100
Acts 17:15-17  PAULS ARRIVAL AT ATHENS

Introduction:  

	In our previous text the Apostle Paul was in the city of Berea in Greece.  
Paul had been well received when he first arrived at Berea, but unbelieving Jews 
from Thessalonica came and stirred up the city against him.  It became too 
dangerous for him to stay in Berea.  So the brethren of the newly organized 
church at Berea persuaded him to leave.  
	In our text today Paul arrives in the city of Athens, Greece, the capital 
city of the nation.  

I.  Paul escorted to Athens

	V. 15, “And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens...”   In 
verse 14 it is said that the brethren of the new church at Berea sent Paul away.  
In this verse it is said that they conducted him to Athens.  The idea is that 
the church as a whole sent him away from Berea, but it was only a certain few 
members of the church who accompanied him from Berea to Athens.  They evidently 
escorted him in order to ensure his safety while traveling the dangerous 
highway.  It seems that highways were dangerous even back then, but the danger 
was for a different reason.  There was no danger of a car wreck because they had 
no automobiles.  The danger was that highway robbers lurked along the way 
springing suddenly upon their victims robbing them of their valuables and 
wounding or perhaps even killing them.  For Paul it would have been as dangerous 
for him to travel alone as it would have been to remain in Berea where the 
unbelieving Jews threatened his life.    
	The brethren who escorted Paul brought him safely to the city of Athens.  
That was Athens, Greece --- not Athens, Texas nor Athens, Georgia.  Athens, 
Greece was the glamour city of all Greece and, perhaps, the glamour city of all 
the world at that time.  It was the center of culture, learning, art and 
architecture.  Some of the highest schools of learning in the world were located 
there.  Many of the most magnificent buildings, many of the most beautiful 
sculptures, many of the world’s most beautiful paintings were located there.  
	Athens was also a center of religion.  The chief religion of the city was 
the worship of the goddess, Minerva.  A very large and beautiful temple was 
erected to her there and large crowds of people gathered at that temple to 
worship her.  But most of the people in Athens did not limit their worship to 
Minerva only.  They worshipped many gods and many smaller temples and shrines 
were erected throughout the city of Athens.  So idolatry was very prevalent in 
the city.  

II.  Paul sending for Silas and Timothy

	(V. 15), “... and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to 
come to him with all speed, they departed.”  It was the brethren from Berea who 
had accompanied Paul who received the commandment spoken of in this verse.  Upon 
his arrival in the city of Athens, before the brethren left to return to Berea, 
the Apostle Paul instructed them to send Silas and Timothy to meet him in 
Athens.  The message for Silas and Timothy was that they were to come to Athens 
as quickly as they could and meet him there.  
	We are not told why Paul sent for Silas and Timothy so quickly.  One would 
think that he might leave them for a longer period of time in Berea to 
strengthen the young church by teaching and training that new church the will 
and way of the Lord.  But for some reason Paul, upon his arrival in Athens, 
thought it more urgent for them to make haste and to meet him in Athens.  
Perhaps he felt that Athens offered greater prospects than Berea did.   Perhaps 
he felt that the enormity of the task at Athens was so great that he stood in 
need of their help immediately.  But for whatever the reason, Paul sent for 
Silas and Timothy to come.  

III.  Paul waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive

	V. 16, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred 
in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.”  The practice of 
idolatry even on a small scale would have been disturbing to Paul.  But idolatry 
on such a large scale was very disturbing to him.  The city was full of idols.  
Everywhere he went  --- everywhere he looked he fond temples and shrines and 
statues of all manner of idol gods.  The city was given almost completely to 
idolatry.  It grieved Paul to see such great numbers of people worshipping in a 
religion that he knew to be vain and useless.  The gods to which they bowed 
could not see them.  The gods to which they prayed could not hear them.  The 
gods to which they looked for help could not help them.  The gods which they 
worshipped were powerless to do them either good or bad.  But the situation was 
worse than that.  By their worship of idol gods, they offended the real God.  It 
was a pitiful situation and it grieved the heart of the Apostle Paul to see it.  
	Let me tell you that we see a situation in our day right here in our own 
land and in our cities that ought to grieve our hearts just as much as the city 
of Athens, Greece grieved the heart of Paul.  We see lost sinners by the 
hundreds.  We see people who are lost and headed for the everlasting torments of 
hell-fire.  We see people who are depending on their own works of righteousness 
to get them into heaven.  Most of them have a religion of some kind, but most of 
them have a religion that depends on their own works of righteousness to get 
them into heaven.  But we know that their own works of righteousness will never 
get them to heaven.  Their own righteousness will not keep them out of the fires 
of hell.  It is a pitiful situation and it ought to disturb our hearts.  It 
ought to grieve our hearts.  

