Acts 17

-8 1 3 2 -9 1 0 0 0 0 13 96 -9 2 0 0 2 0 1 RVStyle2 7 StyleNameNormal textFontNameArialUnicode Size Standard StyleNameDefaultFontNameTahomaUnicode Size Standard StyleNameJumpFontNameTahomaStylefsUnderlineColorclBlue HoverColorclMaroonHoverEffects rvheUnderlineUnicode Jump Size Standard StyleNameHeading - Module name SizeDoubleFontNameTahomaColorclMaroonUnicode SizeStandard StyleName"Heading small - Module descriptionFontNameTahomaColorclMaroonUnicode Size Standard StyleNameHeading - LinkFontNameTahomaColorclNavy HoverColorclPurpleUnicode Jump Size Standard StyleNameDefaultFontNameTahomaStylefsUnderlineColorclBlueUnicode Jump Size Standard StyleNameDefaultFontNameTahomaColorclBlue HoverColorclMaroonNextStyleNoUnicode Jump Size -9 2 0 0 2 0 2 RVStyle2 jBiDiModervbdLeftToRightTabs StyleNameCentered Alignment rvaCenterTabsStandardTabs-9 2 0 0 2 0 4 RVStyle2 -9 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 33 2 8 0 0 17. The Second Missionary Journey, part 3) 17:1 34) ) ) Outline (continued)) 17:1 9 3. Thessalonica ) 17:1 4 a. Proclamation ) 17:5 9 b. Reaction ) 17:10 15 4. Berea ) 17:16 18:17 C.

Greece ) 17:16 34 1. Athens ) 17:16 18 a. Setting ) 17:19 21 b. Request ) 17:22 23 c. Introduction ) 17:24 28 d. Content ) 17:29 31 e.

Application ) 17:32 34 f. Reaction ) ) ) ) 3. Thessalonica) 17:1 9) 17 1 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica; in that place was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 According to his custom, Paul entered the synagogue and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. 3 He explained and demonstrated that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. He said, This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as well as a great multitude of God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the prominent women.) 5 But the Jews were jealous. They took along some wicked men from the marketplace and having formed a mob, they began a riot in the city. They approached the house of Jason, seeking to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities.

They shouted: These men who have troubled the world have come here also, 7 and Jason has welcomed them. They all act contrary to Caesar s decrees, saying that there is another king, namely, Jesus. 8 They stirred up the crowd and the city officials who were paying attention to these things. 9 And when they had received a bond from Jason and the others, they let them go.) ) During his second missionary journey, Paul endeavored to bring the gospel to commercial and administrative centers from which it could be disseminated to numerous places. With his companions, Paul traveled from Philippi to Thessalonica (modern Salonika). In the synagogue at Thessalonica, he proclaimed the gospel to the Jews and to the Gentiles.) a. Proclamation) 17:1 4) 1. When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica; in that place was a synagogue of the Jews. 2.

According to his custom, Paul entered the synagogue and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.) We note these two points:) 1. Place. The Egnatian Road stretched from the Aegean coast of northern Macedonia to the western coast (in modern Albania) along the Adriatic Sea. From Philippi, the missionaries traveled this road in a southwesterly direction. We are unable to determine whether they walked or rode horses; we assume that Paul and his fellow travelers covered the distance (about thirty miles) between Philippi and Amphipolis in one day to find lodging for the night. We conjecture that they rode instead of walked, because Paul and Silas were still nursing their wounds from the beating they had received in Philippi.) Amphipolis, located on the banks of the Strymon River, was the capital city of the first district of Macedonia (see the commentary on 16:12).

The name Amphipolis (around the city) intimates that the city was nearly surrounded by the river. Luke seems to indicate that because Amphipolis and neighboring Apollonia lacked a synagogue and no Jews were residing in these cities, Paul and his companions did not preach the gospel there.��1��) After traveling another day, the missionaries arrived at Apollonia, a city situated twenty-seven miles west-southwest of Amphipolis. Here they stayed for the night before continuing their journey to Thessalonica, thirty-eight miles to the west.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.8|AUTODETECT|” At Thessalonica, the traffic of the sea met the traffic of the land. The city, located on the Gulf of Salonika, is near two rivers (the Vardar and the Vistritza). In ancient times, the people used these rivers to transport the agricultural products they raised in the fertile plains along the river banks. Besides being a commercial center, the city in Paul s day was the capital of Macedonia and served the entire province as an administrative center.��2�� In their campaign against Brutus and Cassius, who had assassinated Julius Caesar, the Romans placed a military garrison in Thessalonica. For its support of Mark Antony and Octavian (later known as Augustus), the Romans gave Thessalonica the status of a free city in 42 b.c.��3�� When Paul and his companions stayed there, about two hundred thousand people, among them numerous Jews, lived in Thessalonica. This strategically located city became a base from which the gospel spread throughout Macedonia and Greece 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.8|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 1:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.4.16|AUTODETECT|” 2. Time. Paul continued his customary practice of preaching the gospel first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.4.16|AUTODETECT|” Luke 4:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). He visited a Jewish synagogue in Thessalonica and waited for the invitation to preach the gospel to the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who worshiped there. Luke writes that Paul entered the synagogue and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.4.16|AUTODETECT|” Did Paul spend only a three-week period in Thessalonica? Apparently not. Paul s letters to that church and Luke s account in Acts suggest that he stayed much longer than three Sabbaths. To illustrate: the Philippian church sent him material aid on two occasions 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.4.16|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 4:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.9|AUTODETECT|” ).��4�� Paul worked day and night to support himself, presumably as a tentmaker (see 18:3), for he did not want to become a burden to anyone 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.9|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 2:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=53.3.8|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=53.3.8|AUTODETECT|” II Thess. 3:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.9|AUTODETECT|” ).��5�� I submit that for three Sabbaths Paul preached in the synagogue and afterward continued his ministry among the God-fearing Gentiles. He wrote that the church in Thessalonica consisted of Gentiles who had renounced idols and had turned to God 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.9|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 1:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Paul also wrote that the church proclaimed the gospel throughout Macedonia and Achaia, which implies that the Thessalonians received thorough instruction in the message of the Lord. Such instruction would be offered if Paul himself worked in Thessalonica longer than three Sabbaths.��6��) 1 2 2 8 0 0 3. He explained and demonstrated that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. He said, This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ. ) In the worship service of the local synagogue, Paul tells his audience that Jesus is the Christ, who through his suffering, death, and resurrection had fulfilled the messianic prophecies of the Scriptures. Luke states only that Paul preached; he does not supply the text of the message. In Thessalonica Paul modified slightly his usual approach (see 13:16 41): he reasoned with [the Jews] from the Scriptures. That is, he presents the teachings of Scripture that relate to the Messiah and invites the audience to ask questions.��7�� Unless Paul s listeners are ready and willing to see that the person and work of Christ fulfill the scriptural prophecies, the Bible remains a closed book to them.��8��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.25-42.24.27|AUTODETECT|” Paul follows the example set by Jesus, who opened the Scriptures for the two men on the way to Emmaus and for the disciples in the upper room. Jesus showed them from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.25-42.24.27|AUTODETECT|” Luke 24:25 27) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.44-42.24.46|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.44-42.24.46|AUTODETECT|” 44 46) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). The term explaining comes from the Greek verb meaning to open. Paul opens the Word and sets the explanation of the messianic prophecies before his listeners. By appealing to the Scriptures, he has a common basis to prove that the Messiah has come in the person and work of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.2.49|AUTODETECT|” Paul demonstrates that the Christ had to suffer, die, and rise from the grave. Luke, in his Gospel and Acts, also clearly illustrates that Jesus life, death, and resurrection are governed by divine necessity 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.2.49|AUTODETECT|” Luke 2:49) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.4.43|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.4.43|AUTODETECT|” 4:43) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.13.33|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.13.33|AUTODETECT|” 13:33) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.26|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.26|AUTODETECT|” 24:26) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.3.21|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.3.21|AUTODETECT|” Acts 3:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). It is Luke s underlying concern not to depict Jesus death as the tragic failure of a prophet but to present the death and resurrection of Jesus as necessary saving acts of God. ��9��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.21.23|AUTODETECT|” In his presentations, Paul discusses three facts: the Christ had to suffer, he had to rise from the dead, and he is Jesus proclaimed by Paul. The Jews objected to the teaching that Christ died on a cross, because to them a criminal hanging on a tree (cross) was under God s curse 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.21.23|AUTODETECT|” Deut. 21:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.3.13|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 3:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). The doctrine of the resurrection is the recurring theme the apostles proclaim wherever they speak (see 2:24, 32; 13:30, 33, 34, 37; 17:31). And identifying Jesus with the Messiah is Paul s personal objective ever since his conversion on the Damascus road (refer to 9:22). For that reason, Paul uses the personal pronoun I, whom I am proclaiming to you. By opening the Scriptures and showing that Jesus fulfilled them, Paul convinces both Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is the promised Messiah.) 1 6 2 8 0 0 4. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as well as a great multitude of God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the prominent women.) Luke describes the result of Paul s preaching. Although he mentions both Jews and Gentiles, he clearly contrasts the composition of the group: a few Jews and a great multitude of Gentiles. The church, then, is predominantly Gentile in character; the Jews had instructed the Gentiles in the teachings of the Old Testament. Paul is reaping a veritable harvest of Jewish mission activity in Thessalonica because numerous Gentiles had put their faith in Israel s God but objected to circumcision. Hence, the Jews did not accept them as converts but called them God-fearing Gentiles (see the commentary on 10:2).

This is a repetition of what occurred in Pisidian Antioch (13:43 48).) Luke adds that among these God-fearing Gentiles were numerous women of prominent social status. He uses the characteristic device of understating the obvious: and not a few of the prominent women. These women either filled leading positions in that city or they were the wives of city officials. The first option is more likely, for in the Greco-Roman society of that day women often achieved prominence and stature (16:14).) Luke uses the verb to join, which in Greek is unique. He writes, Some of the Jews & joined Paul and Silas. This particular verb signifies that these Jews were allotted by God to Paul, namely as disciples, followers. ��10�� In other words, they were attached to the missionaries in the sense of following them.

Accordingly, these Jews and God-fearing Gentiles through God obtained a share in the promised heritage and had been placed in it. ��11��) ) Doctrinal Considerations in 17:1 4) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.2.12-50.2.13|AUTODETECT|” Scripture teaches that salvation originates with God and not with man. Even though Paul exhorts the Philippians to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, he nevertheless adds that God works through them to accomplish his purpose 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=50.2.12-50.2.13|AUTODETECT|” Phil. 2:12 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Salvation features both God s sovereignty and man s responsibility. God saves man but man must respond in faith by doing God s will in word and deed. God works out his plan of salvation through his Son and thus redeems his people.) 1 19 2 8 0 0 Scripture teaches that according to God s plan, Christ had to suffer, die, and rise from the dead. Scripture expresses divine necessity in the word must. This term appears repeatedly in Acts and denotes God s purpose. For example, Jesus tells Paul at the time of his conversion what Paul must do (9:6) and informs Ananias that Paul must suffer for the sake of Christ (9:16). And Jesus instructs Paul that he must testify for the Lord in Rome (23:11). Throughout Acts, Luke never tires of depicting God as the author of man s salvation, who through man is working out his divine plan and purpose.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:1 4) Verse 1) �t� & �t� these two definite articles precede the nouns Amphipolis and Apollonia.

