PAUL THE APOSTLE ( PART 32 ) | THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY | LESSON FROM ATHENS ( PART 1 )

Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3132

PAUL THE APOSTLE ( PART 32 )

THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY
LESSON FROM ATHENS ( PART 1 )

Paul was shocked by the rampant idolatry of Athens that he witnessed with his own eyes.

He probably saw the many statues at the Agora dedicated to the pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses especially the shrines of the goddess Athena who was the patron deity of Athens.

To combat such idolatry, he started preaching the gospel in three places:

1. At the synagogue at Athens.

There, Paul encounters both religious Jews and devout Gentile God-fearers. Both groups would be biblically literate. 

2. In the marketplace ( Agora )

Paul also preaches in the busy Athens marketplace (called the agora) to the biblically illiterate Gentiles of Athens.

3. In the Areopagus ( Mars Hill ).

Here he was invited to explain the gospel to two groups of vying philosophers.

1. Epicureans were materialists, believing that everything came from atoms or particles of matter. There was no life beyond this; all that was human returned to matter at death. Though the Epicureans did not deny the existence of gods, they saw them as totally indifferent to humanity. So they believed that it was best to " eat, drink and make merry for tomorrow we die".

2. The Stoics on the other hand were pantheists, believing that the ultimate divine principle was to be found in all of nature, including human beings. This spark of divinity, which they referred to as the logos, was the cohesive rational principle that bound the entire cosmic order together. Humans thus realized their fullest potential when they lived by reason.

Tomorrow we shall discuss Paul's famous sermon on Mars Hill.

Abba Father, at Athens Paul, shared the gospel to three groups: 

1. The Jews and God Fearers i.e. Gentiles sympathetic towards Judaism at the local synagogue. They probably understood Hebrew.

2. The Gentiles at the Agora who were probably illiterate except for some understanding of Koine Greek ( the Greek is spoken at the marketplace ) which language Paul knew enough to share the gospel to them.

3. Two groups of philosophers - the Epicureans and the Stoics.

We can discern Paul's zeal in sharing the gospel with all levels of Athenian society. They may have thought he was sharing about a new god to the - one who resurrected from the dead. Only those who understood the primacy of Christ - not just as one among many gods - will become believers in Christ.