Luke-Acts A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. i. Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures; “The Greek word translated ‘reasoned’ is the root for our English word dialogue. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Wisdom Literature Acts 17 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, as set of 17 volumes on the New Testament, the result of Barclay's dedicated work The Gospels Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. All rights reserved. Paul told them that God was bigger than any temple men’s hands could build (does not dwell in temples made with hands), and could not be represented by anything men could make with their hands (Nor is He worshipped with men’s hands). Prophets Stirred up the crowds: The same had happened at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:45, 50), at Iconium (Acts 14:2, 5), at Lystra and at Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-8) This was the fifth city Paul was run out of by an angry mob, stirred up by envious Jewish leaders. The Jews from Thessalonica: They were not satisfied to force Paul out of only their own city. -------------------- Prophets His first mention of Jesus presented Jesus as a righteous judge. Poetical Books But both Silas and Timothy remained there, because Paul wanted to leave them behind to teach and take care of the new Christians in Berea. (Act 17:9-10a) Paul and Silas leave Thessalonica by night. They thought the ultimate form of glory would be pure spirit. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point “The house of Jason”: The mob assumed Paul, Silas, and Timothy were staying there. In Thessalonica. Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores. Historical Books “The Athenians have acknowledged in their altar inscription that they are ignorant of God, and Paul has been giving evidence of their ignorance. Historical Books And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. The Bereans heard the teaching of the most famous apostle and theologian of the early church, and the human author of at least 13 New Testament books. In explaining God to them, Paul started at the beginning: God is the Creator, and we are His creatures. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The New Testament God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth: Paul spoke about the God who created everything, yet is distinct from His creation. d. “These are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king; Jesus”: This was the serious accusation made by the evil men from the marketplace. In Acts 17:30-31 he specifically mentioned the resurrection, and how could he preach the resurrection without preaching the cross which came before it? Copyright © 2020, Bible Study Tools. Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious: Paul did not begin with an exposition of Scripture, which was his custom when dealing with Jews or Gentiles who were familiar with the Old Testament. d. He preached to them Jesus and the resurrection: Though Paul spoke in a different place, to a different kind of audience, his message did not change in Athens. “It may be for this reason that Paul avoided the use of ‘kingdom’ and ‘king’ in his letters to his converts, lest Gentile imperial authorities misconstrue them to connote opposition to the empire and emperor.” (Longenecker). "ACTS OF THE APOSTLES" Chapter Seventeen OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER (Kevin Scott) 1) To explore how Paul preached in Thessalonica and Berea, and how his preaching was received in … Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him: The sense is that Paul would have preferred to wait until Timothy and Silas came from Berea before he began ministry in Athens.