The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 17
Biblical Altar Bible Story Facts
Paul and the Unknown God Altar Adventure
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.
Biblical Altar Bible Story Bread Stick
Paul and the Unknown God Altar Path
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. So 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 Caesar, saying that there's
another king ... One named Jesus. This stirred up the people, and the
rulers of the city, and when they had taken security of Jason,
and of the rest, they let them go.
Biblical Altar Bible Story Discussion
Paul and the Unknown God Altar Journey
Daily Bread Crumb anyone? What does that mean, "taken security?"
Probably that Jason and the others assured the good conduct of Paul
and Silas to the magistrates, or took responsibility for their
actions.
This may have been done by "securing" a sum of money (sort of like
bail), or perhaps a promise that they would leave the city, but most
probably it was done according to whatever the Roman law was.
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 Gospel 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.
Biblical Altar Bible Saga
Paul and the Unknown God Statue
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 declarer 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.
Biblical Altar Bible Proof
Paul and the Unknown God Miracle
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 or satisfying 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
worshipers.
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.
Biblical Altar Bible Tale
Paul and the Unknown God Altar Used by Paul
Acts 17:22-31
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said,
Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too
superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld 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."] Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I
unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing
that He is Lord of Heaven and Earth, dwelleth not in temples made
with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He
needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all
things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to
dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might
feel after Him, and find Him, though he be not far from every one of
us:
28 For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as
certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also His
offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought
not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone,
graven by art and man's device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at
[overlooked]; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained;
whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised
Him from the dead.
Biblical Altar Bible Summary
Paul and the Unknown God Conclusion
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 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.
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