Paul had had some initial success in Berea because the people there eagerly searched the Scriptures and received the gospel. But it wasn’t long until the Jews from Thessalonica showed up and had Paul run out of town.

He’s now been escorted by some believers to Athens, while leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea. Yet after arriving in Athens, Paul missed his buddies and sent for them to join him in Athens.

We know from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, which he will write in a few months, that Timothy actually made it to Athens, but only to be sent back to Thessalonica to make sure the believers were doing okay there. (1Thess.3:1-2) Silas and Timothy together won’t rejoin Paul in a more permanent fashion until Paul reaches Corinth. (Acts 18:5)

I’ve heard of some churches making a doctrine out of witnessing in pairs. They will tell people that unless the gospel was shared by a pair of people, that it wasn’t the true gospel. Yet here in Athens, Paul is flying solo. He’s been separated from his team.

Athens – Though Athens at one time had been the capital of the ancient Greek empire, but it was in decline, and at the time of Paul, the local political capital of southern Greece, known as Achaia, was Corinth. Yet Athens was still one of the most important centers in the world for education and art. This was the home of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It was here that the "porch of Zeno", the founder of the Stoics had held classes. It was here that Epicurus, the founder of the Epicureans, had his garden.

stirred – paroxuno – to make sharp, to irritate, provoke, arouse to anger, to exasperate

saw – theoreo – to be a spectator, look at, to view attentively. Paul didn’t just "happen" to notice the idols, he was carefully observing to see what Athens was like.

wholly given to idolatry – kateidolos – full of idols

Paul’s motive for talking with people in the synagogue and in the market, was having taken time to see who they were and what they believed. Some have suggested that Paul may not have originally planned to evangelize in Athens, but when he began to see the city being full of idols, he couldn’t keep silent.

Paul not only talked in the synagogue, but met with folks out in the market place.

disputed – dialegomai – ("dialog") to converse, discourse with one, argue, discuss

that met with him – paratugchano – to chance to be by, to happen to be present, to meet by chance

Though there were lots of different philosophies in Athens, the Epicureans and the Stoics were the most popular and most common among the people. Newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams once defined philosophy as "unintelligible answers to insoluble problems."

Epicureans – Epikoureios – those who followed the teachings of Epicurus, the philosopher. This was a guy who didn’t outright deny there were gods, but lived as if the gods didn’t care. He did not believe in a life after death, so to him, the chief purpose in life was to have pleasure now. Today, we use the word Epicurean to describe the pursuit of pleasure and the love of "fine living," especially fine food.

Stoics – Stoikos – these were the followers of a guy named Zeno, who taught in a porch (stoa). This guy felt that life was tough, so the best way to live your life was to live smart, have self-control, and tough it out. They believed that pleasure was not good and pain was not evil. These guys had no fun. These were the guys who thought they were better than everyone else. The first two leaders of the Stoic school of philosophy committed .

Areopagus – Areios Pagos – Areopagus, or "Mars Hill". At this point in Athens’ history, a court with twelve judges met here and was responsible to watch over both religion and education in the city.

new thing – comparative form of kainos – it’s not just "new", but "newer" or "fresher". The people who hung out at Mars Hill had time on their hands. They were always looking for the newest and latest thing.

too superstitious – deisidaimonesteros – ("fearful" deilos + "gods or demons" daimon) it can mean either "very superstitious" or "very religious".

devotions – sebasma – an object of worship; of temples, altars, statues

Even though they had some 30,000 idols in Athens, they wanted to be sure they didn’t forget some god and make him mad, so they had this one altar built to the "unknown god".

This is quite a crucial point to Paul’s message. The fact that there is a Creator, means that we are accountable to Him. We will one day stand before Him in judgment.

Paul may have pointed to the grand Parthenon up on the acropolis at this point, the supposed home of Athena.

Solomon, when dedicating the temple in Jerusalem said,

worshipped – therapeuo – to serve, do service; cure, restore to health

We owe our very existence to Him. We breathe because of Him.

haply – perhaps

feel – pselaphao – to handle, touch and feel. It’s a picture of a person groping in the dark. Like when you walk into a dark room and are feeling around for the light switch.

To the Greeks, the gods lived far away on Mount Olympus. But in reality, God is very, very near. He wants to be found.

David wrote,

It’s interesting to see that Paul is quoting some Greek philosophers –

I know that some of us like to say things like, "I never read anything by my Bible." But I think there may be some value to guardedly keep current with some of the things that are going on in the world around us.

man’s device – enthumesis – a thinking, consideration; thoughts

winked at – hupereido – to overlook, take no notice of

repent – metanoeo – to change one's mind, to turn your life around

Paul here for the first time directly quotes from Scripture (Psa.9:8)

The reasoning goes like this: Death is a result of sin. Jesus died, but died to pay for our sin. The fact that He rose from the dead not only proves that He has paid for all His sins, but that He is totally sin-free, totally righteous, and so He is worthy of being the one to judge us.

Two responses here to the gospel. Some will mock, others will be interested.

Dionysius was one of the guys that hung out at the Areopagus, one of those always looking for some new thing. History tells us that he was one of the twelve judges of the Areopagus. Eusebius says that he became afterwards bishop (or, pastor) of the Church at Athens and died a martyr.

It doesn't seem that many people came to the Lord in Athens, whereas in Thessalonica and Berea, Luke said there were "not a few" who believed (Acts 17:4,12).