Posts
Paul Preaches in Thessalonica/Founding a New church
After departing Philippi, Paul followed the road that led to Greece, first going through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and then coming to the town of Thessalonica. There, in line with his usual custom, he went into the Jewish synagogue to preach Christ. The city of Thessalonica was one of the wealthiest and most influential cities in Macedonia. This is the first city Paul visited where his teachings attracted a large group of socially prominent citizens. For three Sabbaths, Paul expounded the scriptures foretelling that Christ would suffer for our sins and rise again. The effect on his hearers was to force a decision to believe or not believe. Among the Jews, some believed, but among the God-fearing Gentiles, the number was large including some of the upper class women.
Paul’s success provoked an angry reaction among the Jews who did not believe. The root motive of their opposition was envy, as it had been years before when unbelieving Jews denounced Paul in Antioch of Pisidia. Paul’s opponents in Thessalonica foresaw that the followers of Paul’s teaching would band together and choose their own leaders that perhaps they would even turn away from the synagogues and its leaders. They were afraid of losing their power and influence. The unbelieving Jews waged a campaign against Paul and his companions that can best be described as vicious. They found allies among “lewd fellows of the baser sort”–in other words, thugs. By gathering a crowd of citizens and hounding them with false accusations against the Apostles, they managed to whip the people in to a state of rage.
Looking for places where they might find Paul they attacked the home of one named Jason, a believer. Not finding Paul and his team, they refused to leave empty-handed, they seized Jason with some believers and dragged them before the rulers of the city (remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-24). The Jewish leaders had difficulty manufacturing an accusation that would be heard by the city government. The Romans did not care about theological disagreements between the Jews and Paul. Treason, on the other hand was a serious offense in the Roman Empire. Although Paul and Silas were not advocating rebellion against Roman law, their loyalty to another King (Christ Jesus), sounded suspicious.
The leaders evidently decided that the charges were exaggerated, instead of taking Jason and the believers into custody, they released them after they posted bail. Seeing that Paul and his missionary team were in danger the believers sent them on to the next city, Berea, which is one step closer to Athens. Paul’s first move to evangelize Berea followed his usually pattern, he started in the synagogues and preached Jesus. Here, Paul founded the people very receptive of his message for they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul spoke of were true. Many upper class Greek women and a few Greek men were persuaded by Paul’s words.
The enemy (Satan) was not going to allow Paul’s victory in Berea to go uncontested. The enemy brought news of what Paul was doing back to his enemies (unbelievers) in Thessalonica. Some of the unbelievers rushed to Berea to stop Paul. Knowing that the trouble these unbelievers would stir up against Paul, the believers insisted he leave town. Yet they all realized that wherever Paul went his enemies was sure to follow and disrupt his work again. Paul left the city of Berea on the road leading to the closest sea port. His enemies would assume that he was leaving Greece and returning to Asia Minor. But then he changed course and headed toward Athens. With him were some Berean brothers. He left Silas and Timothy behind in Berea so that they may further strengthen the new church. Silas and Timothy could safely remain because the enemies of the new teachings regarded Paul as the chief target. Silas and Timothy would join Paul later.
Paul had now reached the capital of Greek civilization, Athens. The glory of Greece was fading in Paul’s day and even Athens, the proud center of Hellenism, was past its glory days. Even so, it was still a vital cultural center with a world famous university. Many of its famous buildings were built during the days of Pericles (461-429 B.C). Beautiful as the buildings were, Paul could not enjoy them because he was greatly distressed to see the city full of idols. Every where Paul looked he witnessed sculptured representations of gods and goddesses. Undeterred by what he saw, Paul began a one man assault on this stronghold of unbelief. Paul’s fight would be on two fronts: in the synagogues and in the marketplace. As was his usual practice, he first went into the synagogues and sought to win both the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. Luke only records that Paul disputed with them. He does not say that he won any over to the new gospel. Paul also preached Christ daily in the marketplace, known as the Agora, to a group that gathered there.
