Acts study & commentary

Acts 17:1-4

It appears Luke must have stayed back in Philippi, because he describes the team again as 'they' instead of 'we' or 'us'.  Amphipolis was about 30 miles down the road (about a day's walk) from Philippi and Apollonia was about another 30 miles down the road.  These are 2 more prominent cities along the Roman highway, Egnatia way (Via Egnatia). 

The implication is that they stayed for just one night in each of these places.  It seems that they merely passed through these cities on their way to where they would minister next, which is Thessalonica.  We don't really know why they chose not to stay there. 

Thessalonica is a major Roman city.  It was about 100 miles from Philippi.  It was established as the capital and the largest in Macedonia, with a population of 200,000 people.  Thessalonica was named after the wife of a famous general.  This woman was the daughter of Phillip and half sister of Alexander the Great.  Thessalonica sat along the land route of the Egnation way but was also a seaport, which made it an important crossroads.  Being a crossroads, they would have experienced the influences and cultures of many other nations.  Not the least of which was a presence of the Jews and a synagogue.

The reasoning of Paul to the Jews in the synagogue is classified as dialogue; questions and answers.  Explaining and demonstrating the scriptures was opening them and making a solid case; evidence that must be dealt with. 

Paul went there for 3 Sabbaths and began to reason with them about who Jesus was and try to get them to recognize their own Messiah.  Some Jews believed; a large number of gentiles began to follow; and a number of leading women.  This inclusion of the leading women beyond gentiles and Jews is interesting.  It was so noteworthy that the women leaders warranted mention beyond the average woman who was included in the other groups. 

As Paul ministered in Thessalonica, the Philippian church was offering Paul support by providing for his necessities. 

Now 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. ¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. ^[1]

(Philippians 4:15)

Acts 17:5-9

This seems to be a common pattern among these Jewish leaders, the gospel provoked them and they acted in zeal without knowledge (Romans 10:1).  The zeal blinded them from the facts or even the possibility that they were warring against God.  Evil acts seem to recruit quickly and the mob formed.  They did this same type of thing in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, among other places.  They stirred up the emotions and feelings to manipulate people.  In this case they direct this mob to the house of Jason to get Paul and Silas.  Jason's home must have been one of the main meeting places for the church.   

These guys pay the church a great complement, they were effective in ministering among the community.  They accused Paul and Silas of upsetting the world and now bringing it to their town.  To those who were upside down, it seems that Paul and Silas were wrong.  Who's upside down and who's right side up?  I guess it depends on your point of reference.  We tend to make ourselves the point of reference and evaluate the world accordingly.  The world needs a unchanging point of reference.  As Christians we establish Jesus as our point of reference, which means these guys were teaching right side up.  The world was upside down and these men were trying to set it right.  But the accusation comes from the world.  Driven by envy, the Jews get this mob to drag Jason and a few brethren before the authorities. 

It's interesting that the accusation is that they 'have come here too'.  It was about this time that an edict came from Roman Emperor Claudius.  This edict expelled all Christians from Rome because of constant riots.  Assuming these officials knew that, then the accusation that 'these who have turned the world upside down have come here too" now has new meaning.

These evil men were making accusations.  They accused Paul and Silas of declaring Jesus as king instead of Caesar.  Jason was accused of harboring them.  These were serious charges.  No Roman city wanted the reputation of being of harboring insurrectionists against Caesar.

Jason posted a bond and was released.  His bond would be forfeited if he was involved with Paul and Silas again.  We don't know any more about it.  Do you suppose Jason lost his bond preaching to the crowds about a risen savior? 

The charge was that these Jewish Christians were revolutionaries.  These cities knew about revolutions because so many Roman civil wars were fought in this area, even in this very city.  Since this city had remained loyal to Rome it had been awarded its autonomy as a free city.  They were free to form their own government and appoint their own magistrates. 

Acts 17:10-12

Paul and Silas didn't want to bring more grief on the Christians there.  Further problems would cause Jason to lose his security and possibly cause him to be imprisoned.  They moved on to Berea, about 45 miles southwest and another day's journey down the road.

Paul declared the word before these Bereans in the synagogue.  Luke called them more fair-minded than those of Thessalonica.  The word translated 'fair-minded' originally meant 'of noble birth.'  It came to mean 'more refined'.   We might think of it in terms of being willing to listen and consider the possibilities.  They were thinking people.  They didn't just hear Paul and say, "Nice speech Paul; very inspiring," then forget it and go home.  The received the word.  They were ready for it and they didn't just take what someone said but they searched the scriptures themselves to find out it were true.  The scriptures weren't just poetry or inspiring writing or a nice collection of religious writings, they were truth.  And the truth had the power to change things.  There are 3 things we might note right here:

• They searched the scriptures.
• They did it daily.
• They searched to find out the truth; to gain wisdom and knowledge of life and their God. 

Because they received the word and searched the scriptures, some very specific and important things happened.   First, many believed and then the enemy attacked them.  In fact, Luke said many of these Jews believed.  This is so unlike what these men had experienced in any other synagogue.  On top of that, many gentiles believed also.  And then Luke throws in another category of people, prominent women and men (and he mentions the women in front of the men.) 

Acts 17:13-15

The Jews of Thessalonica heard of this and they responded also.  They went to Berea to stir up the crowds and come against these men.  It's fascinating that these men never recognized their own hatefulness and bitterness to go to such great lengths to persecute these men.  They couldn't refute what was being taught so they appealed to the flesh and emotions and stirred up crowds against the gospel. 

Paul was sent away, probably out of concern for his wellbeing.  Yet, Paul knew it wasn't about him.  There were others that could lead and teach.  Men like Silas and Timothy could certainly build up the church there, so they remained as Paul went on. 

