When you go to another city or another country, or a place where you have never been before what do you go to look at or experience? Do you go visit the local river or go out the bush? Do you visit the zoo, or go to the coffee shops, or the best restaurants they have? Do you visit their art gallery or museum? If you travel overseas do you go to that countries sacred sights or temple
do you learn a few words of that country? what words are you keen to learn? When Paul was out and about travelling from country to country stepping through from the rural areas of Asia now into the trading ports and major centres of Europe he intentionally shares the good news about Jesus where ever he goes. As he does he steps into that city first taking time to look around, and then speaking, connecting with those who he shares his hope with. We again see we have Good News that is a call to all nations today as we find ourselves today in Athens. As Athens is a place of grandeur. It is huge and takes credit as the birth place of modern democracy, also holding credit for producing philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. In its geography Athens is surrounded by mountains but has a central hill on which the acropolis stands with the Parthenon which is a temple to the city' s patron goddess Athene. The Acropolis was built in 447BC it stands even today with it's columns in place. An intellectual capital, full of philosophers, as Luke gives us his assessment of them
21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Paul confronts a culture that disturbs him by their love of idols by the time he hits Athens he had established many churches visited many towns sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ seen many people put their faith in Jesus. What we know is that our idols are tricky as they are replacements to God. As we live in a world that shapes and moulds us whether we are aware
of that or not idols are always about worship and are all about me and not about God, they can
come from pride, they can also come from fear. This is where we are called to see our need for Christ as a merciful saviour from as large sins of both heart and behaviour. As we read in Acts 17:16-18
16 The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier
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he got-all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols. 17 18 He discussed
it with the Jews and other like-minded people at their meeting place. And
every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along. He got to know some of the Epicurean and Stoic intellectuals pretty well through these conversations. Some of them dismissed him with sarcasm: "What an airhead!" But others, listening to him go on about Jesus and the resurrection, were intrigued: "That's a new slant on the gods. Tell us more." (The Message)
The resurrection caught their attention, so they invite him to go to the Areopagus to tell them some more, verses 19-20
19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,
where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that
you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
Paul stood before a kind of administrative body of civil officials that licensed speakers for the marketplace. Jesus was something new to them What was of interest to them was. They were interested in what this new teaching was going to invest into the Athenian community. The other idols in Athens had their temples and restaurants & devotees who would come and spend their money, Paul corrects the Athenian misunderstanding about God that God doesn't need a
Building and he's not after a restaurant filled with devotees. Paul approaches them explaining something they knew already starting with the God who creates the world he moves onto an altar dedicated to the unknown God. These Greeks wanted to cover all their religious bases the gospel turns upside down our lives. God has made himself known to everyone by the very creation itself
how he makes men and women to have a relationship with him creativity and exploration as well as joy and love. We have eternity placed in our hearts and so we are reminded that God is near to each one of us as their Greek poets had written
28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
There was a greater shock to come God calls for a response as he doesn't let us off the hook. God's message is a call of repentance the day of judgment will come, as we read in verse 31
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
The resurrection of Jesus is the living proof of God's response to our desire to run at life our own way. The call is will you repent and believe the good news. On that day before that council of the Areopagus, response is what Paul got. Some sneered at the whole idea of rising from the dead
for them that was just too absurd, for the Greeks death was a step into the abyss; others desire to hear more, and a few it struck home like with Dionysius & Damaris and a few others become believers (put their trust in Jesus). That is what happens in Athens. The question is what are we most struck about as we get to listen in on Paul in Acts 17? As we are reminded again that there is life after death, and that life involves judgment before Jesus whose own resurrection is proof of the future resurrection to come. What Paul gets us to fa e up to is the reality is death and judgment. The gospel compels response is where we land here as there are 2 parts. First is the direct challenge from Acts 17 in what we will say about Jesus and what we will be prepared to say to others about what we believe in our community, and in our neighborhood. Second has to do with what we do with the Gospel the Good News about Jesus as it goes out into our world how we will support missions and missionaries. As we have heard a lot that is challenging to us today
we have a message that God " ... has set a day where he will judge the world with
justice by the man appointed. he has given proof to all men by raising him from the dead" vs 31
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent." vs 30
We have been challenged by the many ways we can serve today. I wonder in what ways you are challenged to: pray for missions; to support our missionaries; to go even for a short time mission ourselves; or maybe to even speak with our friends. What will we pray about with all these things? The question is what or who are you noticing is on your heart
Let's pray...
David Hassan Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 28-5-17