Acts #20: One saviour for all, regardless of culture & tradition (Acts 17); Patrick Berger
sermon Acts 17 : Patrice Berger, 2022_11_26, AB Lausanne church
title : Acts #20: One saviour for all, regardless of culture & tradition (Acts 17); Patrick Berger
We are in a Judeo-Christian society, but what if we had been in a Muslim, Buddhist, or animist-dominant society…
Does God depend on location?
Would our God then be the god of the product of our culture?
In the sense that the reality of God or divinity must or should be interpreted, or reviewed, depending on where we are.
Territorial design
A belief that is not new
Already in the Old Testament, we have reminiscences of this type of belief. The god of the conquered peoples is carried away by the victorious army. This could happen if the god was valuable and if it was strategically important – meaning that the belief in such a god dominated that place.
(The Ark of the Covenant and the Philistines – 1 Samuel 5 and 6.
The Eternal One, god of the mountains? Think of the entourage of the king of Syria – 1 Kings 20. 23).
Diversity of gods?
Are there multiple gods?
If there is only one, is it the right one?
If so, who is He, what does He do, and what does He expect of me?
Different cultures and beliefs
Today’s text is at the heart of these questions more from the angle of the cultural context in which the Gospel is announced.
That Jesus
Little reminder
This question, we had already asked ourselves in chapter 4 of the book of Acts: see sermon notes.
There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
Indeed, there is only one God and there is also only one mediator between God and men: a man, Jesus Christ, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all.
Text
Acts – Chapter 17
1 Paul and Silas passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where the Jews had a synagogue.
2 Paul entered as usual.
For three Sabbaths he discussed with them from Scripture 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Messiah was to suffer and be resurrected.
“This Jesus whom I am announcing to you, he said, it is he who is the Messiah.”
4 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, as well as a large number of God-fearing Gentiles and many prominent women.
5 However, the Jews, who remained incredulous, took with them a few rascals who were hanging around the squares, causing a crowd and thus causing trouble in the city.
Then they went to Jason’s house and looked for Paul and Silas to bring them to the people.
6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the magistrates of the city, crying,
“These people who turned the world upside down also came here, 7 and Jason welcomed them. They all act against the edicts of the emperor by claiming that there is another king, Jesus.
8 With these words they disturbed the crowd and the magistrates, 9 who did not release Jason and the others until they had obtained bail from them.
10 Immediately the brothers sent Paul and Silas to Berea by night. As soon as they arrived, they entered the synagogue of the Jews. 11 This latter had nobler sentiments than those of Thessalonica. They received the word with great eagerness, and they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they were told was correct. 12 So many of them believed, as well as many prominent women and men among the Gentiles.
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul was speaking the word of God also at Berea, they came there to agitate [and disturb] the crowd.
14 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul away to the seaside,
while Silas and Timothy remained at Berea.
Check the statement with the scriptures
Paul’s listeners at Berea did not want to be fooled so they checked the scriptures every day to see if what Paul was saying was right in the scriptures.
Acts 17
11 These Jews had nobler sentiments than those of Thessalonica; they received the word with great eagerness, and they daily examined the Scriptures, to see if what they were told was correct.
All the more so since we are faced with a saturation of “preachers” accessible via digital means, whose main objective is to flatter pride with as many views as possible or followers of their teaching or even fund their wallets with derivatives.
Faced with this, more than ever, let us compare what we hear with the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament (Hebrews 10: 1) and the descriptive texts in the light of the words of Jesus. and epistles (Ephesians 2:20).
The Gospel in Athens
There, the context is not the same. People of Greek origin know nothing of the revelation of the Lord in the writings of the Old Testament. It will therefore be necessary to show the Eternal One from another angle in order to then speak of the work of Christ.
15 Those who accompanied Paul took him to Athens. Then they set off again, instructed to convey to Silas and Timothy the order to join him as soon as possible.
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply indignant at the sight of that city full of idols.
17 So he talked in the synagogue with the Jews and the non-Jews who feared God, and every day in the public square with those he met.
18 A few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began talking with him. Some said:
“What does this talker mean?”
Others, because he announced Jesus and the resurrection, said:
“It seems to be announcing foreign deities.”
19 So they caught him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying:
“Could we know what is this new teaching that you bring?
20 Indeed, you make us hear strange things.
So we would like to know what that means.”
21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who resided there spent their time only saying or hearing the latest news.
22 Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said:
“Athenians, I find you extremely religious in every way.
23 Indeed, while walking through your city and examining the objects of your worship, I even discovered an altar with this inscription:
‘To an unknown god!
The one you revere without knowing him is the one I am announcing to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth,
and he does not dwell in temples made by hands.
25 He is not served by human hands,
as if he needed anything,
He who gives to all
life,
the breath
and everything.
26 He caused all the peoples, descended from one man, to dwell throughout the face of the earth, and he determined the length of time and the limits of their dwelling place.
