Acts 17:15-34 And they that conducted Paul brought him to Athens: and receiving a commandment to Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed… Greece was the clime and residence of the beautiful. The very air was tempered to delight, and the soul imbibed the same sunny hues as the landscape. The passion for the beautiful, gave to the Greeks a more brilliant mythology than any other nation. Music moulded the flexible language into its own nature, and it became so plastic that its very swell and modulation were but the waves of song. The arts and sciences danced around humanity, and "stored man's home with comforts, and charmed his senses with all kinds and forms of elegance." Athens was a marble paradise, filled with temples and with gods, whose forms were the very models of symmetry and perfection. What were the feelings which Athens was likely to produce in a mind so accomplished as Paul's? To the splendour of its name, to the charms of its literature, he was no stranger; and his mind was peculiarly alive to every form of beauty. The streets were but long galleries of godlike forms in marble. Athens was the very focus of idolatry, and the apostle witnessed the living magnificence of their worship, the gorgeous attire of their priests — the solemn pomp of their processions — the clouds of fragrant incense which alone could obscure their transparent atmosphere, and the majesty of their theatres. He heard the surpassing melody of their music, and listened to the discourses of their orators; and "his spirit was stirred within him," but only because "he beheld the city wholly given to idolatry." Let me direct your attention to — I. THE PREACHER. He was no ordinary man. His mind, naturally strong, had been strengthened by culture; he had great energy and decision of character. Like the bird of heaven, he was at home in the storm as well as in the sunshine. He was once the greatest enemy of that truth of which he was now the foremost advocate. What a change has taken place in his views and feelings, since when a young man he studied Grecian literature! Just look at him with that volume of Greek poetry in his hand. He is longing for the hour when he shall visit Athens, and converse with the literati, and drink in inspiration from the fountain. He visits Athens; but, strange to tell, he visits that celebrated city as a preacher of the Cross! He is now to contend with the very master spirits of the world, in the very palace of intellect, and in the very sanctuary of idolatry. II. THE PLACE WHERE PAUL PREACHED. The spot where he stood was a rock where in earlier days the supreme court of justice had been held. Though the authority of this court had been abridged by the Roman conquest, still it was reserved for the judges to determine what gods were to be admitted into the temples, and to pronounce sentence upon any who should be guilty of blaspheming the divinities of Greece. If ever the sincerity of the preacher was tried, it was upon this occasion; and if ever Paul displayed intrepidity of character, it was upon Mars' hill. III. THE CONGREGATION. Around him, then, were gathered a multitude, acute, inquisitive, and polished. Never did preacher have such a congregation. There were the philosophers of bower and porch; orators with whom the slightest tinge of a barbarian accent would break the power of the most persuasive discourse; Epicureans who believed the world was created by accident or by chance — men who though they professed to believe in the existence of a God, regarded Him as dwelling in the far-off watchtowers of some distant world, indifferent to His creatures; and Stoics who believe in two principles, God and matter, both eternal, and therefore they virtually denied that there was any creation. There, too, was the priest, astonished at the daring of the preacher; the young Roman who had come to Athens to be educated; the Jew looking on with hatred and fury at the apostate from the ancient faith; and there, too, though afar off and crouching to the ground, was the slave, drinking in the doctrine — strange and new to him, sweet as music to his ears — that God had "made all men of one blood." What must Paul have felt when surrounded by such a congregation! IV. THE SERMON. Nobly did the champion of truth perform his part. He spoke worthy of himself, of his commission, and his congregation. You cannot fail to be struck by the adaptation of this discourse to the congregation. When Paul went into a synagogue he reasoned with the Jews out of the Scriptures. But here were men who believed that the creation of the world was altogether fortuitous; those who did not believe in any creation at all; those who denied that there was any future state. The apostle then set himself to prove to them that there was a God, that this God was the Creator of all things, that there was an overruling Providence, and consequently that there was a judgment to come. We can only seize on some of the leading features of this sermon. How appropriate and judicious his introduction! Since you are worshippers of an "unknown God" it must be gratifying to you, who are such religious people, to hear something concerning Him. From his primary positions the apostle proceeds to draw certain inferences, viz., that God is not confined to any particular place, that God is independent; and the spirituality of the Divine Being. With these reasonings the apostle makes an assertion relative to the duty of man, to seek an acquaintance with God through the medium of His works and ways; and then concludes by observing, that though God for ages had left the Gentiles to themselves, now He "commanded all men everywhere to repent," etc. V. THE EFFECTS (vers. 32-34). Conclusion: 1. The great propriety of discourses being adapted to the circumstances of the hearers. It is necessary that the preacher should commend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God; but where there is a variety of character and circumstances, it is a difficult thing for a minister to adapt himself. But "the truth as it is in Jesus" is adapted to all men's circumstances. 2. Paul's discourse is an excellent homily for these times. There are not a few who are worshippers of an "unknown God"; who attach sanctity to certain places; who suppose that God takes delight in certain words, and in certain postures. Let such study Paul's sermon, and they will find that that very sermon preached eighteen hundred years ago is peculiarly adapted to their circumstances. (H. J. Bevis.) Parallel Verses KJV: And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. |
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