As we pick up the action from last time, Paul is about to deliver his famous address on Mars Hill in Athens. In today’s lesson he will be going to Corinth, to Ephesus and then heading home. My goal is to finish up his second missionary journey today. Right now, he is in Athens, a long way from home. From here, he will head up the road 65 miles to Corinth where he will spend quite a bit of time before heading home by way of Ephesus.
READ Acts 17:22
That phrase, “you are very religious” – the Greek word actually means “you are more religious than others.” Paul’s strategy, whenever he talks to a group, is to find common ground with his audience. That makes people more receptive to the Gospel. In one of his letters he says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). This is what he is trying to do. So, while the Athenians are a bunch of idol worshipers, they are certainly religious. But being religious does not mean that you are saved, does it?
READ Acts 17:23
In my class I showed a picture of an actual altar from Paul’s day to an unknown God. It was on display at a museum in Rome. For fear of offending any of their many gods – they did not want to forget any or leave any out – the Athenians had built an altar to the unknown god. They wanted to make sure they had all of their bases covered. Paul uses this as a springboard for presenting the Gospel. He basically tells them: “Hey, I know who this unknown God is! Let me tell you all about Him.” That is his strategy, which is pretty brilliant.
Paul had known God from his youth – as Elohim, Adonai and Yahweh; as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe; as the Shepherd of Israel. But on the Damascus Road Paul came to know God incarnate, who had come in human flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, here Paul hits on the Athenians biggest problem. They had a lot of philosophical knowledge and they knew a lot of gods. But they did not know the One True God. Paul turns toward the Parthenon, which is up on the hill behind them, and he points at it and says…
READ Acts 17:24-25
This unknown God that Paul is speaking of is the Creator of the whole world. He created everything in it including you and me. Paul tells his audience that they have it all wrong. It is not that they created God, like they had created all of these other gods, but rather that God had created THEM.
READ Acts 17:26
This God that Paul speaks of controls our very existence. He determines our “allotted periods.” He decides how long He is going to allow a nation to exist before He says, “Enough!” You see that throughout history, don’t you? Nations come and they go. Through various means God causes entire people groups to be destroyed or relocated or redefined. He does this through war, revolution, famine, pestilence, migration, pandemics and so forth. Everything happens in God’s timetable and by His sovereign will. This same God determines “the boundaries of their dwelling place.” God sets the physical boundaries of the nations. He placed the oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts where they are for His purpose. God also established the various languages that he uses to control the human race. Remember the whole story of the Tower of Babel.
READ Acts 17:27-29
Paul connects to his audience by quoting their poets.
Paul says that God has a purpose for mankind. Unlike all the impersonal gods of the Athenians, Paul’s God (their “unknown god”) DOES care about them and about all of us. He wants to be personally involved in our lives. He is a personal God. He is not impersonal. God made us to seek Him. God has a vested interest in us. Paul says, v 27, that He is “not far from each one of us.”
What a tragedy that the Athenians have relegated the infinite God of the universe, with all of His love and concern for us, as merely a man-made image; as nothing more than a work of art conceived from the mind of man. Paul knows that the unknown god of the Athenians, THE One True God, is far greater than anything their mortal minds could imagine!
With that, Paul wraps up his sermon by calling the Athenians to repentance by faith in Jesus Christ. He gives an invitation.
READ Acts 17:30-31
Of course, Paul is talking about the resurrection of Jesus. Paul says something very interesting to this group of intellectuals – that God is willing to overlook their ignorance. Paul calls THEM, this group of highly educated intellectuals, ignorant. God is willing to overlook their ignorance if they will repent. By the way, the ignorance of the Athenians in Paul’s day and of intellectuals of our day as well is a willful ignorance. People choose to reject the truth of the Gospel. Paul describes this willful ignorance in the book of Romans: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). It is a willful ignorance.
The “man whom He has appointed,” v 31, is Jesus. He is the One who God raised from the dead. We know that. Paul wants to expound on that and say more, to talk more about this resurrection of Jesus, but at this point the Athenians interrupt him and cut his time short. This is what happens…
READ Acts 17:32
Some mock him –- “What are you talking about?” Some are interested – “We will hear you again about this.” So, you have a mixed crowd here.
Whenever the Gospel is presented, there will be one of four reactions to it… People will either (1) Believe the message and repent; (2) Sneer, mock or otherwise outright reject it; (3) Consider it, think about it and maybe later they will respond to it; or (4) Be completely apathetic and unmoved by the message. It does not affect their life.
Here in Athens, those listening to Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill, fall into one of the middle two categories. Some mocked (sneered) and some considered.
Paul has to be a bit disappointed in the lack of reception to the Gospel. But then, he is not responsible for their reaction to the Gospel, is he? He is only responsible to sow the seed. Likewise, we are not responsible for people’s response to the Gospel. We are just to be faithful “sowers” of the seed. We are to witness, to tell them the Gospel message, give them the truth; then let God work in their lives from there.
But Paul’s efforts here in Athens are not a total loss.
READ Acts 17:33-34
So, there were some believers, men and women. A handful of people believe and respond. Two of them are named here. According to Luke’s record of Paul’s three missionary journeys, there is no evidence of Paul starting a church here in Athens. Once Paul leaves Athens, he never returns. He will return to other places but he never comes back here. None of the epistles that were written and preserved in the Bible are to the Athenians. It is a sad commentary. Most of the audience in Athens refuses to believe what this fanatic, this “babbler,” Paul has to say. I think the lack of repentance and unbelief on the part of the Athenians probably hurts Paul more than the rocks and whips he experienced in Philippi and Lystra.
And so, following the disappointment in Athens, Paul hits the trail again and goes down to Corinth, about 65 miles away.
READ Acts 18:1
Paul will later write in the book of First Corinthians that he entered Corinth “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). Thankfully for Paul, Corinth will prove to be much more fertile ground for the Gospel than Athens was.
The city of Corinth is a center of commerce and it is a very pagan and corrupt place. Two main vices have a stranglehold on this city – greed and lust. The Corinthians are materialistic and have a rampant sensual appetite. Corinth is one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire. At the center of the city is the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. More than a thousand temple prostitutes live in luxurious dwellings that surround the temple. If there was ever a proving ground for the power of the Gospel to change lives, it is Corinth.
READ Acts 18:2-3
As soon as Paul arrives in Corinth, he is looking for a place to live and he is looking for work. He finds both with this Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla. They had relocated from Rome two years before, because of this edict by the Emperor Claudius. It forced them to leave and they came here to Corinth. Like Paul, they are tent-makers. This is the only place in scripture where we hear what Paul’s secular profession is. It is good that we hear that because in our minds we think that Paul is a professional preacher, a paid missionary. No, Paul is a layperson. He had to work a full-time job to make ends meet.
Though not recorded in Acts, at some point, Paul leads Aquila and Priscilla to faith in Christ during his interactions with them.
As we have seen is Paul’s normal custom, the first place he goes to preach whenever he arrives in a new town is in the local synagogue. That is what happens in Corinth.
READ Acts 18:4
Paul presents his Gospel message about Jesus to the Jews and the Greek proselytes. He reasons with them from the Old Testament scriptures. He shows that Jesus is God’s promised Messiah.
Right in the middle of his work in Corinth, who shows up? They have been gone for a while. Paul’s friends, Silas and Timothy.
READ Acts 18:5
Just to remind you, Timothy has been in Thessalonica and Silas has been in Berea. Luke is still in Philippi and will rejoin Paul later. Interesting note: v 5 is the last place that Silas’s name is mentioned in the book of Acts. He is still traveling with Paul on his second missionary journey, but is not mentioned by Luke.
READ Acts 18:6
Not surprisingly, the Jews resist Paul’s message. This has happened other places that he has been. It says here that they “opposed and reviled him.” So, Paul turns his attention to preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul does not have to go very far to find a place to meet.
READ Acts 18:7-8
Paul goes next door this large house that is owned by Titus Justus. This man is a Gentile and a Roman citizen. So, apparently, he is one of the proselytes that had been in the synagogue. He believes Paul’s message and he wants to hear more and so he opens his house up. That is where Paul goes next. Even Crispus, the ruler of the Jewish synagogue believes Paul’s message (along with his entire household).
Unlike most of the other places Paul had visited, the Jews of Corinth do not persecute Paul or the other believers. The lack of opposition allows Paul to stay on a little longer in Corinth than he had in Philippi or in Thessalonica or in Berea. He could not stay in those places very long because of the opposition. But here in Corinth there is no opposition. They kick him out of the synagogue, but they do not follow him around and try to beat him up or drag him in front of the city officials.
Paul has been through a lot emotionally. This period of peace and prosperity and success in ministry allows Paul to recover emotionally from the strain he had been under. It is a boost to him. But Paul becomes concerned that something may happen to disrupt his ministry in Corinth. So, Jesus comes to Paul in a vision.
READ Acts 18:9-11
Jesus reassures Paul that his ministry in Corinth will continue without opposition. He is going to protect Paul. This is a comfort to Paul after all that he has been through! This is what he needs to hear. He gets some reassurance. So, for the next 18 months Paul continues preaching and teaching and establishing this growing church in Corinth. This is the most success Paul has had anywhere so far in all of his mission endeavors. He has had success, but not like this. You never would have predicted it in a city as pagan and as corrupt as Corinth. But yet this is where the fertile ground for the Gospel is. It is in Corinth. During his extended stay in Corinth Paul writes his two letters to the Thessalonians (these are among the earliest of all the New Testament letters written). Paul is very concerned and still thinking about the Thessalonian believers even while he is in Corinth.
At some point during this year and a half, there is a change in the Roman leadership in Achaia, the Roman province where Corinth is located. A man named Gallio became the new Roman Proconsul of Achaia. He is the brother of a famous philosopher named Seneca and so he comes from a family of distinction. Gallio is apparently a very nice person. He has a reputation of being a nice guy (not very common among Roman rulers).
With a new Roman administration in place, the Jews decide to take advantage of this. Perhaps they figure that Gallio’s inexperience and desire for popularity can work in their favor. Perhaps they view Gallio as weak because he is such a nice guy. But they have miscalculated the situation.
READ Acts 18:12-13
For a year and half, they have been quiet, but now the Jews seize Paul and bring him before Gallio. Their charge against Paul, v 13, “persuading people to worship God contrary to the law,” which is, completely false.
READ Acts 18:14-16
Gallio is not interested in hearing this case. He sees it as a religious dispute and not a Roman legal issue. His attitude is basically, “Settle this yourselves. You have your own religious squabbles and I do not want to hear it. So, don’t bother me with it.”
As the two parties are leaving, a bizarre turn of events takes place.
READ Acts 18:17
When the predominately Gentile citizens of Corinth see Gallio’s indifference toward the Jews, this fuels their anti-Semitic feelings and stirs up a riot. We are actually seeing this in our country today. The lack of response against Israel is bringing out a lot of anti-Semitic rhetoric. They drag the new ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes, and they brutally beat him. Basically, Gallio’s reaction is, “Who cares?” So, maybe he is not such a nice guy after all!
Some Bible scholars think that this ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes (the one who was beat up), later becomes a believer in Jesus. The reason for them saying this is that in a letter to the Corinthians Paul greets them with the phrase, “and our brother Sosthenes” (1 Corinthians 1:1). It is not as though Sosthenes is a common name, so he is very likely the same Sosthenes from Acts Chapter 18. Though no details are given in the Bible about Sostenes conversion to Christianity, it is just conjecture. However, it is very possible that when he gets beat up the Corinthian brothers and sisters rally to Sosthenes’ aid and show him Christian kindness. This then opened his mind to receive the Gospel. We have no way of knowing for sure, but this is a very possible scenario if the Sosthenes of Acts 18 is the same guy.
Paul stays on in Corinth a little longer before he leaves and returns home to Antioch in the spring of 53 A.D. The best time to travel in the open ocean is the springtime.
READ Acts 18:18-21
Paul has been in Corinth and he goes to Cenchreae and has his hair cut. Corinth is not a port city. Cenchreae is the port closest to Corinth that he sails out of. Paul sails across the Aegean Sea to Ephesus. He is there for a short period of time and starts a ministry there. From there he heads home which will end his second missionary journey. Paul promises the people in Ephesus that he will return “if God wills.” Paul then boards a ship and makes the long voyage, 700 miles, across the Mediterranean Sea toward home.
READ Acts 18:22
Paul’s ship finally arrives at the port city of Caesarea. He then makes the short trip to Jerusalem where he gives an update to the apostles and church leaders about his mission trip. Paul then heads north back to his home church at Antioch.
Someone in my class asked me how far it is from Jerusalem to Antioch. This trip happens frequently in the book of Acts. The distance is 370 miles. So, it is not a short distance. If you are walking it, the trip would take a couple of weeks. All the trips you hear about in the Bible seem so much shorter than they actually were.
By the time Paul arrives back home he has been gone nearly three years! The total length of his second mission trip is 3,050 miles – 1,750 miles on foot and 1,300 miles by ship. It was a big trip, much longer than the first missionary journey.
READ Acts 18:23
It says here only that Paul spent “some time” in Antioch. His furlough does not last very long. He is home only a few months before setting out on his third missionary journey. Paul is eager to return to his newfound Christian friends in Ephesus. We will cover that next time.
Applications from today’s lesson…
- When talking to others, take some time to try and understand their background, culture, and moral authority. In the book of Acts, Paul connects with his various audiences right where they are. Notice how Paul presents the Gospel differently to a Jewish audience than he does to a pagan Gentile audience.
- An essential component of the Gospel is Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. Even when Paul was preaching to pagan idol worshippers in Athens, he included Jesus and His resurrection. “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). The resurrection is very important!
- As Christians we are called to share the Gospel with those around us. God will hold each of those individuals personally accountable for their response to what they hear.
- Make plans and then hold on to them loosely. Let God guide your path. Paul said that he would return to Ephesus IF it was God’s will.
- Trust that God will lead you where you need to go.
- God does not want us to live in fear – of the future or anything else. HE IS IN CONTROL!