27 He wanted them to seek the Lord and try to find him by groping, although he is not far from each one of us.
28 For in him we have
life,
movement
and being,
as some of your poets have also said:
‘We are also of his race.’
29 So, therefore, since we are of the race of God, we must not believe that the deity resembles gold, silver or stone, carved by the art and imagination of the ‘To be human.
30 Regardless of times of ignorance,
God now announces to all human beings, wherever they are, that they must change their attitude,
31 because he has appointed a day when he will judge the world with righteousness by the man whom he has appointed.
He gave sure proof of this to all by resurrecting him.”
32 When they heard of the resurrection of the dead,
some laughed and others said:
“We’ll hear from you on that another time.”
33 So Paul withdrew from among them.
34 Some, however, joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite,
a woman named Damaris
and others with them.
Coat
In this text, the gospel responds to the hearts of people from different backgrounds:
Jews, pagans converted to Judaism, and monotheists.
They were mainly pagans, Greek polytheists and the people of Athens.
I would like to point out that while the presentation is different, the content is the same and equally relevant to these two totally different cultures.
There is one point that particularly stands out in Paul’s presentation, and that is the resurrection of Christ!
If here, some are blocked on it, it is essential to underline that this central point is one of the aspects which underline that there is no other divinity or belief possible, there are not 36 solutions to answer this that God has put in the heart of man, the thought of eternity, there is only one, Christ.
Different backgrounds
It is an understatement that if the backgrounds are different, in the three cities where the apostle and his team stop, we really have people of different cultures and beliefs:
Jews, the writings of the Old Testament.
Proselytes, non-Jews, who had become attached to Judaism (like Cornelius).
The Greeks with all their deities.
On the philosophical level, we have Epicureans, and Stoics.
Social status
common persons;
others from high society (several times we note women from high society);
politicians;
men;
women.
The gospel is for all and the apostle must bring the gospel message to all!
God our Savior, wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
For those of Jewish worship and background, one point of the presentation relies on the Word (the law, the prophets and the psalms):
Whether he is a Jew or a proselyte, he goes to the synagogues.
knowing the story of the Jewish people supports the proclamation of the gospel.
The gospel speaks of the history of the Jewish people through the revelation made by the Eternal One in corresponding writings.
For centuries they had been waiting for the Messiah.
Paul shows through the writings that it is Christ. All aspects of the prophecies given by the prophets are realized and fulfilled perfectly in Christ.
Acts – Chapter 17
1 Paul and Silas passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where the Jews had a synagogue.
2 Paul entered as usual.
For three Sabbaths he discussed with them from the Scripture: explaining and demonstrating that the Messiah was to suffer and be resurrected.
” This Jesus whom I am announcing to you, he said, it is he who is the Messiah .”
4 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, as well as a large number of God-fearing Gentiles and many prominent women.
Another aspect shows that the expectation of the Messiah was the writings that the Eternal One had left to the Hebrews.
Paul’s listeners in Berea didn’t want to be fooled, so they checked the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was saying was well founded in the scriptures.
Acts – Chapter 17
11 These Jews had nobler sentiments than those of Thessalonica; they received the word with great eagerness, and they daily examined the Scriptures, to see if what they were told was correct.
But for the background of the Athenians?
The rest of the text of the day immerses us in a culture totally different from that of the Old Testament and the Gospel.
Polytheistic
In Athens, there weren’t just a few gods, but it was an epidemic!
When we talk about gods, they were deities, idols who flowered from their very fertile imagination in this area.
These idols competed in beauty or value and were served by a crowd of priests to take care of the said deities as if their future depended on the religious service.
On a philosophical level
Epicureans
They believed that supreme good was a pleasure, and that supreme pleasure was a life of tranquillity, free from all suffering and passions such as superstitious fears (especially death, for with it all life ceases).
The soul, made up of atoms, disintegrates with the body at the time of death. Man has therefore to fear neither gods, nor death, nor judgment after death.
The Epicureans did not deny the existence of the gods but claimed that they were not interested in the life of men.
In the first century, the disciples essentially understood pleasure in the sense of “enjoyment”.
Stoics
They were deists (reasoning takes precedence over faith) and taught that the universe was governed by absolute reason according to a pre-established plan.
The supreme good is to conform to this reason by overcoming, with a “stoic” will, the emotional obstacles within us.
The blows of fate must be accepted with apathy.
They insisted a lot on the primacy of man’s reason and his self-sufficiency.
God is abstract, we cannot have a relationship with Him.
There is no hope of personal survival: at death, the soul reintegrates the divine essence from which it came. The Stoics had great success with the Romans.
Temper
We would think today: if one gives birth to selfishness (hedonism), the other will be the pride of overcoming difficulties and indifference (a bit like Buddhism).
The death
The Epicureans did not believe in survival and the Stoics believed that the soul was reabsorbed.
So, resurrection!
