Participants: Tony Moore
Series Code: IFP
Program Code: IFP000011
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01:37 Both Jews and Gentiles were responding to Paul's message
01:40 that Jesus was the Christ, 01:42 Jesus was the Messiah in Berea. 01:45 Then the troublemakers arrived from Thessalonica 01:48 stirring up the crowds. 01:50 Immediately Paul had to be taken to the coast and sail 01:54 for Athens, we read about it in Acts 17:13. 02:25 When they rounded Cape Su Yon at the tip of Attica, 02:28 Paul would have looked up to see the great Temples of 02:31 Poseidon, then they would have sailed north to 02:33 the great Port of Piraeus. 02:36 He would see the Acropolis off in the distance with a 02:39 stunning white marble of the Temple reflecting the rays 02:43 of the Sun, it was even more spectacular sight for Paul 02:46 then it is for us, for the buildings would have been 02:50 crowned with their lovely roofs. 02:52 As Paul walked up from the Port of Piraeus to the great 02:55 classical city, his eye would have been focused upon 02:59 the Acropolis, his eye would've been focused upon the 03:02 great Parthenon that had been built by Pericles 03:06 500 years earlier. 03:08 I am sure as he walked up from the coast there must have 03:11 been a sense of excitement, a sense of wonder as he was 03:14 coming into this great classical city. 03:18 The building was known as Athena Parthenon's, 03:21 or Athena the Virgin. 03:23 She was a patron goddess of the city and Phidias had 03:27 carved a fantastic statue of her nearly 40 feet tall. 03:31 She was decorated with gold and silver and ivory. 03:38 Paul had to be struck with wonder as he entered the 03:41 classical city that was an open air museum at its 03:44 height, over 250,000 people lived around in Acropolis. 03:49 When Paul entered the city, there were barely 03:53 10,000 people living here. 03:55 Although it was not as great as during the classical age, 03:59 it was still an intellectual center of the Western world. 04:04 People still came from far and near to learn in this 04:08 city, to explore ideas, to share philosophies, and to sit 04:12 at the feet of the world's greatest teachers. 04:15 As an old proverb said, Athens is to the world as spring 04:21 is to the earth, and stars to the heavens. 04:25 Athens had a great history of democracy, art, painting, 04:30 and sculpture, and was the philosophical 04:33 center of the world. 04:35 It was an open air museum as it still is today. 04:38 This was a university town of the Roman world. 04:42 This is where Rome sent its finest and brightest minds 04:46 to finish their education. 04:49 When the escort, who had accompanied Paul from Berea, 04:52 accomplish their task, they returned up the coast to 04:56 Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join 05:01 Paul as soon as possible. 05:03 Apparently Paul was waiting for his colleagues before 05:07 going down to the great metropolitan city of Corinth. 05:11 That was the capital of the Roman province of Aecia. 05:14 Paul wanted to go to Corinth, that great port city, 05:18 to plant a church, establish the gospel there. 05:22 So he waited here in this city alone. 05:28 While he waited for them he wandered through the city. 05:31 He would've seen the octagonal wind tower with its relief 05:34 sculptures of the eight gods of the winds. 05:37 The huge theater of Dionysus had seating for 17,000 05:41 spectators and 64 rows of seats. 05:45 The Odeon of Herod would not be built for another 05:47 century, but the huge temple to Olympic Zeus would have 05:51 been a spectacular sight. 05:53 Yes this was a fantastic city with a splendid past. 05:57 It is such a wonder to walk around these monuments today 06:01 and to realize that democracy was initiated here. 06:08 Doubtless Paul would have come up the pantheonic 06:10 way to visit the Acropolis. 06:13 He would have come up to see the Parthenon designed 06:17 by Pericles and constructed in the 06:20 middle of the fifth century. 06:22 This fabulous Temple was built as a place for Athena 06:27 Parthenon's, or Athena the maiden. 06:30 The idea was created by Pericles in the middle 06:33 of the fifth century. 06:34 It was constructed between 448 and 437 BC. 06:39 And it housed a fantastic statue sculpted by Phidias 06:44 himself and was covered with gold and ivory. 06:48 It stood 40 feet tall and it dominated the 06:51 entire site of the Acropolis. 06:53 Yes this was Athena Parthenon's, Athena the maiden, 06:57 patron goddess of the city of Athens. 07:00 Pericles had design that this would sit Athens apart from 07:04 all the other Greek cities states, and indeed it did. 07:08 As you would sail into the harbor of Piraeus, 07:11 you would see the Acropolis in the distance. 07:13 There on the top you would see the Parthenon standing 07:18 tall, and standing right. 07:20 But to Paul this was not the fruit of man's soaring genius, 07:25 but these were shrines to false gods. 07:29 To Paul's mind, this would have been the embodiment 07:33 of evil, this would be a center of false teachings. 