College Notes
The Acts
Chapter 17
Thessalonica
(17:1-9)
vs. 1
Thessalonica:
- 2nd place the gospel was preached in
Europe; Philippi being the first.
- Through it ran the great Roman Road from
the Adriatic Sea to the Middle East called Egnatian Way.
- Over l00 miles from Philippi to
Thessalonica.
- Paul's lst canonized epistle was sent to
the Church in Thessalonica from Corinth around A.D.
50.
vs. 2
"as his manner was" means he
kept the Sabbath.
vs. 4
Point: God was calling men and women.
vs. 5
Jason is mentioned in Rom. l6:2l as one of Paul's
countrymen, i.e. "kinsmen."
vs. 7
Paul's message: Christ as king -- The Kingdom of
God.
vs. 9
"taken security" means made Jason put up bond,
forfeitable if there were further trouble.
Berea
(17:10-15)
vs. 11
Berea = 60 miles west of Thessalonica.
"search the scriptures daily" -- the Word of
God.
vs. 14
Silas and Timothy stay in Berea.
Athens
(17:16-34)
Paul With Athenians (17:16-21)
Athens, History of (emphasis on
worship)
- Little known before 1900 B.C.
- Athens was one of the 1st
city-states.
- 1st king was named Cecrops.
- 4. 682 B.C. saw beginning of elected
officials (archons).
- State becomes a democracy -- 508
B.C.
- Persian Wars -- 490 B.C. & 480
B.C.
- Becomes literary and artistic center of
Greece.
- Peloponnesian War (against Sparta) 431-404
B.C. Sparta won.
- Became finishing school for the sons of
wealthy Roman families.
Athens,
Worship
- Greeks worshipped many gods.
- Each city-state had its own minor gods and
worshipped it in its own way.
Athens had city throughout
Greece.
- Zeus = chief god, ruling men and other
gods -- lived on Mt. Olympus.
- Hera = wife of Zeus, goddess marriage and
birth.
- Greeks held many festivals in honor of
gods, e.g. dramas, prayers, animal sacrifices and
athletic contests.
- Religion seemed childish to many
thoughtful Greeks.
- Isis, an Egyptian goddess, and Mithras, a
Persian god, attracted many followers.
- Ancient Greek religion did not die until
Roman Emperor Justinian in A.D. 529.
vs. 18
Philosopher's followers (schools of
thought):
- Epicureans: Followed Epicurus (341-270
B.C.)
- Believed everything happened by
chance.
- Death was the end of all.
- Gods were remote from world and did not
care.
- Pleasure was chief end of man.
- Stoics: Followed Zeno (340-265 B.C.)
- Believed everything was god -- god was
fiery spirit.
- All that happened was the will of God
and therefore must be accepted without
resentment.
- That every so often the world
disintegrated in a conflagration and started over again on the same cycle of events.
vs. 19
Areopagus: The venerable council that had
charge of religious and educational matters in Athens.
(Greek) for Mars Hill.
Perhaps only 30 members.
Dealt also with cases of homicide.
vs. 21
To philosophize = major part of both Jewish and
Greek culture.
Paul's Sermon
(17:22-31)
vs. 22
"Superstitious" means
religious.
All men are of one blood.
vs. 23
"The unknown God" means...
From Unger's Bible Dictionary:
- Agnostos theos = Greek mg. unknown
god. "...not addressed to
the philosophers; they did not
dedicate altars to unknown gods,
but regarded
all such proceedings as
the mere superstition of the vulgar..."
- 600 years before this a terrible
pestilence had fallen on the city. A Cretian
Poet,
Epimenides, came forward with a
plan. A flock of black and
white sheep were let loose
throughout the city from Mars Hill.
- “Epimendes put an end to a plague in
Athens by causing black and white sheep, which he had let loose on the Areopagus, to
be sacrificed on the spots where they lay down, to the god concerned, yet not known by
name, Viz., who was the author of the plague; and that therefore one may find in Athens altars
without the designation of a god by name.
From this particular instance the general view may be derived,
that on
important occasions, when the
reference to a god known by name was wanting, as in public calamities of which no definite god could be
assigned as the author, in order to
honor or propitiate the god concerned by sacrifice, without
lighting upon a wrong one, altars were
erected which were destined and designated 'agnosto theo' (unknown God)."
vs. 26
God has set national
boundaries. See Job 12:23.
vs. 28
Paul knew Greek literature
and spoke Greek to these people.
vs. 30
"winked at" means "let it go on."
vs. 31
Theme = resurrection of dead. Also Isaiah 11:4; Revelations
20:4.
Departs
(17:32-34)
vs. 34
Dionysius -- member of
Areopagus;
Index
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