PAUL’S ACCIDENTAL ATHENIAN APPOINTMENT

SERMON TITLE: PAUL’S ACCIDENTAL ATHENIAN APPOINTMENT

SERMON TEXT: ACTS 17:14-21 (CSB)

14 Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?”

Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities”—because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, “May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting? 20 Because what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.

Imagine taking a long-planned vacation to visit Europe for the very first time and, due to flight delays, you miss your connecting flight overseas. You arrive a day late but that’s better than your bags, which don’t arrive at all. On the way to your hotel, a professional pickpocket relieves you of your wallet and your passport. You look down at your phone and see you’ve got 8% battery life remaining. You packed your charger in your luggage.

Ever had a travel experience like this?

Here’s hoping you never do.

The first time the Apostle Paul went to Europe things went even worse, hard as that may be to believe. In Phillipi, he got arrested, stripped, severely flogged, chained, and thrown into prison. In Thessalonica a mob riot formed against him and he had to flee the city at night.

In Berea, the same mobs catch up with him and he is forced to separate from his travel party and is whisked away to Athens, Greece – a city that was not on his itinerary at all.

1,500 miles away from home and alone, he finds himself in the city of Athens, the largest city he had ever seen. This was HIS first trip to Europe which we know as his 2nd missionary journey.

Somehow between God’s providence and Paul’s passion for telling people about Jesus, Paul’s experience in Athens provides a highly teachable model for every believer to follow in presenting the Gospel to anyone, anywhere.

Acts 17 contains one of the best presentations of the gospel ever recorded; so much so that it is one of the most preached passages of scripture.

To fully appreciate the significance of his accidental Athens encounter you must understand a little about the place Athens occupied in the ancient world. Even though the Roman empire ruled the world at this time, the influence of the former empire, the Greek Empire, continued to greatly influence the civilized world.

As the capital of Greece, Athens was a leading center of the arts, learning, and philosophy; it was the intellectual center of the known world. Athens is widely referred to as the cradle of western civilization and the birthplace of democracy. The brightest minds and thinkers in the world were concentrated in Athens. Great philosophers, thinkers, and teachers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle lived and taught in Athens, as did many other prominent philosophers.

Athens was also a great pagan city, full of idols. As the center of Greek polytheism with over 3,000 statues and temples devoted to their mythological gods, they worshipped their Pantheon of Olympian gods including Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Ares, and Athena. They also worshiped more than 350 other minor deities.

Athena, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, was the primary goddess whom Athenians worshipped. In fact, Athena is the goddess for whom the city of Athens was named. If you visit Athens today, you’ll witness the temple the Athenians erected to worship her situated on the highest hilltop in the city. It’s called the Parthenon.

With that brief, historical backdrop on Athens, let’s join the Apostle Paul as he steps off the ship in 51 AD at the Faliro port and begins his 4-mile walk to downtown Athens.

Upon entering the city he notices something that is quite disturbing. This great city which has been the Apex of Greek Civilization, and the intellectual center of the known world is totally given over to idolatry.

In verse 16 of Acts 17, we read:

While Paul was waiting for them (Silas & Timothy) in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

When foreigners and tourists would visit Athens, the magnificence of the architecture, the grandeur of the city’s design, and the artistry displayed by the thousands of carved and molded statutes of deities was awe-inspiring.

But Paul had a much different perspective. He knew if people were worshipping idols, they were not worshipping the one, true God.

Since he had encountered the risen Jesus back in that Damascus-Road experience, he could not tolerate any perspective that caused him to elevate the aesthetic, architectural, or artistic qualities of these temples, shrines, and statues to false gods in any approving way.

As a Jewish scholar with impeccable credentials in Judaism, he knew the significance of God’s first and second commandments about not worshiping any other god and not creating any physical object to use in worshiping other gods.

What a lesson for us to constantly be looking at the world and life through the eyes of redemption; and not be dazzled and distracted by the shiny objects that easily draw our focus away from God.

One of the best tests of our spiritual mettle is how distressed we are at ideas, attitudes, and behaviors that displease God.

Instead of escaping the city and all within Paul found offensive, he proactively engaged the city and did so masterfully. Acts 17:17 goes on to say …

So, he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

As was his practice on his missionary journeys, he typically first sought out the Jewish synagogue—the home team, so to speak—and talked to them about Jesus and the resurrection.

As a former student of the famous Jerusalem Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel, He knew how to use Jewish scriptures to show how the Jewish prophets foretold the Jewish Messiah and how these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus, a Jewish son of David, and he could do so in a Jewish house of worship: the Synagogue.

Then, he would then circulate around the city or town and strike up conversations with people at random, whether they be a King or a prison guard. His mission was the same for all: to lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But he would wisely adjust his approach for the setting.

The verse we just read says he REASONED with them.

The Greek work for REASONED is DIALEGOMAI which is the word from which our English word, “dialogue”, derives.