Note that the noun Thessalonica lacks the definite article.��12�� The Western text implies that Paul and his companions stopped at Apollonia: Now when they had passed through Amphipolis they went down to Apollonia, and thence to Thessalonica. ��13��) Verses 2 3) ��x� �P��z� these words refer to the synagogue of the Jews.) ������� usually translated Sabbaths, but at least one translation (RSV) reads weeks. ��14��) �x ��� ������ this phrase can be taken with either the verb ��������� (he reasoned) or the present participles ��������� (he explained) and ������������� (he demonstrated).) �� the personal pronoun is emphatic and signifies the direct result of Paul s conversion on the Damascus road. For the change from indirect discourse to direct discourse compare 1:4 5 and 23:22.) Verse 4) ��������������� the verb is a combination of the preposition ���� (to) and the noun ������ (lot). It conveys the thought of receiving the privilege of having a share in the inheritance. The aorist passive implies that God is the agent.) ������ the superlative adjective in this instance expresses only rank: prominent. ��15��) ) ) b. Reaction) 17:5 9) 5. But the Jews were jealous.

They took along some wicked men from the marketplace and having formed a mob, they began a riot in the city. They approached the house of Jason, seeking to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.) After preaching for three Sabbaths in the Jewish synagogue of Thessalonica, Paul continues his teaching ministry in private homes. Among the Jewish believers is a man named Jason, who provides lodging for Paul and Silas and who presumably turns his home into a house church. Although the name Jason is Greek, it is a translation of the Hebrew form Joshua. Other believers in Thessalonica are Aristarchus and Secundus (20:4), who later accompany Paul on his journeys.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.5|AUTODETECT|” From Paul s writings we know that he proclaimed the gospel with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.5|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 1:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , NIV). God blesses Paul s labors so that numerous Gentiles turn in faith to the Lord. Among them are the God-fearers whom the Jews had instructed in the basic teachings of the Scriptures. Consequently, when the Jews see that Paul is taking these God-fearing Gentiles away from the synagogue worship services, they are not merely jealous of Paul; they are angry. Jealousy and anger are the two sides of the same coin. Luke illustrates this in earlier accounts (5:17; 13:45) and shows that Paul s opponents resort to slander and verbal abuse.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.14-52.2.16|AUTODETECT|” The Jews go to the marketplace, where customarily some bad characters loiter. For modest pay, these men are willing to do anything they are asked. From the Jews they receive instructions to form a mob and start a riot 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.14-52.2.16|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 2:14 16) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). With these rabble-rousers, the Jews proceed to the house of Jason for the purpose of capturing Paul and Silas and bringing them before the assembly of the people.) 1 6 2 8 0 0 Because Thessalonica was a free city, a popular assembly transacted public business.��16�� In public assembly, citizens took care of court cases and legislative matters. We do not know whether the assembly was in session at the time or that the people themselves formed an assembly. Not the Jews, who were a minority in Thessalonica, but the crowd rules. In passing, notice that Luke uses the term the Jews to designate those people who were opposed to the gospel.) 6. When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities. They shouted: These men who have troubled the world have come here also, 7. and Jason has welcomed them.

They all act contrary to Caesar s decrees, saying that there is another king, namely, Jesus. ) 1. Officials. We surmise that Paul received advance warning of an attempted arrest. The Christians hid Paul and Silas somewhere in the city and shielded them from physical harm. However, they had not expected that the mob would turn on Jason and other believers. When the crowd came to Jason s house and were unable to find the missionaries, Jason and some Christians present in his house were apprehended and literally dragged to the public assembly, before the city authorities.) The Greek term politarchs, translated city authorities, describes officials in the public assemblies of free cities in Macedonia.

Because Thessalonica was a free city, the word politarchs refers to Macedonian magistrates, not to Roman officials. Thessalonica had at least five politarches in the middle of the first century. In 1876, when city officials of Salonika decided to tear down the ancient arch called the Vardar Gate that spanned the Egnatian Road, they discovered an inscription with names of ancient city officials. These names were prefaced by the term politarchs. The same term is found on many other inscriptions which date from the second century b.c. to the third century a.d. ��17��) 2. Charges.

The crowd levels charges against Jason and his Christian brothers, but the words they use apply primarily to Paul and Silas and only secondarily to Jason: These men who have troubled the world have come here also, and Jason has welcomed them. The Jews accuse Paul and Silas, whom they cannot find, of troubling the world. In a sense, the charge that the missionaries are troubling the whole world is correct. The fact is that the gospel troubles, penetrates, and alters society in every part of the world. Moreover, the Jews perhaps had heard what happened to Paul and Silas in Philippi. They insinuate that a similar incident will occur in Thessalonica.��18�� Nonetheless, from the perspective of the magistrates, the accusation at first must have appeared grossly overstated.

Because the Jews are unable to present Paul and Silas, they place before the magistrates Jason, a fellow Jew and a local resident, whom they accuse of aiding the missionaries.) To strengthen their case, the Jews also accuse Paul, Silas, and Jason of sedition: They all act contrary to Caesar s decrees, saying that there is another king, namely, Jesus. Whether the allegation is true or false matters not; the charge itself is serious and should be investigated by the magistrates. The decrees of Caesar were, for example, oaths of loyalty which local magistrates had to administer and enforce.��19��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.18.36|AUTODETECT|” During Jesus trial, Pontius Pilate asked Jesus whether he was a king, and Jesus responded: My kingdom is not of this world 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.18.36|AUTODETECT|” John 18:36) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.12.3|AUTODETECT|” , NIV). The motto Caesar is Lord prevailed throughout the Roman empire. However, in the first century Christians acclaimed not Caesar but Jesus as Lord 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.12.3|AUTODETECT|” I Cor. 12:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ), and the apostles preached the coming of God s kingdom.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.4.16|AUTODETECT|” In Acts, Luke does not stress the concept kingdom of God, perhaps in an attempt to avert possible charges of sedition. Yet Paul frequently mentions this concept.��20�� From his two epistles to the church at Thessalonica we learn that Paul teaches the coming of the day of the Lord, during which the man of lawlessness is slain 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.4.16|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 4:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=53.2.8|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=53.2.8|AUTODETECT|” II Thess. 2:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.23.2|AUTODETECT|” ). These verses can be interpreted as allusions to a change in rulers. The expression king is used at times to describe the Roman emperor 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.23.2|AUTODETECT|” Luke 23:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.19.15|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.19.15|AUTODETECT|” John 19:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.2.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.2.13|AUTODETECT|” I Peter 2:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.2.17|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.2.17|AUTODETECT|” 17) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). The unbelieving Jews set Jesus against Caesar and accuse the missionaries of fomenting a rebellion against Rome. The magistrates of the free city of Thessalonica enjoy freedom from direct Roman rule and consequently wish to prevent any threat to this freedom.) 1 3 2 8 0 0 8. They stirred up the crowd and the city officials who were paying attention to these things. 9. And when they had received a bond from Jason and the others, they let them go.) As was true with the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, so it is here in Thessalonica: the Jews know how to manipulate the authorities. They do so by stirring up the crowd. Their objective is to cause confusion among the people and to convince the magistrates that the charges are weighty.) The city officials are not persuaded by the turmoil. In the absence of the principal characters, Paul and Silas, the charges lose their urgency, for no further proof is available.

The officials listen to the evidence but are not persuaded that Jason and his friends constitute a threat to the security of Thessalonica. They dismiss Jason and his fellow Christians, but make them post a bond to guarantee peace and order in Thessalonica. The stipulation is that Paul and Silas must leave the city. If Jason and his friends should permit Paul to stay in Thessalonica and if as a result turmoil should ensue, Jason would lose his money and face imprisonment.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.18|AUTODETECT|” Even though Paul and Silas left Thessalonica, the fledgling congregation endured hardship and persecution, as Paul reveals in his first epistle to the Thessalonians (2:14). The Gentile population, possibly incited by the Jews, launched hostile attacks on the Christians. At least twice, Paul wanted to come to their aid but was prevented because of the bond Jason had posted. This ingenious device put an impassable chasm between Paul and the Thessalonians. So long as the magistrates maintained this attitude, he could not return: he was helpless, and Satan had power. ��21�� Paul could do nothing but send Timothy to preach the gospel and encourage the believers in Thessalonica 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.18|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 2:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.2-52.3.3|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.2-52.3.3|AUTODETECT|” 3:2 3) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 21 2 8 0 0 ) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:5 9) Verse 5) ���������� from the verb ����� (I exert myself, am envious), this aorist active participle expresses the negative quality of envy. The Western text (Codex Bezae) lacks this participle and reads: But the disbelieving Jews gathered some wicked fellows from the marketplace. The Majority Text reads: But the Jews who did not believe took along some wicked men from the marketplace. And the Textus Receptus has: But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace (NKJV; see also KJV).) �������� the imperfect tense depicts the beginning of an action: they began to throw the city into disorder. The verb ������� differs from ������� (I disturb). ������� (v. 8) is the result of ��������.) Verse 6) ������������� the aorist active participle of �������� (I disturb, trouble) portrays the irony of the event. The Jews accuse Paul and Silas of disturbing the city (the world) while they themselves gathered a mob to cause a riot.) �������� the present tense actually denotes a perfect tense: they have arrived. ) Verses 7 and 9) ������� this triple compound preposition (��, �, ���) expresses a hostile idea: against. ��22��) ����� another of a different kind.) �������� �x 1���x� a legal term derived from the Latin satis accipere, that is, take security.) ) 4.

Berea) 17:10 15) 10 And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away at night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were true. 12 Many of the Jews, then, believed, as well as a number of prominent Greek women and not a few men.) 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God was proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they came even there, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to travel to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. 15 The men who accompanied Paul brought him as far as Athens. They received instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, and then they departed.) ) The name Berea needs little introduction in Christian circles. It stands for serious Bible study by those who wish to learn what God has to say in his Word. Whenever Christians refuse to take someone s explanation of a Scripture passage at face value but examine the exposition to see whether it is true to the biblical text, Bereans are present. For Bereans, the Scriptures are basic, relevant, and precious.) 10.

