Read Acts 17:16-34
If there was ever a time when many of us would like to have been the proverbial “fly on the wall” in Scripture, surely this is one of them. Paul, the best mind in the NT other than Christ Himself, is in Athens, the intellectual epicenter of his day. If Paul was anything, he was a master at communicating Christ in the marketplace, and he lived Christ wherever he went.
Much is said today about the issue of communication, such as, what it means, how it is done, the characteristics it takes on, etc. When all is said and done, Christ wants us to speak in the lives of people, especially the unbelieving community.
Study Acts 17 with help from the following questions:
- Why was Paul greatly distressed?
- Why did he reason both in the synagogue and in the marketplace?
- Why do you suppose they disputed with him, calling him a “babbler”?
- Why do you suppose the resurrection was part of his preaching repertoire?
- He piqued their interest, and they wanted to know “this new teaching.” How did he create interest?
- What significance do you make of Paul’s line, “now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you”?
- Why did he quote their own poets, and how did he know to quote them?
- If he is getting at idolatry in verse 29, why does he confront that head on?
- Why does he talk about repentance?
- Why did some sneer, while others wanted to hear him again?
As you think about Paul’s example, how does it inspire you to communicate sensitively and creatively with others?
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