little homework assignment. Get a concordance and look up the word “revive”. Go ahead, oh alright I’ll give you the answer but you make sure you check me out. You will find that the word appears 20 times and that none of them have to do with anything except the believer. Furthermore of those 20 times 9 of them are found in the 119th Psalm. You could call the 119th Psalm the revival passage of scripture.

Here is how the Psalmist puts it:

• Revive me according to Your word (three times)

• Revive me in Your way

• Revive me in Your righteousness

• Revive me according to Your lovingkindness (twice)

• Revive me according to Your justice

• Revive me according to Your judgments

Paul went to the one place that could be awakened to turn the world right side up, those that were seeking after truth. Folks Church is what needs to be revived. Think of the word itself. When you say that some person needs to be revived you make the assumption that at one time they were alive. When has the non-believer ever been alive? My Prayer is that we would be just such a place!

         So we are told that for “three Sabbaths”, or weeks Paul went into the synagogue to revive them in truth. Now Paul tells us in 2 Thess. that the rest of the time he “worked laboring in toil night and day, so that he would not be a burden to any of them”. Now this ministers to me that Paul’s attempt to wake them up was not just words but how he lived what he believed.

Vs.2b “reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” Paul had a discussion with folks based upon the truth of the Word. The word “reasoned” is where we get our English word dialogue. It describes not a formal sermon but rather a discussion during which Paul answered questions from those who were interested in truth. But look carefully on what Paul based his answers back upon? The scriptures! Paul did not answer their question based upon the newest psychological point of view. Webster’s dictionary  gives the definition of forage as “to look about”, and I think we as Christians ought to be this definition. If you want to turn the world right side up you are going to have to open a dialogue with them.

One in which you aren’t afraid to examine opposing ideologies. Let me say this, any belief system that won’t allow honest investigation of itself or seeks to persecute anyone who seeks to investigate other belief systems by its very action is false! Now in saying that I’ve just eliminated every other world religion except for Christianity! You see I have no problem having an honest discussion with someone who believes Buddha, or Moroni has the truth. I’m not mad at old Peter Jennings who was “In search of Jesus”. But I am going to question how hard his search for Jesus was when 4 out of the 7 scholars he interviewed were from a fringe group that has only 14 of its 74 members that would even qualify as a “scholar”. There must be a dialog in which we openly discuss our truth next to what others purport as truth.  

Vs. 3 “explaining”: This is the same word that is used twice in Luke 24. First in verse 32 where it says concerning the two disciples on the road to Emmaus that after hearing Jesus, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, expound to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” said; “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”  Then as Jesus stood in the midst of the disciples in Luke 24:44-45. Jesus said, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 

Then Luke comments, “And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” Same word as the one in our passage!  Clearly the word means to “expound” (Luke 24:37 gives us the definition) or to explain the word of God. If we want to turn our world right side up we can not be sharing “sermonettes for Christianets”. No, there must be a clear teaching of the Word, which has to be explaining the passage.

Vs. 3 “demonstrating”: The word literally means to place alongside of. Paul was not only expounding he was propounding. In other words Paul did not just explain the passages of scripture to them he offered for their consideration the truth of the word of God by placing scripture next to scripture. He proved that what he was saying was not mere speculation or man’s opinion but was in fact TRUTH! Do you get that? Paul was turning the world right side up because he knew that what he had to share was in fact TRUTH. And how did he know that? Well, he had done his homework.

I’ve got to tell you all that you must not ever be afraid to take on the difficult topics concerning the Bible. Since it is true you can investigate it. I have spent the last 20 years of my life with this approach to personal study and believe me when I say that the only thing that has remained constant is God’s Word. I have, on the other hand, been corrected in my views and attitudes daily! What makes us right is not that we have some sort of ideology that lines up with our world view but rather that TRUTH has come into our lives and changed our world view!   

