Maps by Gordon Smith can be used without further permission. http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/JBPhillips.htm
BACKGROUND
In Thessalonica (17:1-9)
Paul and Silas left Philippi (12) and went to Thessalonica (15) about 100 miles away. Thessalonica is modern-day Salonika or Thessaloniki. It was the capital of Macedonia and a major port. It was an important center of trade along the Egnatian Highway.
They went to the synagogue and concentrated on reaching the Jews for three weeks before they turned to the Gentiles. Some Jews and a large number of Gentiles believed. We learn from 1 Thessalonians 1:9 that the majority of the converts were from the Gentile community. True to the "Acts Pattern," this led to persecution, but Jason (possibly Paul's relative, Romans 16:21) got the brunt of it. Paul and Silas left there to go to Berea (16), 46 miles southwest of Thessalonica.
In Berea (17:10-15)
Oh, to be a "noble-minded" Berean and to find Berean-like seekers of God who "received the word with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (17:11)! The proclamation of the gospel here led many to believe and persecution (from Thessalonica) to follow. This time, Silas and Timothy stayed behind to strengthen the church, and Paul went on to Athens (17). We know from 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2, 6 and Acts 18:1-5 that they did eventually rejoin Paul in Athens.
From Macedonia to Achaia: Paul in Athens on Mars Hill (17:16-34)
Athens was in great decline during this time, but it was still a center of culture, philosophy, and education. Idolatry was rampant and new ideas were in vogue.
The Epicureans and Stoics invited Paul to speak to them in the Areopagus (meeting place for the council that oversaw religion and education):
- Epicureans believed seeking happiness and pleasure was the primary goal of life.
- Stoics believed thinking was more important than feeling. They lived in harmony with nature and reason while suppressing the desire for pleasure.
"For in Him we live and move, and have our being."
He also quoted Aratus:
"We are His offspring"
(Donald Miller reads the poem in the audio version of the sermon below).
He established culturally relevant common ground, but Paul did not hold back in proclaiming that as God's offspring, they had a choice to believe in the resurrection and repent or face judgment (even though they had no concept of this in their culture). Some did believe in Athens.
Below is a wonderful "take" on this chapter by Donald Miller.
REFLECTION
The Incarnational Gospel
In October 2006, I visited Imago Dei Church in Portland, Oregon, my book club had read Donald Miller's book, Blue Like Jazz, and decided to take a "field trip" to the church he talked about so much in his book. He was not the pastor, but imagine our surprise and delight when he walked across the stage, and I, having never seen even a picture of him said to my friend, Connie, is that Donald Miller? She said, "Yes!"
He established culturally relevant common ground, but Paul did not hold back in proclaiming that as God's offspring, they had a choice to believe in the resurrection and repent or face judgment (even though they had no concept of this in their culture). Some did believe in Athens.
Below is a wonderful "take" on this chapter by Donald Miller.
REFLECTION
The Incarnational Gospel
In October 2006, I visited Imago Dei Church in Portland, Oregon, my book club had read Donald Miller's book, Blue Like Jazz, and decided to take a "field trip" to the church he talked about so much in his book. He was not the pastor, but imagine our surprise and delight when he walked across the stage, and I, having never seen even a picture of him said to my friend, Connie, is that Donald Miller? She said, "Yes!"
The pastor was sick, and Donald was called in at the last minute to deliver a sermon on Acts 17. Here is a synopsis of his reflection on Acts 17:16-34:
If we claim to be a Christ follower, then we are following the Prince of Peace. Why is it that when the world is looking for peace, the church is not typically a place they seek advice? Could it be that we really have no clue about what it looks like to be peace-makers? It is not quite that simple though, because our Prince of Peace is also described as bringing a sword. What is that all about? It appears Christ walked a tightrope of tension being a peacemaker and turning over tables. Not very many modern-day examples come to mind. Martin Luther King is perhaps one example of a man, sticking to his convictions of truth, who walked this tightrope well. Most of us fall victim to one or both of two common temptations: judging others or enabling others.
The Apostle Paul is a biblical example of a man who walks the tension between peace and truth-telling in integrity. At Mars Hill, in Acts 17, he brings truth (the whole truth) to the Athenians in a peaceable way. Paul imitated Christ in several ways. First of all, he went to them. He initiated. He pursued. Second, Paul actually cared about them. He liked their culture to some degree (he knew their poetry and customs). The fact that he took time to share the gospel with them indicates that he cared about their spirituality. Third, he didn’t base his approach on pragmatism (what works), but rather on truth. He is not obnoxious about it, but he certainly does not limit what he says about Christ. He says Christ is the only way. Paul does not end up merely judging the Athenians. Nor does he enable them to continue in their pluralistic theology. He walks the tightrope of being a peace-maker and truth-teller. Excerpt originally from: http://www.imagodeicommunity.com/sunday/sermon-archive/incarnational-gospel/ (Imago Dei no longer contains the audio or written version of this sermon.)
Don't we all walk that tightrope of judging others or enabling them, being a peace-maker and truth-teller?
(Someday, I will post the picture we took with Donald after the sermon. It was phenomenal!)
APPLICATION
Evaluate how you are incarnating the Gospel with the points Donald made about how Paul did it:
He went to them - So much of incarnating the Gospel is going out of our door, and many of us do not. We stay in our little silos of friends, and we don't go out of our own bubble to others.
He cared for them - We get pretty caught up in our own stuff and don't open our life to loving and caring for those who do not know God. Also, there is so much to knowing and appreciating another's culture that we often do not take the time and effort to do.
One way my husband and I showed we cared was to learn the language when we lived in Malaysia for two years while he was working for the Forestry Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). You would be amazed at how many Westerners make no effort to do this!
After a year of living there, I went to buy a traditional outfit for my husband and was explaining to the man in the store that my husband is very tall so he could probably not fit in anything that he had in his shop on the rack and would have to have it custom-made. The whole time, he stood looking strangely at me with his jaw dropped. I kept speaking faster and faster as I was thinking he was amazed at how tall my husband and I were.
When he finally regained his speech, he shouted so that the whole shop could hear him, "You are a white woman, and you know my language!"
He then proceeded to turn to all the local people in the shop saying, "She is a white woman, and she knows our language!"
He turned back to me and said, "Thank you so much!"
Caring involves entering into another person's world.
(What is funny is that I didn't even realize my speaking in Malay was the thing that had astonished him.)
How are you doing in these two areas? Talk to God about this and listen to Him.
PRAYER
Lord, help us to be messengers of Your peace, proclaiming the Prince of Peace. Amen.
1 comment:
What a wonderful "Golden Memory" to remember: The sermon by Donald Miller! I need to evaluate how much I am going "out" my door!
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