By prof. A.P. Lopukhin
Acts 17:1. Having passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
Amphipolis is an Athenian colony, at that time the capital of the first district of Macedonia, on the Strymon (Struma) River, southwest of Philippi.
Apollonia is a small town southwest of Amphipolis, then assigned to the Macedonian province of Mygdonia.
Thessalonica or Thessaloniki is the capital of the second district of Macedonia, on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, the seat of the Roman praetor, a commercial and densely populated city. The Jews here were numerous, and there was also a synagogue.
Acts. 17:2. Paul, as was his custom, went in to the Jews and for three Sabbaths in a row reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
“according to his custom.” Wherever he went to preach, Paul addressed himself first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 13:46, ch. 14, etc.).
“He went into the Jews,” i.e. into the synagogue.
Acts 17:3. revealing and proving to them that Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that this Jesus whom he preached to them was the Christ.
According to St. John Chrysostom, “the writer only sets forth the essence of the discourse, … so that he is not verbose, nor does he everywhere recount all the speeches of Paul.”
Acts 17:4. And some of them believed and joined Paul and Silas, a great multitude of God-fearing Greeks, and also not a few prominent women.
Among those who believed, under the influence of Paul’s preaching, in addition to Jews, there were also many “God-fearing Greeks”, i.e. proselytes (pagans who converted to Judaism, ed. note), to whom the women mentioned here probably belonged.
Acts. 17:5. But the unbelieving Jews became jealous and took some wicked people with them, gathered a crowd and set the city on an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house and sought to bring them out to the people.
It is not known who Jason was, with whom the apostles apparently stayed: since Jews in the diaspora willingly adopted Greek names, this could have been both a Jewish-Hellenist and a Greek-proselyte, in both cases who believed in Christ, although this is not explicitly stated.
Acts. 17:6. And when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting that those who had turned the world upside down had come here also;
Not finding the apostles in Jason’s house, who had probably already left, the crowd brought Jason himself and some of his fellow believers to court, accusing him of harboring “those who have turned the world upside down” – an exaggeration, showing the extreme agitation of the crowd and the hatred towards the preachers of the Gospel and towards all Christians.
Acts. 17:7. Jason took them in and they all acted against the orders of Caesar, saying that there was another king – Jesus.
The embittered Jews gave a political character to their accusations in order to make them more convincing to the authorities – a method they also successfully used against Jesus (see John chapter 19). Now they claimed that Christians worshipped Jesus as their king, and not the Roman Caesar.
Acts. 17:8. And they stirred up the people and the rulers of the city, who heard this.
Acts. 17:9. But they, having taken security from Jason and the others, let them go.
“having taken security”. In Greek: “λαβόντες τὸ ἱκανὸν”. In the Slavic translation: “вземше же довольное”. Literally: taking enough, which could mean that they took money as a pledge or ransom. But it is more likely that they received sufficient information that the accused were not criminals against the king’s authority, but peaceful people. (Bulgarian synodal translation uses the word security, guarantee, which has a basis in the Greek text, note ed.)
Acts. 17:10. And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Berea by night, who, having arrived, went into the Jewish synagogue.
However, the brothers sent Paul and Silas by night to Berea (today Berea, in Bulgarian Ber), since the excitement could flare up with new force at any minute. Berea is a city southwest of Thessaloniki, in the third part of Macedonia (whose capital was Pella), at its southern edge.
Acts. 17:11. The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians: they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
“The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians.” In Greek: οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν εὐγενέστεροι τῶν ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ. In the Slavic translation: nobler. That is, more noble in character and attitude of spirit.
“whether this is so,” that is, as Paul preached.
Acts. 17:12. And many of them believed, and of the prominent Greek women and men not a few.
Acts. 17:13. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that Paul had preached the word of God in Berea also, they came there also, agitating and disturbing the people.
Acts. 17:14. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away as if he were going to the sea, and Silas and Timothy remained there.
The brothers sent only Paul. Why? Because apparently the indignation of the Thessalonians was directed against him. St. John Chrysostom writes: “They sent only Paul, because they feared for him, lest something should happen to him, since he was their leader. So grace did not work everywhere, but left them to act on their own humanly, inciting them and predisposing them to vigilance and attention.”
