BIBLE STUDY LESSON 08

SERIES V --- JOURNEYS FOR YESHUA

ATHENS

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY: PAUL AT MARS’ HILL IN ATHENS

From Acts 17:16-34

The men who had accompanied Paul to Athens returned at once to their homes in Berea. They brought word to Silas and Timothy, who had remained in Berea, to join Paul in Athens as soon as possible. While Paul waited for them, he looked around Athens to see what kind of city it was. He was deeply troubled as he saw idols everywhere. Paul entered into discussions with the Jews and devout Gentiles in the synagogues, and spoke daily in the public marketplace with those who came by. He also had discussions with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who scoffed when Paul told them about Yeshua and the resurrection. [What is this babbler trying to say?] some of them asked. [He must have some new foreign religion,] said others. Paul accepted their invitation to present his views at a discussion meeting on Mars’ Hill. [Now tell us more about this new teaching. What you are saying sounds strange, but we want to know more,] they said. This was rather typical of the Athenians and some visiting foreigners, for they spent much of their time telling and listening to new thoughts. When Paul stood in the midst of these people, he presented the following speech: [Gentlemen, I recognize that you are very religious men, for on a tour of your city I noticed your many sacred objects. I found one altar with this inscription, ‘To an Unknown YHVH.’ Evidently you have been worshiping Him without knowing Who He is. So let me tell you about Him. [He is the YHVH Who has made the world and all that is in it. He is Adonai of heaven and earth, and thus does not live in temples which men have made. He is the One Who gave life and breath to everything on earth, so He does not depend on our handiwork to sustain Him. From one man named Adam He made all the people on earth, gathering them into the nations which have settled in various places throughout the lands. It is He Who has determined which nations would rise up to be great, and when these things would happen, and where their boundaries would lie. Behind all of this is one supreme purpose which He established, that these people might seek Him, searching earnestly for Him until they find Him. Of course, nobody needs to search far, for He is quite near us at all times, for our life, movement, and being are in Him. One of your own poets said, ‘We are truly His children.’ Now then, since all of our attributes have come from Him, how can we think that He is an idol which men have made from gold, silver, stone, or anything else which men have made? In the past YHVH has overlooked such ignorance. Now, He insists that people put away these foolish things and worship Him alone. He has appointed a certain day to judge the world by the standards of righteousness, and He has appointed this Yeshua to serve as His judge, and has focused the world’s attention on Him by raising Him from the dead.] When Paul mentioned the resurrection from the dead, some of the people scoffed. Others said, [We will listen another time when you tell us more about these things.] The speech was over, but a few gathered around him and became believers. These new believers included Dionysius, one of the leaders of the city, and a woman named Damaris.

COMMENTARY

ATHENS

The citizens of Athens loved to boast of their city’s long and proud history. They called themselves [the people who sprang out of the earth,] because their ancestors had lived in Athens longer than human memory. No one knows who was the first inhabitant, but archaeologists have discovered traces of people who lived there in the earliest ages of human history. The Greek poets declared Athens the most beautiful city in the world. They praised its magnificent temples and public buildings. The Parthenon, the famous temple of Athena, is still admired today for its dignity and grace. The city was named after Athena, the Greek goddess of truth and justice. Her temple stood on top of the Acropolis, a rocky crag in the centre of Athens. From its height, the Athenians could look out over their city and the Aegean Sea. The large open space below the Acropolis was called the {agora.} It was the marketplace and social centre of the city. This open plaza was surrounded by great columned porticos. The wise men of Athens often gathered there to debate their philosophies. When Paul visited this city on his second missionary journey, he argued with the philosophers in the city agora. On a second hill, lower than the sacred Acropolis, was the open-air court of the Areopagus. The Athenians took Paul to this windswept rock, demanding that he defend the Gospel in a public hearing. The apostle gave one of his most famous speeches from this flat-topped hill. But even though Paul won a few people to Moshiach, he was not able to establish a church in the ancient city of Athena.