101
Acts 17:18-21  The Kind of People Whom Paul Encountered at Athens

Introduction:

	In our text today Luke tells us about some of the religions which Paul 
encountered at Athens.  

I.  A glance back at our previous text

	In our previous text the Apostle Paul arrived at Athens, Greece.  He sent 
word for Silas and Timothy to meet him there.  While he waited for them he made 
a tour of the city of  Athens.  He saw that the city of Athens had some very 
huge magnificent temples in which many idol gods where housed and worshipped.  
The beauty and splendor of these idol gods far excelled anything that Paul had 
seen in all his travels.  In addition to the huge temples, the city was filled 
with miniature shrines in which one or more idols stood.  People who passed 
through the streets of the city would stop and worship at these shrines.  
	In sharp contrast to the idolatry of the city Paul found a Jewish 
synagogue in which the one true God was worshipped.  On the sabbath day he 
attended worship services at that synagogue and, as he had done in many other 
cities, he witnessed to the Jews and Gentile proselytes telling them that Jesus 
is the Christ whom God had promised.  Luke said that Paul disputed with those 
who argued against Jesus being the Christ.  This, of course, was not an angry 
dispute.  He just reasoned with them pointing out sound reasons why they should 
accept Jesus as the Christ and as the Savior.  We are to do the same thing with 
the people whom we encounter in our daily activity.  We are to reason with them 
and show them Biblical proof that salvation is to be found only through faith in 
Jesus Christ.  
	Then in the week days following the sabbath, Paul went into the marked 
place to witness to anyone who would listen to him.  There he informed the 
people that God had sent His Son, His only begotten Son, to this earth to be the 
Savior of men.  He pointed out that Jesus of Nazareth is that Savior.  He 
informed them that although Jesus had been crucified on a cross, yet He had 
risen from the dead and that there were many witnesses to the fact that He had 
risen.  

II.  The Epicureans

	In our text today Luke calls our attention to some of the religions that 
Paul encountered there at Athens.  V. 18, “Then certain philosophers of the 
Epicureans...”  The Epicureans were followers of the teachings of Epicures, who 
had lived about 300 years B. C.  Epicures had taught that it is not certain that 
a god of any kind exists.  He said that even if there is a god or gods (plural) 
that the world was not created by a god and that man was not created by a god.  
Therefore, he believed that whatever god or gods exist they are not interested 
in the activities or well being of man.  He said that god neither punishes man 
nor helps man.  
	Epicures also taught that the greatest good comes to man by seeking 
happiness and pleasure.  To his credit, Epicures did not hold that pleasure was 
to be obtained just any way.  He was opposed to abandoning moral principles and 
maintaining restraint in one’s conduct.  However, by the time of the Apostle 
Paul his followers had abandoned all moral principles and taught that pleasure 
was to be sought without any kind of restraints.  	It is to be surmised that 
the Epicureans were not the people who had built all of the many idol gods that 
Paul saw as he toured the city of Athens, Greece.  They were not all that much 
interested in the worship of any god, since they did not believe that man 
depends of a god for good in his life. 
 	The Epicureans of Paul’s day were the forerunners of those who in our day 
say  that there is no living god to whom man must give account for his actions.   
They say that “if it feels good, do it.”  Thus, they are the forerunners of the 
modern secular humanists and forerunners of the so-called “women’s freedom” 
movement.  According to these people all moral principles should be abandoned 
and that all restraint should be abandoned in one’s effort to seek pleasure.  
	We should take notice that the Apostle Paul sought to show the error of 
the teachings of the Epicureans.  He disputed with the Epicureans in the market 
place as he had disputed with the Jews in the synagogue.  

III.  The Stoicks

	(V. 18), “...and of the Stoick, encountered him...”  The Stoicks, in 
contrast to the Epicureans, did not express any doubt about the existence of a 
god or gods.  They believed in the existence of many gods.  They were the chief 
reason that so many idols had been built to so many different gods in the city 
of Athens.  
	Also, in contrast to the Epicureans, the Stoicks believed that the gods 
had created the world including man and, therefore, the gods take a special 
interest in the actions and well being of man.  
	They not only believed in the existence of gods, but they believed in some 
kind of super-gods whom they called “Fates.”  According to the Stoicks the 
“Fates” totally rule the world and totally control the actions of man.  
	Also, in contrast to the Epicureans, the Stoicks believed that happiness 
can only be achieved by a complete subjection of all passions.  Therefore, they 
held to high moral principles and their religious beliefs consisted of very 
strict rules and restraints.  

