Acts 17:1-34
In Thessalonica
1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 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 would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.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 everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Paul visited many places and was a true apologetic…He may have been Jesus’ top apologist…In Greece in the regions and cities of Thessalonica and Berea and Athens (and in many other places) he taught people about Jesus…Some believed in what he had to say about Jesus and others did not...Paul used arguments about Jesus being the Messiah, and why he believed that He was the Messiah and told those who did not know about how Jesus resurrected from the dead…Some got very angry at his message, and wanted him in jail or worse, like those searching Jason's house for Paul and Silas...
The fact that Paul's arguments were not believed, does not or did not make his arguments invalid…I would only venture to say, that Paul knew the Old Testament very well and it was just that the unbeliever did not believe what Paul had to say to him personally…Just because Paul’s argument did not resonant well in Thessalonica and the people were unconvinced by it, does not make his argument a bad argument…The truth and evidence of Paul’s arguments in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens were probably much the same…And some believed, while others did not…So his arguments were sound to those who believed…But the convincing argument (to those believers) was not shared by those unbelievers…Maybe the unbelievers were not as open minded or something else convinced them not to believe…Maybe they needed more information about Jesus…Or maybe it was this something else...
Different people have different beliefs...In Athens when Paul seen the there was an altar with the inscription: to an unknown god...Paul may have thought the people supporting this particular god, was not supporting any belief at all...How can one believe in this unknown god?...Can you have a strong faith, in a god you do not know?...Paul's God is a known God...A God who is the Living God...The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...While some people who Paul spoke to in Berea listened to him and were curious...These people examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true...And as a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men...Paul like most all believers, want the non-believer to believe...
Do believers and unbelievers want reasonable arguments and evidence to believe in God?...Do we personally see what we want to believe?...Or is the Personal God working on each of our restless hearts and souls?...
An unbeliever has his personal position on why he is an unbeliever and the believer has his own personal position on why he believes…Everyone sees the same arguments of why there is a God, and why He had a Son and sent Him to earth...We are shown that it helps to have a curious and open nature and want to examine the Scriptures for the Truth and the validity of the things that are taught about Jesus...But if one cannot believe in Scripture or the Bible, they will have a most difficult time believing in Jesus and in God...
And I believe that it is possible the longer we believe in something the more vested we are in trying to convince others of our own personal position or belief…I believe that when we believe something we have a tendency to defend our own personal position on that belief…That seems to be our nature, and I am no different than any other on this…
Does the believer finally believe in God just come from his or her personal experiences?...How much of faith is self-evident without a number of reasonable arguments and evidence?...Faith and reason and evidences are important for any belief we have...And why believe in anything if it is not true...Faith remains a mystery...St. Augustine had this to say about faith and belief, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."...
The fact is some people will believe and others will not...When they heard Paul talking about Jesus' resurrection from His death, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”...At that, Paul left the Council in Athens...Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed....Others did not...Among the believers were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others...