Now all of this discussion, explaining and proving of the Bible, we are told, centered on, “that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead.” Now what this tells us is an important point in turning our world right side up. Paul made his focus not on how these Jews could live better and more productive lives. No his focus was not philosophy or principles but rather on a PERSON! The key to turning the world right side up is to talk about, explain and prove that Jesus is who He said He was and did what He said He would do! No doubt that led to discussing Isa. 53, Ps. 22 and others.

You see, because of the persecution of the nation of Israel and the apparent delay in the Messiah’s coming, the Jews, like their counterparts today, just could not grasp that Jesus could be the Messiah. They could see the passages about the Messiah suffering and they said, “Well that is Messiah ben Joseph” and they could see the passages about the Messiah reigning and said, “Well that is Messiah ben David.” But what they could not get was that Jesus was both because He was “Messiah ben Jehovah”! 

Vs. 3 “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”: This word preach means to proclaim. What is interesting is that in this statement we see that Paul pushed for a decision. We can see that in the next verse where we are told that “some of them were persuaded”. Folk’s if you want to turn your world right side up then you are going to have to press the issue and give them an opportunity to make a choice. How did he do so? Well, Paul identified Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies he had explained and proved and then said, “What are you going to do with Him?”     

Vs. 4 Here we are told of the effects of Paul’s five-fold method of turning the world right side up. 

Three groups were touched but in varying degrees:

“Some of them were persuaded”: The “them” in this sentence refers to the Jews in the synagogue. The religious Jews were the hardest group to reach. Is that not true today that those who are religious are always the hardest to ones to reach with truth. Only a few of those folks were open to the truth. Jason of verse 5 was no doubt one of them.

“a great multitude of the devout Greeks”: The Greeks who were tired of polytheism went in search of truth and had come into the synagogue and upon hearing the truths about the Messiah Jesus believed. In Acts 20:4 we are told that two of them (Aristarchus = Prince and Secundus = Second) joined Paul and the missionary team. “and not a few of the leading women”: A lot of the wives of important men of the city got saved as well. These were educated women who had found Plateau and Socrates had nothing to offer the heart and when hearing about Jesus turned their lives over to Him.

Vs. 5-9 Smoke and mirrors

Vs. 5 With some success also came the enemy’s attempt to change the outcome. Those who refused to receive the Word of God became jealous of its impact upon the same folks that they were trying to persuade. So they went to the downtown area and got together some people who were into doing nothing and paid them to start trouble. So they got the whole city into a riot and attacked Jason’s house where they thought Paul was at. This is always the tactic that those who refuse to trust in Jesus will use. When you can’t defend your position just shout louder than your opponent.

Vs. 6-7 When that doesn’t work revert to lies and false accusations. 

They came up with two things to charge them with:

Vs. 6 “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”: “These men are making trouble”,  was their point. Now I could only pray that I would be dragged before the city council and charged with such a crime as this. It’s a great thing when your enemies praise you. Paul and his band were charged with changing the social structure of the world as they knew it.

Vs. 7 “these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king; Jesus.”: The second charge was that of treason in challenging Caesar’s authority. Church history records for us that over 6 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ were killed in the first 250 years for refusing to say, “Caesar is Lord.” The word another means “of a different kind”. Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Jesus conquers the world one heart at a time not with armies and weapons but with ambassadors armed with truth and love.

Vs. 8-9 The public trial happens and all that Jason has to do is put up security saying that Paul won’t be coming back to the city. This is what Paul probably meant when he said in 1 Thess. 2:18 that, “he wanted to come to them; time and again; but Satan hindered us.”

Vs. 10-15 A search for Messiah

Vs. 10-11 At night the Church sent Paul and Silas to Berea which was about 60 miles southwest of Thessalonica in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. Berea was a little hick town off the main road. Now look at what Paul and Silas do, they repeat the same things they had done in Thessalonica to turn the world right side up. The difference was to be found in the hearts of those in the synagogue. Luke says that they were more “fair-minded” or literally were of  a higher character than those in Thessalonica. What made them so? 