This is a very important lesson for us to learn from Paul’s mastery of presenting the gospel. He didn’t walk around with a sandwich board that said, “Repent or Perish”. In a masterful fashion, he struck up conversations with people he met in the Athenian Agora, the marketplace, and eventually gathered enough interested hearers.

Another lesson: You can’t talk with people about believing in Jesus unless you talk to people.

And apparently, Paul was talking to people in an engaging way; not seeking to impress them with his religious degree, but as a skilled communicator. He knew their understanding was more important than his talking.

This serves as another teachable moment for us to take great care when talking to folks outside of the faith, or church context, to communicate in terms they understand, and not assume they understand inside church words or expressions we grew up with.

By engaging people to the point that a small crowd began to form to hear more from him, it attracted the attention of a key group of people.

In Acts 17:18, the scripture says,

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

The word translated “Babbler” here is translated in other English versions as “Scavenger”, “Show Off”, “Pseudo-Intellectual”, “Know-it-all”, “blabbermouth”, “collector of words”, “chattering fellow”, and so forth.

None of these epithets is a favorable description of Paul by these philosophers. The most literal translation of the name they’re calling him is “Seed Picker” and the word picture is that of a bird pecking at seeds
on the ground here and there in random fashion.

This down-the-nose disposition of the professional philosophers reveals that their intention to engage with him was a sport where they would easily pummel this “seed picking” babbler with their superior and systemic philosophy. So, they invited him to present his ideas at the big debating venue.

In Acts 17:19, Luke records,

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some
strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.
21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

A quick word about the Areopagus.

Down the Acropolis hill from the Parthenon temple of Athena, there was a fair-sized rocky area that formed a perfect venue for meetings where Philosophers would meet, debate, and present their ideas.

In addition to a lot of flat, tiered rocky surfaces suitable for an audience to hear a presentation, it also contained a temple to the Greek God of War, Ares. Areopagus is a combination of Ares and Pagus, the Greek word for hill. So, Areopagus means Are’s Hill.

Since the Roman empire was in charge at the time of Paul’s Athenian visit and when the book of Acts was written, it would have been known by its Latin name, Mars Hill. Mars was the Roman name for the God of War.

As a side note to this side note: Greek culture and polytheism was so influential that when the Romans conquered the Greek empire, they retained the Greek Olympian Deities and simply gave them Latin names. Zeus became Jupiter, Poseidon became Neptune, Athena became Minerva; and Ares became Mars.

In addition to The Areopagus being a meeting venue, it was also an institution. The Areopagus was the Supreme Court of Athens where major criminal cases were tried. The Areopagites were the men who sat on the court.

As the Stoics and Epicureans lead Paul from the marketplace up to the Areopagus to speak to those who would be assembled there, Paul would have certainly known about the Areopagus court and some of their most famous trials.

Several hundred years earlier, the Areopagites had put Socrates on trial for what many historians believe were politically motivated, charges; one of which was impiety.

Somehow, they alleged Socrates had done or said something that was offensive to the gods of Athens. Socrates was found guilty and was sentenced to death. The method of execution was for him to drink hemlock poison – to execute himself via suicide. Which, he did.

Socrates’ most famous student, Plato, was much more careful about his statements and teachings at his Academy.

But, Plato’s most famous student, Aristotle, however, not so much. In similar fashion to Socrates, the Areopagus found Aristotle guilty of impiety and also sentenced him to death. Unlike Socrates, however, Aristotle had the foresight to flee the country and live beyond the reach of the Areopagus until he died of natural causes.

Whether this supreme court—the Areopagus—was in session or its members were gathered informally, we do not know. But Paul would have known the power of the court and since “Impiety”, or offending their gods, was a capital offense. He had a very tricky path to walk given his message was just that.

We pick up the story in Acts 17:22—

22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. 23 For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance (meaning a God you admit to not knowing), this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands (I wonder if he pointed to the Parthenon on the hill behind them when he said that). 25 Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. 26 From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ (He was referring to Epimenides and Aratus) 29 Since, then, we are God’s offspring, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

About that “gold-silver-stone” reference: The statue of Athena in the Parthenon cost more than the construction of the Parthenon itself. It was 38 feet tall made of carved ivory and gold; embellished by glass, copper, silver, and jewels; all resting on a stone base. Over 2,400 pounds of gold were used in the construction of the statue. In today’s price, that’s a cost of $1.13 Billion dollars. What Paul wisely refrained from pointing out to those Areopagites—perhaps because he didn’t want to be served a hemlock cocktail like Socrates—was that all the treasure spent on the Athena statue was gone, partially damaged in a fire 200 years earlier and then salvaged to pay for a war effort. The obvious implication is gods made by man don’t last forever.]

Verse 30 continues …

30 Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

Since we’re considering this Athens encounter as sort of a Master Class by Paul on how to share the gospel more effectively, I’ll touch on a few more beyond those we’ve already considered.

First, when you talk to people about God and their relationship with Him, GO BIG OR GO HOME.