“as if they were going to the sea.” In Greek: “ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν.” In the Slavic translation: “ὤπόστισα ιδι να πομοριά”, i.e. they let them go in the direction of the sea (the preposition as expands the meaning of the latter, making it less definite). Paul probably traveled to Athens by sea; in this way he better hid his tracks from his pursuers and made it difficult for them.
“Athens” is the capital of Greece, the center of Greek learning, art, civilization, trade, and wealth at that time.
Acts 17:15. Those who accompanied Paul took him to Athens, and after receiving from him a command to Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Paul expected Silas and Timothy to come to Athens, but he met them already in Corinth (Acts 18:5), and he was probably forced to leave Athens earlier than he had originally intended. From what is said in 1 Thess. 2:18-3:2, however, we can conclude that Timothy came to Paul also in Athens, but was sent back to Macedonia and Thessalonica, and then, together with Silas, who remained in Berea, came to Paul in Corinth.
Acts 17:16. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was provoked in spirit when he saw the city full of idols.
Acts 17:17. And he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and every day in the marketplace with those who happened to be there.
“He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons” (τοῖς σεβομένοις), that is, with those “who worshipped God,” the proselytes.
This was evidently on the Sabbaths, and on the days between them Paul was not idle either, “daily” entering into conversations in the marketplace with those he met there. So restless was his great soul!
Acts 17:18. And certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers disputed with him; some said, “What would this babbler like to say?” and others: “He seems to be preaching foreign deities,” because he preached to them about Jesus and the resurrection.
“certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers,” who enjoyed the greatest popularity at that time and were most sharply opposed to Christianity. The first system, that of the Epicureans, was based, as is well known, on the grossest materialism and nihilism; the second – on self-serving pride and self-deception.
Acts. 17:19. And they took him and led him to the Areopagus, saying: May we know what this new teaching is that you are preaching?
“they took him and led him away” – not by force, but apparently with the consent of Paul, who accepted their invitation.
“Areopagus” is the place for the gathering and sitting of the Supreme Council of the Greek democracy to discuss state, public and judicial matters. This institution retained its importance, though not in all respects, even after the subjugation of Greece to Rome. This Supreme Council was composed of the best and most famous citizens. The place of the meeting, Mars’ Hill (this is how the Greek name Areopagus is translated or unmerged: Arios pagos, ed. note), which bordered on a large square (Acts 17:17), was convenient in that Paul could be heard by the multitude of people in the nearby square. Here they brought him – not to judge him, but from a desire to hear more about the essence of his teaching, because it was something new, and the Athenians in general were interested in new things. (Acts 17:21).
“saying: may we know?” A subtle irony, mixed with Athenian politeness, which suggests the insignificance of the new teaching compared to Athenian wisdom. The same irony is heard in the further expression: “you are putting strange things in our ears.”
Acts. 17:20. For you are putting strange things in our ears. Therefore we want to know what it is.
Acts 17:21. And all the Athenians, and the strangers that sojourned among them, loved nothing so much to pass their time as to tell or hear some new thing.
The Athenians’ fondness for new things showed their instability and their lack of a deep and serious need to learn the truth. “Their city was a city of idle talkers” (St. John Chrysostom).
Acts 17:22. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious.
Paul’s speech before the Athenians at the Areopagus is a high example of apostolic wisdom and eloquence, as well as the application of his constant rule – to be to the Gentiles as if he were a Gentile, in order to win them to the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:19-22). With careful, extremely subtle and restrained expressions, he bypasses everything that could irritate the pagan pride of these representatives of worldly wisdom, having found with remarkable ingenuity the point of contact between his teaching and this wisdom in the altar of the “unknown God”, which serves as the starting point for a brilliant speech, the spiritual power of which also finds a worthy external expression, meeting all the requirements for the harmony of worldly speeches.
Gradually, moving from the simpler to the more complex, with irrefutable consistency he unfolds the system of Christian teaching, preaching 1) about one God, Creator of the world and of humanity (Acts 17:22-26), 2) about the purpose and laws of human life (Acts 17:27-29), which make so natural the doctrine of redemption and future judgment (Acts 17:30-31).
“especially pious”. In Greek: κατὰ πάντα ὡς δεισιδαιμονεστέρους. Δεισιδαίμων is literally a person who fears demons (as the deities were called in pagan religion), who worships everything – wood, stone and spirits. Depending on the context, it can mean piety or superstition. It seems as if the apostle Paul praises the Athenians, but at the same time he responds to their irony with his own, no less subtle and bitter, defining their piety with a word that expresses the essence of all pagan religiosity – superstition.
