I’m pausing here for a moment because Paul is about to go to Corinth, which is such an important city in the New Testament that it is almost a character in the history of the church.

There were four prominent centers in the New Testament account of the early church – Jerusalem, Antioch of Syria, Ephesus of Asia Minor and Corinth of Greece. Paul’s first extended ministry in one city was at Corinth, where he remained for at least 18 months during his first visit (which we are coming to in the second missionary journey). Corinth was where Paul (probably) wrote 1 and 2Thessalonians and Galatians his first stay there (which we are about to study), and his letter to the Romans during the 3^rd missionary journey. Besides Paul, several prominent Christian leaders passed through and worked in Corinth – Timothy, Priscilla and Aquila, Silas, Apollos and Titus. It was a very important city to early Christianity.

Situated on the southwest end of the isthmus that joins the southern and northern parts of Greece, the city was sited on an elevated plain at the foot of a rugged, nearly 2000-foot mountain. A maritime city located between two important seaports, it was an important city long before becoming a Roman colony in 44 BC.  It was the subject of many ancient historians and modern archeology has told us a great deal about this city that dates back to the Late Stone Age. Because of the natural benefits of its location, Corinth was easy to defend and controlled the east-west trade across the isthmus as well as trade from north to south.  It grew so rapidly that it colonized part of Sicily and from about 350 to 250 BC it was the largest and most prosperous city on mainland Greece. The city was destroyed in 146 BC during clashes with Rome, resulting in the death or the enslavement of most of the population. The city stood desolate for about a century until Julius Caesar rebuilt it in 44 BC.  An overland ship-road (like a precursor of the Panama Canal) connected the ports of Lechaion and Cenchreae across the isthmus. Small ships were moved across on a system of rollers while larger ships off-loaded their cargo for transport. Ships were thus able to avoid 200 miles of treacherous sea travel (a modern ship canal was constructed in 1881). 

When Paul lived there, around AD 51-52, it was a pretty new city, but already an important metropolitan center. Protected by a large mountain (Acroscorinth) for the most part, it was also surrounded by a wall. Corinth was known for its generous roadways and even the equivalent of sidewalks. Paul would have approached from the north, where the road from Lechaion passed through the beautiful gate called Propylaea, which marked the entrance into the agora (market). Paul would have worked as a tentmaker here and this is probably where he was brought before Gallio  (Acts 18:12-17).

Although the restored city of Paul’s day was a Roman city, the inhabitants were Greeks and they continued to worship Greek gods. North of the agora stood the ruined temple of Apollo, which is still in evidence today. There was also shrines to Apollo, Hermes, Heracles, Athena, and Poseidon, as well as a famous temple to Asclepius, the god of healing, which was surrounded by a hospital complex.

The most significant pagan cult in Corinth was dedicated to Aphrodite. The historian Strabo described worship at the temple of Aphrodite on the Acropolis to be debauched and wanton, which certainly agrees with the lifestyle reflected in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. There were also Jews living in Corinth and they had a large synagogue there.

Like all port towns at major crossroads, Corinth was a cosmopolitan city composed of people with varying cultural backgrounds. It benefitted from the Isthmian games held nearby every two years, complete with the pleasures and money that the visitors brought to the city. Sailors spent their coin in the city as their cargo was being transported overland and we all know what sailors at like. The 1^st Century Roman culture was known for its sexual immorality, but even among heathens, Corinth was known for its licentious lifestyle.

So, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, is about to spend 18 months living, working and preaching in the ancient equivalent of Las Vegas. No city in the ancient world needed more to hear what Paul had to preach.