The primary antagonists of Paul in the Agora were the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When these philosophers encountered Paul they began to dispute with him. Some called him a babbler and wanted to know what Paul was trying say. Others remarked he seemed to be advocating foreign gods. This response was due to their inability to grasp Paul’s doctrine of Christ and the resurrection; this was totally foreign to their thinking. The philosophers took Paul to the Areopagus, which means “Mars Hill”. This was the meeting place of the council of the Areopagus, where the supreme body for judicial and legislative matters in Athens was held. The council wanted to know about Paul’s teachings which were strange to their ears. The Athenians and foreign residents loved to debate the latest ideas. This openness gave Paul an opportunity to preach his message of Christ.
Paul did not begin by reciting Jewish history as he usually did for this would have been meaningless to his Greek audience. Paul begins with the observation that they were very religious. When he thought of the idols he had seen, Paul was reminded of an altar with the inscription: to the unknown god. Paul saw in the inscription the recognition of two important facts: First, the fact of the existence of God and second, the fact that the Athenians were ignorant of him. Paul introduced God as the one who made the world and everything in it. As he looked around on the numerous idol temples nearby, the Apostle reminded his hearers that the true God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he dependant on the service of men’s hands because God is the source of life, breath, and all things.
Paul was stressing the basic kinship of all men perhaps to overcome Greek prejudice against a Jewish preacher of a Jewish Messiah. Holding themselves to be superior, the Greek would have been tempted to reject Paul’s teachings simply because he was not Greek and Jesus was not Greek. Paul reminded them that all men have blood; in other words, that Jews were no less men than they were. Paul continued by explaining why God created man. The Greeks did not imagine that the gods had a strong interest in the human race. But Paul introduced the exciting idea that God actually care for man–that God wants a relationship with man, and that is the precise reason man was created; to find Him and enjoy His fellowship. Paul added that God is not far away from us. God is known in His creation and He is close to everyone. But He is not trapped in His creation–He is transcendent. God is the creator, not the creation. This means that God is sovereign and in control while at the same time He is close and personal.
Having laid the groundwork for his final appeal, Paul told briefly what God, who is man’s creator, expects from man. In the past, God allowed the Greeks and other nations to continue in ignorance. The translation “winked at” is a bad translation. It suggests that God looked upon paganism with a kindly tolerance. The right translation is “overlooked.” The meaning is that God chose not to bring immediate judgment on the nations, although they deserved His judgment because they neglected Him. Paul declared that the time for removing their ignorance was here. God commanded every man to repent of their sins or face judgment that will surely come.
God has appointed a day of judgment and appointed a Judge. The Judge would be a man, but not an ordinary man. God certified this man by raising Him from the dead. Paul’s sermon received a mixed reaction: some reacted to his sermon with out right mockery; others treated Paul with a little more respect by insisting they would listen to him at some later time. But Paul evidently viewed their words as merely an excuse to get away from listening to him for he walked away and made no effort to witness to them again. As Paul walked away, a small band of Greeks followed him and identified themselves with Christ. Among them was Dionysius the Areopagit. His name means that he was a member of the court that had just heard Paul’s teachings. The leading woman who believed in Christ was Damaris. Besides these two, there were others as well, so Paul did not view his time in Athens as a complete failure.
Questions/Answers
1. What does the word agora mean?
Agora means “market place” which contained more open space and was designed to be the center of public life.
2. Who were the Epicureans?
They were Greek philosophers who belonged to a school founded by Epicurus about 306 B.C. Their aim in life was pleasure. The Epicureans believed they could find happiness by seeking that which brought physical and mental pleasure and by avoiding that which brought pain.
3. What is Stoicism?
The doctrine of the Stoics is a Greek school of philosophy that taught that human being should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, submissive to natural law, and calmly accepting all things as the result of divine will.
4. Who was Dionysius the Areopagit?
Areopagit was a member of the supreme council of Athens. He became a Christian after hearing Paul’s sermon. Nothing else is known of him except tradition. One tradition says he was martyred in Athens during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Domitian.
5. Who was the woman named Damaris?
Damaris was a women converted by Paul’s sermon in Athens on mars hill. The fact that she is mentioned with Dionysius the Areopagit may suggest that she was a woman of distinction.
