Bible Passage: Acts 17:22-31
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: May 10, 2026

Bulletin – May 10, 2026

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

Paul had come to the Greek city of Athens to do mission work.  Athens was a major city of its time.  It was a center of politics and arts and philosophy…and religion.  As Paul walked around the city, he observed that it was a very religious place.  He would have seen the Parthenon temple set high on the Acropolis.  There was the temple of Athena Nike.  In the marketplace of Athens there were the Temple of Hephaestus, the Temple of Ares, the Temple of Apollo Patroos, and a temple for the mother goddess.  Some archaeologists believe at the time of Paul there may have been as many as 40 major temples to Roman deities in Athens.  In addition to the major temples, there were shrines and tens of thousands of statues for the gods.  One second-century geographer, Pausanias, described Athens as having more religious images than all other Greek cities combined.  It was to this city that Paul came preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. (Acts 17:18)

Paul’s preaching catches the attention of some Stoic and Epicurean philosophers.  They engage him in debate.  They are intrigued.  They take Paul to the council of Athens that met at the Areopagus.  Areopagus means “hill of Ares.”  Ares was the Greek god of war.  Greek mythology held that Ares was put on trial on this hill for the murder of Poseidon’s son.  Because of this, the hill later became the place where trials for murder were conducted in Athens.  It was kind of a “hill of judgment.”  What would Paul say in this intimidating setting?

The introduction to Paul’s sermon is a masterpiece!  He meets the people where they are!  He recounts how he walked around town.  He comments how religious they are.  Paul even mentions one particular altar that caught his attention.  He saw an altar dedicated “To the Unknown God.”  In their zeal to honor all the gods, the Athenians dedicated an extra altar just in case they forgot any!  Here is Paul’s springboard!  Now what you worship as unknown – this is what I am going to proclaim to you. (v. 23)

And so Paul proceeds to make the “unknown” God known to them.  He begins with creation.  Paul tells them that the God who made everything is not contained in one of their temples, as if the Creator needed human hands to make him a shelter!  Paul adds that the Creator isn’t served by human hands (v. 25) either.  Paul uses an interesting word for “serve.”  He uses the word therapeuo.  It is the word used when Jesus healed people.  We get our word “therapy” from it.  The one, true God doesn’t derive any therapeutic benefit from us!  He is the one who gives all people life and breath and everything they have. (v. 26)

Paul makes known how all the nations of the world can be traced back to the first human being.  And the rise and fall of nations, and the exact boundaries where they all live – all of it! – has been orchestrated by God.  The Greeks believed the gods played with humans like they were toys when they were bored.  How different the true God!  Every detail of world history is shaped by him!  Because God wants one thing.  He did this so they would seek God and perhaps reach out for him and find him. (v. 27)  God wants fallen humanity to be restless and unfulfilled without him!  He wants there to be an irrepressible urge in man to “know” God!  But here’s the problem.  This “natural knowledge of God” that is in man can only and always lead humanity to be Athenians.  “Natural knowledge” leads people to be vaguely “religious.”  To invent many gods.  To invent silly gods.  To invent gods who are really nothing more than magnified humans with all our faults and weaknesses magnified as well.  To these weird and puny gods they build their temples!

Paul says this doesn’t pass scrutiny.  He quotes from a couple of their own poets who say we are the offspring of the gods.  How could a god of silver or gold or stone have offspring that have body and soul, and emotion, intellect, and will?  C’mon, Greeks!  That doesn’t make sense!  It is ignorant.  Now the Athenians have heard the truth!  Now they know!  Now what?

Paul continues:  Although God overlooked the times of ignorance, he is now commanding all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he appointed.  He provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. (v. 30)  The one, true God had so ordered and arranged world history that on that day those people living in Athens, Greece would gather at the Areopagus and hear God’s call to repent.  They would hear the message of God to turn from their worthless gods to the true and living God.  To have their restless search for “god” finally ended!  To find in this God the crucified and risen Savior.  To find refuge in Jesus NOW as risen Savior, so that they will not have to face him at the end as their risen Judge!  Now they know!  Now, repent!  Turn from Zeus and Athena and Gaia and Ares and Poseidon to Jesus Christ!

Friends, we are living in Athens.  As we walk around we can observe that people are very “religious.”  People love to say that about themselves, don’t they?  It’s very common to hear people nowadays say, “I don’t go to church, but I’m a very spiritual person.”  They are Athenians!  They are operating on natural knowledge of God!  They have invented gods.  Silly gods.  Worthless gods.  They don’t know what they are doing.  They are floundering.  They know there is a God, but they don’t know God!  They don’t know the God who sent his Son to be their Savior.  Paul wrote to the Romans, How can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without one preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)  Somebody has to tell them about Jesus!   Those who know must tell.  We must tell!  Let us repent for the times we, for whatever reason, keep Christ to ourselves.  And let us resolve, with the Spirit’s power, to make known the true God and his Son, Jesus Chirst, so that more and more may say those words of the apostle John:  We also have come to know and trust the love that God has for us! (1 John 4:16)

Amen.