07:37 We see his reaction. 07:57 While Paul was waiting for Timothy and Silas, his heart 08:00 was stirred, he saw a city full of idols. 08:04 From the great statue of Athena in the Parthenon, to the 08:08 modern statues throughout the city, Paul was 08:11 distressed by what he saw. 08:15 It was once said that it is easier to find and idol in 08:18 this city, then to find a man. 08:20 Apparently there was a small Jewish synagogue and Paul 08:25 went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews and 08:29 the God-fearing Greeks seeking to share with them that 08:33 Jesus was the Christ, or Jesus was the Messiah. 08:38 In addition he went into the marketplace, the Greek Agora 08:41 was the commercial and civic center of the city. 08:44 The Romans extended the Agora by adding their Latin forum. 08:49 This was not only the place for selling or fruits and 08:52 vegetables and sewing of sandals, this was primarily the 08:56 place for the decisions of commerce to be made. 08:59 This was the place for the records of the city to be 09:01 housed, it was also the great gathering place. 09:05 Because of the moderate climate, Athenians spent much 09:08 of their time outdoors. 09:10 They intended to spend it in the Agora. 09:14 Today it is a giant museum, a wonderful place to walk 09:19 and ponder and think about the past. 09:22 But when Paul came, this was the place where people 09:25 gathered to discuss the latest ideas. 09:27 This was a place where they came to discuss politics 09:31 and share those ideas. 09:34 This attitude was reflected by one of their great orators 09:38 Demosthenes when he said, you go about the marketplace 09:42 asking, is there any news? 09:44 It seems that the pure atmosphere, the open air life, 09:49 the liberal institutions of this great city provided a 09:53 context for liveliness of thought, for a 09:56 free exchange of ideas. 09:58 Yes Paul found people here in this marketplace who were 10:02 open to listening to new ideas. 10:04 He shares with them the news about Jesus and His 10:08 resurrection from the dead. 10:10 Luke describes it in Acts 17:17. 10:46 Paul came to the marketplace, or the Agora, and mingled 10:49 with those who were there to discuss the latest ideas. 10:52 Here are the tremendous buildings, including the 10:56 Stoa of Attalos, the King of Pergamum. 10:59 The Phocion, the Odeon, the Temple of the Heroes, it was 11:04 a fantastic place filled with legislators, philosophers, 11:09 artist, and merchants. 11:12 When Paul got the opportunity, he began to share with the 11:17 philosophers here in the Agora. 11:19 He shared with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. 11:22 It is very interesting that these were two of the major 11:26 dominant philosophical schools in the 11:29 city of Athens at this time. 11:32 One group believed that while there was a God, he had 11:35 little interest in the affairs of human beings. 11:38 He did not intervene or take an active role. 11:42 In the other group believed that there was a God, 11:45 and that God was the soul of all men. 11:49 They believe that everything happened, happened by the 11:52 will of God, and so these two philosophical schools 11:56 of thought, covered the entire spectrum. 11:59 From a God not being involved, or intervening, 12:02 or participating in the affairs of human beings, 12:04 to the other side of the spectrum where everything 12:07 that happened, happened by the will of God. 12:10 Paul entered into the lively discussion, into a debate 12:14 with the Epicureans and the Stoic philosophers. 12:18 The Epicurean school of thought was founded by a Epicurus, 12:22 who taught that pleasure was the chief end 12:25 of life, he talked that the most important thing in life 12:29 was to be free of pain, and to pursue pleasure. 12:33 They were not to worry about the future, they were 12:37 not to worry about death. 12:38 Horace, one of his disciples summarized their 12:42 teachings in this way. 13:02 Live for today, seize the moment, this is the time, 13:06 their philosophy sounds strangely familiar to 13:10 our ears, doesn't it? 13:11 Yes, it's your thing, do what you want to do, pursue 13:16 pleasure, pursue happiness above all things. 13:19 This was the teaching of the Epicureans. 13:23 But there was another teacher in the city that had 13:26 tremendous influence, Zeno was too poor to rent a public 13:31 Hall so he taught his pupils while he strolled through 13:35 the Stolla, or the columns in the public 13:38 buildings of the Agora. 13:41 Zeno taught that God was a great soul of all men. 13:45 That meant that God was in everyone, therefore 13:50 all men were brothers. 13:52 The Stoics tended to live a high moral life. 13:57 They tended to be good upright people. 14:01 They listened with Epicureans to what Paul was saying. 