IV.  Paul debating with the people of Athens

	V. 17“Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews...”  Oddly 
enough the first people with whom Paul debated were not those who were steeped 
in idolatry.  Rather, he debated with those who claimed to worship the same True 
and Living God whom Paul worshipped.  By the time the sabbath day arrived Paul 
had learned where the Jewish synagogue was located.  As was his custom in all 
the cities where he found a Jewish synagogue he attended worship services at the 
synagogue.  
	Luke tells us that at the synagogue Paul debated with the Jews of the 
synagogue.  Now he did not debate with them about idolatry.  He did not try to 
persuade those Jews that the idolatry of this city was sinful and wrong.  The 
Jews already knew that idolatry is wrong.  But they did not worship in idolatry.  
They worshipped the true God.  He may have rebuked them for becoming tolerant 
toward the idolatry that was around them.  He may have tried to stir them up to 
seek to persuade the Gentiles around them that there is but one true God and 
that is Jehovah God.  
	But the main thing that Paul debated with the Jews was about the Christ.  
He sought to persuade them that the Christ had already come and that Jesus is 
the Christ.  Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus is the Savior of men.  It was only 
through repentance  of sin and faith in Jesus Christ that the Jews could be 
saved.  Unless those Jews would repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ 
to save their souls, they were just as certain to go to hell as were those 
Greeks who worshipped in idolatry.  So Paul disputed with the unbelieving Jews 
seeking to persuade them to believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.  
	Another group with whom Paul disputed is called by Luke “devout persons.”  
(V. 17), “...and with the devout persons...”  This refers to Greeks and other 
Gentiles who had left the worship of idol gods and had become proselyte Jews.  
They were devout in that sense.  
	These devout persons no longer believed in idol gods, but neither did they 
believe in Jesus as the promised Christ nor as their Savior.  These people, like 
those of the Jewish bloodline, were familiar with the Old Testament promises 
that God the Father would send His Christ to be the Redeemer of men.  They 
believed the Scriptures that the Christ would come.  But they did not yet 
believe that Jesus is the Christ nor had they trusted in the Christ for 
salvation.  Paul debated with them seeking to persuade them that Jesus is the 
Christ and seeking to persuade them to repent of their sin and trust Jesus and 
be saved.  
	Luke speaks of yet another group with whom Paul disputed..  (V. 17), 
“...and in the market daily with them that met with him.”  Luke here lets us 
know that after the sabbath day was over Paul sought out another place where he 
could witness for Christ.  He had witnessed at the synagogue on the sabbath.  On 
all other days of the week he went to the market place and witnessed daily for 
Jesus.  At the market place he encountered both Jews and Greeks who came to buy 
and sell.  There Paul would strike up a conversation with anybody that he could 
get to listen to him, whether Jew or Gentile and he would talk to them about the 
true God of heaven.  He would tell them about the Christ that God had promised 
who would be the Savior of men.  He would tell them that Jesus is the Savior.  
He would tell them that they needed to repent of their sin and call upon Jesus 
and ask Jesus to save their soul.  Paul would tell them that this is the only 
way that they could be saved and go to heaven when they die.  He would debate 
the matter with them and seek to persuade them to trust Jesus and be saved.  

V.  Some lessons for us from this passage of Scripture
	I pointed out to you earlier how disturbed the Apostle Paul had been about 
the lost souls there in Athens.  The idolatry of the Greeks disturbed him.  The 
unbelief of the Jews of the synagogue disturbed him.  It disturbed his very 
heart because those people were lost in their sin and headed for everlasting 
torment.  I also pointed out to you that there is plenty to disturb the hearts 
of those of us who are saved that we live in the midst of a lot of people who 
are unsaved.  Many of them have never taken time to consider their unsaved 
condition.  They have never taken time to consider the fact that they are not 
going to stay in this world very long.  They have never seriously considered the 
fact that unless they get right with God they will go out of this world and 
spend eternity suffering in the pits of hell.  
	Then there are many about us who have thought seriously about their 
eternal destiny and about their spiritual need who are trying to get to heaven 
by their own works of righteousness.  It is somewhat like being in an airplane 
whose motor has just conked out.  You can never make it safely to the ground in 
that plane.  It is somewhat like being in a boat which has a great big hole in 
the bottom.  That boat will never make it safely to shore.  It is somewhat like 
jumping off a mountain top and flapping a pair of man made wings.  Trying to get 
to heaven by your own works of righteousness is like flying in a crippled plane 
or like riding in a sinking boat.  Trying to get to heaven by your own goodness, 
by your own efforts to live good enough will never get you where you want to go.  
 	The Apostle Paul told those people about Jesus, the Son of God, who came 
down to this world and died on the cross.  He told them about Jesus arising from 
the grave and about Him being the Savior of men.  That is the message that 
everybody in the world needs to hear today.  That is the message that everybody 
in the world needs to believe.  That is the message that you need to hear and 
that you need to believe.  You can never make it to heaven unless you place your 
faith in Jesus Christ and trust Him to take care of your soul.  But if you will 
call upon Jesus and trust Him to take care of your eternal destiny He will.  He 
will save your soul.  He will cleanse your soul of all sin.  He will see to it 
that you come out of the grave.  He will make sure that you make it to heaven. 
	You do not have to understand how He is going to do it.  You just need to 
trust Him to take care of your soul.  The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou shalt be saved.”  The Bible also says that if you refuse or 
neglect to trust Jesus for salvation that you will never make it to heaven.  You 
will wind up in a place that you do not want to be in and you will never be able 
to get out.  

Conclusion:

	If you are unsaved, then it is time that you get concerned about your own 
destiny.  It is time for you to do something about it.  It is time that you 
called on Jesus and asked Him to save your soul.  
	If you are saved, then it is time that you get concerned about the many 
unsaved people who are about you.  They will never make it to heaven without 
Jesus.  Tell them the good news that God has sent a Savior and that Savior is 
Jesus.