After departing Philippi, Paul followed the road that led to Greece, first going through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and then coming to the town of Thessalonica. There, in line with his usual custom, he went into the Jewish synagogue to preach Christ. The city of Thessalonica was one of the wealthiest and most influential cities in Macedonia. This is the first city Paul visited where his teachings attracted a large group of socially prominent citizens. For three Sabbaths, Paul expounded the scriptures foretelling that Christ would suffer for our sins and rise again. The effect on his hearers was to force a decision to believe or not believe. Among the Jews, some believed, but among the God-fearing Gentiles, the number was large including some of the upper class women.
Paul’s success provoked an angry reaction among the Jews who did not believe. The root motive of their opposition was envy, as it had been years before when unbelieving Jews denounced Paul in Antioch of Pisidia. Paul’s opponents in Thessalonica foresaw that the followers of Paul’s teaching would band together and choose their own leaders that perhaps they would even turn away from the synagogues and its leaders. They were afraid of losing their power and influence. The unbelieving Jews waged a campaign against Paul and his companions that can best be described as vicious. They found allies among “lewd fellows of the baser sort”–in other words, thugs. By gathering a crowd of citizens and hounding them with false accusations against the Apostles, they managed to whip the people in to a state of rage.
Looking for places where they might find Paul they attacked the home of one named Jason, a believer. Not finding Paul and his team, they refused to leave empty-handed, they seized Jason with some believers and dragged them before the rulers of the city (remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-24). The Jewish leaders had difficulty manufacturing an accusation that would be heard by the city government. The Romans did not care about theological disagreements between the Jews and Paul. Treason, on the other hand was a serious offense in the Roman Empire. Although Paul and Silas were not advocating rebellion against Roman law, their loyalty to another King (Christ Jesus), sounded suspicious.
The leaders evidently decided that the charges were exaggerated, instead of taking Jason and the believers into custody, they released them after they posted bail. Seeing that Paul and his missionary team were in danger the believers sent them on to the next city, Berea, which is one step closer to Athens. Paul’s first move to evangelize Berea followed his usually pattern, he started in the synagogues and preached Jesus. Here, Paul founded the people very receptive of his message for they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul spoke of were true. Many upper class Greek women and a few Greek men were persuaded by Paul’s words.
The enemy (Satan) was not going to allow Paul’s victory in Berea to go uncontested. The enemy brought news of what Paul was doing back to his enemies (unbelievers) in Thessalonica. Some of the unbelievers rushed to Berea to stop Paul. Knowing that the trouble these unbelievers would stir up against Paul, the believers insisted he leave town. Yet they all realized that wherever Paul went his enemies was sure to follow and disrupt his work again. Paul left the city of Berea on the road leading to the closest sea port. His enemies would assume that he was leaving Greece and returning to Asia Minor. But then he changed course and headed toward Athens. With him were some Berean brothers. He left Silas and Timothy behind in Berea so that they may further strengthen the new church. Silas and Timothy could safely remain because the enemies of the new teachings regarded Paul as the chief target. Silas and Timothy would join Paul later.
Paul had now reached the capital of Greek civilization, Athens. The glory of Greece was fading in Paul’s day and even Athens, the proud center of Hellenism, was past its glory days. Even so, it was still a vital cultural center with a world famous university. Many of its famous buildings were built during the days of Pericles (461-429 B.C). Beautiful as the buildings were, Paul could not enjoy them because he was greatly distressed to see the city full of idols. Every where Paul looked he witnessed sculptured representations of gods and goddesses. Undeterred by what he saw, Paul began a one man assault on this stronghold of unbelief. Paul’s fight would be on two fronts: in the synagogues and in the marketplace. As was his usual practice, he first went into the synagogues and sought to win both the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. Luke only records that Paul disputed with them. He does not say that he won any over to the new gospel. Paul also preached Christ daily in the marketplace, known as the Agora, to a group that gathered there.