Sometime in the 6^th century BC the city of Athens was being devastated by a mysterious plague. No explanation for the plague could be found and no cure was in sight. The conventional wisdom of the time was to assume that one of the city’s many gods had been offended. The leaders of the city sought to determine which of the gods it was and then determine how to appease that god. As Athens had literally hundreds of gods (some scholars have referred to it as the “god capital of the world”), this was no easy task. When all efforts failed to discern which god had been offended (while the plague was still ongoing), an outside “consultant” named Epimenides was brought in from the island of Cyprus. Epimenides concluded that it was none of the known gods of Athens which had been offended, but some, as-yet unknown god. He proposed a course of action to provide a possible remedy for the plague. He had a flock of choice sheep of various colors, kept from food until they were hungry. On the given day, he had these sheep turned loose in a succulent pasture on Mars Hill. For any sheep not to have eaten his fill would have been unexplainable. He had the sheep turned loose and watched carefully, to see if any sheep would lie down and not eat, even though hungry and in prime grazing. Several sheep, to the amazement of those watching, did lie down. Altars were erected at each spot where a sheep lay down, dedicated to an “unknown god.” On those altars, the sheep which lay in that spot was sacrificed. Almost immediately, history records, the plague began to subside.

Over a period of time, the altars were forgotten and began to deteriorate. One altar, apparently, was restored and preserved, in commemoration of the removal of the plague by calling upon the “unknown god.” Who would have thought that centuries later, a foreigner named Paul would refer to this altar as the starting point for his sermon on Mars Hill and that this foreigner would later quote Epimenides in his sermon?

Paul had just left Berea, where the local Jews had eagerly listened to Paul’s teaching of the Scriptures, then proceeded to check it out for themselves, so that many of these Jews (in contrast to the few in Thessalonica) came to faith, along with a number of Gentile proselytes, including, once again, some prominent Greek men and women.

“Now those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing {Gentiles,} and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.” Acts 17:15-17

It doesn’t appear that Paul had plans to evangelize Athens, at least not until he was joined by his colleagues. Paul gave instructions to his Berean escorts for Silas and Timothy to rejoin him as soon as possible. Maybe he got bored while loitering in the city. Paul doesn’t seem like the tourist type. Of all the things Paul saw, one seemed to make the greatest impression on him. It was not that this city was beautiful or one of the great cultural and intellectual centers of the world. It was not that great men, like Plato and Aristotle once walked these streets and taught there. It was that this great city was filled with heathen idols. Like Lot in ancient times, Paul’s “righteous soul was vexed” (2 Peter 2:7) by what he saw about him in this heathen city.

As a Jew, Paul was naturally offended and incensed by idols, which were an abomination to God and every devout Jew.  The gospel, as Paul would later write in Romans 1-3 declared both Gentiles and Jews to be under divine condemnation, hopeless and helpless, and in need of salvation. God sent His Son Jesus to die in the sinner’s place, both Jews and Gentiles. He offered them His righteousness, by faith in Him alone. Paul saw the idolatry of the Athenians as damnable. Deeply struck by the lostness of this city and the judgment of God which each person would someday face, he knew these people needed a Savior and He knew that the Savior had come for sinners such as these. Thus Paul could do nothing but preach Christ to them.

Paul’s normal routine—of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and preaching the Word—continued at Athens, although absolutely nothing is said of the results of this ministry. Luke has left the synagogue behind for the moment, for he is more interested in telling us about Paul’s ministry to the heathen Gentiles (not the Gentile proselytes in the synagogues) but the philosophers and others, who were at the market place. To such people as would listen, Paul spoke during the week.

“And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. were conversing with him. And some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)” Acts 17:18-21

Paul seldom passed up an invitation to preach the gospel to lost men and women. Preaching in the synagogue was apparently a matter of custom, but the invitation to preach to pagan philosophers was more rare. Given opportunity in Athens, Paul spoke with those who would listen in the market place; he got the attention of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, although not for reasons which would swell one’s head with pride.

They knew that Paul was preaching Jesus and the resurrection (verse 18), and this had no automatic interest, as it did with the Jews, who were at least looking for Messiah. What appealed to these philosophers about Paul’s preaching was not that Paul was so brilliantly educated (as they reckoned such things), but that his teaching was something new. Athenian philosophers were always looking for something new (verse 21) and Paul’s message about Jesus and His resurrection was one they hadn’t heard before -- a new kind of message for this philosophically-minded crowd. All other religions, being “man made” have a kind of sameness, a commonality, because of their human origins. The message of Christ and His cross is a message that men would never have conceived, nor sought to accept or to propagate. In Biblical terms, human religions can all be placed under the heading, “human wisdom,” while the gospel would be categorized by men as “foolish.” The “divine wisdom” of the gospel is not even able to be grasped by the unbelieving human mind. The motive of these Athenians for giving Paul a hearing, an opportunity to expound his views, were not very noble, but their invitation was sufficient for Paul, who gladly utilized all opportunities for the sake of the gospel.

