Daily Bread 2010 - Acts 17
Daily Bread 2010 – Acts 17
In Athens
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute 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. 19Then 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? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want 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.)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him 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 some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
As Paul continued his missionary journey from Philippi through Thessalonica and onto Berea and then to Athens, he encountered many different responses to the Good News. Generally he would go to the synagogue and sometimes the Jewish believers (and some Gentile God fearers) would listen to the message and be interested to want to hear more.
When a number of Jews began to be persuaded and come to faith, others would become jealous and stir up mobs to get him out of town. Even though Paul was preaching to them that their Jewish heritage brought this Jesus into this world and that his resurrection proved He was the Messiah, they were also offended when he pointed out that they were also the ones who crucified him.
And then in Greece, in Athens, which was the intellectual center of the world at that time, Paul began to debate with several of the philosophers of the day. The two mentioned are the “Epicureans” and the “Stoics”. The Epicureans were characterized by living life according to one’s passions, so that one can have pleasure in life and avoid suffering. It is a form of Hedonism, but the founder, Epicurus, advocated a modest pursuit of pleasure, which would lead to a state of tranquility.
Stoicism (comes from the Greek word “Stoa” which mean porch, where Zeno lectured), was founded by Zeno. He was influenced by Socrates. He taught that man conquers the world by conquering himself. The modern connotation of “Stoic” is one of someone not having much emotion, but early on this philosophy was guided more by virtue, wisdom and an indifference to uncontrolled emotion.
Both Stoicism and Epicurean, saw God more universally in nature and a universal or divine reality that guided all things, than a personal God, who we can know. As such for Stoics, logic is merely understanding the Divine Logos (or Divine Reason) and acting accordingly brings peace and alignment with divine will.
Okay so much for the philosophy lesson, but it is good to know what Paul was up against as he sought to share a Christian worldview in the Athenian marketplace. Paul even saw a statue to “the unknown God”. But in all of these philosophies Paul saw something similar, that they desired to know the truth that would set them free. And Paul wanted to show them that God knows this desire in the human heart, and had come to earth to show men the way back to the Way, the Truth and the LIfe.
Paul reasoned that the desire we have to know where we came from is a sign that we are God’s offspring. And if we are born of God, wouldn’t it make sense that God would desire for us to know Him and worship Him not something other than what created us. For in a sense any religion that doesn’t worship the one who created the worshipped is false and misguided.
God we know you created us with a heart to worship to You, and we thank you for sending us Jesus to lead us back to you so that we can know the one in whom we live and have our being. Send Your Spirit to help us continue to live according to Your will and in Your power so that others will see the true God who can be KNOWN. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Athens
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute 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. 19Then 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? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want 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.)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him 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 some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
As Paul continued his missionary journey from Philippi through Thessalonica and onto Berea and then to Athens, he encountered many different responses to the Good News. Generally he would go to the synagogue and sometimes the Jewish believers (and some Gentile God fearers) would listen to the message and be interested to want to hear more.
When a number of Jews began to be persuaded and come to faith, others would become jealous and stir up mobs to get him out of town. Even though Paul was preaching to them that their Jewish heritage brought this Jesus into this world and that his resurrection proved He was the Messiah, they were also offended when he pointed out that they were also the ones who crucified him.
And then in Greece, in Athens, which was the intellectual center of the world at that time, Paul began to debate with several of the philosophers of the day. The two mentioned are the “Epicureans” and the “Stoics”. The Epicureans were characterized by living life according to one’s passions, so that one can have pleasure in life and avoid suffering. It is a form of Hedonism, but the founder, Epicurus, advocated a modest pursuit of pleasure, which would lead to a state of tranquility.
Stoicism (comes from the Greek word “Stoa” which mean porch, where Zeno lectured), was founded by Zeno. He was influenced by Socrates. He taught that man conquers the world by conquering himself. The modern connotation of “Stoic” is one of someone not having much emotion, but early on this philosophy was guided more by virtue, wisdom and an indifference to uncontrolled emotion.
Both Stoicism and Epicurean, saw God more universally in nature and a universal or divine reality that guided all things, than a personal God, who we can know. As such for Stoics, logic is merely understanding the Divine Logos (or Divine Reason) and acting accordingly brings peace and alignment with divine will.
Okay so much for the philosophy lesson, but it is good to know what Paul was up against as he sought to share a Christian worldview in the Athenian marketplace. Paul even saw a statue to “the unknown God”. But in all of these philosophies Paul saw something similar, that they desired to know the truth that would set them free. And Paul wanted to show them that God knows this desire in the human heart, and had come to earth to show men the way back to the Way, the Truth and the LIfe.
Paul reasoned that the desire we have to know where we came from is a sign that we are God’s offspring. And if we are born of God, wouldn’t it make sense that God would desire for us to know Him and worship Him not something other than what created us. For in a sense any religion that doesn’t worship the one who created the worshipped is false and misguided.
God we know you created us with a heart to worship to You, and we thank you for sending us Jesus to lead us back to you so that we can know the one in whom we live and have our being. Send Your Spirit to help us continue to live according to Your will and in Your power so that others will see the true God who can be KNOWN. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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