And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away at night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.11.33|AUTODETECT|” The Thessalonian Christians realize that the Jews might bring additional charges against Paul and Silas. They strongly advise the missionaries to leave the city and to do so under cover of darkness 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=47.11.33|AUTODETECT|” II Cor. 11:33) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Paul and Silas reluctantly depart and travel in a west-southwesterly direction.) 1 4 2 8 0 0 Instead of going to a major city, the missionaries decide to visit the town of Berea (modern Verria). From the writings of Cicero we learn that a century before Paul and his companions went to Berea, the Roman governor Piso came to Thessalonica at night and, because of strong opposition, took refuge in Berea. Cicero notes that this town lay off the road.��23�� It was located a few miles south of the major highway and approximately forty miles from Thessalonica. Paul may have decided to go to Berea, and subsequently to Athens and Corinth instead of Rome, because Emperor Claudius had expelled the Jews from the imperial city in a.d. 49.��24��) After traveling for at least a night and two days, the missionaries arrive in Berea. They are true to their calling when soon after their arrival they enter the local Jewish synagogue. Unfortunately, Luke neglects to provide the primary motive for going to Berea.

We surmise that one of Paul s reasons for visiting Berea was to meet Jewish people in their synagogue and preach the gospel (compare v. 2).) 11. The Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were true. 12. Many of the Jews, then, believed, as well as a number of prominent Greek women and not a few men.) We observe these points:) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=52.2.11|AUTODETECT|”

1. Noble-mindedness. Luke compares the worshipers at the Berean synagogue with those at Thessalonica and praises the Bereans. Paul develops a close and loving relationship with the Thessalonians 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.2.11|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 2:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ); nevertheless, in respect to noble-mindedness the Bereans excel. They are more open to the truth of God s Word than the people of Thessalonica are.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=60.1.10|AUTODETECT|” The reason for the openness of the Bereans lies in their receptivity to and love for God s Word. For them, the Scriptures are much more than a written scroll or book that conveys a divine message. They use the Old Testament as the touchstone of truth, so that when Paul proclaims the gospel they immediately go to God s written Word for verification. They do so, Luke adds, with great eagerness. Note well, the adjective great indicates that they treasure the Word of God. Luke ascribes the same diligence to the Bereans as Peter does to the Old Testament prophets, who intently and diligently searched the Word and inquired into its meaning 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=60.1.10|AUTODETECT|” I Peter 1:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). The Bereans open the Scriptures and with ready minds learn that Jesus has fulfilled the messianic prophecies.) 1 9 2 8 0 0 Day by day, the Bereans examine the Scriptures to see whether the teachings of Paul and Silas accord with God s written Word. They do so not from unbelief and doubt but from honest analysis and eagerness to learn the message of God s revelation. Although Luke fails to mention that God opened the hearts of the Bereans (compare 16:14), in verse 12 he records that many of the Jews believe the gospel. These people believe because they know God s Word. The situation in Berea differs from that in Thessalonica, where some of the Jews were persuaded (v. 4).) 2. Faith.

Like the Jews in Thessalonica, the Jews in Berea had welcomed the local Gentile population to their synagogue and had instructed them in the truths of Scripture. In both cities, many God-fearing Gentiles, men and women, came to the faith. And in both places, the Gentile women were prominent.��25�� Luke displays evenhandedness in referring to men and women. Here he mentions the women first and then the men (compare 18:26). He repeatedly reports that prominent women in Jewish Gentile churches come to faith in Christ and give leadership. Luke even records names and relationships: Timothy s mother (16:1), Lydia of Thyatira (16:14 15), Damaris of Athens (17:34), Priscilla (18:2, 18, 26), and Philip s four daughters who prophesied (21:9).

With the men, these women demonstrate faith in action.) Luke leaves the impression that a flourishing church arose at Berea. Nonetheless, he never indicates that Paul revisited the place. He relates that one of Paul s travel companions in Macedonia was Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea (20:4).) 13. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God was proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they came even there, agitating and stirring up the crowds.) Probably Paul and his fellow missionaries labored in Berea for several months. But when unbelieving Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul preached the gospel in Berea, they traveled to Berea. The Thessalonian Jews did the same thing the Jews in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium did when they followed Paul to Lystra (14:19).

They traveled there and stirred up the crowds in an attempt to stop Paul from preaching the Word of God, that is, the gospel.��26�� The plural crowds indicates that these Jews continued to agitate the people until they achieved their purpose: the removal of Paul. In fact, they agitated the inhabitants of this noble town��27�� until the Christians there provided safe conduct for Paul to go elsewhere.) Originally Paul was called to come over to Macedonia (16:9) to preach the gospel. But now he was forced to leave the province to shield himself from physical harm.) 14. The brothers immediately sent Paul to travel to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. 15. The men who accompanied Paul brought him as far as Athens. They received instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, and then they departed.) The Christians in Berea care for Paul s safety and speedily send him on his way to the Aegean coast.

Once again he is forced to leave a fledgling congregation (see 14:6, 20; 16:40; 17:10) and travel to other places. Perhaps Paul received divine instructions to go to Athens either by sea or by the coastal road. Luke is silent on this point, but indicates that the Berean Christians take only Paul to the coast. Silas and Timothy remain behind at Berea. They continue to preach the gospel there, although it is possible that they temporarily absented themselves from Berea until the turmoil ceased.) Paul s Berean friends accompany him all the way to Athens. Scholars aver that they traveled by boat, even though the Western text comments that Paul passed by Thessaly, for he was prevented from proclaiming the word to them. ��28�� (Thessaly is the eastern region of Greece.) This comment seems to imply that Paul and his friends journeyed on foot along the coastal road to Athens.

Also, Luke seems to depart from his custom of listing the port city from which Paul sails. In view of this omission, the interpretation that Paul traveled on foot to Athens is credible.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.1|AUTODETECT|” When Paul arrives at Athens, he realizes what a task it will be to preach the gospel to the educated Athenian citizens. He needs all the help he can possibly muster. Hence, he instructs his Berean friends to return to Berea and tell Silas and Timothy to come to Athens as soon as possible. From Paul s writings we know that these two missionaries promptly traveled to this city 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.1|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 1:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.1|AUTODETECT|” 3:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.2|AUTODETECT|” ). Paul, however, longs to be with the believers in Thessalonica. Because he is hindered from going there, he sends Timothy to learn about the spiritual well-being of the Thessalonian Christians 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.2|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 3:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.18.5|AUTODETECT|” ). From Athens, Paul sends Silas back to Macedonia 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.18.5|AUTODETECT|” Acts 18:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Afterward Silas and Timothy return to Paul in Corinth.) 1 3 2 8 0 0 ) Practical Considerations in 17:10 15) The Bible continues to be at the top of the bestseller list throughout the world. But at the same time the Bible continues to be the most neglected book in the lives of those who own a copy. The desire to possess it is not matched by the desire to know its message. In many homes the Bible gathers dust and is a forgotten book.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=12.22.8|AUTODETECT|” During the reign of Josiah king of Judah, the high priest discovered the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=12.22.8|AUTODETECT|” II Kings 22:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=12.23.1-12.23.3|AUTODETECT|” ). In a neglected corner of this building, the Word of God had been hidden from view, was forgotten, and consequently had no influence on the people. The Jews forsook Israel s God and turned to idol worship. But once the Scriptures were discovered, King Josiah literally changed the course of history. He read the Word of God to the people and had the worshipers pledge renewed obedience to the convenant which God had made with them 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=12.23.1-12.23.3|AUTODETECT|” II Kings 23:1 3) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ), thus averting God s anger and judgment.) 1 5 2 8 0 0 We ought to read God s Word together as families and meditate on its meaning. By maintaining daily family devotions, we are able to build strong families that love the Lord. We must encourage one another to memorize portions of Scripture so that we make God s Word relevant in our lives. Furthermore, in our worship services the Bible ought to take a central place and our pastors should faithfully teach the entire Bible and all its doctrines.) By reading, learning, and knowing the Bible, we commune with God and hear him speak to us. By that Word he instructs us how to live for him. And when we prayerfully dedicate our lives to him, numerous blessings descend upon us.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:10 15) Verse 10) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.2|AUTODETECT|” ��p ����x� at night. As a genitive of time, the preposition is superfluous 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.3.2|AUTODETECT|” John 3:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.9.25|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.9.25|AUTODETECT|” Acts 9:25) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 39 2 8 0 0 ������ the imperfect active of ����� (I depart). The meaning of �� (away) in the compound is supplanted by the preposition �0� (into).) Verse 11) �P���������� the primary interpretation of this adjective is well-born. Its secondary meaning refers to noble-mindedness. Here the secondary sense is applicable. The adjective is comparative and is succeeded by the genitive case.) �5����� this indefinite relative pronoun has a causal connotation; it explains the noble character of the Bereans.) ��� here is the present optative in an indirect question. The verb to have in this idiomatic sentence signifies the verb to be: whether these things were true. ) Verses 12 13) The Western text (Codex Bezae) reads and many of the Greeks and prominent men and women believed.

Obviously, in this reading the significance of women has been lessened.) �� perhaps the choice of this preposition instead of � (in) relates to the author s perspective of seeing Thessalonian Jews in Berea.) ���������� the present participle of ������ (I shake) denotes continued action together with the present participle of ����������� (stirring up).) Verses 14 15) �� the Textus Receptus has a� (as) instead of �� (as far as). Translators favor the second choice.) a� ������� here is the true superlative adverb, as soon as possible. ��29��) ) C. Greece) 17:16 18:17) ) 1. Athens) 17:16 34) 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he became agitated because he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he debated with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue, and daily in the marketplace with those who happened to be present. 18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with him. Some of them said, What does this babbler wish to say? And others said, He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities.

They were saying this because Paul was proclaiming Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Having taken him, they brought him to the Areopagus and said: May we learn this new teaching which you are presenting? 20 You are bringing to our ears some strange notions. Therefore, we want to know what they mean. 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners living there used to spend their time doing nothing else but telling or listening to the latest ideas.)) 22 Standing in the midst of the Areopagus, Paul said: Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in every respect. 23 For while I was walking around and examining your objects of worship, I found an altar with this inscription:) TO AN UNKNOWN GOD) What, therefore, you worship in ignorance, this I am proclaiming to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, because he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in manmade temples. 25 And he is not served by human hands as if he needs anything; rather, he gives to everyone life, breath, and all things. 26 He made from one person every nation of the human race to dwell on the whole face of the earth, and he determined the appointed times for these nations and the boundaries of their habitation. 27 They were to seek after God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, even though he is not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As even some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring. ) 29 Therefore, because we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine being is like an image of gold, silver, or stone made by man s skill and thought. 30 Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding all men everywhere to repent. 31 For God has appointed a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed. He furnished proof to all men by having raised him from the dead. ) 32 When the audience heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer. Others said, We want to hear you again concerning this. 33 So Paul went away from them. 34 But some men became disciples of him and believed. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.) ) When Paul arrived in Athens, the intellectual center of the world, he realized that the Lord wanted him to teach the gospel where Greek philosophy reigned supreme.