This subtle irony is further enhanced by the “praise” of their “especially” “piety” and piety, with which they surpassed all other Greeks. This comparative piety of the Athenians is attested to by Greek writers themselves such as Isocrates, Plato, Sophocles, Xenophon.
Acts. 17:23. For as I passed by and beheld your holy things, I found an altar with this inscription: To an Unknown God. Therefore, whom you worship without knowing, this I proclaim to you.
“To an Unknown God”, ἀγνώστῳ Θεῷ. The full inscription of the altar, according to Blessed Theophylact, was as follows: “To the gods of Asia, Europe, and Libya. To an unknown and foreign God”
“Perhaps there is some other god whom we do not know, and since we do not know him, although he is a god, we make a mistake by neglecting him and not worshiping him.” Therefore, they set up an altar and put an inscription “to the unknown god”, saying with this inscription that if there is still some other god whom we do not know, then we will worship him too” (Blessed Theophylact).
“Therefore, whom you worship without knowing, Him I preach to you”. The Athenians reproached Paul for introducing a new teaching, new deities. Therefore, wishing to free himself from suspicion and to show that he was not preaching a new god, but was preaching the One whom they had already worshipped before him through service, he said: “You warned me that your service to Him precedes my preaching, therefore I also preach to you that God whom you worship without knowing”.
“I offer nothing strange and nothing new,” says the apostle, since they claimed: What is this new doctrine that you preach? (Acts 17:19). Therefore he immediately refuted their prejudice” (St. John Chrysostom).
Acts. 17:24. God, who created the world and everything in it. He, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made with hands,
“God, who created the world”. “He spoke only one word and with it refuted all the statements of the philosophers. The Epicureans teach that everything came from itself and from atoms, but he says that the world and everything in it is the work of God” (Blessed Theophylact).
“does not live in temples made with hands”. Lest they think that he preaches one of their many gods, Paul completes what he has said by adding: “not in temples made with hands,” but in the human soul; and he does not require service from human hands, such as offering sacrifices and the like. “How?” – “Did not God live in the temple in Jerusalem? No, but He only acted. Did He not receive service from human hands among the Jews? Not from hands, but from the soul, and this He required not because He needed it” (St. John Chrysostom).
Acts. 17:25. nor does He receive service from human hands, as if He needed anything, but Himself gives to all life and breath and everything.
“gives to all”. In Greek: “διδοὺς πᾶσι”. In the Slavic translation: “δαί всем”.
“life” – the beginning of existence, vital force.
“breath” – ability to sustain life by breathing
“all” – the necessities of life.
Acts. 17:26. He made of one blood every race of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined the times and the boundaries of their habitation,
“of one blood” – from one man – the progenitor, from one ancestral couple. Since blood, both according to the biblical understanding (Lev. 17:11, 14), and according to the understanding of the ancients in general, was considered the seat of the soul, the above expression – about the origin of all from one blood – means origin not only in body, but also in soul from one common ancestor for all – in contrast to the pagan fables about the origin of different peoples from different ancestors.
Presenting all humanity as one whole by virtue of their origin from one blood, the historian rightly calls it created by the One God, the Creator of the whole world, by virtue of the direct origin of the first couple from the hands of the Creator himself.
“has appointed predetermined times and boundaries of their dwelling”. This thought of the apostle is remarkable: the Lord is not only the Creator of humanity, but also the Providential – the Creator of its history in dimensions that do not take away the freedom necessary for man.
Acts. 17:27. to seek the Lord, so that they might somehow feel for him and find him, although he is not far from each one of us:
“lest they feel for him and find him”. In Greek: εἰ ἄρα γε ψηλαφήσειαν αὐτὸν καὶ εὕροιεν. More correctly: “that they may feel for him and find him, although he is not far from each one of us”.
The highest goal of man and humanity is to seek God, to enter into a living heartfelt communion with Him, for which man is given not only such sure guides as the word of God, but also his own inner directions and inclinations – from the faintly perceptible and tangible to the most reliable and obvious, which is due to the so immediate proximity of the Deity to each of us.
Acts. 17:28. for in Him we live and move and have our being, as some of your own poets have said: “For we are His offspring.”