IV.  The reception which Paul received by the people

	Some thought that Paul was some kind of babbler, some kind of religious 
nut.  (V. 18), “...And some said, What will this babbler say?...”  It seems that 
these people did not seek to present a rebuttal to Paul’s arguments.  Rather 
they sought to discredit him by ridiculing him and slandering him.  They called 
him a babbler.  This is still the Devil’s tactic today.  When the Devil’s crowd 
cannot present a reasonable sounding answer to the Christian message, they 
simply seek to discredit the Christian by ridicule.  They use terms like “right-
winged Christian” or “Religious freak” to slander the Christian and to discredit 
his message.  Luke does not tell us here whether it was the Epicureans or the 
Stoicks who slandered Paul in this fashion.  I assume that some among both 
groups rejected the truths which Paul presented and who slandered him in this 
way.  
	We can be sure that there will be some today who will reject the Bible 
truths which we present and who will ridicule us.  We should not resort to the 
same kind of tactics.  We should seek to present the truth and resort to 
slander.  
	(V. 18), “...other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: 
because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.”  Not all looked upon 
Paul as a babbler.  There were some who thought he was preaching to them about 
some strange new god.  They had not yet understood that he was talking to them 
about the one true God and that Jesus is the very Son of God dwelling in human 
flesh.  To them Jesus was but one of many gods which existed and He was one that 
they had not heard about prior to this time.  To them Jesus was a strange god in 
that, according to Paul, He arose from the dead after being crucified.  They had 
never heard of such a god before.  
	V. 19, “And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we 
know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, [is]?  They did not, of 
course, take Paul by force.  Rather they urged him to go with them and they led 
him to Areopagus.  Areopagus was a large hill with a large flat rock at the top.  
It is better known to us as “Mars Hill.”  Ares was the Greek god after whom it 
was named.  Mars is the Roman name of the same god.  The flat rock at the top of 
the hill had steps leading up to it.  Upon the rock were benches where the city 
officials met in session.  A large audience could gather around the rock and 
hear the discussions by the city officials.  The rock was used for other 
important gatherings where a large audience could hear a speaker.  
	The reason which the people had who carried Paul to this hill was that 
they wanted to hear more of what he had to say about Jesus, whom they considered 
to be a strange new God.  In contrast to the some previous occasions in other 
cities, Paul was not on trial before the people.  They just wanted to him to 
tell them more about Jesus.  
	What an opportunity this was for Paul!  If he had asked to rent the 
Areopagus so that he could call the people together and tell them about Jesus 
they very likely would not have allowed him to do so.  But God arranged for him 
to get the use of the Areopagus free of charge and the people themselves flocked 
in to hear him.  
	V. 20-21, “For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would 
know therefore what these things mean.  (For all the Athenians and strangers 
which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to 
hear some new thing.)”  The people meant no disrespect toward Paul by calling 
his message about Jesus “some strange new thing.”  They simply meant that it was 
different to anything which they had ever heard before about any other god.  
	It may appear at first that these people were anxious to learn the truth 
about the true God, but such was not the case.  They were simply curious about 
any new thing which they would hear.  They were noted for seeking information 
about any new thing of which they might hear.  If they ever got wind of 
anything, they wanted to get all the information they could about it.  They were 
just a curious minded people.  
	It seems that pride was a motivating factor.  They not only wanted to 
learn a new thing, but they liked to be able to tell about the new thing to 
others.  They wanted to be the first to learn about it so that they could be the 
first to tell about it.  We find a similar curiosity among some people today.  
They like to be the first to hear the latest gossip so that they can be among 
the first to spread the gossip to others.  It boosts their ego to be the first 
to know and the first to tell.  
	So the motive of the people was not so noble, but God used their curiosity 
to get the gospel to a vast number of people in the city of Athens, Greece and a 
lot of people got saved as a result.  God uses the natural curiosity of people 
today to get the gospel message to the lost.  Most people who go to church for 
the first time in their lives do not go there because they are in search for the 
gospel truth.  They go there because they are curious about what goes on there 
or, perhaps, some other inferior motive.  But God uses their curiosity to get 
them under the preaching of the gospel and many of them get saved.    

V.  The need to get the message to the people today

	There are still a lot of people who have not heard the true gospel 
message.  Not all of those who have never heard the gospel message are way off 
in some far distant land.  Some of them are right around.  Let me tell you about 
myself.  I had heard about God and even heard about Jesus Christ all of my life.  
But I had never heard the true gospel message until I was in my mid teens.  
	Some of the people to whom we need to carry the gospel message are much 
like the Epicureans.  They are not very religious minded people.  Their chief 
goal in life is to gain wealth and pleasure.  Some of these people have known no 
restraints in their search for pleasure.  They are simply not aware that they 
are in danger of going into a place of torment where there will never be any 
more pleasure.  They may not be aware of it, but they are desperately in need of 
hearing the gospel message.  In spite of their great sinfulness and their loose 
morals if they will but repent of their sin and trust Jesus to save their souls, 
Jesus will save them.  
	Some of the people to whom we need to carry the gospel message today are 
much like the Stoics.  They are very religious, they have strict moral 
standards, but in spite of this they are still lost in their sins and headed for 
the fires of hell.   People cannot get to heaven by living a good clean moral 
life.  In spite of their strict moral standard they are still sinners in the 
sight of God and they need to be saved from their sin.  They need to hear about 
God’s love for them and to place their faith in Jesus Christ and be saved.      
	Another thing that I want to point out to you is that there are a lot more 
people who are willing for you to talk to them about Jesus than you might 
realize.  Let me call upon you who are saved to try it.  Let me ask you to try 
this next week to talk to someone about Jesus.  Give it a try and I think that 
you will be surprised at how many people are willing for you to witness to them 
about Jesus.  Give it a try!  Give it a try!  Give it a try!