The philosophers proved skeptical of novel and foreign subjects, especially if they contradicted their taste in religion. They cared not that Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ who could expound the Old Testament with accuracy and authority. To these arrogant philosophers Paul was a “hick,” a nobody, a collector of religious scraps from the gutters of the world. They were just filling their idle time, heckling. To them, Paul was a fool, advocating a foolish and worthless religion, but for the sake of curiosity and speculation, they would listen to him.

“And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.  “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined {their} appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. “ Acts 17:21-31

Paul did not falter before this disdainful crowd. He immediately turned to a point of reference well-known to his audience, which gave him a foothold with his message. Somewhere in the city was an alter, dedicated to “an unknown god.” Starting with a point of reference known to his audience, Paul told the group that the God of Whom he spoke is the unknown “god” to whose existence the altar gave testimony. With all of the “gods” Athenians worshipped, the presence of that altar acknowledged that their “gods” were insufficient. They left room for one more, because they saw the need for another.

This illustrates a vital difference between Christianity and idolatry. Polytheism (having of many gods) and idolatry (the worship of the images of these gods) never has enough gods. Furthermore, this form of religion is more than willing to add the one true God to its list of “gods.” It is very tolerant of additional “gods.” Christianity, however, is that faith with one, true, all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing God. No other God is needed or tolerated. Christianity has a capable God and men who trust in Him find Him fully sufficient.

Clearly, Paul inferred, their religion, though it possessed many gods, was not sufficient, since they were looking for yet another god. One who has a sufficient faith and a sufficient God need not leave room for another. The existence of this altar, dedicated to the “unknown god,” is a telling witness to the inadequacy of their religion. Paul promises to tell them what they do no know—who that God is.

Paul allowed that their system of searching for the one true God was defective and futile. The God who was, to them “unknown” is a God who has made Himself known. God is not trying to hide from men; men are hiding from God, and often by means of their religion. The “unknown god,” whom they had acknowledged exists is the God who caused all things to come into existence—the Creator of all things, including men. And His very creation is that which bears testimony of His existence. If God is unknown to the Athenians, it is not because God has not revealed Himself to men, but because men have closed their eyes to His existence and character.

The Athenians, who prided themselves on their culture, their history, their intelligence and education, were really ignorant as evidenced by their worship. God is not hiding; men have turned from Him. These men who thought themselves so wise worshipped their own creations (idols) rather than the Creator.

God is not pleased by the rejection of men and He does not give men the luxury of having Him as a “god” who does man’s bidding, who is there when men need Him, and who can serve other “gods” as well. He is a God who is above men, not under them, who controls men and is not controlled by them. He is a God who is willing to overlook past sins, but who requires that all men repent of their sin and rejection of His self-revelation and standards of holiness. He is a God who does not allow men to be speculative about Him or religion. He is about to judge the world in righteousness, through Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Messiah. As proof of His identity as the Judge of the earth, God raised Him from the dead. The “unknown god” should not have been unknown, and His identity is now made known—Jesus, the Son of God, raised from the dead.

These self-important philosophers were exposed as fools! What a blow to the religious multi-god system of Athens; for all their gods they had missed the one true God. The philosophical, academic approach of these men had failed them because it made it seem you could look at truth from a distant non-committal viewpoint. They were wrong! Time was limited and judgment imminent. They must decide upon the truth and commit themselves to it, not through a mere mental exercise, but as a matter of life and death, for this decision bears on one’s eternal destiny.

“Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some {began} to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Acts 17:32-34

The Athenian philosophers got more than what they wanted and less. They got more in the sense that they were informed of their ignorance and sin. They were told of a Savior Whose name they had never heard, of a coming day of judgment, and of a Judge Who had been raised from the dead. They were called to make the kind of commitment to truth which they had avoided for years. 

