Acts 17:5-21

But many of the Jews were motivated by bitter jealousy and formed a large mob out of the troublemakers, unsavory characters, and street gangs to incite a riot. They set out to attack Jason’s house, for he had welcomed the apostles into his home. The mob was after Paul and Silas and sought to take them by force and bring them out to the people. When they couldn’t find them, they took Jason instead, along with some of the brothers in his house church, and dragged them before the city council. Along the way they screamed out, “Those troublemakers who have turned the world upside down have come here to our city. And now Jason and these men have welcomed them as guests. They’re traitors to Caesar, teaching that there is another king named Jesus.” Their angry shouts stirred up the crowds and troubled the city and all its officials. So when Paul and Silas came before the leaders of the city, they refused to let them go until Jason and his men posted bail. That night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to the city of Berea, where they once again went into the synagogue. They found that the Jews of Berea were of more noble character and much more open minded than those of Thessalonica. They were hungry to learn and eagerly received the word. Every day they opened the scrolls of Scripture to search and examine them, to verify that what Paul taught them was true. A large number of Jews became believers in Jesus, along with quite a few influential Greek women and men. When the news reached the Jews in Thessalonica that Paul was now in Berea, preaching the word of God, the troublemakers went there too and they agitated and stirred up the crowds against him. The fellow believers helped Paul slip away to the coast of the Aegean Sea, while Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. Those who accompanied Paul sailed with him as far as Athens. Then Paul sent them back to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply troubled when he realized that the entire city was full of idols. He argued the claims of the gospel with the Jews in their synagogue, and with those who were worshipers of God, and every day he preached in the public square to whomever would listen. Philosophers of the teachings of Epicurus, and others called Stoics, debated with Paul. When they heard him speak about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What strange ideas is this babbler trying to present?” Others said, “He’s peddling some kind of foreign religion.” So they brought him for a public dialogue before the leadership council of Athens, known as the Areopagus. “Tell us,” they said, “about this new teaching that you’re bringing to our city. You’re presenting strange and astonishing things to our ears, and we want to know what it all means.” Now, it was the favorite pastime of the Athenians and visitors to Athens to discuss the newest ideas and philosophies.