3/23/2025 Pastor Mark Vucekovich (Acts 17:16–34, “He Commands All People Everywhere To Repent”)

(QUESTIONS)

Acts 17:16–34 (Go to the ESV Bible verses)

(MESSAGE)

Key Verse: 17:30, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

What do you think of the word “repent”? It sounds outdated. Some even claim it’s “psychological terrorism.” The word “repent” can make us feel guilty or ashamed. We may say a quick “Sorry!” or try to do something to make up for it. But is that what “repent” means? In today’s passage Paul proclaims Jesus and the resurrection. He shares who God is, who human beings are, what God has done, and in light of it, he tells people to repent. It shows us how to share the gospel today, and especially how to respond to it ourselves. Let’s learn how and why we all need to repent. May God speak to us through his word.

Paul just fled from Macedonia and is dropped off by himself. He’s waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible (15). Where is he? He’s in Athens. We don’t know if going there was his idea or theirs. But of all the places he’s been to, this is by far the most famous. Athens is the birthplace of Western democracy, philosophy and literature. By Paul’s time, its glory days are long gone; it’s only a shell of what it used to be. But in the Roman world, Athenians are still so elitist, many of their grand, centuries-old buildings are still standing, and their schools still draw children of affluent people from all over.

But Athens is “full of idols.” By some accounts, there were 30,000 of them. Literally, they’re like a forest. So there was a saying, “It’s easier to find a god in Athens than a man.” A few giant idols, over 30 feet tall, up on high places in the city, could be seen all the way from its port. These idols are stunning works of art, made of gold, silver and stone. But as he walks around, Paul is not impressed; his spirit is provoked. Why? It’s because the devil is using these idols to deceive, distract, confuse, and tempt people. In Athens there are large temples and many smaller ones, each with its own idol. In them, human beings are being led astray to worship idols (cf. 1 Cor.12:2; 1 John 5:21; Rev.2:20; 9:20).

What does Paul do? He’s not sight-seeing; he’s laser-focused on what God called him to do. Look at verse 17. This is what he usually does. He goes first to the synagogue to speak with Jews and devout Greeks, then to the marketplace every day to speak with people who happen to be there. He’s “reasoning” with them, asking questions, and discussing answers. He’s even “conversing,” debating, with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (18a). By faith Paul is diligently trying to engage them all. These people look intimidating, but Paul sees them from God’s point of view: they’re perishing. Do we see people today the way Paul did? Do we ever reach out and speak to someone about our faith in Jesus?

What’s the response? Some say, “What is this babbler trying to say?” “Babbler” is literally a bird trying to pick up seeds here and there. They’re insinuating that, as the old saying goes, Paul “knows a little about everything, and a lot of nothing!” Others say, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities.” Why? It says, “…because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection” (18b). The word “preaching” is literally “evangelizing.” Paul is announcing good news, glad tidings to everyone he meets. In Athens, as elsewhere, he’s sharing the same message: “Jesus and the resurrection.”^[1] But to the Athenians, “Jesus” and “Resurrection” sound like two foreign gods. To them what Paul is doing may be illegal. But it’s not a dangerous foreign religion; it’s about the Lord of all, the Risen Jesus, our Savior, who died for the sins of the world. He’s for all people, even the most arrogant, intellectual, and idolatrous.

However Paul got here, God is the one who led him to minister in Athens. Why? It’s because God loves all human beings. God is calling even these people back to himself, to have a real relationship with him, through Jesus. In Jesus, God can heal their souls. Later Paul writes that the good news of Jesus is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom.1:16). Jesus who died and rose again is alive, and his power to save and heal anyone is real.

Read verses 19–20. In Athens, the Areopagus is both a location on a hill, and a judicial body. The word literally means “Hill of Ares” (also known as “Mars Hill”). Members of the Areopagus are aristocrats. They began gathering at this place over 700 years ago, to try cases of murder. Now Paul is brought before this council, probably because he’s been talking about the worst murder ever: the crucifixion of Jesus. It’s a great moment in history: the Gentile world is about to hear the good news. Since they’ve never heard it before, to them it sounds like a “new teaching” and “strange things.” When they say, “We wish to know… what these things mean,” it sounds promising. But read verse 21. This audience will be a hard nut to crack. They’re so wealthy they’ve got the luxury of doing nothing but talking ideas. They’ve already heard it all––every kind of religion and philosophy from around the world. They’ve gotten to the point they’d just like to hear something new. They only want to be intellectually stimulated, entertained. Yikes!

