Acts 17 explained: Riots, Scripture Study, and Athens

Arguing from Scripture (vv. 1-4)

For three Sabbaths at the synagogue in Thessalonica, Paul used the Jewish Scriptures to argue that the promised Messiah (God's chosen king) had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that Jesus was that king. Some Jewish listeners agreed, along with many Greeks who already worshiped Israel's God and a number of the city's leading women.

A mob and a charge (vv. 5-9)

Some synagogue members, upset at losing influence, stirred up a crowd and dragged Paul's host Jason before the city officials when Paul could not be found. Claiming there was a king other than Caesar, the Roman emperor, was a serious political charge, and Jason had to post a money pledge, probably as a promise to keep the peace.

The Bereans check (vv. 10-15)

The Jewish community in Berea listened eagerly and checked Paul's claims against their Scriptures every day, and the text calls this noble. When opponents followed from Thessalonica, local believers sent Paul on to Athens while his coworkers Silas and Timothy stayed behind.

Debating in Athens (vv. 16-21)

Troubled by the city's many idols, Paul talked with Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue and with passersby in the marketplace, where Epicurean philosophers (who thought the gods were distant) and Stoics (who saw divine reason in everything) took him on. Some mocked him as a babbler, and some seem to have heard "Jesus and the resurrection" as two new gods, so they brought him to the Areopagus, an old Athenian council.

The unknown God (vv. 22-31)

Paul starts from an altar "to an unknown god" and argues that the Creator needs no temples or gifts, made every nation from one ancestor, and is close to everyone, quoting Greek poets to make his point. He then says God has passed over past ignorance but now calls all people to change direction, because a day of judgment is coming through a man God raised from the dead.

Mixed reactions (vv. 32-34)

Many Greeks of the time found the idea of a dead body rising again absurd, so some sneered while others wanted to hear more. A few believed, including Dionysius, a member of the council, and a woman named Damaris.

Key verse: Acts 17:27

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on how to read the Athens speech: some see it as a model for finding real truth in other cultures and beliefs, while others stress it mainly as a sharp call to turn away from them.

Something to think about

Have you ever found yourself searching for something without being sure what to call it?