Needless to say, it stuck, when Paul addressed the announcement that one is indebted to God, at the time of judgment and resurrection.
Announcements based on what they know
These Athenians have no basis in the announcement of the prophets and men of God, so Paul relies on what they know so that they can grasp the person of the Eternal One and the possible link between Him and men through Christ.
Anchoring of God.
“The God I speak of is not new”
Here, he mentions that the one he is going to talk about is not an unknown because they already had the notion of an unknown god…
Really God is not some newly invented deity
The Eternal One has proved His divinity as Creator
He is therefore not an idol of the imagination of men but He is at the origin of the life of men, of their present life and of their search for God.
It is not they who create God, but God is the source of everything.
He who is fit to judge is He who is risen
God reminds us that everything will be judged and that He who is fit for this is He who lived to bear the worst injustice, sin when He was innocent and He conquered it by His resurrection.
What Blocks Resurrection
Because it talks of the aspect of the resurrection, it does not fit into the boxes of the Athenians of the time:
The Stoics believed that the soul was reabsorbed
The Epicureans did not believe in survival.
I don’t think it fits in the boxes of our fellow citizens either…
The resurrection of Christ is crucial
But the resurrection of Christ is capital and Paul did well to announce it.
This saved Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them
.
Without the resurrection, Christ would have died like any other man, period! How could a drowned man save another drowned man?
16 For if the dead are not raised, neither is Christ raised.
17 Now if Christ has not risen, your faith is useless, you are still in your sins, 18 and therefore those who are dead in Christ are also lost. 19 If it is for this life alone that we hope in Christ, we are the most to be pitied of all men.
20 But in reality, Christ is risen, thus preceding those who died.
With the resurrection, it is the proof of the victory of Christ on what rots our lives, our relations, our health, the injustices and whose origin is sin which finally leads to death.
The resurrection is not a myth. The disciples of Jesus, terrified by His arrest and martyrdom, were barricaded. At the sight of the Risen One, they crossed the world to bear witness to Him.
John 20:19-29
Let us think of Thomas who had doubts and who, facing Him, recognized His Divinity.
Think of the 500 other witnesses who have experienced this.
It’s not flan or self-talk, but Christ proved it by Himself.
Unique work of Christ
An important point of the work of Christ. This is one of the aspects that reminds us that He is unique.
No equal in the history of mankind.
Christ alone
Only Christ did it and He alone.
He alone is fully admissible, both in His person and in the victory over sin and the sanction that sin deserved with the Father.
Shared victory
If He did it, it is also to make us participants in this victory over the work of death.
If we place all our trust in Him:
– future guarantee against the judgment of all things;
present guarantee of a life supported by Him who can do all things, even through the roars of acts of sin that surround us.
Concluding sentence
This text pushes everyone one step further with God and the help of Christ.
Repentance
Do we want to approach Him, and put all our trust in Christ?
Worship and Praise
Do we want to thank Him for His victory over sin and His resurrection?
Good food
Do we want to feed on Him, on His Word, instead of useless things that saturate our lives?
Do we want to do it right: pecking at suspicious videos or being certain of what God says in the Bible?
Proclamation
Do we want to be careful how we present the gospel so that it can be received?
Let us seek to be relevant and not put on a recipe, knowing that even being the most suitable, the answer depends on the disposition of the heart where the Gospel arrives. More and more people are without any notion of God.
Bible Passages
Acts 17 / ASV Bible
1. Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
2. and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3. opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, [said he,] I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.
4. And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
5. But the Jews, being moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people.
6. And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before 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 act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, [one] Jesus.
8. And they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
9. And when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Beroea: who when they were come thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.
12. Many of them therefore believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not a few.
13. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes.
14. And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and Silas and Timothy abode there still.
15. But they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed.
16. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols.
17. So he reasoned in the synagogue with Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with them that met him.
18. And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.
19. And they took hold of him, and brought him unto the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by thee?
20. For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21. (Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.)
22. And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are very religious.
23. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.
24. The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25. neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26. and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined [their] appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;
27. that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:
28. for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.
30. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:
31. inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee concerning this yet again.
33. Thus Paul went out from among them.
34. But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Related Links / Notes
Study Notes are translated from the original French version prepared by the pastor Patrice Berger. The orginal French notes are in “note” form, and are not a direct transcription of the video, however they are quite close the original text preached at the church. The notes provided here follow that form, and are detailed enough to help provide a deep understanding of the texts in the book of Acts of the Apostles.
All services as well as some of the bible studies are streamed on the channel YouTube église AB Renens-Lausanne. Also visit the You Tube channel of the Swiss Action Biblique Youth Groups (JAB Suisse Romande)/ Facebook.
Bible verses in the study link to the ASV bible. In addition to the ASV Bible , other versions of the Bible are also available on our website (KJV, Basic English and Darby as well as the Webster version and Young’s Bible on the Action Biblique Suisse website.
The King James Version is available as an audio bible Podcast which can be accessed below.