In Athens, he met Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, professors from the city s renowned university, and numerous students from every part of the known world. Paul was at home in the academic arena of that day, for he was born in Tarsus, reared and educated in Jerusalem (22:3), and after his conversion spent many years in Tarsus (9:30). He was thoroughly acquainted with Stoic philosophy, which was taught in the university at Tarsus.) No longer a prosperous city, Athens had lost influence in the political and commercial world of that day. The Romans had conquered the city in 146 b.c. but wisely refrained from interfering with her local government. Enjoying a measure of independence, Athens rested on her reputation as a center of art, literature, philosophy, learning, and oratorical skill. Her culture, however, derived from Greece s golden age of the fifth and fourth centuries b.c.) Paul observed Greek culture wherever he went.

In Athens, he saw the temples and altars, the sculptures and statues. For him, these artifacts were not mere artistic objects but objects of a pagan religion. In this idolatrous city, Paul had to introduce the gospel of Christ. Although the Jews had a synagogue where he could preach on the Sabbath, he knew that he had to confront the Athenian philosophers with the teachings of Christ in a presentation that had to be intelligible and direct.) a. Setting) 17:16 18) 16. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he became agitated because he saw that the city was full of idols. 17.

So he debated with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue, and daily in the marketplace with those who happened to be present.) 1. Waiting. Paul was acquainted with idol worship and on an earlier occasion had experienced its effect in Lystra (14:11 20). In Athens, however, he encountered its influence everywhere.��30�� In spite of its distinction of being the center of learning and artistry, this city exceeded all others in spiritual blindness and indulged in unrivaled idolatry. Even the name Athens had been chosen to honor the goddess Athena. And the place where Paul addressed the Athenian philosophers was called the Areopagus (vv. 19, 22), which according to one tradition was the hill of Ares (or Mars, in Latin), the god of war.��31��) While Paul waited for Silas and Timothy to come to Athens (see v. 15), he used his time to prepare himself for a formal encounter with Athenian philosophers.

Paul did not visit Athens as a tourist who viewed monuments and artifacts, but as an apostle of Jesus Christ who proclaimed the message of salvation. Everywhere in Athens he was provoked by the idolatrous spirit of the Athenians. Satisfying a human need, he sought support and encouragement from fellow Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the local synagogue. According to his custom (v. 2), Paul went to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.) 2. Debating. So he debated with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue.

The local Jews had introduced the teaching of the Scriptures to the Athenians and were successful in persuading some of them to accept these doctrines. We surmise that the membership of the synagogue in Athens was less than that of the synagogues in Berea and Thessalonica. Luke provides no indication that Paul was able to gain converts among the members of the synagogue, nor does he indicate that Paul was rebuffed or persecuted as he had been in other places.) So he debated & daily in the marketplace with those who happened to be present. Paul did not limit his teachings to the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the local synagogue on the Sabbath. During the rest of the week, he taught in the marketplace, where the people came to buy food and other merchandise. In the nearby buildings, the magistrates and other civic dignitaries would hear court cases.

The senate met here to discuss political matters.��32��) Under the sheltered passageways, known as stoas, the philosophers gathered to give or listen to lectures. The public was permitted to listen to the lectures that were given, and as a result numerous learned debates took place in the marketplace. Here Paul went to debate with philosophers, their disciples, and others who came to listen to his account of the person, work, death, and resurrection of Jesus.) 18. And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with him. Some of them said, What does this babbler wish to say? And others said, He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities.

They were saying this because Paul was proclaiming Jesus and the resurrection.) 3. Arguing. Among the philosophers who listened to Paul and argued with him were those who belonged to two groups of thinkers: the Epicureans and the Stoics. Those of the first group were the followers of Epicurus (342 270 b.c.), who taught that death ought not to be feared; even the soul comes to an end when the body dies. Further, he taught that every being strives to attain pleasure by avoiding suffering and grief and by pursuing satisfaction and happiness.) The Stoics, who derived their name from visiting the Stoa Poikil (the Painted Colonnade), were the disciples of the thinker Zeno (332 260 b.c.). This philosopher taught that man attains his highest aspiration when he subjects himself to the course of events, which divine necessity controls.

When man submits to his lot, he reaches the state of happiness.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.13.4|AUTODETECT|” These philosophers were the intellectuals who engaged Paul in debate. With the tense of the Greek verb, Luke indicates that they continued their debate for a protracted period. Paul was a foreign visitor who came to the Athenian philosophers with strange ideas. These pundits, who were in charge of the debate, scorned Paul and his message by asking, What does this babbler wish to say? I have translated the Greek term spermologos as babbler, but literally it means seed picker. ��33�� Originally, the term described either the birds that picked up the seeds a farmer inadvertently sowed onto a path 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=40.13.4|AUTODETECT|” Matt. 13:4) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ) or men who picked up discarded items in the marketplace. In time, however, the word was used metaphorically as a derisive description of a plagiarist who would continually prate to anyone who paid him attention.��34��) 1 69 2 8 0 0 4. Proclaiming. Paul preached the message of Jesus and his resurrection; except for the difference in audience, his presentation was the same as in the local synagogue, where he addressed both Jews and God-fearing Greeks.) Apart from the derisive question which the philosophers had asked, they regarded Paul with a measure of respect because his teaching related to the quality and essence of life: morality, death, judgment, and resurrection. Paul s teaching was a novelty to them, and they mistakenly thought that Paul was proclaiming a doctrine about two deities: Jesus and his feminine companion Anastasis (Greek for resurrection ; see the NEB). They had not heard about Jesus and had no teaching on the resurrection; hence their comment that Paul seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities. ��35�� However, Paul preached the good news of Jesus and taught that he had risen from the dead. This was newsworthy and called for a formal address by Paul.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:16 18) Verses 16 17) ���������� the present participle with the proper noun Paul in the genitive case forms the genitive absolute construction.

However, because the subject in the main sentence is the same as that of the genitive absolute clause, this construction is faulty. The present tense denotes durative action: he continued to wait for. ) ���������� the imperfect middle expresses the inceptive idea: Paul became agitated. ) ��������� the repeated use of the imperfect in this paragraph reveals the author s descriptive intent. The compound verb signifies to debate, to enter a discussion. ) Verse 18) ��� & ��������� the noun is modified by the two adjectives Epicurean and Stoic, which are two distinct groups but here are taken together.) ����� the present optative reflects classical usage of a conditional sentence with an implied protasis: if it were possible, what would this babbler wish to say? ��36��) ����� here the personal construction is employed instead of the impersonal .) ) ) b. Request) 17:19 21) 19. Having taken him, they brought him to the Areopagus and said: May we learn this new teaching which you are presenting? 20. You are bringing to our ears some strange notions.

Therefore, we want to know what they mean. ) Translators face two problems in the first part of this text (v. 19). The first difficulty relates to the translation having taken Paul, which can be understood as they invited him to accompany them (JB). Other translations read they took hold of him (MLB, RSV), with the intimation that Paul was arrested because he preached about foreign deities in Athens. The Greek verb epilambanomai (I take hold of) may be translated two ways, and both senses of the verb occur in Acts.��37�� The context, however, gives us no reason to think that Paul was arrested and formally charged with breaking the law in Athens.) Next, did the philosophers take Paul to a formal court session of the Areopagus? Indeed, the New English Bible translates the verse (19a) as follows: So they took him and brought him before the Court of Areopagus. The expression Areopagus actually means hill of Ares ; the hill, located nortwest of the Acropolis, was where the governing council of Athens met.

Eventually the name Areopagus was applied to the meeting place and the council. In later times, the council held its meetings in the Royal Colonnade, located on the west side of the marketplace. We conjecture that the philosophers took Paul not to the hill but to the Royal Colonnade. Here, in an informal session, Paul faced the members of the court and the pundits who introduced him.��38��) One of the functions of the council was that of supervising education, particularly of controlling the many visiting lecturers. ��39�� The members of the council wished to learn whether Paul s teaching constituted a threat to the state. Should the court be satisfied that Paul was harmless, he could continue to preach his message.) May we learn this new teaching which you are presenting? The philosophers presented no accusation against Paul but in the presence of the court they asked a penetrating question.

They called Paul s teaching new, and in the Greek they indicated that this indeed is an unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard-of [doctrine]. ��40�� Paul stood alone in the presence of brilliant teachers who wanted to know whether his views transcended their own. Before a completely pagan audience he had to present the message of Christ s gospel. No longer could he appeal to the Old Testament Scriptures as he did when he addressed synagogue audiences. In place of Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, Paul faced people who had never heard of Israel s God.) You are bringing to our ears some strange notions. Therefore, we want to know what they mean. The philosophers state only that Paul is introducing some strange notions.

They do not feel that these notions are a threat to their philosophies; many intellectually curious philosophers express their desire to learn something from Paul. They emphasize gaining knowledge by listening to new ideas (vv. 19, 20, 21).��41�� And this emphasis on knowledge gives Paul an opening to acquaint his audience with strange notions. ) 21. (All the Athenians and the foreigners living there used to spend their time doing nothing else but telling or listening to the latest ideas.)) In this parenthetical statement, Luke portrays the life of a typical university city of that day. The academicians had the leisure to devote themselves to the pursuit of learning. They would not perform manual labor or fill any occupation other than that of debating concepts in the marketplace, for they strove to add the latest ideas to their store of knowledge. The professors and their students would spend their time debating theories they themselves had researched or had learned from foreigners, whose presence was common-place. These strangers lived among the Athenians for longer or shorter periods and were invited to contribute to the process of learning new ideas.

The invitation to address the Areopagus offered Paul a splendid opportunity to present the good news of Jesus Christ in the academic setting of Athens.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:19 21) Verses 19 20) ������ note that this aorist infinitive occurs twice in these two verses. The emphasis is on the academician s learning process.) ��������� this present active participle in the neuter plural with ���� (some) denotes the secondary meaning to surprise, not the primary meaning to entertain a guest; see ����� (foreigners, v. 21).) The Western text has added a few words to verse 19. The added words are italicized: And after some days they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, inquiring and saying.& ��42��) Verse 21) ����� the use of this adjective purposely contrasts the life of a scholar with that of other citizens. The Athenian scholar would pursue no interests other than debating new ideas. The meaning of the adjective is different. ) ���������� the comparative form of ������ (see v. 19) refers to something newer than what they had recently heard. ��43��) ) ) c. Introduction��44��) 17:22 23) 22.

Standing in the midst of the Areopagus, Paul said: Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in every respect. 23. For while I was walking around and examining your objects of worship, I found an altar with this inscription:) to an unknown god) What, therefore, you worship in ignorance, this I am proclaiming to you. ) If we understand the word Areopagus to refer to the council, the phrase in the midst of fits perfectly. Conversely, if the term Areopagus refers to the hill, we have difficulty explaining how Paul could stand in the midst of a hill. Standing in the midst of council members, philosophers, students, and interested spectators, Paul seizes the occasion to teach the latest ideas about Jesus Christ.) Men of Athens. Skillfully Paul addresses his audience with the same formula that had been used by the famous orator Demosthenes. With this address he touches the hearts of his hearers.