Luke Tells us two things that gave them a higher character:

“they received the word with all readiness”: The word means to have, “eagerness, or to rush forward”. These Bereans wanted the Word of God; they were hungry for truth. Simply put they were receptive to at least hearing the Word. One of these guys was named Sopater according to Acts 20:4. Now his name means, “One who defends the Father”. Folks, it is one of the greatest sounds to hear when in a Church service you hear the rustling of Bible pages!   

“searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so”: Not only were they receptive to the Word they wanted to make sure that what was being taught lined up with the Bible. Furthermore, they did so DAILY!

Vs. 12 the result of this careful examination of the Word was that “many of them believed”. The great evidence that what we believe is true folks are to be found in that we are willing to examine its claims and search out what it proclaims. Whenever a person truly does this if they are honest they will come to the same conclusion as did the Bereans and believe.

Vs. 13-15 Man we have a consistent enemy don’t we? These guys get together and travel the 60 miles to try to cause a problem so the Bereans just send Paul down to Athens leaving Silas there. So there you have it, the keys to turning your world right side up. The truth of God’s word and a willingness to go to a world that needs to hear it. 

Acts 17:16-21

“What’s playing at the Areopagus? (part a)”

Vs. Vs. 16-18a Three different features

Vs. 18b-21 Now playing, “Seed-picker”

Intro.

As we last saw, the brothers of Berea sent Paul to Athens because of the trouble started by those who did not believe from Thessalonica. So verse 16 starts off with Paul waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy who remained in Berea to join him. Athens was about 400 years past its prime as the most important city of the world, but it was still the intellectual capital of the known world. Two hundred years before Jesus it was home of the world’s great thinkers and their philosophies. Socrates, who had a brilliant student, named Plato and Plato who had a student named Aristotle. It was Aristotle who would coin the definition of philosophy as, “The science which considers truth!” 

Throughout the years there were men and their opinions about life such as Epicurus and his philosophy called Epicureanism and Zeno and his philosophy called Stoicism, which we will look at today. So when Paul came to this city he did so out of necessity and not choice. It was probably no larger than 10,000 people and they were still living in the past as they “spent their time in nothing else but to either to tell or hear some new thing.” So Luke will record for us what Paul saw, felt, did and said while waiting for his friends to arrive.

         Over the years mankind has created some interesting ways in which they view life. These philosophies come and go as actors on the stage of life, only to be reintroduced later on in the show. They may have different costumes on but they are still the same underneath.

As I read this section of scripture it is not difficult to place myself in Paul’s shoes. You see, I had the privilege to go to the former Soviet Union soon after its collapse. In fact as we were in Moscow the scaffolding was just being removed from the repairs that were being made upon the president’s house which was partially destroyed during the failed coup. In the two cities where we visited we were the first Americans that had ever visited the city. In fact we made quite a stir in one city as the T.V. crew came out to film us because our Bible seminar was taking place in the 10th floor auditorium which formally housed the communist party for that region. 

You could still see the silhouette of Lenin behind where we taught. Later we found his bronze bust that had hung there and we took turns sticking our fingers up his nose and taking pictures. It was interesting to teach the Bible in a place where they had never heard of its truths. In the second city we had a free day to sight see which happened to coincide with a city wide celebration for those that had fought in the second world war. When they found out that we were Americans they asked us to speak to them. So we got to sing a worship song in Russian and then I got up and spoke of Jesus unifying love. Just how do the claims of Christianity stand up to the other philosophies of life? How can we share the Bible’s truths to those who have no understanding of it? And what responses can we expect to its proclamation? We shall look at all of this. 

Vs. 16-18a Three different features

Vs. 16 Paul did what most of us would do if we were alone in a foreign city, sight see. What Paul saw was what one ancient historian speaking of Athens claimed that, “It was easier to find a god in Athens than it was a man.” You see there were over 30,000 idols in the city and that was not counting the ones owned privately. Now, though the craftsmanship of these idols were quite beautiful, Paul saw something in them that the artists did not intend to sculpt. He saw the hopelessness and emptiness that worshiping them created in human hearts.

