Happy to have you back again for more Daily Bread today. We’re studying the
second journey of Paul now, as he reaches out to the Gentiles to share the
TRUTH of Christ with them. Leaving Philippi, they passed through Amphipolis
and Apollonia, and they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish
synagogue.
Paul, as his
manner was, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the scriptures, enlightening and declaring, It was necessary for
Christ to suffer, and rise again from the dead, and this Jesus, whom I
preach to you, is Christ. Some of them believed, and joined with Paul and
Silas; as did many of the devout Greeks, plus a good number of the chief
women.
But the Jewish
people that didn’t believe, overtaken with jealousy, befriended certain
wicked fellows, and together they set the whole city in an uproar, and
attacked the house of Jason, determined to bring these Christians out to the
people.
Got a Daily Bread
Stick for ya! See, back in Biblical times, many issues were settled “out of
court”. Everyone was part of the jury, and if someone thought a person was
guilty of wrongdoing, they were brought before the people and judged by
them. People didn’t hire lawyers in defense of themselves or have human
rights organizations around in those times. You were either going to be
found guilty or innocent, BY THE PEOPLE and either freed, imprisoned or put
to death, and there weren’t many areas in between. So each time you hear of
someone being brought out to the people, they were in essence, being taken
to “court” ...
Now, as you may
have guessed, Paul and Silas were staying with this Jason, but when the
Jewish people went to his house to get them, they couldn’t find them. They
dragged Jason and some of the other Christians to the rulers of the city,
shouting, the people that have turned the world upside down have come here
too, and Jason has welcomed them. These people all break the laws of Cæsar,
saying that there’s another king . . . one named Jesus. This troubled the
people, and the rulers of the city, and when they had taken security of
Jason, and of the rest, they let them go.
The brethren
immediately sent Paul and Silas away in the night to Berea, and arriving
there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. The people there were more noble
than those in Thessalonica, and they welcomed the Word with open minds, and
they investigated the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul testified was
true of Jesus. So, many of them believed, along with honorable women who
were Greek, and many Greek men.
But when the
Jewish people of Thessalonica heard that the Word of God was now being
preached by Paul in Berea, they came there too, and stirred up the people.
So the brethren sent Paul away this time on a ship, but Silas and Timotheus
remained in Berea. The people who accompanied Paul, brought him to Athens,
and took back a message from Paul, to Silas and Timotheus, to come to Athens
quickly, so they left Berea. While Paul waited for them in Athens, his
spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city was totally devoted to
idolatry. So off he went to share the TRUTH without waiting for his
companions.
Paul debated with
the Jewish people in the synagogue about it and with the devout people, and
in the marketplace, daily, with those he met. Then some philosophers of the
Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will
this babbler say? And some others said, He seems to be a setter forth
of strange gods. They said this because he preached to them about Jesus, and
the resurrection.
Time for another
Daily Bread Crumb! Just wanted to give ya a little bit of an idea of what
Paul is facing now. First of all, let me point out again, that Paul is in
Greece. The Greeks were known for believing in mythology, which is, frankly,
fiction. Their beliefs were fabricated, invented, or randomly imagined, or
in defiance of facts. They had a god for this and a god for that. Now, an
Epicurean is a follower of the philosopher Epicurus who believed in being
devoted to pleasing your own senses. (Responding to the Flesh) A Stoic is a
follower of the philosopher Zeno, who believed that the wise man is not
affected by emotion of any kind, and is submissive to natural law. Now,
let’s watch how Paul deals with these idol worshippers.
They took Paul,
and brought him to Areopagus, saying, Tell us about this new doctrine that
you teach about. You bring strange things to our ears, and we wish to know
what these things mean. And now, here’s yet another Daily Bread Crumb!
Areopagus is another name for Mars’ Hill. The Greeks didn’t have the market
cornered on false gods. Mars was the god of war in Roman mythology. So they
took Paul to a forum where they could hear him speak.
Now all the
Athenians and foreigners that were there, spent their time doing nothing but
gossiping, so they were anxious to know what Paul had to say, so they could
be up on the latest. So Paul stood in the middle of Mars’ hill, and said,
You men of Athens, I observe that in all things, you’re too superstitious.
As I passed by and saw your devotions, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. (All through the city they had statues of
their wanna be gods and one statue was named "Unknown God") Paul Continued
... I will tell you who this God is that you worship unknowingly. God that
made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of Heaven and
earth, lives not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with
men's hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He gives life to all, and
breath, and all things; and has made of one blood all nations of men, to
live on all the face of the earth, and has determined the seasons before
appointed, and where to live; that they should seek the Lord, if by chance
they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He isn’t far from every one
of us: because in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as some of your
own poets have said, For we are also His offspring. Since, then, as we’re
the offspring of God, we shouldn’t think that the Godhead is like gold, or
silver, or stone, graven by art and man's ideas. And the times of this
ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now He commands all men every
where to repent: because He has appointed a day, in which He will judge the
world in righteousness by that man, Jesus, whom He ordained; by which He has
given assurance to all men, in that He has raised Him from the dead.
When they heard of
the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We want to hear
more about this. So Paul left from among them, but some joined him and
believed, among which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named
Damaris, and others with them.
Pretty clever huh?
Paul found that the way to CON-vince these people of the TRUTH. He took one
of their own ideas, from an inscription, and said, Look, this is the real
God right here. The God who is unknown to you is the REAL one! The one and
only true God! Now, let me tell you a little more about Him . . . And
proceeded to share TRUTH about God.
Paul had a knack
for adapting to his surroundings while he spread the Gospel. He was truly
God's Chameleon Lizard. That man could blend. In our next study, we’ll
follow Paul as he goes from Athens to Corinth, and see what kind of
situations arise as he continues his second journey to spread the good news
of Jesus Christ, so don’t miss the next, Daily Bread.