The primary antagonists of Paul in the Agora were the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When these philosophers encountered Paul they began to dispute with him. Some called him a babbler and wanted to know what Paul was trying say. Others remarked he seemed to be advocating foreign gods. This response was due to their inability to grasp Paul’s doctrine of Christ and the resurrection; this was totally foreign to their thinking. The philosophers took Paul to the Areopagus, which means “Mars Hill”. This was the meeting place of the council of the Areopagus, where the supreme body for judicial and legislative matters in Athens was held. The council wanted to know about Paul’s teachings which were strange to their ears. The Athenians and foreign residents loved to debate the latest ideas. This openness gave Paul an opportunity to preach his message of Christ.
Paul did not begin by reciting Jewish history as he usually did for this would have been meaningless to his Greek audience. Paul begins with the observation that they were very religious. When he thought of the idols he had seen, Paul was reminded of an altar with the inscription: to the unknown god. Paul saw in the inscription the recognition of two important facts: First, the fact of the existence of God and second, the fact that the Athenians were ignorant of him. Paul introduced God as the one who made the world and everything in it. As he looked around on the numerous idol temples nearby, the Apostle reminded his hearers that the true God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he dependant on the service of men’s hands because God is the source of life, breath, and all things.
Paul was stressing the basic kinship of all men perhaps to overcome Greek prejudice against a Jewish preacher of a Jewish Messiah. Holding themselves to be superior, the Greek would have been tempted to reject Paul’s teachings simply because he was not Greek and Jesus was not Greek. Paul reminded them that all men have blood; in other words, that Jews were no less men than they were. Paul continued by explaining why God created man. The Greeks did not imagine that the gods had a strong interest in the human race. But Paul introduced the exciting idea that God actually care for man–that God wants a relationship with man, and that is the precise reason man was created; to find Him and enjoy His fellowship. Paul added that God is not far away from us. God is known in His creation and He is close to everyone. But He is not trapped in His creation–He is transcendent. God is the creator, not the creation. This means that God is sovereign and in control while at the same time He is close and personal.
Having laid the groundwork for his final appeal, Paul told briefly what God, who is man’s creator, expects from man. In the past, God allowed the Greeks and other nations to continue in ignorance. The translation “winked at” is a bad translation. It suggests that God looked upon paganism with a kindly tolerance. The right translation is “overlooked.” The meaning is that God chose not to bring immediate judgment on the nations, although they deserved His judgment because they neglected Him. Paul declared that the time for removing their ignorance was here. God commanded every man to repent of their sins or face judgment that will surely come.
God has appointed a day of judgment and appointed a Judge. The Judge would be a man, but not an ordinary man. God certified this man by raising Him from the dead. Paul’s sermon received a mixed reaction: some reacted to his sermon with out right mockery; others treated Paul with a little more respect by insisting they would listen to him at some later time. But Paul evidently viewed their words as merely an excuse to get away from listening to him for he walked away and made no effort to witness to them again. As Paul walked away, a small band of Greeks followed him and identified themselves with Christ. Among them was Dionysius the Areopagit. His name means that he was a member of the court that had just heard Paul’s teachings. The leading woman who believed in Christ was Damaris. Besides these two, there were others as well, so Paul did not view his time in Athens as a complete failure.
Questions/Answers
1. What does the word agora mean?
Agora means “market place” which contained more open space and was designed to be the center of public life.
2. Who were the Epicureans?
They were Greek philosophers who belonged to a school founded by Epicurus about 306 B.C. Their aim in life was pleasure. The Epicureans believed they could find happiness by seeking that which brought physical and mental pleasure and by avoiding that which brought pain.
3. What is Stoicism?
The doctrine of the Stoics is a Greek school of philosophy that taught that human being should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, submissive to natural law, and calmly accepting all things as the result of divine will.
4. Who was Dionysius the Areopagit?
Areopagit was a member of the supreme council of Athens. He became a Christian after hearing Paul’s sermon. Nothing else is known of him except tradition. One tradition says he was martyred in Athens during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Domitian.
5. Who was the woman named Damaris?
Damaris was a women converted by Paul’s sermon in Athens on mars hill. The fact that she is mentioned with Dionysius the Areopagit may suggest that she was a woman of distinction.
No comments:
Post a Comment