         The word “given over” literally means to put under. Simply put Athens and the people who dwelt there were drowning in the things they worshiped! And in seeing this Paul’s spirit was in a fit. Each idol revealed both the capacity of people to worship and the twisted way in which this worship of God had been manipulated into nothing more than the worship of self! Now most people today don’t think that they are worshipping idols, but the truth is that whatever is the master passion of your life is what you are worshiping. The only difference is back then they had statues made up to their master passions, such as:

Aphrodite = worship of sex

So today people are being put under the very same passions of their lives and they are carrying around the idols of materialism, sex, power and so on. Not all of the things that people worship are evil. Some are worshipping family, others their jobs, some their country. The truth is that we are created to worship, the only question is what it is. So folks back then built beautiful statues, some of them are in the forms of buildings, others look like something of the creation but in the end it will cost them everything to worship them.

Vs. 17-18a We have noticed what Paul saw and how he felt about what he saw, now we are going to see what he did about it. Luke uses the same word that we saw last week to describe what Paul did about the emptiness of the people of Athens, he “reasoned” with them. Now remember what that word means? It is where we get our English word dialogue. So Paul opened up a discussion group with three different groups who were all searching for truth to which would make sense out of their lives. Now I want to take a look at these three groups because they are the same groups that around today:

Vs. 17 “in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers”: So just who does this group represent today? RELIGION! Evidently there was a synagogue in Athens so Paul went right in on the Sabbath and started dialoging with those who were religious. Notice Luke tells us that the religious folks were made up of Jews as well as Gentile worshipers. These were the people who had left the emptiness of the worship of self for a set of rules to help them worship God.

In this city filled with 30,000 idols there was a group of people that had gotten together running away from the emptiness of the worship of self and they began to do certain things and not do other things trying to find some sort of meaning in their lives apart from life revolving around themselves. But instead of life revolving around themselves life was now revolving around rules and regulations. And when you really stop to think about it all that ends up, no matter how noble the attempt, is still the worship of self in what they do or don’t do! 

Paul would describe them this way in 2 Tim. 3:5, “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” Prior to saying this Paul tells Timothy that the outcome of religion shows itself by being, “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Religion has no answers to the idols of the world and instead makes its experience just another idol to be worshiped. Think about it, this synagogue had been in Athens and even though it opposed idolatry it had done nothing to prevent it. So today many folks have left the idols of the world and the worship of self and turned to the worship of religious experience.

Vs. 17 “in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there”: In Athens the market place was the famed agora which was an outdoor mall, full of businesses and trades people. So Paul went daily to the mall to talk with the common citizens of Athens. So who were they? Well they were those worshiping idols. The SUPERSTITIOUS, who had tried to grasp some identity and sense out of life by any means possible worshipping the Greek gods. Today we see our society taken over by superstitions. Everything from pet rocks and rabbit’s feet, to personal psychics, astrological signs and aliens from another galaxy, to try to find their way across the mine field of life.

All this shows is that those who turn to such things are searching for answers to the questions of this life. I’ve seen folks into this way of life and they do quite well until they face a crisis then the little statues and phone numbers of people they call do them no good. I’ve listened to the commercials to these so-called psychics and you know what, they never give them any answers, they just tell them about the past. I mean what good would that do? If I went to the doctor and waited in the waiting room for hours to see him and when I finally went in with my runny nose all he would say to me is, “You have a runny nose!” You have not fixed my runny nose, you did nothing except tell me what I already knew.

Vs. 18 “certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers”: Here Paul lists the last group that he entered a dialogue with, the PHILOSOPHERS. These are systems of beliefs based upon intellectual arguments. These people had left the superstitions of idols to intellectual pursuits which formed concepts of living. Now Paul lists two of the three rival systems “which were considered as truth” that were popular at that time, the third being the Cynics. What you will see is that these systems of thought are still very much alive today.

