17:1-9
Paul, Barnabas, & Timothy left Philippi, walking west on the Egnatian Way (Via Egnatia), a Roman Road. Luke apparently stayed behind. The narration shifts from the first person plural (we) to the third person (they). Luke shows up again in chapter 20, in Philippi, and the narration changes back to the first person plural.
Paul and his companions traveled down the road to Thessalonica. It was the principal city of Macedonia. It is still an important city. It is about 60 miles west of Philippi.
Paul followed his usual custom, going to the synagogue on the Sabbath and reasoning from the Old Testament that the Messiah must suffer and die, then be raised from the dead. He preached that Jesus is that Messiah. (3)
He got a good initial reception. He was allowed to speak on three different Sabbaths. Some Jews believed, but a great many God fearing Greeks believed, including many leading women of the city. (4)
It does not seem that it was Paul’s theology made the Jews mad, but his popularity, the huge response to his preaching. This made the Jews jealous, so they recruited a mob to attack them at the house of Jason, one of the Jewish converts. Paul and Silas were gone, so they grabbed Jason and some other converts and took them to the city rulers. They accused them of causing disturbances, violating the law and even proclaiming another king in Jesus.
The city rulers here were disturbed, but more careful than those in Philippi. They made Jason post bond for Paul and Silas. This meant Jason was responsible for anything further that happened. It had the effect of making it necessary for Paul to leave town.
Berea
17:10-15
Paul and Silas left at night and went to Berea, about 40 miles away. Again they traveled west along the Egnatian Way, but then turned south to the town of Berea, which was off the main road . Again they went into the synagogue. They got a much better reception here, as the Bereans were eager to hear Paul and checked all he said against the Scriptures. Many were converted, again including women in the city who were important.
When the Thessalonian Jews heard that Paul was preaching in Berea, they came and stirred up opposition. The converts sent Paul off, but Silas and Timothy remained. Evidently Paul was the lightening rod for opposition, being the main preacher. The converts took Paul all the way to Athens.
Paul told them to send Silas and Timothy as soon as possible. This shows us that, as strong as Paul was, he did not want to be alone and felt the need for friends and co-workers.
Athens
17:16-21
While waiting for his co-workers, Paul toured the city. He saw that it was full of idols. Several ancient writes refer to the Athenians as the most religious people. There were temples and statutes of various Greek gods all over the city. Paul became distressed at all of the idols. So, he went to the synagogue and preached on the Sabbath. He was not idle while waiting for his co-workers.
But, he also went every day to the marketplace and spoke to whoever he found there. He was street preaching.
Athens was not only devoted to art and religion, but also to philosophy. The two main schools of philosophy were the Stoics and the Epicureans. The Stoics followed the teachings of Zeno. They believed in living in tune with nature, being individually self-sufficient, moral and dutiful.
The Epicureans followed the teachings of Epicurus, namely that pleasure is the chief end of life, the greatest pleasure is tranquility. They had a view of the gods as distant and uninterested in mankind.
Everyone has a philosophy, because everyone must deal with life, how it works, why things happen as they do, and what we can do about it. You can see from the descriptions of these two schools ideas that persist today. One way to witness is to discern, usually by asking, a person’s philosophy of life, and reacting to it with the gospel.
It was to these philosophers that Paul directed his preaching. (15) The philosophers were not impressed. They called him a babler. But, they recognized he was preaching about a god they did not know. That is because Paul was still preaching the death and resurrection of Jesus, even to philosophers.
The Athenians grabbed Paul and brought him to the Areopagus so that they could hear more. They loved hearing and discussing new things. This areas was on or near the Hill of Ares. Ares was the Greek god of war, the same as Mars in the Roman Pantheon. That is where the title “Mars Hill” came from in one man’s ministry in Seattle.
Everyone has a philosophy of life. That is because we all deal with life, why things happen, and what we do about it. A Christian sees life as beginning with God and centered upon him. We see the Bible as the theological history of the world and the revelation of God's nature to us.
But, not everyone sees it that way. Post-modernists challenge all "meta narratives", all of the big stories. That includes the Bible. They may not believe in any absolute truth. They will say "that's your truth". When you ask them questions about their values, though, you will likely find their belief inconsistent. Although debate may not be the best way to proceed in a friendly conversation, you can point out that values come from somewhere, and you believe they come from the God who created all things.
We will examine Paul's speech to the Athenians next week. But, remember, the most important thing is not to debate philosophies, but to share the gospel and let the Holy Spirit work.
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