14:05 They responded by saying, what is this babbler saying 14:10 advocating foreign gods? 14:13 This were babbler is very interesting. 14:15 It means seed picker, and it referred to those who 14:19 will go through the marketplace looking for undigested 14:23 seeds, and in this context it meant looking for those 14:27 who were looking for undigested parcels of knowledge 14:31 in the marketplace. 14:33 This could be a serious charge, advocating strange gods. 14:38 For it was in the same marketplace, the same Agora that 14:43 Socrates was condemned for teaching strange gods and 14:49 corrupting the youth. 14:51 He was condemned to drink a cup of poison hemlock, which he 14:55 willingly drank and his life was ended and he was buried 14:59 here in this great city of Athens. 15:03 Times have changed, for philosophers seemed interested 15:06 in what Paul was teaching, so they asked him to continue 15:10 on, they listened inquisitively. 15:13 Paul then told them about Jesus and the resurrection. 15:18 This surprised his audience. 15:21 You see Socrates and Plato taught that we have an immortal 15:27 soul and that at death our soul was released 15:30 from the prison house of the body to go on to 15:33 a higher, purer existence. 15:36 So when Paul talked about the resurrection, he lost his 15:40 audience, they didn't understand the resurrection, 15:44 it wasn't in their vocabulary. 15:46 It's very interesting because they said he's advocating 15:49 strange gods, yes God's, plural. 15:53 I thought Paul was a monotheist? 15:57 Of course he's a monotheist, he was only advocating 16:01 Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. 16:04 But to the Greek ear, the word Anastasias sounded like a 16:09 second God, perhaps a female god. 16:12 They thought that was Jesus and a cohort, that is Jesus 16:17 and another god named Anastasias. 16:20 The people were very tolerant of new ideas. 16:24 Times had changed since the times of Socrates, but this 16:29 attitude of tolerance and open-mindedness also meant that 16:34 they were willing to listen to new ideas, but not 16:38 necessarily accept them. 17:05 They brought Paul before the Areopagus, or the assembly 17:08 of the people, typically this Council was made up of no 17:12 more than 30 men. 17:14 And for normal business they would meet on the Hill of 17:17 the Appenix, but there was a question of passing 17:21 judgment upon a criminal, they prefer to meet here on 17:24 this rocky outcropping. 17:27 This piece of rock below the Acropolis, and above the 17:31 Agora, it was known in Paul's day as the Areopagus, also 17:36 known as Mars Hill today. 17:39 This was the place where the supreme Council would pass 17:43 judgment, the word Areopagus come down as the word for 17:47 the modern Supreme Court of the nation of Greece. 17:51 Yes Paul was brought before this agust assembly and 17:55 there he witnessed for his faith. 17:58 He shared his ideas of Jesus and His resurrection from 18:03 the dead, Paul was alone here in the city. 18:06 Yet he came before the greatest intellectual thinkers of 18:10 the day and shared his faith in Jesus and the 18:14 resurrection of the dead. 18:16 We see Paul's teachings have been inscribed in this 18:20 bronze plaque at the base the Areopagus, or Mars Hill. 18:47 It is said that there were more statues of gods in Athens 18:50 then all the rest of Greece put together. 18:53 It was said it was easier to find a statue of a God in 18:58 Athens that was to find a man. 19:01 One ancient witness said there were over 3000 19:04 statues in the city. 19:05 Paul said as I walked through the city, it has been very 19:09 evident that you are very religious people, I have seen 19:13 subscriptions to all kinds of gods throughout the city. 19:16 I even saw and inscription and an altar 19:21 to the unknown God. 19:23 Now this may indeed sounds strange to our ears, why would 19:27 you have an altar to an unknown God? 19:30 Well the story goes that a plague went out through the 19:33 city of Athens, that they sacrificed goats and sheep to 19:37 the various gods of the city, but the plague continued. 19:40 Finally someone said, it must be a God we are not 19:44 aware of, so they sacrificed to the unknown God 19:47 and the plague stopped. 19:50 Paul comes in and he says to the people on that great 19:55 assembly of Areopagus that this unknown God you worship 20:00 is a God that I have come to proclaim in the city. 20:04 Acts 17:24. 20:59 Paul says that this unknown God is the Creator of the world. 21:02 He says that this Creator God does not dwell in 21:06 a temple made with hands. 21:08 The Athenians prided themselves on Athena Parthenos, 21:12 Athena the Virgin and that great building constructed by 21:16 Pericles and Paul said the great God, the Creator of the 21:21 world does not dwell in buildings made with human hands. 21:26 Even Yahweh, the God of the Jews is not limited to 21:30 dwelling in the Temple in Jerusalem. 21:32 He dwells in the highest heaven. 