Epicurean: “Philosophy of the gardens” was founded by Epicurus who died in 270 BC. He and his followers held that pleasure was the chief aim of life. Though he taught that there were gods he thought that they were so remote as to not be interested in the affairs of humans, so they were in all practicality atheists. Things that happened to people did so by chance, there was no life after death so live for the moment. This made them materialists. Their motto is still popular today, “Eat, drink and by merry for tomorrow we die.” Today we see this philosophy on bumper stickers that say, “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” “You only live once, so might as well go for it!”  And in beer commercials that say, “Weekends are made for Michelob.” Their philosophy was to live for the moment. Today we see folks live under this philosophy as thrill seekers and materialists.

Stoics: “Painted colonnade,” so named for the place where the founder Zeno taught this philosophy. Zeno died in 265 BC and popularized the thought that said all of life was determined by fate. He believed that everything was god and god was in everything. Self-mastery was the goal of life and being indifferent to life’s ups and downs. Apathy was their highest virtue and the motto they lived under would have sounded like our sayings of,  “What will be, will be”,  or  “Grin and bear it.” and “Comfortably numb”. Since god was in all and all was in him they sought to live in harmony with nature. They would be the tree huggers and new agers of today.

To simplify these two thoughts you could say that the:

• Epicurean said enjoy life!

• Stoics said endure life!

Now what these three groups all had in common was that they were all seeking answers for the questions of life. They were all seeking help and guidance and these were the ways in which people tried to make sense out of life. So it is into these three groups that Paul comes into Athens with a new world view, a new way of living life.

Vs. 18b-21 Now playing, “Seed-picker”

Vs. 18b-21 So Paul shares with them a different worldview, different than “religion,” and the worship of rules. Different from “superstitions” and vein philosophies of fate and chance. Before we look at their reaction we need to see that Paul “preached” or proclaimed Jesus and the resurrection (verse 18). And if Paul proclaimed the resurrection then he must have proclaimed the cross. Later, Paul would write to the Corinthians, “we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.” To the worldviews of religion, superstition, fate and chance a relationship with God through His Son Jesus is what Paul proclaimed.

         Their response was to call Paul a “seed picker” which was a put down regarding him as a little bird that moves around pecking at seeds. “Paul”, they said, “You’re nothing more than a person who goes around picking up little fragments of truth here and there, piling them all together in a way to try to impress people!” This no doubt was the opinion of the Epicureans whose philosophy of living for the moment came against the Bible’s view of living with an eternal view. 

         The other view of the Gospel was from the Stoic view that Paul proclaimed two Gods, Jesus and Resurrection. They were somewhat interested though Luke adds only because they were always interested in something new. In Athens concepts were often worshiped as gods, so what Paul proclaimed could be added to what they already worshiped.

Vs. 19-21 So they show some interest in what Paul has to say and bring him up to the Areopagus or Mars Hill where the old court used to meet. These Athenians were like a lot of people today, always hungering for something new and the novelty of Paul’s message brought him an audience to hear what he had to say.

Acts 17:22-34

“What’s playing at the Areopagus? (part b)”

Vs. 22-31 Selected scenes

Vs. 32-34 Three reactions to the feature

Intro.

We began our look at Paul’s message in Athens. Before you can fully grasp its message one needs to understand to whom Paul was speaking. So we saw that Paul proclaimed the message of Jesus to three distinct groups:

Vs. 17 RELIGIOUS: Those who had left the emptiness of the worship of 30,000 idols and sought instead a religious experience to make sense out of life. It is interesting to me that Paul aims the message of Jesus to this group. Today the world seems to confuse the gospel with religion, but they are not the same. Webster defines the origin of the word religion this way, “originally to have signified an oath or vow to the gods, or the obligation of such an oath or vow, which was held very sacred.” That only leads to the worship of rules, so Paul preached relationship.

