Mars' Hill Sermon

Paul was fleeing from the Judaizers of northern Greece, being forced to rush from Philippi for preaching the gospel of Christ. Not long after, he again was forced to flee for the same reason from Thessalonica. He found relief for a short time in Berea, but once again had to take flight from the troublemakers.

Taking a ship down the western coast of Greece, Paul likely caught a glance of a hundred-foot coastal hill called [Sounion] (soon-yun), which sported the ancient temple of Poseidon. This Greek god of the seas would be just a sample of what the apostle would experience upon his arrival to the Athens.

Athens was a city “full of idols” and heavy on idolatry. They worshipped everything and anything under the sun. Besides the worship of the Greek gods, they also were willing to venerate (revere) their ancient philosophers and noble citizens that passed on. Some have estimated that there were thousands of these idols within the city. The sculptures and altars associated with them would have lined the streets that Paul walked. The apostle had never encountered such a polytheistic society [like] this, provoking him to [his] core.

Naturally, according to Paul’s custom, he sought out a local synagogue to begin spreading the message of Jesus Christ. He looked for anyone who was willing to reason the God of the scriptures in hope that they found His Son Jesus Christ. While in the market place, some observers, less than a couple hundred feet away and atop a large stone hill called the Areopagus, noticed that Paul had accumulated quite a following. They were known as the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who spent their days on the hill, publicly reasoning the existence of [their] ancient god-system. [And] A closer examination of each group would prove to be enlightening to the context of [this] passage.

They were about as polar-opposite as possible [and] their debates reflected it. They were equally passionate about being out in front of the populace to demonstrate their wisdom and be admired by men. Naturally, when they saw Paul had gathered a large crowd, they demanded to investigate.

They invited Paul to the larger and more affluent forum to debate with the populace about the hope in Christ. The place was called the Areopagus: Ares = Mars + Pagos (pah-go-s) = Hill, hence Mars' Hill. It was the place that the supreme court of Athens would meet to hear important cases and issues of the gods. Apparently, what Paul was speaking about in the market place was elevated, both figuratively and literally to the highest platform.

Paul was already impressed with the polytheistic nature of the culture, so it was no surprise to see him begin with the common-ground of “very religious”, even to the point of an altar inscribed as “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”. The Athenians were so serious about worshipping their gods and idols that just in case they missed one, why not have an altar for it? The Athenians made daily sacrifices to their altars, likely including this [one] as well. In this way they were worshipping in ignorance, for the anonymous god was yet to be discovered and named, but already [being] worshipped.

We must remember this is Luke’s summary of Paul’s case for Christ while preaching in Athens, not the entire hearing which took place. Luke [has] captured the essence of what was being argued by the apostle to the group that day. From what we do have, there were five revealed primary truths about God which were communicated by Paul. They are five qualities of God which are necessary to understand about Him as a basis of a healthy relationship.

What happens when God is presented in such a way [as this] to a group of people? There are three possible primary conclusions that can be reached when confronted with OMNIGOD:

When we are sharing the truth of God with others, be prepared to identify all three responses. Ultimately, we only have control over two things, what we teach and whether we teach it. Our job is to present to the world [of] an all-creating, all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing and all-present God to our fellow man and let the message [do] the work.

[Doug finishes up with…​] .We sow the seeds of truth and let God do the rest. 1 Corinthians 3:6,7:: I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. ⁷ So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.