An Unknown God (Acts 17:22-31)

After Paul’s dramatic conversion to the Christian faith on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-31), he spent the rest of his life traveling around the Eastern Mediterranean Sea spreading the gospel, establishing new churches and encouraging young Christian communities. In what is referred to as his Second Missionary Journey, which we can read about in Acts chapters 16 to 18, Paul’s travels took him to Athens, the capital of modern-day Greece.

We learn about what happened during Paul’s visit to Athens in Acts 17:16-34 which includes this week’s reading from verses 22 to 31. In the ancient world, Athens was famous for being a centre of culture, science and philosophy. While Paul was in Athens, he talked with ‘the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles’ (non-Jewish people) in the synagogue where they met for worship (v17 NLT). Paul also debated with philosophers in Athens about God and the resurrection of Jesus (v18). These philosophers took Paul to the high council of Athens which met in an area known as the Areopagus, which translates as Mars Hill. If you visit Athens, you can still go to this area at the base of the Acropolis and see where Paul shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with the members of Athen’s high council.

There are a few things that are significant about the way Paul shared the good news of Jesus with the council in Athens which can help us share the gospel with people of our own time and place. One of these is the way Paul talked about the religious culture of the people who lived in Athens. Earlier in the story, Paul pointed out that the Athenians were very religious and they had a lot of idols in Athens. These were set up so people could worship the many gods of the Greek and other nations. When Paul began to talk with the council on Mars Hill, he didn’t criticise them or tell them they were wrong for worshiping these other gods. Instead, Paul referred to an altar he had noticed which was dedicated to ‘An Unknown God’ (v23). Paul used this as an opportunity to connect with the local Athenian culture and point the people he was speaking to towards Jesus.

Paul didn’t start arguing with the leaders of Athens about whether what they were doing was right or wrong. Instead, he found a connection point with their culture and used it to share the good news of Jesus with them. Paul even quoted two Greek poets when he said, “For in him we live and move and have our being” and “We are his offspring” (v28). Paul was a highly educated Roman citizen and had probably learned about Greek philosophy and poetry. He drew on that education to connect with the Greek culture he was in and use it to speak the good news of Jesus to the leaders of Athens in a way that they were open to so they might be more receptive to the gospel. Paul didn’t set out to win a religious or philosophical argument. Paul’s aim was to share the good news of Jesus so people could hear it and believe. The genius of Paul’s missional sermon at the Areopagus or Mars Hill was that he used pagan poets and philosophy to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus to them.

We can learn a very important lesson from Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill. Often in our culture, Christians can have the reputation for being critical of the culture around us and telling non-Christians that they’re wrong for holding particular views. Many Christians can get into arguments with people who don’t share our faith about a wide range of issues from religion to politics, ethics, or morality. These arguments often cause divisions between people as both parties try to show the other that they are right, the other person is wrong, and they try to convince the other to agree with them.

Paul didn’t take that approach when he talked to the leaders of Athens at Mars Hill. Instead, he began where the people who were listening to him were at and used something they were familiar with and understood to tell them the good news. Paul was able to share the gospel in a way that wasn’t confrontational or that led to an argument. Not everyone who heard Paul that day came to faith in Jesus. The story continues by saying that “some laughed in contempt” at the good news Paul had shared with them, but others wanted to hear more (v32). If Paul had started his sermon by telling the people of Athens where they were wrong and he was there to set them straight, they probably wouldn’t have listened to him. By identifying something the Athenian people were familiar with and using something from their culture to point them to Jesus, the Holy Spirit opened the minds of some of them to the gospel and began to work faith in their hearts.

Many people who study our society have said that we are in a “post-Christendom” culture. This means that Christians are in the minority and most people haven’t heard the gospel of Jesus. We have a lot in common with the context in which Paul did his mission work. The story of Paul in Athens tells us that a good way to share the gospel with people is to begin with things with which they are familiar. For example, lots of modern and popular songs talk about love. These songs can give us opportunities to talk about the love God has for us in Jesus and the difference it makes in our lives. There are a lot of movies where the hero wins the day through an act of sacrifice, even by giving their life to save others. These story-lines can open up conversations about Jesus’ sacrifice and how he saved us by laying his life down for us. Even in moral questions that can cause a lot of debate such as abortion or euthanasia, instead of simply telling others that they are wrong, adopting Paul’s approach can mean that we have conversations with others about the value of human life and what a life of faith in God’s grace can look like. Paul’s message on Mars Hill teaches us that we do better by observing the culture around us and using the poets, songwriters, movie story-lines or art to point people to the hope we have in the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Once we have made a connection with what other people know or are familiar with, then we have the opportunity to share the hope we have in the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for us “in a gentle and respectful way”, as we read in 1 Peter 3:15,16.

As Paul wandered through the ancient city of Athens, he saw things which were familiar to the people of that city that he could use to tell them about the good news of Jesus. There are lots of ways we can use the culture of our own time and place to do the same. Song lyrics, movie story-lines, works of art and even football can be ways that we connect with the people around us to share the good news of Jesus by talking about love, sacrifice, belief and hope. What opportunities might the Holy Spirit be giving us to share the good news of Jesus with the people around us through the culture of our time and place?

More to think about or discuss:

• Do you think Paul was right for using a pagan altar to tell the people of Athens about Jesus? Or should he have told them they were wrong for worshiping other gods? Why do you think that…?
• Why do you think Paul used the words of Greek poets to point them to Jesus?
• What is a song, movie, work of art or something else you know about in our society that might help you share the good news of Jesus with someone who doesn’t know him yet?