Vs. 17 SUPERSTITIOUS: Those that met daily at the market place who held onto the Greek gods as good luck charms. They did not so much follow after the 30,000 idols as they wanted to make sure that they covered all their bases. What is interesting to me is that we can see the same folks today that seem to bounce from superstition to superstition all in the hopes of finding something that makes sense out of life.

Vs. 18 PHILOSOPHERS: These were the people who used intellectual arguments, which they considered as truth to govern their lives. Luke records two of the different philosophies of life that were popular at that time and they are still popular today.

Epicurean: They sought to enjoy life. You will recall that I said before that they believed all things happened by chance. They taught that there was no after life. This produced a lifestyle that “lived for the moment”. So they were the materialists and thrill seekers of the day. The bumper sticker on their chariots would have read, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”

Stoics: They sought to endure life. These folks believed that everything that happened did so by fate. God was in everything and everything was god. So this produced a lifestyle seen in self-mastery, apathy and a “grin and bare it” attitude. They would have been the “tree huggers” and new agers of their time. The bumper sticker on the back of their chariot would have read, “What will be, will be!”    

These were the three groups that would have gathered on Mars Hill to listen to what Paul had to say. What do all of them have in common? Well they were all seeking answers for the questions of life. They were all trying to find a system that would govern their lives in a world that was chaotic. Paul is going to show us this morning why Jesus has the answers that will make sense out of life.     

Vs. 22-31 Selected scenes

Paul now starts his address before this crowd where 450 years earlier a group brought Socrates and condemned him on the same charges as they did Paul, proclaiming foreign gods. His speech has four parts to it including the introduction and in it Paul effectively shows why Jesus has the answers to what the world is searching for.

Vs. 22-23 INTRODUCTION: Paul started this message with words that showed that he understood where they were at spiritually. Paul says, “I can see by walking around your city that you fear the gods!” They had shown by having over 30,000 idols that they were seeking to know God. They were at least trying to answer the questions of life. And Paul acknowledged their interest, however misplaced it was.

Folks, it is always a good place to start a conversation about Jesus around what the people you are talking to believe and not by preaching at them. Simply ask them to tell you what they believe. Then ask them “WHY” they believe it? Paul saw that they were interested in spiritual things, he does not say that what they worshiped was good or bad, just that it was so! His point is to ask them, “What do you have as the system which governs your life work?” 

         Next Paul continues to show that he was paying attention to what he saw when he says that he noticed a temple dedicated to “The unknown God”. Several hundreds of years earlier there had been a severe plague in the city of Athens and it was suggested by Epimenides to turn a herd of sheep loose in the city and wherever the sheep stopped, to sacrifice them in the name of the nearest idol. If there was not an idol close by, then because Athenians feared the anger of the other gods, they were to make an altar to an unknown god and sacrifice it there. Now what this reveals to Paul as well as to us is the emptiness of man’s religions, superstitions and philosophies as far as offering hope to the human heart. “Hey, I’ve got all of this stuff to help me figure out the right way to go but just in case I’ve left anything out I’ve got this one thing to cover everything else!”

Now I’ve met a lot of folks like this perhaps you have too? They have their “religion” that they bring out of the bag only when needed, then of course they have their superstitions and go in for the occasional “bio-rhythm”, astrological chart or Taro card reading you know. Then they have for daily living the philosophies of life that cover fate and chance. But you never know that may not be enough so you better keep up on the latest stuff out there like cryogenics, yoga, or hale-bop comets.

         So Paul is going now to explain the mystery of the unknown God and in the rest of what he has to say he is going to share how different this God that they do not know is to what they believe now.

Vs. 24-25 LIVING GOD: Compared to the religious rules, dead stone idols, and vain philosophies,  Paul says this unknown God is alive and the creator of everything.