“we live through Him.” In Greek: ἐν αὐτῷ. A more accurate translation would be “in Him” (Gl. “of Him”), i.e. outside of Him there is and cannot be neither life, nor movement, nor space, nor time. St. John Chrysostom explains it this way: “As if he were pointing out a similar material example: just as it is impossible to know the air, which is everywhere and not far from each of us, or rather, is in ourselves, so is the Creator of all things. See how Paul attributes everything to Him – providence, preservation, existence, action and continuation. And he does not say through Him, but – which means greater proximity – in Him”.
“We live and move and have our being” is an intensified expression, which means that outside of God we cannot imagine any existence.
“some of your poets have said: “We are also his offspring.” ” The quoted words are found in the didactic poet Aratus of Soli, Cilicia, who lived in the 3rd century BC, in his astronomical poem “Heavenly Phenomena” (Φαινόμενα), from where they were apparently taken with literal accuracy. The same sentence is also found in the poet Cleanthes, a disciple of Zeno, (in his hymn to Zeus: “We are your race”). Both of the poets mentioned have in mind Zeus, but Paul, by the same bold oratorical device as above (“to the unknown God”), applies this saying to the One true God, “meaning, in the words of John Chrysostom, not the means itself that he (Aratus) had in mind – may it not be! – but applying to Him what is actually said of another; just as the altar (with the inscription “to the unknown God!”) he attributes to Him, and not to the one whom they worshipped. He called us the race of God, i.e. closest relatives, for from our race God was pleased to be born on earth”.
Acts. 17:29. And so, we, being the race of God, should not think that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone – an article that came out of human art and invention.
“The apostle did not say: you should not think that the Deity is like gold or silver”, but he expresses himself more modestly: “we should not think… See how he borrows evidence from what they themselves do and say” (St. John Chrysostom)
If we are the race of God, says the apostle, it is incompatible with common sense to think that the Deity is like something that is not related to Him, just as it is not related to us, His race, i.e. to gold, silver, etc., who are not related to Him.
The Deity can only be like us, human beings who are His genus: in human beings it is necessary to seek this Divine likeness and from them to rise in our thought to our Prototype and likeness (which shone to the highest perfection in the God-man).
Thus the untenable character of paganism is revealed in two ways: by the inconsistency of the essence of the revered “gods” with the nature of the Godhead and by the fact that these gods do not exist in reality. From this one can also see the great difference between Christian iconography and pagan idolatry: in holy icons the nature of the Godhead is depicted not through the substance, but through the character of the images, through their idea; and this idea is taken not from the fiction of fantasy, but from the world of reality, from the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the life of His saints, from the entire content of the Word of God and from the living, real life of humanity.
Acts. 17:30. God, therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now commands all men everywhere to repent;
“having overlooked the times of ignorance,” i.e. the time when the truth about God was not known. By “contempt” is meant that God does not impute guilt for the time of ignorance, as long as the condition mentioned later is fulfilled:
“God now commands” – commands as the sovereign Lord of all mankind everyone and everywhere to repent. “Now” is a sign of a turning point in the history of mankind.
“all to all men” – emphasizes the universal character and generality of the goal of Christianity for the entire human race, regardless of whether a person is a Jew or a Greek, barbarian or free.
“to repent” – to realize their errors and reject them.
Acts. 17:31. because he has set a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the Man he has ordained, having given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
“by the Man he has ordained” – by the “Man” predestined in God’s eternal counsel, i.e. The Lord Jesus Christ, to whose authority His own resurrection from the dead testified.
Acts. 17:32. When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you about this again.”
The listeners reacted with mockery to the doctrine of the resurrection. The words “we will hear you about this again” are an ironic, polite expression of their unwillingness to listen to the apostle’s sermon.
Acts. 17:33. So Paul went out from among them.
Acts. 17:34. And some men joined him and believed; among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damara, and others with them.
“some men” – apparently a few.
“joined him” – i.e. entered into closer communion with the apostle (Acts 5:12 and Acts 9:26)
“Dionysius the Areopagite”, i.e. a member of the Areopagus, therefore a prominent and learned man, from whom the members of the Areopagus were usually chosen. According to church tradition, he became a devoted disciple of the Apostle Paul, was appointed by him as bishop of Athens, then preached the Gospel in Gaul and died a martyr in Paris.
“Damara” – according to tradition, the wife of Dionysius.
Source in Russian: Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 7 volumes / Ed. prof. A.P. Lopukhin. – Ed. 4th. – Moscow: Dar, 2009, 1232 pp.
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First published in this link of The European Times.