Then he follows it with words of praise for their ostentatious religiosity. Paul needs a point of contact from which he gradually can lead his audience to a knowledge of eternal values in Christ. The presence of numerous temples, idols, and altars in Athens gives Paul a magnificent point of contact, notwithstanding that he himself is thoroughly provoked by the idolatry of this city (v. 16). For the sake of the gospel he is willing to accommodate his speech to the level of his audience.) Teaching a pantheistic doctrine, the Athenian philosophers had encouraged the people to erect places of worship for numerous gods. For that reason, Paul tells his audience that they are very religious. This term can be understood either in a derogatory sense or as a complimentary statement of fact.

In the context of the speech, Paul uses the term affirmatively, because he is interested in gaining the attention of the Athenian crowd. To complete his commendation, he even adds the words in every respect. Of course, we should understand that Paul is not interested in endorsing the religiosity of the Athenians but desires to acquaint them with the doctrines of Christ. He indicates this desire by explicitly referring to Jesus resurrection��45�� and by placing the Christian faith over against the idols of Athens.) For while I was walking around. Paul indicates that by daily traversing the city of Athens, he has taken note of the religious objects of worship. He has carefully examined the magnificent temples, altars, and idols.

Among all these objects of adoration he has even found an altar with the inscription:) TO AN UNKNOWN GOD) He commends the Athenians for their thoughtfulness in constructing an altar even to a deity of whom they have no knowledge. In other words, they have expended efforts not to offend even an unknown deity. The Greek words agnostos theos can be translated either unknown god or unknowable god. The first translation is preferable, for Paul s purpose is to teach that God, who created heaven and earth, is knowable.) In his speech Paul uses the inscription as a point of contact with the Athenians, who at this altar��46�� worshiped an unknown god. By their act of worship, the audience has to admit that they are open to receiving instruction about an unknown god, and that they are unable to worship a new god unless they know him. John Calvin comments that it is far better to have knowledge of God than to worship without knowing him, for God cannot be worshiped reverently unless he first becomes known.��47��) What, therefore, you worship in ignorance, this I am proclaiming to you.

Paul transfers the concept unknown from the deity to the worshipers. They worship without knowledge, which in Athens, the bastion of learning, was a contradiction in terms. They concede that this unknown god exists, but they have no knowledge of him. And they must acknowledge that their approach to proper worship is deficient because of their ignorance. Paul, however, does not equate the unknown god of the Athenians with the true God. Notice that he says what you worship, not whom you worship. ��48�� Paul calls attention only to their lack of knowledge and thus takes the opportunity to introduce God as Creator and Judge of the universe.

Paul intimates that the Athenians ignorance of God is blameworthy and this ignorance demands swift emendation.) Paul speaks with absolute authority when he says, This I am proclaiming to you. He speaks on behalf of God and thus his authority is representative and divinely derived. Paul, then, serves as a channel through whom God speaks to the Athenians. If they reject the message of Paul, then in effect they reject God himself.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:22 23) Verse 22) ������� the aorist passive participle of 5����� (I stand) should be interpreted as an intransitive active. No one placed Paul physically in the midst of the Areopagus; Paul stood.) ������������������� this adjective in the comparative means more religious than I expected or more religious than ordinary. ��49��) Verse 23) ���������� the use of the pluperfect passive is perhaps an indication that the inscription belonged to earlier times.) C what (neuter), not E� (whom; masculine), expresses the impersonal nature of pagan religion.) ) ) d. Content) 17:24 28) 24.

The God who made the world and all things in it, because he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in manmade temples. 25. And he is not served by human hands as if he needs anything; rather, he gives to everyone life, breath, and all things. ) The message Paul proclaims is thoroughly scriptural. Although the people in his audience are unaware of the references, Paul teaches that God, who is the creator of the heavens and the earth, gives life to all people. He does this by freely quoting the words of Isaiah:) This is what God the Lord says ) he who created the heavens and stretched them out,) who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,) who gives breath to its people,) and life to those who walk on it. [42:5, NIV]) Paul puts the teaching concerning God and his revelation in the place of the Stoic philosophy that sees deities in every aspect of the world but has no doctrine of creation. Paul teaches monotheism over against Stoic pantheism. He introduces God, who made the world and everything in it.

The Greek word kosmos signifies the world arranged in orderly fashion as the sum total of everything here and now. ��50�� When Paul adds to the term kosmos the phrase and all things in it, he stresses the orderliness of creation that finds its origin in one personal God. He says that this God is Lord of heaven and earth. Paul intimates that as Lord, God governs and cares for all that he has made, including this Athenian audience.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.14.19|AUTODETECT|” Incidentally, Paul s reference to creation has an echo in the speech he delivered in Lystra 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.14.19|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 14:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.14.22|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.14.22|AUTODETECT|” 22) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.20.11|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.20.11|AUTODETECT|” Exod. 20:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). There he stressed that God provides the people with plenty of food and fills their hearts with joy. Now he asserts that God rules over everything in heaven and on earth.��51��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=11.8.27|AUTODETECT|” [God] does not dwell in manmade temples. Again Paul proclaims the teachings of the Old Testament when he points out that God does not live in temples made by human hands 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=11.8.27|AUTODETECT|” I Kings 8:27) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Simple reasoning should convince the Athenians that God who has created heaven and earth cannot be restricted to the confines of a temple.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.50.8-19.50.13|AUTODETECT|” And he is not served by human hands as if he needs anything. God is immeasurably greater than the human mind can ever fathom. Therefore, in the psalms God says that because everything in this world belongs to him, he has no need for bulls and goats as sacrificial animals 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.50.8-19.50.13|AUTODETECT|” Ps. 50:8 13) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). To the point, God is not dependent on sacrifices that man brings to him. With this teaching, Paul finds a listening ear among the Athenian philosophers. Here may be discerned approximations to the Epicurean doctrine that God needs nothing from human beings and to the Stoic belief that he is the source of all life.& ��52��) 1 3 2 8 0 0 Rather, he gives to everyone life, breath, and all things. God is a personal God who not only creates but also sustains everything he has made. This self-sufficient God daily cares for man and for his great creation in the minutest details. God is the source of life, for he gives breath to all living creatures.��53�� Note the striking contrast Paul makes in this verse (v. 25). He says that God, who does not need anything, provides all things for everyone. In the Greek, the expression all things connotes that God in his support of man excludes absolutely nothing from the totality of creation.

God gives man everything he needs and thus upholds him by his power.) 26. He made from one person every nation of the human race to dwell on the whole face of the earth, and he determined the appointed times for these nations and the boundaries of their habitation. 27. They were to seek after God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, even though he is not far from each one of us. ) Notice these four points:) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=1.2.7|AUTODETECT|”

1. Creation. The Athenians divided the people of the world into two classes: the Greeks and the barbarians. Everyone not born in Greece was considered a barbarian. Paul challenges this theory by focusing attention on the origin of man. Without mentioning his source, he teaches the creation account of Genesis and states that God is man s creator 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.2.7|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 2:7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.1.28|AUTODETECT|” ). Furthermore, out of one man, Adam, God made every nation on this earth.��54�� God purposed to have the entire globe inhabited by the various nations that originated from this one man 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.1.28|AUTODETECT|” Gen. 1:28) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.9.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.9.1|AUTODETECT|” 9:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.11.8-1.11.9|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=1.11.8-1.11.9|AUTODETECT|” 11:8 9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=39.2.10|AUTODETECT|” ). This means that the human race is integrally related as its members populate the entire earth 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=39.2.10|AUTODETECT|” Mal. 2:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Because of his common origin, a Jew ought not to despise a Gentile and an Athenian philosopher ought not to loathe a Jew. God, who created humanity, governs and provides for it. For that reason, man has to acknowledge him as Creator and Lord.) 1 1 2 8 0 0
2. Providence. God rules his creation and especially the development of the races and nations. He determined the appointed times for these nations and the boundaries of their habitation. That is, God himself is in full control by defining their epochs and their borders. The Greeks taught that they had originated from the soil on which they dwelled. Paul s teaching, therefore, conflicted with their own theory of origin; but Paul replaced their defective theory with God s revelation of man s descent.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.74.17|AUTODETECT|” What is the meaning of the phrase the appointed times? One view is that God determined once for all the seasons of the year 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.74.17|AUTODETECT|” Ps. 74:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.21.24|AUTODETECT|” ).��55�� Other interpreters understand the phrase to refer to historical epochs. ��56�� They base their explanation on the immediate context of Adam s creation and the nations that descended from him. Hence, they say that God has appointed to these nations periods of history in which they prosper. A third interpretation explains the word times with reference to individuals that make up the nations. In the past, God has appointed the exact times for every person and in the present he fulfills them.��57�� Because the text speaks of nations, not of individual persons, I prefer the second choice and interpret the phrase as historical epochs determined by God. Luke in his Gospel also uses the word times to mean epochs; there he notes that Jerusalem will be destroyed when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.21.24|AUTODETECT|” Luke 21:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.32.8|AUTODETECT|” The second choice corresponds with the next clause: [God determined] the boundaries of their habitation, which appears to be an echo of a line in the Song of Moses, When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, & He set the boundaries of the peoples 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.32.8|AUTODETECT|” Deut. 32:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , NASB). God, then, has determined the epochs for and the borders of the nations of this world. Borders often are geographic demarcations caused by either bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers) or mountain ranges.��58�� We know that God determines where the nations of the world are to reside.) 1 1 2 8 0 0
3. Search. Paul says that God expressed a twofold purpose for the human race: to dwell on the earth and to seek after God. These purposes are interrelated, for dwelling on this earth entails seeking after God. To put it differently, the second phrase is an explanation of the first phrase. God created man so that man might worship him. But how does a person seek after God? The Old Testament is replete with examples of people seeking God for the purpose of serving him. The Psalter records numerous references to seeking God, and the books of the prophets continually warn and exhort the people to seek and obey him.��59��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.11.6|AUTODETECT|” Paul qualifies his comment on people searching for God and states a wish: if perhaps they might grope for him and find him. He hopes that people, even though blinded by sin, may grope for God their Maker much as a sightless person reaches out to and touches a fellow human being without seeing him. The writer of Hebrews stresses this same truth but puts it in the context of true faith. Says he, For without faith it is impossible to please God. Because the one who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=58.11.6|AUTODETECT|” Heb. 11:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.139.5-19.139.12|AUTODETECT|”
4. Presence. Paul touches on a tenet of Stoic religion when, appealing to his pagan audience, he says: [God] is not far from each one of us. He moves from the general concept of nations to the specific notion of the individual person by teaching that religion is a one-to-one relation between God and man. Every human being is personally responsible to his God. Paul diverges, however, from Stoic philosophy with its teaching that God, in an impersonal manner, is present everywhere. By contrast, Paul s teaching is that we are able to have a personal relationship with God, because God is near to his people 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.139.5-19.139.12|AUTODETECT|” Pss. 139:5 12) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.145.18|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.145.18|AUTODETECT|” 145:18) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=24.23.23|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=24.23.23|AUTODETECT|” Jer. 23:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 10 2 8 0 0
5. For in him we live and move and exist. As even some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring. ) Establishing rapport with his Athenian audience, Paul quotes verbatim from two Greek poets. Both writers extol the virtues of the god Zeus. The first one is the Cretan poet Epimenides (600 b.c.). The words of his poem occur in a ninth-century commentary, written in Syriac, by Isho dad of Merw, who comments: The Cretans said as truth about Zeus, that he was a lord; he was lacerated by a wild boar and buried; and behold! his grave is known amongst us; so therefore Minos, son of Zeus made a laudatory speech on behalf of his father; and he said in it,) The Cretans carve a Tomb for thee,) O Holy and high!) liars, evil beasts, and slow bellies;) for thou art not dead for ever;) thou art alive and risen; for) in thee we live and are moved,) and have our being. ��60��) The second quotation is from the poet Aratus (315 240 b.c.), who was a native of Cilicia in Asia Minor, and thus a compatriot of Paul.

