Hello,
Read Acts 17:16-34
Today Paul takes on Athens, the intellectual capital of the world at that time, and so he preaches the good news of Jesus connecting more to Greek philosophy and less connected to Hebrew scriptures.
We see a different side of Paul today. He’s less fiery and confrontational, and more deliberate and refined. Sure he still argues with Jews in the synagogue and others in the marketplace but when he comes to the Areopagus he seems to be on his best behavior.
There are a few things I find interesting about this passage. Even though Paul is deeply distressed by all the idolatry of the city (17:16), he recognizes or names it as how extremely religious the Athenians are (17:22). Paul meets them where they are in this way as opposed to just lambasting their idolatry. The other thing I note is the flexibility Paul exhibits as he engages these philosophers on the Areopagus on their own terms. Paul doesn’t speak another “language” in terms of making all the connections between Jesus and OT prophecy and Israel’s story. Instead, he meets the people where they are. He uses what they know and their interests and uses that as a launch pad for his conversation about God.
What do we take from this passage? How can we affirm people’s God given desires to know and worship God even if they are currently worshiping another god? Then how do we point them in the direction of the true God, or to what is currently unknown to them? It’s also clear different audiences require different nuances in the good news. We are each gifted with certain connections, and passions that might allow us to reach people others in our church can’t. Embrace the ways you can connect God’s story to others. We aren’t all going to evangelize or tell the good news in the same way, and that’s the beauty of it, God still speaks even in very different contexts.
Even though Paul’s message seems to fall flat here in Athens (or at least that’s the typical reading of this passage), Luke does report that some of the Areopagus and others join him like Dionysius and Damaris and others (17:34).
Grace and Peace,
Matt