Today Our Daily Bread Acts 17

Acts 17: 1 - 34
1 Now Paul and Silas traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul's custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he interpreted the Scriptures to the people. 3 He was explaining and proving the prophecies about the sufferings of the Messiah and his rising from the dead. He said, "This Jesus I'm telling you about is the Messiah." 4 Some who listened were persuaded and became converts, including a large number of godly Greek men and also many important women of the city. F88 5 But the Jewish leaders were jealous, so they gathered some worthless fellows from the streets to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. F89 6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers F90 instead and took them before the city council. "Paul and Silas have turned the rest of the world upside down, and now they are here disturbing our city," they shouted. 7 "And Jason has let them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, Jesus." 8 The people of the city, as well as the city officials, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. 9 But the officials released Jason and the other believers after they had posted bail.
10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the synagogue. 11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did some of the prominent Greek women and many men. 13 But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. 14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 Those escorting Paul went with him to Athens; then they returned to Berea with a message for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 He went to the synagogue to debate with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. 18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, "This babbler has picked up some strange ideas." Others said, "He's pushing some foreign religion." 19 Then they took him to the Council of Philosophers. F91 "Come and tell us more about this new religion," they said. 20 "You are saying some rather startling things, and we want to know what it's all about." 21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22 So Paul, standing before the Council, F92 addressed them as follows: "Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many altars. And one of them had this inscription on it – 'To an Unknown God.' You have been worshiping him without knowing who he is, and now I wish to tell you about him. 24 "He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can't serve his needs – for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 "His purpose in all of this was that the nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him – though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As one of your own poets says, 'We are his offspring.' 29 And since this is true, we shouldn't think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. 30 God overlooked people's former ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone everywhere to turn away from idols and turn to him. F93 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."
32 When they heard Paul speak of the resurrection of a person who had been dead, some laughed, but others said, "We want to hear more about this later." 33 That ended Paul's discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Council, F94 a woman named Damaris, and others.
FOOTNOTES:F88: Some manuscripts read many of the wives of the leading men. F89: Or the city council. F90: Greek brothers; also in 17:10, 14. F91: Greek the Areopagus. F92: Or in the middle of Mars Hill; Greek reads in the middle of the Areopagus. F93: Greek everywhere to repent. F94: Greek an Areopagite.
The New Living Translation
Holy Bible, New Living Translation,copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
~ Lena's Comments ~
I think this is just awesome that Paul used his practiced custom as a tool of the Gospel message. He used the religious meeting to spread the understanding of God’s word in what was the church of that day. Notice he converted religious people. Some say, yeah they are saved. This may really mean, yeah they are religious, BUT do they KNOW Jesus, and who he is in the word of God? I also find it interesting that persecution over the newfound understanding of God’s word was both from the world and of the "church" and that the city counted it a disturbance rather than a blessing! I’ve felt many time to have been in this same state in sharing my faith or bringing light to people. The enemy would like to do all He can to turn the message around and actually pervert what is being shared. It has a LOT to do with open-mindedness or closed-mindedness. Open-minded people want to know and will be willing to prove what they hear, either by their life force or the further search of the word of God. Notice again the phrase – "the BELIEVERS, acted at once"…..Immediate action precedes those who truly believe.
Why would Paul be deeply troubled by idols? Because the idols were a representation of the condition of the faith and worship and attention the people of this area had their sights on, and Paul knew, as we also know that those objects would never be able to satisfy the people’s needs for truth and true love. Paul knew who and what can only satisfy any longing soul. The idols showed the longing souls, or they would not have been around. Paul was determined, as we also must be, to see beyond into the inward parts of the person who was calling out for truth. He wanted to introduce them to truth Himself, the Lord Jesus.