In the third century b.c., Aratus wrote a poem honoring Zeus in a composition called Phainomena. The fourth and fifth lines of the poem have the words: In every way we have all to do with Zeus, for we are truly his offspring. ��61��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=56.1.12|AUTODETECT|” The first citation presents a minor problem that relates to its source. Although Isho dad of Merw attributes the words of the poem to Minos of Crete, Clement of Alexandria ascribes the lines Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=56.1.12|AUTODETECT|” Titus 1:12) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ) to Epimenides.��62�� In all probability, Minos quoted rather than wrote these words.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=18.12.10|AUTODETECT|” By quoting these poets Paul is not intimating that he agrees with the pagan setting in which the citations flourished. Rather, he uses the words to fit his Christian teaching. From the Old Testament, he is able to draw the evidence that man derives his life, activity, and being from God 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=18.12.10|AUTODETECT|” Job 12:10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=27.5.23|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=27.5.23|AUTODETECT|” Dan. 5:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.3.3|AUTODETECT|” ). Paul uses the expression in him as a favorite term for the believer who is in Christ, but in many instances the names Christ and God are identical (e.g., your life is hidden with Christ in God [) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.3.3|AUTODETECT|” Col. 3:3) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.5.11|AUTODETECT|” ]). And John states that God gives the believer life through his Son 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=62.5.11|AUTODETECT|” I John 5:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). Accordingly, E. Margaret Clarkson gave poetic voice to these thoughts in her hymn:) 1 25 2 8 0 0 We come, O Christ, to Thee,) True Son of God and man,) By Whom all things consist,) In Whom all life began:) In Thee alone we live and move,) And have our being in Thy love.) Copyright � 1957. Renewal 1985 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL.) All rights reserved. Used by permission.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:25 28) Verse 25) ������������ the present participle denotes condition: as if he needs anything. The use of the present also occurs in ������ (he gives) to signify continued action.) ��t� ��v ����� life and breath. English is unable to reproduce the assonance of the Greek. The German Leben und Atem and the Dutch leven en adem come close to the rhythm and similarity in sound.) �p ����� the addition of the definite article indicates that nothing is excluded from the totality of ����� (all things).) Verse 27) �0 �� these particles introduce a condition, if perhaps, that is followed by two optatives in the aorist tense (�����������, they might grope, and �U�����, they might find [him]).) Q�������� the present participle is concessive: although he is.

It is negated by �P instead of �� for emphasis.) Verse 28) ���� Q��� the preposition ���� appears in place of the personal pronoun Q��� in the genitive case. This construction is a periphrase for the genitive pronoun.��63��) ��� the definite article fills the place of the demonstrative pronoun ������ (of this one).) ) ) e. Application) 17:29 31) 29. Therefore, because we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine being is like an image of gold, silver, or stone made by man s skill and thought. ) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.4.24|AUTODETECT|” With the adverb therefore, Paul indicates that he is ready to draw the conclusion and apply his message to the audience. On the basis of the two quotations from the Greek poets, he can freely assert: We are the offspring of God. Because this is so, Paul contends, we ought to regard God from a divine perspective, not a human perspective. That is, we should not picture God in the form of a man and thus worship him by fashioning images made of gold, silver, or stone. God is spirit 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.4.24|AUTODETECT|” John 4:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ) and cannot be portrayed in the form of an idol made by man.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.20.4-2.20.6|AUTODETECT|” God is man s Creator and, therefore, infinitely greater than man the creature. God cannot be compared to the precious commodities he himself has made: gold, silver, stone. In a sense, man stands between God and matter. When man, relying on his skills and thoughts, attempts to construct an image from metal or stone and worships it, he himself becomes odious to God. Man transgresses the divine command when he makes graven images and worships them 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=2.20.4-2.20.6|AUTODETECT|” Exod. 20:4 6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.5.8-5.5.10|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=5.5.8-5.5.10|AUTODETECT|” Deut. 5:8 10) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). By implication, Paul teaches his Gentile audience God s explicit command not to worship idols.��64�� He so skillfully presents the argument that the philosophers are unable to oppose his teaching.) 1 3 2 8 0 0 Paul carefully chooses his words when he says that the divine being is not made like an image of gold, silver, or stone. The term divine being is in the neuter and corresponds to the use of the relative pronoun what in the clause what & you worship (v. 23). He refrains from calling an idol God, but classifies it with impersonal objects. Thus he clearly distinguishes between the living God and inanimate idols.) 30. Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding all men everywhere to repent. 31. For God has appointed a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed.

He furnished proof to all men by having raised him from the dead. ) 1. Overlook. If the Gentiles choose to defend themselves by asserting that they acted in ignorance of God s commands, Paul tells them that God has overlooked their deeds of sinful ignorance (see 3:17; 13:27). That is, God has neither judged the people nor meted out due punishment for their sins but instead has looked the other way, so to speak. In two other instances Paul makes this same point.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.19-45.1.20|AUTODETECT|” First, in his speech to the people at Lystra, Paul states that in the past God allowed the Gentile nations to live their own way of life (14:16). That does not mean that God excuses the nations, for he holds them responsible for their actions 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.19-45.1.20|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 1:19 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). But when these Gentiles hear the proclamation of the gospel, their times of ignorance have come to an end.��65�� If they hear the Good News but fail to repent, they forfeit God s offer of salvation and consequently suffer eternal punishment.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.3.25|AUTODETECT|” Second, in ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.3.25|AUTODETECT|” Romans 3:25) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 Paul writes that God tolerated the sins people committed in earlier times and thus overlooked them. But now that Christ has shed his blood for the sins of his people, God is ready to forgive these sins of the past, just as he forgives the sins of those people who repent and come to him now.��66��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.47|AUTODETECT|” Paul tells the Athenian philosophers that God presently commands all men everywhere to repent. This is the divine command that no one can afford to ignore. Because Christ has shed his blood on the cross for remission of sin, all people of all nations, tribes, races, and tongues are told to repent, believe, and cease living in ignorance and sin as soon as they hear the gospel message proclaimed 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=42.24.47|AUTODETECT|” Luke 24:47) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 1 2 8 0 0 2. Judge. Paul now comes to the heart of the matter: For God has appointed a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed. Paul does not mention the name of Jesus Christ but continues to speak of the acts of God. He says that God has designated a certain day as the day of judgment. Paul s reference to divine judgment is a warning to the people to repent and thus avoid a day that leads to condemnation, doom, and destruction. The message of divine judgment causes people either to confess their sins and believe in Christ (10:42) or to harden their hearts and turn away from God (24:25 26).) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.9.8|AUTODETECT|” On the judgment day God will judge the world in righteousness 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.9.8|AUTODETECT|” Pss. 9:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.96.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.96.13|AUTODETECT|” 96:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.98.9|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=19.98.9|AUTODETECT|” 98:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.5.22|AUTODETECT|” ). Paul teaches that God is both man s creator and his ultimate judge. Although Paul indirectly refers to Jesus Christ as a man whom [God] has appointed, he intimates that this man is the second Adam. From one man (the first Adam) God made the entire human race (v. 26), and in the presence of another man (the second Adam) all of humanity will be judged (v. 31).��67�� Jesus himself teaches that God has given him, the Son of man, the authority to judge the world 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.5.22|AUTODETECT|” John 5:22) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.5.27|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=43.5.27|AUTODETECT|” 27) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 2 2 8 0 0 But the Athenians might ask whether this man, who remains nameless, possesses divine authority to judge the world. What proof can this man furnish that God has conferred on him the power to judge? Paul states affirmatively that God himself provides proof to all men, because he raised this man from the dead.) The Greeks undoubtedly had difficulty understanding how the resurrection of a man could be proof that God appointed him to judge the world. They taught the immortality of the soul and the destruction of the body, but they had no doctrine of the resurrection.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.9-52.1.10|AUTODETECT|” True to apostolic form, wherever Paul preaches the Good News, he teaches the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the apostles, this doctrine is basic to the Christian faith and should be proclaimed to both Jews and Gentiles.��68�� Therefore, Paul introduces this cardinal doctrine without apology and demonstrates that it is God s proof for appointing a man, namely, Jesus Christ, as supreme judge 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.1.9-52.1.10|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 1:9 10) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 4 2 8 0 0 Paul s speech comes to an abrupt end when his audience refuses to accept the doctrine of the resurrection. After a lengthy introduction to establish rapport with his audience, Paul began to develop the main part of his speech: the good news of salvation. When he mentions the doctrine of resurrection, his audience no longer shows interest,��69�� even though this is the topic Paul had been teaching in the marketplace before he was invited to address the Council of the Areopagus (v. 18). Paul s address does not mention Christ s death on the cross or his return; nonetheless, the speech sets forth some of the basic elements of the gospel: sin, repentance, judgment, and the resurrection.) ) Additional Note on the Areopagus Address) Strictly speaking, Paul s address in Athens is not a defense of the Christian faith. Rather, his speech is both a challenge to pagan religion and a proclamation of the gospel. When Paul addressed the Council of the Areopagus, he faced an audience that differed from those in the synagogue worship services.

