What does Acts 17:16 mean?
For the first time in a long while, Paul is alone. He left Luke in Philippi and Silas and Timothy in Berea. He doesn't need an entourage to teach, however. He starts in the synagogue, branches out into the marketplace, and receives a cordial invitation to share in the Areopagus. First, he tours the city.He is used to idols, monuments, and temples. Non-Jewish cities were filled with them. Most homes had a family idol that sat on a shelf, waiting a daily offering of grain in return for guarding the household. Each city had an array of civil gods that promised to bring fortune and safety if worshiped properly. And there were the national gods, not least the emperor, that had to be placated to ward off famine, plague, and infertility.
Still, Paul finds Athens' array of gods overwhelming. As a Roman citizen, he understands, but as a Jew, he's horrified. It was because of idolatry that God condemned the Jews to seventy years of exile in Babylon. Since then, Jews have made a slightly better attempt to follow God and the Mosaic law. Persia destroyed Babylon, and Greece destroyed Persia, but Greece never learned that God dictates their victories and downfall. Though controlled by Rome, Athens is still respected as the cradle of classical civilization. Rome allows it to be a free and allied city within the Empire, but it's 500 years past its prime. Rome has over a million residents, Paul's home base of Syrian Antioch has around 400,000, and Jerusalem 80,000, but Athens has only 30,000. Even the altar "To the unknown god" (Acts 17:23) could not save the great city.
When he arrived in Athens, Paul asked his escort to tell Timothy and Silas to come to him as quickly as possible. He will change his mind, sending Timothy to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:1–6) while Silas either stays in Berea or goes on another errand. They won't join Paul until he is settled in Corinth (Acts 18:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:6). Until then, Paul has work to do. "Provoked" is from the Greek root word paroxuna from when we get the word paroxysm. It can mean to become angry or exasperated, but it can also mean to stimulate to action. The rampant idolatry in Athens convicts and moves Paul to share the story of the one God who can save.
