Acts 17:16-34 | in the Worldਨਮੂਨਾ

When Paul points people to Jesus at the Areopagus (sometimes called “Mars Hill”), he doesn’t do it the same way he does in the synagogues.

Acts is filled with the sermons Paul gave and the way he reasoned with people to help bring them to faith in Jesus. When Paul is in the synagogues, he anchors things in the story of Israel. He assumes a shared belief in Yahweh as God without need for further explanation. He references the Hebrew scriptures, especially passages foreshadowing and pointing to the hoped-for Messiah and a resurrection from the dead. He points people to Jesus from a shared hope and common ground, and uses that common ground to connect with his Jewish people.

Contrast that with Athens. Paul does not explain the story of Israel – at least not explicitly or in depth. He does not assume a shared belief in Yahweh, or even mention him by name. You won’t find chapter and verse quotes prophesying a messiah. He doesn’t even use the word “messiah,” as it would be a relatively unknown concept outside Jewish circles.

Instead, he relates on the level of an unknown and mysterious God. He challenges misconceptions of God in a way that would resonate with the Greek philosophers he was talking with – challenging the old pagan notions and idolatry all around. He interfaces with their own poets and philosophers, drawing on the glimpses of truth in their writings, and then using that to challenge his hearers and steer them towards a greater understanding of who God truly is. He challenges them by pointing them towards a god who will come, who will set all things right when he judges the world in righteousness through “a man whom he has appointed,” a man God raised from the dead. And he challenges them to repent.

As different as the details of his approach might be, it’s the same method he used in the synagogues. Paul finds common ground with the people he’s talking to, and uses that common ground to bring them to uncommon ground, to a new revelation and thrilling hope in Jesus, whom they don’t yet know as Lord and Messiah.

We’ve seen Paul do this before with Gentiles in Acts 14, and Peter too when he was talking with Cornelius and his family, that Gentile Roman centurion we meet in Acts 10. But here, Luke lays it out deeper – giving us an insight into one way Paul went about pointing Gentiles to Jesus with an evangelistic zeal to see all people be saved.

Being “in the world” means connecting the gospel to where people are at, not where we think they should be, and not expecting them to meet us where we’re at already. The ramifications of this extend to how we relate to the world socially, interpersonally, morally, and spiritually. It’s what Paul did. It’s Acts’s invitation to us too.

Read the way Paul speaks to the men of Athens again. Pay attention to how he seeks to connect with them and point them to Jesus. It’s not just about figuring out what Paul is doing. It’s about learning how to do the same.