Standing before the Athenian philosophers, he could not assume that they had any knowledge of the Scripture or of Jesus, who fulfilled the prophecies in Scripture. Paul had to begin his speech by teaching his audience the doctrines of God and creation. He continued his teaching with the doctrine of man, for man is God s offspring. And he concluded his oration with the doctrines of judgment and the resurrection.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.19-45.1.21|AUTODETECT|” We affirm the historicity of Paul s visit to the Council of the Areopagus.��70�� In that meeting, Paul the apostle to the Gentiles introduced his pagan audience to the teachings of the Christian faith. He commented that God created man, appointed a day for judgment, and overlooked man s sins of the past. The similarity between this speech and Paul s writing lends weight to the authenticity of this passage. For example, in his letter to the Romans, Paul mentions that God has made himself known in creation, that God judges men s secrets through Jesus Christ, and that God has shown his forbearance by leaving sins unpunished 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.1.19-45.1.21|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 1:19 21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.2.16|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.2.16|AUTODETECT|” 2:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.3.21-45.3.26|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.3.21-45.3.26|AUTODETECT|” 3:21 26) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ).) 1 19 2 8 0 0 Even though Paul alludes to an inscription on an altar and quotes some lines from pagan sources, he nowhere indicates that the gospel occupies common ground with pagan religion and philosophy. ��71�� Paul uses these pagan features as points of contact with his audience but refuses to accommodate and compromise the gospel message. In this respect, he is true to his God, who gives man the law not to have any gods before him. Whether Paul faces a Jewish audience or a pagan assembly, he faithfully teaches the uncompromising truth of God s revelation.) In his accounts of the three missionary journeys of Paul, Luke includes a discourse given on each journey. For the first excursion, he gives an account of Paul s sermon delivered in Pisidian Antioch. For the second he has the apostle s Areopagus address, and for the third Paul s farewell discourse to the Ephesian elders on the beach at Miletus.��72��) Luke portrays Athens as the world s cultural and intellectual center where the message of the gospel encounters the wisdom of the Greeks. The result of this encounter is that a prominent member of the council, a lady of note, and several others become Christians.

The limited effect, however, should be attributed not to Paul s speech but to the refusal of the Athenians to listen to and accept the gospel. The lack of response is insignificant in comparison to the march of the gospel.) In a sense, Paul s encounter with the sophisticated Athenians in the middle of the first century is representative of the church s mission to the secular world of today. Should we consider Paul s mission in Athens a failure? Certainly not, because the church has a duty to proclaim the gospel in every area of life and to call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.) ) Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 17:29 31) Verses 29 30) �x ����� literally the divine [being]. The adjective is neuter and corresponds to the relative pronoun E in verse 23.) Q������� this aorist active participle from Q������� (I overlook) conveys a negative notion.��73��) Verse 31) � ���� the noun is either a dative of sphere or an instrumental dative . The second translation is preferred.��74��) ) ) f.

Reaction) 17:32 34) 32. When the audience heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer. Others said, We want to hear you again concerning this. 33. So Paul went away from them. 34. But some men became disciples of him and believed. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.) Athenian philosophers, among them Plato, had developed a doctrine of the soul s immortality.

They reasoned that the soul migrated to another place, but that death terminated man s physical existence. The philosophers in Paul s audience reject his teaching of a physical resurrection, for the idea of a general resurrection at the end of the age is alien to the Greeks. ��75�� As a result some of Paul s listeners begin to sneer and thereby indicate that his message is unacceptable to them. To them, the doctrine of the resurrection is pointless. Others show an interest in the subject and inform Paul that they would like to listen to him again. Luke provides no evidence that there was a division between the two philosophical parties (the Epicureans and the Stoics) on this matter. Therefore, we are unable to determine who in Paul s audience desired to hear him again on this topic.) When Paul leaves the Council of the Areopagus, he realizes that his message has been rejected.

Meeting both stinging ridicule and polite indifference, he knows that his stay in Athens must come to a close. He has been unable to penetrate the intellectual world of the Athenian philosophers with Christ s gospel. On his own accord he leaves the audience.) Yet Paul s labors are not in vain, for Luke reports that some people become his followers and believers in Christ. These may be the people who have asked him to address them again on the doctrine of the resurrection. Luke mentions two persons, one man and one woman. The first one is Dionysius, an Areopagite and obviously a member of the ruling council.

The other is Damaris, of whom nothing else is revealed. Some scholars suggest that she was known by the name Damalis , was a foreigner, belonged to the educated class, and was given access to the public meetings of the council.��76��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.1-52.3.2|AUTODETECT|” In addition to Dionysius and Damaris, people who represented different backgrounds became Christians. We surmise that Paul stayed some time in Athens to instruct these believers in the gospel 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=52.3.1-52.3.2|AUTODETECT|” I Thess. 3:1 2) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ). But neither the New Testament nor the early church fathers refer to the founding of a church in Athens. However, fourth-century church historian Eusebius writes:) 1 1 2 8 0 0 Dionysius, one of the ancients, the pastor of the diocese of the Corinthians [approximately a.d. 170], relates that the first bishop of the Church at Athens was that member of the Areopagus, the other Dionysius, whose original conversion after Paul s speech to the Athenians in the Areopagus Luke describes in Acts.��77��) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.16.15|AUTODETECT|” And, last, when Paul writes that the members of the household of Stephanas in Corinth were the first converts in the province of Achaia 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.16.15|AUTODETECT|” I Cor. 16:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ), he undoubtedly had in mind not Athens but the Peloponnesian peninsula and Corinth as its provincial capital.) 1 29 2 8 0 0 Summary of Chapter 17) Paul arrives at Thessalonica and preaches Christ in the local synagogue on three successive Sabbaths. He opens the Scriptures and explains that Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. Some of the Jews and many God-fearing Greeks believe.) Jealous Jews in Thessalonica gather a mob to riot and to oppose Paul and Silas. They go to the house of Jason in search of the missionaries, but are unable to find them. They drag Jason and other believers before the magistrates, but Paul and Silas escape and travel to Berea. There the missionaries preach in the synagogue.

The Bereans study the Scriptures to check the accuracy of Paul s preaching. Many Jews and prominent Greeks believe. The Thessalonian Jews come to Berea to persecute Paul, who with fellow Christians travels to the coast. From there Paul and his companions journey to Athens.) Paul is dismayed because of the widespread idolatry in Athens. He preaches to the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue and teaches in the marketplace for the benefit of the public. Epicurean and Stoic philosophers ridicule Paul, but they bring him to a meeting of the Areopagus, the governing council.

At this meeting Paul teaches the doctrine of creation and quotes Greek poets to prove the point that God has created man. He exhorts his listeners to repent, for he tells them that God has appointed a man to judge the world on a day God has set. As proof, Paul mentions the resurrection of the man whom God has appointed as judge. Some people in the audience sneer at Paul; others tell him that they wish to hear him again. Still others believe and become his followers.) ) ) ) ) 1 David John Williams notes that archaeologists have found no evidence of a synagogue either in Amphipolis or in neighboring Apollonia. Acts, Good News Commentaries series (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985), p. 286.) 2 Before the Romans made Thessalonica the provincial capital of Macedonia in 146 b.c., it was the capital of Macedonia s second district.

Livy Annals 44.10.45; 45.29.) 3 Pliny Natural History 4.36.) 4 The translation of JB, And twice since my stay in Thessalonika you have sent me what I needed, supports the interpretation of a brief stay. But translators do not favor supplying the phrase since my stay, for it is not found in the Greek text.) 5 Donald H. Madvig, Thessalonica, ISBE, vol. 4, p. 837.) 6 Consult Everett F. Harrison, Interpreting Acts: The Expanding Church, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Academie Books, 1986), p. 275.) 7 Gottlob Schrenk, TDNT, vol. 2, p. 94; Dieter F�rst, NIDNTT, vol. 3, p. 821.) 8 Richard B. Rackham, The Acts of the Apostles: An Exposition, Westminster Commentaries series (1901; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1964), p. 295.) 9 Erich Tiedtke and Hans-George Link, NIDNTT, vol. 3, p. 667; see also Leon Morris, New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Academie Books, 1986), pp. 164, 174.) 10 Thayer, p. 547. See also Bauer, p. 716.) 11 Johannes Eichler, NIDNTT, vol. 2, p. 302.) 12 Friedrich Blass and Albert Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. and rev.

Robert Funk (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961), #261.2.) 13 Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 3d corrected ed. (London and New York: United Bible Societies, 1975), p. 452.) RSV Revised Standard Version) 14 For a detailed discussion, consult Lake and Cadbury, Beginnings, vol. 4, pp. 202 3.) 15 A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman, 1934), p. 669.) NIV New International Version) 16 Bauer, p. 179. Ernst Haenchen, however, avers that the Greek word demos is a synonym for ochlos (people). The Acts of the Apostles: A Commentary, trans.

Bernard Noble and Gerald Shinn (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971), p. 507. Compare 19:33, 35.) 17 Lake and Cadbury, Beginnings, vol. 4, p. 205.) 18 For the political background, see Suetonius Life of Claudius 25.4; commentary on 16:20 21.) 19 Refer to E. A. Judge, The Decrees of Caesar at Thessalonica, RefThR 30 (1971): 1 7.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.22|AUTODETECT|” 20 See ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.14.22|AUTODETECT|” Acts 14:22) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.19.8|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.19.8|AUTODETECT|” 19:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.20.25|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.20.25|AUTODETECT|” 20:25) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.28.23|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.28.23|AUTODETECT|” 28:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.28.31|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.28.31|AUTODETECT|” 31) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.14.17|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=45.14.17|AUTODETECT|” Rom. 14:17) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.4.20|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.4.20|AUTODETECT|” I Cor. 4:20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.6.9|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.6.9|AUTODETECT|” 6:9) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.6.10|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.6.10|AUTODETECT|” 10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.15.24|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.15.24|AUTODETECT|” 15:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.15.50|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=46.15.50|AUTODETECT|” 50) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.5.21|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=48.5.21|AUTODETECT|” Gal. 5:21) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.5.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=49.5.5|AUTODETECT|” Eph. 5:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.4.11|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=51.4.11|AUTODETECT|” Col. 4:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=53.1.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=53.1.5|AUTODETECT|” II Thess. 1:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 .) 1 7 2 8 0 0 21 William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (1897; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1962), p. 231.) NKJV New King James Version) KJV King James Version (= Authorized Version)) 22 Robertson, Grammar, p. 639.) 23 Cicero Against Piso 36.89.) 24 Consult F. F. Bruce, Paul, the Apostle of the Free Spirit (Exeter: Paternoster, 1977), p. 235.) 25 A. N. Sherwin-White, Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament (1963; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968), p. 174.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.4.31|AUTODETECT|” 26 Refer to ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.4.31|AUTODETECT|” Acts 4:31) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.8.14|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.8.14|AUTODETECT|” 8:14) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.11.1|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.11.1|AUTODETECT|” 11:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.12.24|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.12.24|AUTODETECT|” 12:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.5|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.5|AUTODETECT|” 13:5) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.7|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.7|AUTODETECT|” 7) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.46|AUTODETECT|” , ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.13.46|AUTODETECT|” 46) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.13|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.13|AUTODETECT|” 17:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.18.11|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.18.11|AUTODETECT|” 18:11) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 .) 1 13 2 8 0 0 27 Livy History 45.30.) 28 Metzger, Textual Commentary, p. 455. One translation reads, the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea (KJV, italics added).) 29 Robertson, Grammar, pp. 696, 974.) 30 Josephus calls the Athenians the most pious of the Greeks. Against Apion 2.11 [130] (LCL).) 31 Consult Donald H. Madvig, Areopagus, ISBE, vol. 1, p. 287.) 32 Lake and Cadbury observe, It is, however, impossible to give a plan of Athens showing exactly where these buildings were. Beginnings, vol. 4, p. 210.) 33 Bauer, p. 762; Thayer, p. 584; Blass and Debrunner, Greek Grammar, #119.1.) 34 Maurice A. Robinson opines that in the Athenian marketplace Paul preached the parable of the sower, in which he used the words sperma (seed) and logos (word).