21:35 Yes Paul said this unknown God that you worship is the 21:39 Creator of the world and I have come here to 21:42 proclaim Him unto you. 21:45 Paul draws on their own sources and he quotes one 21:50 of their poets, a Cilician poet, Aratus who said, 21:54 "we are His offspring. " 21:57 Paul takes this line and develops the concept of a single 22:03 indivisible deity who is the Creator of the world. 22:42 Since we are God's offspring, we should not think about 22:46 this God as a God who could be carved from marble and 22:49 covered with gold and silver and ivory. 22:53 No, this God is the Creator of the world. 22:57 Paul says, this God has over looked our times of ignorance 23:04 in times past, that He has winked at our times of 23:07 ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere 23:11 to repent because there is a time coming when He will 23:15 judge the world through the man Jesus Christ whom 23:19 He had raised from the dead. 23:21 They listened carefully to what Paul said, but when he 23:25 began to talk about repentance and a time of 23:28 judgment, they did not quite follow what he meant. 23:32 You see they didn't really have a word for repentance. 23:36 They believe that if you offended God that you changed 23:39 your behavior, what did it mean to repent? 23:43 When Paul began to use the resurrection of Jesus as a 23:48 proof that's He will be the One to judge the world, they 23:53 became even more confused. 23:55 Yes Socrates and Plato taught that when you die your soul 24:01 is released from the prison house of the body. 24:04 To go on to a higher and purer state. 24:07 What did this mean, a resurrection from the dead? 24:11 Paul said that this was the proof that Jesus will 24:15 come to judge the world. 24:27 Some sneered at Paul's teaching about the resurrection. 24:31 This obviously would've been Epicureans whose 24:35 founder Epicurus had said. 24:51 Because of this, his disciples did not need to hear 24:55 anymore of Paul's teachings, but the Stoics were not as 24:59 offended as Epicureans by what Paul had taught. 25:04 They said we would like to hear you again on this matter. 25:08 It almost seems as if Paul was trying to reach 25:12 out to the Stoics. 25:31 What a tremendous response to Paul's teaching before the 25:35 Areopagus, while there were not tremendous crowds 25:39 stepping forward to believe in Jesus, it is amazing to me 25:43 that the Gospel penetrated the highest Council of Athens. 25:48 Dionysius became a believer in Jesus, local tradition 25:53 says that he became the Bishop of the Church here in 25:57 Athens and that he built his first Church here at the 26:01 foot of the Areopagus. 26:04 Indeed you can see the foundation of the church that is 26:08 clearly laid out and clearly marked by these stones 26:12 below the current Mars Hill. 26:15 Today he is the patron saint of Athens and Luke also 26:21 mentions Damaris a woman who was also converted when 26:25 Paul witnessed before the supreme Council, or the supreme 26:30 Court here in Athens. 26:32 We do not know who she was exactly, he doesn't use the 26:35 word prominent woman like he used to describe the women 26:39 in Berea and Thessalonica, but she must have been very 26:43 special to have been at attendance at the special 26:46 meeting of the Areopagus. 26:49 Paul would leave the city without seeing 26:53 the church established. 26:55 He saw several believers who came to have faith in Jesus, 26:59 but he would leave that and establish one of the churches 27:03 to Dionysius, Damaris and the other believers. 27:07 Paul would leave and journey down to the great city of 27:11 Corinth, that twin Harbored city that at this time was 27:15 25 times more populated than the city of Athens. 27:19 That is where we are going in the next chapter of 27:23 this series, but now I invite you to join me 27:27 as we pray together. 27:28 Eternal God we thank you so much for the story of the 27:32 apostle Paul who came here to the great city of Athens. 27:36 How he witnessed in the marketplace, how he shared about 27:40 Jesus with the greatest teachers and thinkers of his age. 27:45 Lord I thank you how this message penetrated the highest 27:49 Council of the day and how Dionysius responded and how 27:53 Damaris responded and how they became the nucleus of the 27:57 church here in this city. 27:59 I thank you for your power to reach all levels of 28:02 society, even today, but most of all Lord Jesus, I thank 28:06 you for Your power where it has reached someone like me. 28:10 I thank you for Your power reach each of us individually 28:14 and we rejoice in that this day from the city of Athens, 28:17 we pray in Jesus name Amen! 28:20 Yes what a privilege it has been to be here in the city 28:23 of Athens where Paul came to preach before the greatest 28:26 Council of the land. 28:28 In our next chapter we are journeying down to the city 28:31 of Corinth, join us for that special teaching from the 28:34 twin Harbored city of Corinth. |
Revised 2014-12-17