Vs. 24 CREATOR OF EVERYTHING: He is the maker of hands not the one made by hands. You remember that the Epicureans believed that matter was eternal and had no creator. The Stoics on the other hand believed that everything was a part of God. “God”, declared Paul, “Is both the creator and personal”. Since God is the creator then it would not be logical that events happen by indiscriminate chance. And since He is also personal then things can not be as fickle as fate. To the superstitious Paul shows that God does not live in things made by the hands of man. The superstitious make temples and shrines to gods but they are always empty. I mean have you ever gone into a temple made to some deity and found that deity in there? So you go over to the keeper of the little shrine, “Hey, excuse me but I think your god got loose because his cage is empty!” To fashion anything and then worship it as if it has some sort of power is goofy. Religion is not much different then those who are superstitious as they always seek to keep the attention on things. Some little ritual or practice that ends up being worshiped.  

Vs. 25 SUSTAINER OF LIFE: He is the giver not the one given too. You can’t add to God, or give Him anything to make Him more complete if you could then He would not be God. God is not looking for anything from man He only wants to give to man! I’ve gone into some Chinese restaurants and seen this gold fat guy with apples by him. Now again I think it’s funny trying to feed a statue of a fat man. First off, I think he needs to lay off the Krispy Kremes and try some Weight Watchers, and second what kind of help can this guy be to you if he can’t feed himself?

Vs. 26-27a SEEKS TO KNOW and BE KNOWN: Paul declares that this unknown God is the God of history. How radically different Paul declares God is than how those three groups saw Him. Paul says God made one race of people, today science agrees calling us all Homo sapiens. Regardless of the differences in the pigment of our skin, stature or features we are all one race. So? Well, Paul is showing that He wants all of mankind to know Him, He did not just create one class of people with that capacity.  

Now for years the evolutionist has been trying to find the missing link. That bridge between the animal kingdom and man but all they have come up with is some pretty weird looking monkeys. You see the problem is not in looking for a missing link it is rather that they are looking in the wrong place for Him. In Gen. 1:26 the trinity has a conversation and they say, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”. The Godhead did not say, “Let Us make man in the image of a monkey”; no they said, “In Our image”. Do you get it? The missing link is not between man and monkeys, it’s between man and his creator. And do you know who the missing link is?

Well look at Phil. 2:5-8 and Paul tells us, “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Pastor, are you trying to tell me that Jesus is the missing link? Yep! Jesus is the One that shows us what we were supposed to be like and furthermore He is the One that alone made it possible for us to come back into the relationship with our Creator as He designed.

         Furthermore Paul declares that God has intervened in human lives and their courses so that they all would have an opportunity to know Him. You see God knows exactly how long each of us will live. He knows everything about us and He allows the events of life to drive us to the knowledge of Him. It is not a life of random chance or blind fate that propels the affairs of your life, it is a God who desires to have a growing relationship with you! All of those events of your life have been so that, as Paul says here in verse 27, “that they should seek the Lord.” How often have you been seeking to blame Him rather than to know Him? God knows where you are towards Him this morning and He is ordering the times and boundaries of your habitation so that you would seek Him.

Vs. 27b-31THE TRUTH ABOUT OURSELVES: Look at what Paul is saying here. He says that it takes the catastrophes of life to drive you to Him even though He is not far from each one of us! Ouch! You see, the pride of the human heart won’t turn to God even though He is right next to us unless we have no other option. Here Paul points out that God created us with a free will; He did not make us robots. The fact that Athens was full of idols showed that man was trying to find their missing link.

But they were looking into things that they created rather than the One who created. Paul would say to the Romans; “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.   Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” 

         So Paul now says with the incarnation of His Son He is not going to over look it is time to turn from the worship of things to the worship of the true God. Now let’s look at verse 31 as Paul tells them three facts that would encourage them to turn from the worship of idols to the worship of God.