The contemptuous pun spermologos resulted from a misunderstanding of Paul s message. Spermologos: Did Paul Preach from Jesus Parables? Bib 56 (1975): 231 40.) NEB New English Bible) 35 The phrase foreign deities is a subtle allusion to the trial of Socrates in 399 b.c.; the phrase occurs in reports of the trial. See Xenophon Memorabilia 1.1.1; Plato Apology 24b.) 36 C. F. D.

Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek, 2d ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960), p. 151.) JB Jerusalem Bible) MLB The Modern Language Bible) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.9.27|AUTODETECT|” 37 ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.9.27|AUTODETECT|” Acts 9:27) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.23.19|AUTODETECT|” ; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.23.19|AUTODETECT|” 23:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 for gently leading a person, and 16:19; 18:17; 21:30, 33 for arresting him.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.19|AUTODETECT|” 38 Consult Colin J. Hemer, Paul at Athens: A Topographical Note, NTS 20 (1973 74): 341 50; R. E. Wycherley, St. Paul at Athens, JTS n.s. 19 (1968): 619 21; T. D. Barnes, An Apostle on Trial, JTS n.s. 20 (1969): 407 19; Ned B. Stonehouse, Paul Before the Areopagus and Other New Testament Studies (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), pp. 8 9; W. G. Morrice, Where Did Paul Speak in Athens on Mars Hill or Before the Court of the Areopagus? ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.19|AUTODETECT|” Acts 17:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , ExpT 83 (1972): 377 78.) 1 5 2 8 0 0 39 Bauer, p. 105.) 40 Thayer, p. 317; Bauer, p. 394.) 41 Refer to Gustav St�hlin, TDNT, vol. 5, p. 7.) 42 Metzger, Textual Commentary, p. 456.) 43 Robertson, Grammar, p. 665.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.22-44.17.31|AUTODETECT|” 44 Paul s speech is divided into three parts: introduction (vv. 22b 23), content (vv. 24 28), and application (vv. 29 31). For variations on this division, see Jacques Dupont, Le discours � l Ar�opage 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.22-44.17.31|AUTODETECT|” Acts 17, 22 31) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 ) lieu de rencontre entre christianisme et hell�nisme, Bib 60 (1979): 530 46; Hans Conzelmann, Acts of the Apostles, trans. James Limburg, A. Thomas Kraabel, and Donald H. Juel (1963; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987), p. 141.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.22|AUTODETECT|” 45 H. Armin Moellering, Deisidaimonia, a Footnote to ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.?id=44.17.22|AUTODETECT|” Acts 17:22) 1 1 -1 9 0 0 , ConcThMonth 34 (1963): 470.) 1 14 2 8 0 0 46 No archaeological evidence of this altar has been discovered. But this does not disprove that an altar with the inscription in the singular existed. The inscription in the singular, not the plural, may refer to an older form of altar, because Paul uses the Greek pluperfect tense epegegrapto (had been inscribed). See John Albert Bengel, Gnomon of the New Testament, ed. Andrew R. Fausset, 5 vols. (Edinburgh: Clark, 1877), vol. 2, p. 666.

The literature on this particular subject is vast. For a current, though not exhaustive, list, consult F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, rev. ed., New International Commentary on the New Testament series (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), pp. 333 34 n. 47.) 47 John Calvin, Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F.

Torrance, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966), vol. 2, p. 111.) 48 Some translations (KJV, NKJV, JB, and Phillips) follow the Majority Text and read whom you worship. ) 49 Robertson, Grammar, p. 665; Robert Hanna, A Grammatical Aid to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983), p. 225.) 50 Bauer, p. 445. See also E. Fudge, Paul s Apostolic Self-Consciousness at Athens, JETS 14 (1971): 193 98.) 51 Consult Stonehouse, Paul Before the Areopagus, p. 26.) 52 F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 3d (rev. and enl.) ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), p. 382. See also Bertil G�rtner, The Areopagus Speech and Natural Revelation, trans.

C. H. King (Lund: Gleerup, 1955), pp. 144 45.) 53 The Greek term pasi (either masculine or neuter) refers to man; yet it does not exclude the rest of God s creation that has life and breath. Here is an inclusive translation: He is himself the universal giver of life and breath and all else (NEB).) 54 The Western manuscripts and the Majority Text have the reading from one blood (KJV, NKJV). The word blood was either added by a reviser or was (accidentally) deleted.) 55 Haenchen, Acts, p. 523.) 56 G�rtner, Areopagus Speech and Natural Revelation, pp. 147 51; I. Howard Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentary series (Leicester: Inter-Varsity; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), p. 288; Gerhard Delling, TDNT, vol. 3, p. 461.) 57 F.

W. Grosheide, De Handelingen der Apostelen, Kommentaar op het Nieuwe Testament series, 2 vols. (Amsterdam: Van Bottenburg, 1948), vol. 2, p. 149.) NASB New American Standard Bible) 58 Martin Dibelius says that the boundaries are the five zones of this globe (two polar regions, two temperate zones, and the tropical zone) and, from his native perspective (Germany), avers that the temperate zones differ favourably from the tropical and the two arctic zones. Studies in the Acts of the Apostles (London: SCM, 1956), p. 31.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.24.6|AUTODETECT|”

59 E.g., ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.24.6|AUTODETECT|”

Pss. 24:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.27.8|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.27.8|AUTODETECT|”

27:8) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.83.16|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.83.16|AUTODETECT|”

83:16) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.105.3-19.105.4|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=19.105.3-19.105.4|AUTODETECT|”

105:3 4) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.9.13|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.9.13|AUTODETECT|”

Isa. 9:13) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.31.1|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.31.1|AUTODETECT|”

31:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.55.6|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.55.6|AUTODETECT|”

55:6) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.65.1|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.65.1|AUTODETECT|”

65:1) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=24.29.13-24.29.14|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=24.29.13-24.29.14|AUTODETECT|”

Jer. 29:13 14) 1 1 -1 9 0 0

. See also �douard des Places, Actes 17, 27, Bib 48 (1967): 1 6.) 1 4 2 8 0 0

60 Margaret D. Gibson, ed., The Commentaries of Isho dad of Merw, Horae Semiticae no. 10 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1913), p. 28. See also Kirsopp Lake, Your Own Poets, Beginnings, vol. 5, pp. 246 51.) 61 The words also occur in a Hymn to Zeus written by Cleanthes (331 233 b.c.). Clement of Alexandria refers to it in Stromata 1.19.91.4 5.) 62 Clement of Alexandria Stromata 1.14.59.) 63 Bauer, p. 408.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=5.4.23|AUTODETECT|”

64 Compare ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=5.4.23|AUTODETECT|”

Deut. 4:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=5.4.28|AUTODETECT|”

, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=5.4.28|AUTODETECT|”

28) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.40.18-23.40.20|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.40.18-23.40.20|AUTODETECT|”

Isa. 40:18 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.44.9-23.44.20|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=23.44.9-23.44.20|AUTODETECT|”

44:9 20) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=45.1.23|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=45.1.23|AUTODETECT|”

Rom. 1:23) 1 1 -1 9 0 0

; Wis. 13:10.) 1 3 2 8 0 0

65 G�rtner, Areopagus Speech and Natural Revelation, p. 233.) 66 Refer to William Hendriksen, Exposition of Paul s Epistle to the Romans, New Testament Commentary series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), p. 134.) 67 �douard des Places, Actes 17, 30 31, Bib 52 (1971): 531 32.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.2.24|AUTODETECT|”

68 ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.2.24|AUTODETECT|”

Acts 2:24) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.2.32|AUTODETECT|”

, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.2.32|AUTODETECT|”

32) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.3.15|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.3.15|AUTODETECT|”

3:15) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.3.26|AUTODETECT|”

, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.3.26|AUTODETECT|”

26) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.4.2|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.4.2|AUTODETECT|”

4:2) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.4.10|AUTODETECT|”

, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.4.10|AUTODETECT|”

10) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.4.33|AUTODETECT|”

, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.4.33|AUTODETECT|”

33) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.5.30|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.5.30|AUTODETECT|”

5:30) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.10.40|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.10.40|AUTODETECT|”

10:40) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.13.34|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.13.34|AUTODETECT|”

13:34) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.13.37|AUTODETECT|”

, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.13.37|AUTODETECT|”

37) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.17.31|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.17.31|AUTODETECT|”

17:31) 1 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.25.19|AUTODETECT|”

; ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.25.19|AUTODETECT|”

25:19) 1 1 -1 9 0 0

.) 1 2 2 8 0 0

69 Leland Ryken asserts that the construction of Paul s speech reveals that he intended to deliver a classical oration that was cut short. Words of Life: A Literary Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), p. 128. Stonehouse, however, thinks that the speech is complete. Paul Before the Areopagus, pp. 36 40.) 70 F. F. Bruce, Paul and the Athenians, ExpT 88 (1976): 11. Hans Conzelmann calls Paul s speech not an extract from a missionary address, but a purely literary creation. See The Address of Paul on the Areopagus, in Studies in Luke-Acts: Essays Presented in Honor of Paul Schubert, ed. Leander E. Keck and J. Louis Martyn (Nashville: Abingdon, 1966), p. 218.) 1 1 2 8 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.17.0|AUTODETECT|”

71 Thomas L. Wilkinson, ) 7 1 -1 9 0 “tw://bible.*?id=44.17.0|AUTODETECT|”

Acts 17) 1 1 -1 9 0 0

The Gospel Related to Paganism, VoxRef 35 (1980): 12.) 1 6 2 8 0 0 72 Refer to Jacques Dupont, Nouvelles �tudes sur les Actes des Ap�tres, Lectio Divina 118 (Paris: Cerf, 1984), p. 384.) 73 Robertson, Grammar, p. 629.) 74 Moule, Idiom-Book, p. 77.) 75 Albrecht Oepke, TDNT, vol. 1, p. 369. See also Colin Brown, NIDNTT, vol. 3, p. 261.) 76 Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 252. Codex Bezae has the reading: among whom also was a certain Dionysius, an Areopagite of high standing, and others with them. The omission of the name Damaris is explained either as an indication of an antifeminist attitude or as an accidental omission of a line in the manuscript. Metzger, Textual Commentary, p. 459.) 77 Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 3.4.10; 4.23.3 (LCL).)