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"Athenian" Witness

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The Scripture reading for this Sunday is Acts 17:16-34.

“All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there (Athens) spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” Acts 17:21

Even though Athens wasn’t the bustling major city that it once was when Paul visited – no longer was it at the “center of the world” for economic activity or military power – it was still a bustling city when it came to philosophical ideas. The Athenians loved to learn. They loved to ponder philosophy and religion and new concepts. They took pride in being the home of such great philosophers as Plato and Socrates.

And so when Paul showed up talking about “Jesus and the resurrection” they were interested in what this “babbler” was going on about. If, as they thought, he was babbling on about foreign gods, they wanted to know more. Had they missed erecting an idol to a foreign god in their pantheon of idols? Would this foreign god be able to help them in their pursuit of knowledge and understanding? (They didn’t seem to realize Paul’s motive for speaking about Jesus and the resurrection was his distress at the Athenian’s idol worship). And so Paul was invited to address the crowd at a meeting of the Areopagus.

Then, in the city of Athens, a city full of idols and idol worshippers, Paul addressed the crowd. And there are two important components of his speech (v. 22-31) that I want to highlight. First, Paul didn’t beat them over the head with Bible verses and condemn them as ‘idolaters who are bound for the depths of hell.’ Rather, Paul reasoned with them, using their own systems of thought and philosophical arguments. He even quoted Greek philosophers in his defense – “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Epimenides) and, “We are his offspring.” (Aratus) – in order to make his point.

But Paul didn’t just tell them what they wanted to hear. This is the second component of his speech that I want to highlight. Paul spoke with them in a way that made sense to them – he knew his audience – but Paul did this in order to confront their ignorant idolatry and proclaim the Gospel to them. Paul was not willing to compromise the Gospel. To different people he would proclaim it in different ways, but the Gospel message itself was always the same. Paul constantly proclaimed the message of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, God’s own Son.

That’s a major lesson for us in this passage. While we don’t live in a place like Athens where there are idols built to every imaginable god, we do live in a place (and a world) that makes idols out of many different things: tolerance, money, consumer goods, military power, status, employment, … And in this passage Paul teaches us the importance of having an adaptive and thoughtful witness for Jesus Christ. While the message of our crucified and risen Saviour remains the same, we can learn from Paul's example and find effective ways to connect our neighbours, friends, and family to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe that is through hospitality, or a common experience or interest, or by simply being present with them at a time of need.

And we rest in the assurance that we, like Paul, can do this, because God, by the Holy Spirit, promises us that He works before, through, and after us to accomplish His purposes.

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