Don’t talk like you’re selling a Ford Pinto; talk like you are a representative for Rolls Royce.

Talk about how He is exclusively God. He made the world and everything in it. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. His presence is everywhere and cannot be contained in a shrine constructed by man.

Every great empire or nation that has ever reigned on this earth, Egyptian, Assyrian, Medes, Persian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, British, or American, God has determined their beginning and ending, as well as their geographical boundaries and influence.

Secondly, man doesn’t make God. God makes man. And without God, man can’t live, move, or have any existence.

If you’d like to earn your junior philosopher badge this morning, you might want to chew on the obvious implication that, since man doesn’t MAKE God, man cannot BE God.

How ironic that Paul was talking to men who were ostensibly the brightest minds in the world and yet they inherited, invented, and worshiped hundreds of deities.

Perhaps part of the “impiety” charge that got Aristotle the death sentence was one of his famous syllogisms that went something like this:

MAJOR PREMISE:
MAN CANNOT CREATE GOD

MINOR PREMISE:
MAN CREATED ATHENA

CONCLUSION:
THEREFORE, ATHENA IS NOT GOD.

When man makes god, all manner of chaos ensues. Consider the story of how the goddess Athena was born, according to Greek mythological tradition.

When Athena’s mother, Metis, became pregnant, a prophecy foretold that the child she carried (little Athena) would grow up to overthrow Zeus (her father), just as Zeus had overthrown his own father, Cronus.

Fearful of this prophecy, Zeus swallowed his wife, Metis, whole, hoping to prevent the prophecy and pregnancy from coming true. However, this act did not stop the birth of Athena. Instead, it only delayed it.

Over time, Zeus began to suffer from unbearable headaches. The pain was so intense that he called for Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and craftsmen, to split open his head with an axe.

When Hephaestus complied, Athena sprang forth from Zeus's forehead, fully grown and dressed in armor, her eyes gleaming with wisdom and power. Her birth was accompanied by peals of thunder, shaking the earth and sea.

You could watch every episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jersey Shore, & The A TEAM and still not produce a more contrived plot with more cartoonish characters than this.

I like what Cornerstone Chapel pastor, Gary Hamrick said in his sermon on Acts 17 which raises a third reality for us to keep in mind as we talk to people about Jesus:

Just because someone is religious doesn’t mean they’ve been redeemed. These Athenians, particularly the Areopagites, were religious to the point they would put someone to death for blaspheming their religion.

In verses 30 & 31, Paul does what every good salesman does after making a presentation: He asks for the order.

Specifically, he conveys to the Athenian intelligentsia the God he has presented to them has issued a command for all people everywhere to repent—using the Greek word, metanoia. Meta doesn’t mean Facebook, it means “Change”. Noia means mind or thinking. Effectively, turn from the direction you were headed and head in a new direction – change your way of thinking, your mindset, TOWARDS God and AWAY from disobedience; like disobeying the first two commandments about worshipping other gods and having idols.

God commands ALL PEOPLE everywhere to REPENT.

As proof that what he is saying is truly a message from God, Paul warns that Jesus is going to judge the world one day and the proof of that promise is that God has raised Jesus from the dead.

Verses 32-34 are one of the reasons everyone from Billy Graham to me have preached on this passage: it contains three perfect sermon points right in the text.

Acts 17:32 says,

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, [ONE] some began to ridicule him, [TWO] but others said, “We’d like to hear from you again about this.” 33 So Paul left their presence. 34 [THREE] However, some people joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

All that’s left for Billy Graham to do is to ask the audience which group they’ll fall into.

So, was Paul’s unplanned diversion to Athens successful; did it make any difference? It seems the response was pretty meager, if not disappointing.

We could ask Dionysius, the judge who served on the Athenian Supreme Court. He became a bishop of the Christian church of Athens. Both the Catholic and Eastern orthodox churches venerate him as a saint. He is the patron saint of Athens.

In 380 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius I officially ended the public worship of the Greek gods in the Roman Empire with the issuance of The Edict of Thessalōniki. Pagan temples were converted to Christian churches and after a few centuries pagan worship faded, mostly due to the organic rise of Christianity.

Today the dominant religion in Athens is Christianity; and Christianity is the official state religion of Greece.

The statue of Athena with her gold and ivory is gone. Her temple, the Parthenon, is a burned-out edifice serving as a tourist attraction, with a one-day entry ticket price of $21.

They mocked Paul as a “Seed Picker”.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

Paul was a SEED PLANTER.

While the Greek philosophers planted seeds that greatly effected Western civilization, none had a greater impact than the seeds sown by the Apostle Paul during his accidental, Athenian adventure at the Areopagus that day.

The spread of Christianity throughout the world is a direct result of Paul’s faithfulness to go all in for God – to GO BIG.

My fellow evangelists: We are in the planting season. May the Holy Spirit empower us all to plant seeds in the hearts of those we meet. Only God knows what greatness might spring forth from one little seed we sow into someone’s heart.