Understanding Paul’s Sermon on Mars Hill (Part 1)
Last week, the homework I assigned was to read Acts 17:16ff and analyze the “Five W’s.” Here’s what we found as a class:
Who?
Paul (Acts 17:16ff) — a Pharisee, a standout among the Jews (Philippians 3:5, 6)
Philosophers (Acts 17:18) — both the Stoics and the Epicureans were present there. While they had philosophical differences, they were both essentially deistic in their theology; they believed in the existence of god(s) but did not believe that those gods had any dealings with mankind
Jews (Acts 17:17)
Gentiles (Acts 17:17) — proselytes (converts to Judaism), hence their presence in the synagogue and their description as “God-fearing”
Marketgoers (Acts 17:17) — just your “average Alexanders” who happened to be in the marketplace
The Areopagus (Acts 17:22) — the judicial body that heard cases concerning
intentional homicide
wounding
religious matters, and
arson of olive trees (about which we got a chuckle over the oddly specific nature of this crime)
Damaris & Dionysius (Acts 17:34) — two prominent people in Athens who joined Paul. Dionysius was a member of the Areopagus, and to this day there is a street in Athens named after him.
What?
Paul dialoguing (reasoning)
in the synagogue (Acts 17:17)
in the marketplace (Ibid.)
Paul monologuing before the Areopagus
When?
During Paul’s second missionary journey (c. 49 – 52 AD)
After visiting Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–9), and Berea (Acts 17:10–15)
Before going to Corinth (Acts 18:1–18)
Where?
As I look at the photograph of my whiteboard, it occurs to me that I forgot to explicitly answer this question:
Athens (Acts 17:16, 17)
in the local synagogue — located in the ancient agora of Athens. A synagogue was not where sacrifices were offered—that could only be done in the temple in Jerusalem—but rather it was a cultural and religious center for the Jews. A synagogue could be started if there were ten Jewish men present.
in the marketplace
in the Areopagus — yes, this was covered in the ‘who?’ section as well becuase the Areopagus was both the building as well as the governing body that met within. “Areopagus” in Greek looks like this: Ἄρειος πάγος which, when transliterated is “Areios pagos;” literally “hill of Ares.” Ares is the Greek name for the Roman god Mars...the god of war. This is why we call Acts 17:22ff “Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill.”
Why?
Paul had a singular focus on all of his missionary journeys: to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 15:18–20; 1 Corinthians 9:16). He had made it his routine, or “custom,” to stop in and guest speak at the synagogues of the cities he visited:
Damascus (Acts 9:19, 20)
Salamis (Acts 13:5)
Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14)
Iconium (Acts 14:1)
Thessalonica (Acts 17:1, 2)
Berea (Acts 17:10)
Athens (Acts 17:17)
Corinth (Acts 18:4)
Ephesus (Acts 18:19, 19:8)
Paul was so singularly focused on the simple message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that he described the 18 months he spent in Corinth (Acts 18:11), thusly: “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before he could go to Corinith, he had a job to do in Athens.
Putting it All Together
Paul had a bit of a rough time in the synagogue in Thessalonica, where his teaching persuaded a “large number of God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women to follow Silas and him (Acts 17:4). This made the Jewish leadership there jealous to the point of forming a mob to express their “thanks” to this gospel-preaching duo, and they attacked the house of Jason, and made him post bond. By God’s grace, Paul and Silas escaped by night to Berea (Acts 17:10).
In Berea, things seemed to go swimmingly. There, the Jews to whom he spoke in the synagogue received his words and went every day to see if what Paul said lined up with the Torah. Because of their faithfulness to the scriptures, the Holy Spirit saw fit to praise them forevermore as being “more noble-minded than the Thessalonians” (Acts 17:11). What a contrast between these two neighboring towns! But, alas, some of those ne’er-do-wells from Thessalonica showed up in Berea and ran Paul out of that town, as well. Paul took off for Athens and left Silas and Timothy behind with orders to rejoin him as soon as possible (Acts 17:15).
In the Agora (Synagogue & Marketplace)
We’ve already established who Paul was speaking to in the Agora:
Jews & God-fearing Gentiles
The “average Alexanders” in the marketplace
Epicurean & Stoic philosophers
What were these people saying about him? They called him an idle babbler (literally “seed picker” or “hack”), and a “proclaimer of foreign deities” (Acts 17:18). Why did they scoff at him like this? “Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” (Acts 17:18)
Stop.
Let that sink in.
Did you see what the Holy Spirit just said here?
Let me spell it out for you:
Paul Preached Jesus and the resurrection to EVERYONE, regardless of their respective theological backgrounds!
Paul did not try to prove the existence of Yahweh, he presupposed it, knowing full-well that all men know that Yahweh exists (Romans 1:18–21). Paul did not try to prove the truth of God’s Word, he wielded it like the sword that it is (Hebrews 4:12). Paul preached Jesus and the resurrection—the gospel—because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).
In short, God and His Word are not the conclusion to which we are trying to reason the unbeliever; rather, God and His Word are the premises upon which all of Paul’s reasoning was based. We’ll see this in vivid color in the next homework assignment.
Homework
Get ahold of a good study Bible and read Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22ff), taking special note of cross-references you see in the margins.
Note all the footnotes that point to the Old Testament books, and follow them. You can see that in my Bible, I’ve circled the references in vv. 22–25 because of how significant they are to understanding Paul’s sermon.
After you’ve chased down those references, answer the question “How is Paul reasoning? Is he reasoning to scripture, or from scripture?”