Day 261: Acts 17:15–23

I even found an altar on which was inscribed: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you (v. 23).

Come along as we see a lesson in contrasts. The next audience Paul encountered differed drastically from the noble Bereans. Meet the ancient Athenians. They will make you wonder how people who knew so much could understand so little.

Paul had a fruitful ministry at Berea until troublemakers came from Thessalonica. Then at the urging of the believers, Paul once again found himself moving on. This time the destination was Athens. Some of the believers escorted Paul there and left him, where he awaited the arrival of Silas and Timothy.

So Paul had to encounter the imposing city of Athens all by himself. And according to Acts 17:16, he reacted strongly to the sight of a city full of idols. Imagine going on a mission trip to a city like Varanasi, India—a Hindu holy city filled with temples and images depicting hundreds of gods. Yet here we have a tender opportunity to see the sincerity of Paul’s heart, for “he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there” (v. 17 hcsb). He had no emotional or spiritual support and probably little physical support. None of the others would have known if he had simply been too intimidated to preach. No one would have blamed him anyway. Yet day by day he tried to reason with any Athenian who would listen, because he was so concerned that they needed Jesus Christ.

This audience of philosophers lived to hear some new idea and invited Paul to their meeting of the Areopagus on Mars Hill. There he preached an unusual sermon. He reached across the gulf of culture and beliefs that separated his hearers from Christ, finding an object lesson from their culture that he used to share the gospel with them. He found that they had an altar with this inscription: “to an unknown god.” Beginning from that point, Paul shared the gospel with the philosophers. He said in effect, “Let me tell you about this God you don’t know.”

I believe Acts 17 contains one of the best sermons he ever preached. He used the perfect illustration (the unknown God) and drew his audience to the perfect invitation.