The Book of
Acts Chapter 17
Stops on
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Acts 17:1-34
17:1 Now when they
had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,
they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 And
Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3 Opening and alleging, that
Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this
Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
4 And
some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout
Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. 5 But
the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd
fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an
uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the
people. 6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason
and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned
the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and
these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another
king, one Jesus. 8 And they troubled the people and the
rulers of the city, when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken security of
Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
A. Message
Resisted at Thessalonica
Paul &
Silas, along with the rest of the missionary group, have departed from Philippi
and pass through Amphipolis (capital of the eastern
district of Macedonia, 33 miles from
As Paul would
normally do, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath. Remember at the synagogue there would be
prayer, the reading of the law, the reading of the prophets and a speaker would
stand and share or teach from the readings. Paul went to the synagogue not just
one sabbath but three sabbaths and he was reasoning with the people from the
scriptures. As he spoke he was “opening and alleging, that Christ must
needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus whom I
preach unto you, is Christ.” Paul would take the Old Testament Law and
The Old Testament Prophets to tell about Jesus and thus open the closed eyes of
the people to the promise and it’s fulfillment.
Opening and alleging is a systematic
exposition of divine truth. You see the Jews believed the Messiah would come
and would be Mighty but they could not accept a Suffering Messiah, even though
it was right there in the scriptures. The people and rulers could not see a
crown of thorns preceding the crown of glory for their Messiah, but it is
prophesied in the scriptures and Paul taught them.
I think Paul shared the virgin birth
of the Messiah (Gen 3:15 & Is 7:14), that Messiah would suffer and die for
the sins of the people (Is 53), His death by crucifixion (Ps 22:14-18) and His
resurrection (Ps 16:10,11) and so much more. In fact,
Jesus taught these things Himself in Luke 9:22 and Luke 24:25-27.
According to verse 4, some of those
which heard Paul sharing and preaching about Jesus believed and the number was
a great multitude. However, many resisted (Verse 5) and were moved with envy.
Notice that it was the Jews who believed not. Friend, every time the gospel is
shared it will either be received or rejected. Those that rejected the message,
in verse 5, are said to be
“lewd fellows of the
baser sort” meaning they were vile fellows of the marketplace, speaking
rabble and suited for mob violence.
This mob causes an
uproar in the city and they assault the house of Jason, probably where
Paul & Silas had been staying, but Paul & Silas were not there at that
time. So the mob hauls Jason and other believers out of the
house and take them to the rulers of the city. The unbelievers accuse
Jason, and his friends who are believers, of sedition and rebellion to
Jason probably
spoke to the rulers of the city and magistrates and said that Paul & Silas
are not seditionists and are not attempting to overthrow the Roman Government
nor are they in any rebellion towards
10
And the brethren
immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
B. Message
Received at
Paul & Silas
are sent away by night to the city of
However, when the unbelieving Jews
from Thessalonica, heard that Paul was preaching just down the road in
Now Paul would be brought safely by
sea to the city of
16
Now while Paul
waited for them at
C. Message
Ridiculed at
1.
Stirring Situation
Paul probably noticed how idols
seemed to abound in every public place and were even
on the homes of the citizens of
At any rate, Paul went to the
synagogue as he normally would and he began to reason with the Jews and religious
leaders about Jesus, but no one believed. He spoke in the market place openly
to the citizens of
Then the Epicureans (philosophers
that deny creation by God, deny immortality and declare that pleasure is the
chief good in life) and the Stoicks (philosophers
that accept there is a God but believe fate is ultimately in control and
declare self righteousness and that the soul would exist only until the
universe is destroyed) approach Paul and confront him. They say Paul is a
babbler. A babbler is someone who is considered to be a second hand gatherer of
information and they say Paul is teaching his own ideas and theology, but in
reality Paul preached Jesus crucified and resurrected.
These philosophers took Paul to Aeropagus, which was the center of the city where the court
convened with all its supreme judges and men of renown on Mars Hill. Here at
one time stood Socrates, here is where trials are heard and judgment is passed
upon people. It is in this place Paul is not to be tried, but to be heard. The
Athenians spent most of their time trying to hear or tell some new thing, like
the latest news, gossip or fad (the Hula-hoop or Rubiks
Cube would have done well amongst this people.) Anyway, the people want to hear
this new message Paul is preaching.
22
Then Paul stood in
the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of
2. Sincere
Sermon
Paul stands
before the people and says you are too superstitious, too religious and too
idolatrous. I have noticed that you even
have an altar to the Unknown God, just in case you overlooked one or a new one
comes by. Paul states there is an Unknown God, at least to you, and it is this
Unknown God that I declare. What a true statement Paul made to the people as
they did not know the Real God of Glory!
Paul declared that God is the
Creator and He is Sovereignly in Control. Paul preached
that all men have sinned and God commands that all men must repent, because
there is a judgment and eternity after this life is over. The assurance of
afterlife is in the resurrection from the dead by Jesus Christ.
32
And when they heard
of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear
thee again of this matter. 33 So Paul departed
from among them. 34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him,
and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite,
and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
3.
Seemingly Small Results
Some of the
philosophers mocked Paul’s message and ridiculed the resurrection as being
absurd. It is as if the learned and the educated refuse the truth of God. Ps
14:1 The
fool hath
said in his heart,There
is no God.
Others said to Paul we will hear you
speak on this again someday. You know that thinking, put it off till tomorrow
says the devil, just wait says the flesh. (Prov 27:1,
Acts 24:25) Friend, now is the accepted time of
salvation don’t wait (II Cor 6:2).
Paul left Athens
and it is not recorded if Paul ever preached there again, no church was
established (Mt 7:6) Although a few did believe, Paul was surely disappointed
in Athens.