They also heard less than they wanted or expected. They had hoped for a very complex system, a very intricate philosophical approach to life and “god,” that would leave the common (dull) mind gasping for air, thus making them seem very intelligent. A system so complex that it could never fully be grasped would give them years to ponder and probe without taking action. Paul gave them a very simple gospel, the same as he preached everywhere, the message of a Savior, of a cross, of a resurrection, of a coming day of judgment, and of a choice which must be made. They wanted Paul to stay on, so they could continue their conversations and begin their cross-examination. Instead, Paul moved on because there were other places to go, where the gospel had not been proclaimed. His gospel was simple and short; there really was nothing else they needed to know and no amount of debate and argumentation could persuade them. Only the Holy Spirit could “open their hearts and minds” to the truths which he had spoken, as He did with Dionysius the Areopogite and Damaris.

Luke’s account of Paul’s preaching in Athens is descriptive of what Paul did. Paul’s writings in his epistles supply us with an explanation of what, why, and how he did what he did at Athens. The first three chapters of 1 Corinthians, the first chapter of Romans, and the first two chapters of Colossians bear directly on Paul’s ministry at Athens. The third chapter of Philippians is also informative. The following passages are only suggestive, but they are a starting point for further study:  Romans 1:18-23; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 3:18-23. I suggest study of these passages.

Don’t these Athenian philosophers remind you of Americans today? Gentile heathens in ancient times enjoyed the blessings of political freedom in what was one of the earliest democracies. Cultured, highly intelligent, well-educated and very religious, they rejected God and exchanged the worship of the one true God for “gods” of their own. Very similar to our secular culture today. We have more confidence in human reasoning and our search for truth than we do in the one Who is the Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. We, as a culture, are always in pursuit of something new and novel.

How often enlightened Christians look down on those who have a simple answer to life’s problems (Christ, and His shed blood)! They tell us that life’s problems are really much more complex than salvation and that the wisdom which we need is not really that found in the Bible, but only product of the human pursuit of knowledge. We sanctify such knowledge often by adding the adjective “Christian” in front of it, but all too often it is only some “god” of our own making, an idol of sorts before which we bow the knee, in addition to Christ, and often in place of Him. God does not tolerate competition. We know this in our hearts, in practice we set up idols anyway. Many of the methods, skills, and techniques which are taught Christians are really the products of human minds and inquiry, not Biblical revelation. They are not simple, gospel answers to life’s problems, but complex drawn-out processes. We should alert to those subtle human elements which creep into our theology and practice, in the name of religion, but not in accordance with the gospel. We should examine to see how much of our religion and worship is our own adaptation of God’s revelation, or our own re-shaping of God, to make Him more to our liking.  Is our worship is God-centered or man-centered, focused on pleasing and serving God or getting God to serve us and our perceived needs? How much of our proclamation of the gospel is consistent with Paul’s preaching -- a simple, straightforward message of man’s sin and coming judgment, Christ’s sacrifice and salvation for all who would repent and believe?

The gospel should shape our worship and our every action!

Although Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, he actually preached quite often in the synagogues. Some people wonder why a missionary tasked with reaching Gentiles would go to Jews in almost every city, inevitably rousing their ire and making the evangelism process more difficult, but I think Paul had good reason. Although he was called to evangelize primarily Gentiles, he was not called to ignore Jews in evangelism. Following the pattern of Jesus and the other apostles, Paul took the gospel to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. Preaching in the synagogues was an effective means for reaching Gentiles as almost every synagogue had proselytes, Gentile “God-seekers”. Sergius Paulus and Lydia were such. These Gentile “God-seekers” were already looking for salvation from a Jewish Messiah and had some knowledge of the Old Testament. They needed less instruction than raw pagans, so they were potential church leaders after their conversion. However, Paul’s ministry to the synagogues would come to a gradual slow-down due to growing Jewish opposition.

“Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and coming upon the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And they stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them. And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.” Acts 17:1-10a

Paul and the others were invited to speak in the Thessalonian synagogue and Paul’s message was Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, spoken of by the Old Testament prophets, rejected by His people and put to death for the sins of men, crucified and risen from the dead. To receive Him was to obtain forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life. Of course, Paul’s message netted mixed results. Some believed, especially among the Gentiles. Some of the Jews were deeply angered by the Gentile reception of this gospel message. They sought to “overpower” Paul and the other missionaries, manipulating the crowds and the political system. The “peace” was deliberately “disturbed,” with the city being set into an uproar. The angry mob stormed the house of Jason (verse 5), who apparently was a believer providing food and lodging for the missionary party, arresting Jason, though they were unable to find Paul and his party.

These Jewish opponents of Paul and the gospel accused them of upsetting the world, of inciting men to acts of violence and insurrection by advocating a King other than Caesar. Jason was guilty of “aiding and abetting” these men and their revolutionary movement. Their arguments worked. Jason was apparently forced to agree to send Paul out of town and Paul and Silas left that night for Berea. From a human standpoint, the ministry at Thessalonica was cut short, forcing Paul to minister by letter. Here we see the sovereign hand of God once more because the first and second letters to Thessalonica were probably the first letters Paul wrote in the ministry. Their impact has been profound, stretching far beyond Thessalonica in the 1^st Century.

“And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there likewise, agitating and stirring up the crowds. And then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.” Acts 16:10b-15

Luke seems to want us to contrast rather than compare Berea to Thessalonica. There were differences in size. Thessalonica was a large, major city; Berea, apparently, was a small, “sleepy town,” an “out of the way place”. Amphipolis and Apollonia, also mentioned in the text, but Paul didn’t stop there, seem to have had no synagogue (explaining, perhaps, why Paul didn’t stop); Berea did. Luke also contrasted between the “more noble-mindedness” of the Jews in Berea than those in Thessalonica.

Luke really emphasized the noble-mindedness of these Berean Jews, so what in particular set them apart? What made these people “noble-minded”? It appears to have been a community trait that the Bereans possessed as unbelievers. They were the exception among Jews, not the rule, but they approached the ideal for Jews. They were looking for the Messiah and didn’t need a lot of convincing that they had found Him in Jesus.

The Thessalonian Jews were reluctant to be stirred by Paul’s preaching – it took them three Sabbaths to respond and then they primarily responded to the influx of heathen Gentiles, not Paul’s message. I would submit they were disinterested in spiritual matters before Paul arrived. The Bereans were Jews waiting for the Messiah and delighted to hear He had come. It appears the Bereans were Bible readers. Many Hellenistic Jews had the Septuagint available to them through their synagogue libraries and all Jewish males were taught to read, at least Hebrew, so they could study the Scriptures. The Bereans didn’t act upon men’s words, but upon God’s revealed Word. Paul spoke from Scripture and this delighted them. They didn’t let Paul do their thinking for them. They held themselves individually responsible to search out Paul’s teachings in Scripture and to check it for consistency with Biblical revelation. These were people of the Word, who eagerly received what was consistent with the Word once they confirmed it from the Word for themselves. This predisposed them to Paul’s teachings which aligned with Scripture.

This passage from Acts challenges us to be “Berean” Christians. Yes, this is an ideal that few will ever attain, but we could learn a lot from the characteristics of the Bereans.

The Berean attitude was confidence in the Word of God as God’s authoritative source of revelation and as a standard for all teaching and conduct. They had confidence in their own ability to understand and interpret the Bible. The second characteristic of the Berean attitude was that of distrust. While God’s Word is perfect, men are not. Thus, the Bereans did not assume that the teaching of the Bible was what some man said it taught. Paul, though he was clearly a great teacher, was not assumed to be “right” because he sounded authoritative. Every man’s teaching must be tested by the Word of God. No one’s teaching or viewpoint was to be accepted on the basis of his confidence, his methodology, his claims, his academic pedigree, or his reputation. The only final basis of authority is God’s Word, pure and simple.

Let us, then, seek to be Berean in our handling of the Word of God. Let us ask God to give us the love and eagerness to study God’s Word, and to test the teachings of all men. Let us see ourselves as responsible for discerning what the Bible teaches and not let others do our thinking for us. Let us listen to faithful men carefully, and then do our own homework, daily studying the Word as the only authoritative source of doctrine and practice.