An inescapable day: “He has appointed a day on which He will judge”.  Time is coming when all will have to ante up! There is coming a day when all will have to give an account of their lives. Those who want to do so can give an account of their lives based upon their “good works”. Now the standard is not their good works compared to the rest of mankind. In other words God does not grade on a curve! No Jesus says, “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Paul defines it this way in Rom where he says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” You see, the standard of good works is Jesus so all you have to do to be good enough is to equal Jesus’ life here on earth! Do that and you will be judged worthy. Uh, big problem though never been done, never will be!

A perfect Judge: “He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.” Just as there is a set day in which judgement will take place there is a specific Judge that will hear each of our cases. Rom. 2:16 says that, “God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ”. Furthermore Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:1 that, “Lord Jesus Christ, … will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.” So? Well think of it in light of Heb. 4:15 where we are told that Jesus, “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” As great a comfort this is for all Christians because He understands our weakness it ought to bring fear into the heart of every non-believer. Why? Well because there is no excuse any person could ever use to justify not receiving Him. Think of the scene at the judgement as billions of people are gathered together.

 In the air is a low rumble of conversation and all seem to be saying, “It’s just not fair!” There is a young lady with a tattooed number on her arm. She was killed at Auschwitz for just being of a religion others hated. Then there is a man who has rope burns around his neck just because of the pigment of his skin. In fact all the people there could point to several reasons why they did not receive Jesus. So just who does He think He is anyway? “We want a judge who had to face all of the horrible injustices that we did”, they cry out. 

“Before you can judge us, you have to have walked in our shoes!” “You need to be born to a poor family, one in which they question your birth.” “You need to be raised in a culture that is hated and despised among all the nations.” “You need to be raised with out education and without a father.” You need to be misunderstood, made fun of and thought crazy by those around you.”

“You need to have been abandoned by your closest friends and handed over to the authorities by one whom you trusted.” “You need to go through an unfair trial and be sentenced to the most inhuman death for something you were innocent of.” As they went through the reasons why God could not judge them, up to the judgement seat comes Jesus, and you could hear a pin drop! You see Jesus has gone through what you went through He knows the suffering and there will be no excuse that will work before Him!

Undeniable proof: “He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” “Hey, that’s just religious talk, how do you know?” Well, just so everyone would know that this is going to happen God proved it by raising Jesus from the dead. In 1 Cor 15:4-8 Paul declares concerning the resurrection that Jesus “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also.” There is an empty tomb. Folks, an empty tomb means that there was no body, yet many eyewitnesses saw Him dead and then proclaimed that He was alive and ascended into heaven!

Vs. 32-34 Now Luke concludes Paul’s message at Mars Hill with three recorded reactions to the message of Jesus compared to, religion, superstition and philosophy. You know what they are, the same responses that you will have hearing this message today. So this morning you will fall into one of these three categories of responses to what you have just heard.

“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead”:

“some mocked”: Pride is threatened, and to mask conviction people resort to making fun of the truth. When Christianity is made fun of it is a sign that the person knows that they are apart from Him. There is no open discussion, no real reason for denying the truth so just resort to sarcasm and put-downs.

“others said, We will hear you again on this matter.”: By far the most popular way of dealing with the truths concerning Jesus is procrastination. “Hey that is interesting stuff you are saying, one day I’ll have to check it out but this is not the day!” “We need more evidence, man!” Let me just say that all a person has to do to end up in hell is do nothing! Just keep putting Jesus off. Man, I’ve got to tell you there are a lot of folks in this category. They’re not ready to out and out deny Him but they don’t want to turn their lives over so they become an ostrich and bury their heads in the phony sands of “check him out later”. 

“some men joined him and believed”: Here is the last group and the one that I’m praying all here will fit into. Even though the conscience is offended and pride is wounded, they say, “Jesus, I’m yours!” Luke lists two of their names for us.

Dionysius the Areopagite, his name means, “divinely touched ” and he sure was, even though he was a leader in vain philosophies.

Damaris, whose name means “little woman”, but she was more than that on that day! Luke says that these were just two among others.  

So there you have it, Jesus has the answers above religion, superstitions and philosophies. What is your response going to be?