Paul wasn't just about planting another church or counting converts; he was about edifying and building up.  He wanted to see these people rooted in Christ.  Berea was certainly a breath of fresh air in that land and they could be a home base of Christianity like Antioch was in Syria.

The brethren sent Paul on and he was to go as far as the sea while Silas and Timothy stayed.  Paul went to Athens and then called Silas and Timothy to come to him. 

Acts 17:16-18

It seems as though Paul's preference was to wait on Timothy and Silas to catch up before ministering.  But as Paul arrived in Athens, he saw an ancient city that had been prominent in this part of the world for hundreds of years.  This was a city of education, architecture, art and philosophy.  It enjoyed a world prominence and reputation as being the intellectual capital of the world, not to mention its influence and money.

What Paul saw was a city given over to idols.  That's a single Greek word translated 'given over to idols'.  The word had the idea that they were a city characterized by idols; living under idols or a life swamped by them.

Nearly any deity known to man could be worshiped in Athens as there was a representation by idol.  This was home to many great philosophers, including Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.  A couple others that should be mentioned are Epicurus (founder of Epicureanism) and Zeno (founder of Stoicism).  Epicureanism taught that the chief end of man was pleasure and the avoidance of pain.  They believed in God but thought He was uninvolved in the affairs of man.  After death they believed the body and soul disintegrated. 

Stoicism taught self mastery.  They put great emphasis on moral sincerity and a high sense of duty.  The goal in life was to reach a place of indifference to pain or pleasure and to cultivate a spirit of proud dignity.  They saw no particular direction or destiny for mankind but man just had to make our way along and hope for the best.  They thought suicide was better than to live with less dignity.

When some of these men called Paul a babbler, it was as if these highfalutin philosophers were considering him an amateur.  The word babbler literally meant seed picker.  They accused him of having no ideas of his own but taking a few pieces of many to make his own philosophy.  Others considered Paul's teaching as new and thought these things to be strange.  They wanted to hear more of Jesus and the resurrection.

Acts 17:19-31

In those days, Athenians spent much of their time just listening to something new or the retelling of known things.    They had itchy ears and Paul's message was certainly novel among the pantheon of gods.  This novelty earned Paul an invite to the Areopagus.  The meaning of this is 'The hill of Aries', the mythical god of war, called Mars in Latin. 

Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus looking slightly up to see the amazing site of the Acropolis.  This was a court setting and Paul was being asked to defend his teaching – not in a legal way, but only philosophical.  Paul acknowledged that they were religious.  The people had a respect for God, they just didn't know who he was.  They were afraid of the gods and wanted to appease any god they knew of.  They had an idol or representation of nearly every known god.  For the one they missed, they even had an altar to the Unknown God.

Had they known the real God, the God of the bible, all the other statues and idols would have been removed.  The Lord God Most High was obviously unknown to them.  Paul told them he would explain to them the God they didn't know.  He was the God who made the world and all that was in it.  God couldn't dwell in a temple made with human hands, He is the creator, not the created.  He is the Lord of heaven and earth.  He gives man every breath and every heartbeat and man can do nothing to serve Him.  He doesn't need anything from us, but we need Him! 

The Athenians made idols and altars to all the perceived gods.  Paul probably got their attention when he told them they couldn't form a statue of God in silver and gold.  His Divine Nature can't be captured by human art.  God is now known and is declaring that men everywhere should repent.  There is a day fixed; a time appointed when Jesus will judge the world in righteousness.  The assurance of this coming day was shown in the His resurrection from the dead.

Paul declared God as the one who determines the nations and kings; he set the boundaries and times of each.  The God of all nations desired that they would seek after him, portrayed as groping.  This is the thought that probing in the dark, feeling your way around, searching, because you are sure He is there!   The nations were not created and managed by a pantheon of mythical gods. Paul declared that Jesus, the God not known to them, was not that far off.  This idea didn't jibe with the wisdom off the day.  The Epicureans viewed God as distant, far-removed from the world.  The Stoics saw God as present in parts of creation or in creation in general, rather than a living, loving, caring being. 

Paul appeared to quote a Greek poet in his presentation.  This poet was Epimenides the Cretan (600BC).  He didn't quote him because he was a prophet or a godly man, as if to legitimize everything he said.  He used these specific words because they were known to them and they contained an element of truth that Paul linked to the God of the bible. 

For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, (Acts 17:28)

Epimenides lived over six hundred years before Paul.  It appears he was a real man but over the years became honored as a type of god.  As the story goes, a terrible plague came on the city and Epimenides had an idea.  He let loose a flock of sheep through the town, and wherever they lay down, they sacrificed that sheep to the god that had the nearest shrine or temple. If a sheep lay down near no shrine or temple, they sacrificed the sheep to the "Unknown God". 

While Epiminenides believed Zeus was god, he certainly had a correct sense that there was a heavenly Father and we are His offspring.  Epimenides didn't understand the lamb sacrificed to the God for which they had no name.  Paul gave him them the name, it was Jesus.

Paul expressed to these philosophers that we are all the offspring of God, sons and daughters of the Most High God.  As Hs offspring, there are certain things expected by Him.  We ought to come to Him, seeking His thoughts, not bringing ours.  God would forgive them their ignorance.  When Paul called them for lack of knowledge, I suspect that was offensive to them. 

Acts 17:32-34

At declaring the resurrection, some mocked and others wanted to know more.  The cross is the single highest truth that divides men.  It can't be ignored.  It offends or saves, no one can walk away in indifference.  Dyonysius was a member of the Areopagus council.  He was one who heard Paul and felt the tug of truth on his heart.  Others followed.

©2008, 2014, 2021 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater