1.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
Verse 1
Thessalonica; a large city of Macedonia.--Where was a synagogue, &c. Few places so remote from Jerusalem had a synagogue for the Jews.
2.
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
3.
Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
Verse 3
Must needs; that is, according to the Jewish Scriptures.--Whom I preach unto you; the word I referring to Paul.
4.
And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
Verse 4
Consorted with; united with.
5.
But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
Verse 5
Jason; at whose house the apostles were entertained as guests.
6.
And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7.
Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8.
And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
9.
And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
Verse 9
Taken security; made a satisfactory arrangement, in some way, for insuring the termination of the difficulty.
10.
And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Verse 11
Whether those things were so, that is, whether, according to the predictions of the Scriptures, the Messiah was to suffer death, and then be restored to life again, as Paul contended. (Acts 17:3.)
12.
Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
13.
But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
14.
And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
15.
And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
16.
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
17.
Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
Verse 17
Disputed; argued.--Market; the forum; a place of great public resort, in which assemblies of various kinds were often held.
18.
Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
Verse 18
Epicureans and--Stoics; two prominent sects of philosophers. The doctrine of the Epicureans was, that the true end and aim of life was enjoyment, and that the test and the essence of philosophy was to carry human happiness to the highest point, and to give it the most permanent and uninterrupted character; the rules of virtue were inculcated as the best means to this end. The philosophers of this class saw no evidence of any future state, or of the existence of any divine being to whom they were accountable. Their theory, therefore, was, that every man should aim to secure for himself and for others the highest degree of rational and substantial pleasure in the present state, and all possible exemption from pain. The Stoics, on the other hand, believed in the existence of God, and in a future state, and in the moral accountability of man; and they held up an ideal of virtue, which they maintained was the highest good, and should be the end and aim of human efforts, without regard to the pain or the pleasure which might attend the pursuit. While, therefore, the Epicureans taught men to value enjoyment, and to seek for it through all the safe avenues by which it might be attained, the Stoics inculcated indifference and insensibility to sensations of pain and pleasure, and supreme devotedness to the principles of a stern and inflexible virtue. The terms Epicurean and Stoic have gradually acquired, in modern times, opprobrious significations; and the ordinary representations of the two systems, made to set off, by contrast, the superiority of Christianity, are caricatures, which convey no just idea of the intent and meaning of their originals. They were both right, and both wrong; for Christianity shows us that virtue and happiness, one and indivisible, constitute the highest and only good, and the proper end and aim of being.
19.
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
Verse 19
Areopagus; or Mars-hill, as it is called below; a public part of the city,--the seat of an august tribunal, called also the Areopagus. Whether Paul was taken before this court as a party accused, or only invited to address an assembly in or near the edifice, is uncertain.
20.
For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21.
(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
Verse 21
Strangers which were there. Athens was a city celebrated throughout the world for its wealth, its refinement, and its high intellectual character. It was consequently a place of great resort.
22.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Verse 22
Too superstitious; meaning very superstitious, that is, very religiously disposed. That the expression is to be understood in a good sense, meaning deeply interested in what relates to the spiritual world, and to the divine character, the following verses plainly show.
23.
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Verse 23
Whom therefore, &c. The method which Paul adopted in instructing these pagans was, to elevate and correct their own vague and erroneous conceptions of the Divinity,--not to attack and denounce them. It is worthy of very serious consideration, how far an in what cases this example, ought to be followed, in respect to the instruction of pagan nations, at the present day.
24.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25.
Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Verse 25
As though he needed any thing. In his sacrifices to the gods, the heathen worshipper imagined that he was supplying their wants.
26.
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27.
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28.
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Verse 28
Modern scholars have found an expression like the one quoted here in several of the Greek poets then known and read at Athens.
29.
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31.
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32.
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
33.
So Paul departed from among them.
34.
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Verse 34
The Areopagite; a member of the council of Areopagus.