Acts 17:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

NIV: 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?

NASB: And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

CSB: They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, "May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting?

NLT: Then they took him to the high council of the city. 'Come and tell us about this new teaching,' they said.

KJV: And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

NKJV: And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?

Silas and Timothy are over 140 miles away from Paul, either in Berea or Thessalonica. This puts him in a precarious position. Paul has been breaking Roman law by promoting the worship of Jesus—a deity not authorized by the Roman Empire—in the Agora of Athens. Now, Greek philosophers "take" Paul to the Areopagus to explain what he is teaching.

"Took" is from the Greek root word epilambanomai. It means to take possession of or to seize in a violent way. The Areopagus is a hilltop where philosophers debate, but it's also where city officials hold trials for murder and crimes against public order. Legend says the first trial was against Ares for the murder of Poseidon's son—"Areopagus" is Greek for Ares's Hill; the Roman is Mars's Hill (more commonly, Mars Hill). Another trial, described 500 years before in Xenophon's Memorabilia, was against Socrates for a similar crime as Paul: introducing foreign gods.

Fortunately, the philosophers have no ulterior motive. They think Paul's a "babbler"—someone who takes bits and pieces of different philosophies and combines them in a way that doesn't make sense (Acts 17:18). Specifically, they seem to think he has been teaching about two strange gods named "Healer" and "Resurrection."

Once Paul is allowed to speak, he provides an eloquent argument for the existence of Creator God. He even weaves in the words of classical poets. He moves on to explain this God is calling His creation to repent of their sins or else be judged. God identified the judge by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:20–31).

Ironically, it's the most important part of Paul's message that saves him from the law—not because people think it's true but because they think it's ridiculous. Epicureans and Stoics do not believe in the supernatural. They believe people cease to exist at death because they have no soul or spirit that could return. Consequently, there is no judgment. A handful do continue to listen and accept Jesus' offer of salvation; the rest are convinced Paul is just a harmless babbler (Acts 17:32–34).

Acts 17:16–21 records Paul's interactions with the Greek philosophers in Athens. First, he teaches in the synagogue that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. He takes a similar message to the Agora where the Stoics and Epicureans hear and invite him to the Areopagus. Paul uses their own poets to speak of their mutual Creator God. When Paul mentions the resurrection of the dead, however, they lose interest. They have no problem worshipping so many deities that it requires a monument to ''the unknown god,'' but the idea any god could raise the dead is unthinkable.

Acts 17 describes how Paul's ministry travels down the coast of Greece. In Thessalonica, some Jews and God-fearing Gentiles believe while other Jews start a riot (Acts 17:1–9). The Bereans study the veracity of Paul's statements—until the Thessalonian Jews arrive and threaten to start another riot (Acts 17:10–15). Paul flees to Athens where the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers accept Paul's argument when he uses Greek poets to introduce God as the creator of the world, but lose interest when he mentions the resurrection from the dead (Acts 17:16–34).

Acts 17 continues Paul and Silas' travels out of Macedonia and on to Greece. The two have been through modern-day Asia minor where they picked up Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas (Acts 16:1–10). They have established a strong church in Philippi but were forced to leave after being falsely imprisoned (Acts 16:11–40). They now skip down the coast to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. From here, they will spend a considerable amount of time in Corinth before heading back to Judea and Syrian Antioch (Acts 18:1–22).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.