What happens? Read verse 22. Paul begins respectfully and tries to say something positive. Read verse 23. Among all those idols they’ve even added an altar “to the unknown god.” (It seems they’re trying to cover all their bases.) It sounds funny, but Paul says this with a broken heart. For people engrossed in idols, the real God remains “unknown.” But God wants all people to know him. Who is the real God? Paul says he’s the God who made the world and everything in it; he’s Lord of heaven and earth who doesn’t live in man-made temples (24). He’s not served by human hands and doesn’t need anything from us; we desperately need him, even to live and breathe; he gives us everything, even if we don’t know or recognize him (25). And who are human beings? God made the first human being, and every nation on earth to descend from him; God determines when nations begin and end and our national boundaries––not powerful men or warfare, but God (26). This truth can heal us of our arrogance. So what does God want from us? He wants us to seek him, and perhaps feel our way toward him and find him; he’s actually not far from each one of us (27). Paul quotes a well-respected ancient Greek prophet, who wrote, “In him we live and move and have our being” (28a).^[2] Paul quotes another Greek poet, who wrote about looking at the night sky and saying, “We are indeed [God’s] offspring” (28b).^[3] Paul is using everything he’s ever learned, even quotations from ancient Greeks, “…that by all means [he] might save some” (1 Cor.9:22b)

Read verse 29. God’s offspring are alive, living and moving, because God is alive. The real God is not a lifeless object like gold, silver or stone. Idols seem impressive and beautiful, fashioned by the art and imagination of man. They may seem worth preserving. But they’re not alive, don’t move, don’t point to anything real, and should never be worshipped. Paul’s point is that, as God’s offspring, each human is far more valuable than any material object. Each living human being is God’s masterpiece. On top of that, God our Creator is so much greater than we are. Worshiping materialistic idols degrades both our humanity and our spirituality. So God wants us to live based on his creation order. First, we should use material things for God’s glory and for serving people. Second, we should treasure all human beings, even the ones who may seem less than us. Third, we should worship the only real, immortal, invisible God, who made us all.

Read verse 30. God is so gracious, he’s willing to overlook our ignorance. There’s just one condition: whoever we are, we need to repent. Athens prides itself on being the most intellectual place in the world. To talk about the latest ideas, everybody comes there. But it’s the place full of the most idols. It’s ridiculous. Paul wrote elsewhere, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” (Rom.1:22). These supposedly great thinkers don’t even know themselves.

Paul tells them that God “commands” all people everywhere to repent. The people of Athens are no exception. People who think they’re intellectual don’t like to be commanded. Still, Paul tells them repentance is God’s command. Why does Paul say this so strongly? He’s telling them it’s not a matter of rational debate; it’s a matter of life or death. And it’s urgent. Yes, God is gracious to us now. He’s giving us a chance. But not forever. Read verse 31. God is going to send his Son Jesus back to this world as Judge. We don’t choose that day––God does. No matter how clever we think we are, no one will be able to avoid God’s day of judgment. Through the resurrection of Jesus, God “has given assurance to all” of that day. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can be sure the Almighty God will one day judge the world for all its wickedness. In light of that day’s sure coming, we need to repent.

Read verse 30 again. What does it mean to repent? Literally it’s “to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regards to sin and righteousness.”^[4] Wow that’s a lot! Basically repentance starts with changing our way of thinking and our hearts. But this is so hard to do––it requires a major struggle. In our sinful nature we all naturally grow up with godless thinking––thinking and acting as if God were not there. We rely on ourselves to get through each day. We live for ourselves. We have our own ideas about being right and don’t see sin as God does. We absorb everything the culture around us tells us to seek and rely on. We end up chasing a good paying job, depending on it, and won’t risk anything to lose it. We grab onto people we think will give us security, stability or happiness. We accumulate possessions to give us significance and meaning. We seek pleasures like food, drink, and entertainment. If we seem to be doing well, we feel good. If we don’t, we feel useless and get devastated by people’s opinions. We never seem good enough, so we’re always seeking to magnify ourselves. We even try to make Jesus fit us. We try to use him to make us feel better about ourselves, or help us achieve more. But we don’t want him to change our way of thinking or way of life. We don’t realize that only in him can we find real significance and security. To change our way of thinking means to realize I’m not righteous, and never will be on my own. It means to change my self-righteous attitude and self-centered thoughts. It means a change of heart. It’s a painful process, like peeling back layers of an onion, and crying while we do. Instead of loving sin we start to hate it. Instead of ignoring God we begin to genuinely respect and love him and care for people.

Repenting also means changing my lifestyle. It means turning away from the world, turning to God, and performing “deeds in keeping with repentance” (26:20)––deeds with the weight, the gravity, of serious repentance. It means making God the center of my life, my first priority, and learning to treat people in ways that please God, not myself. Living in this way requires forming new life habits. Repenting is always radical. It’s a new journey, a starting over, building a new life foundation. We stop acting like a victim, stop looking for excuses and ways to blame others. We’re willing to do the hard work of going deeper. I ask God to have mercy on me and change my heart, all my wrong attitudes, desires and goals. At the end of one of his most famous psalms, David exclaimed: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24). Our hearts, thoughts, and behavior can really grieve God. We all need God’s help to see ourselves as he does and repent. Repenting is not just for Christian life to begin; it’s part of a life-long struggle to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus and learn to love God and others like he did. We should never give up repenting, no matter how often it seems we fail or go backwards.

In light of this passage, God especially wants us to repent of our idols. We may not have statues, but we all harbor various idols in our hearts. We need God’s help to see them and root them out. Idols are anything or anyone we prioritize over God himself. Usually, they’re things that are really good: our loved ones, our possessions, culture, appearance, education, even our ministry. But they become destructive when they take the place of God. How can we find our idols? We can start by asking ourselves, What are my deepest desires and fears? How am I trying to resolve these? Is it through money, or buying and having things? Is it through success or achievements? Is it through relationships or human love? Is it through having power or control? What am I devoting most of my time and energy towards? All such things become our idols. They will never satisfy our souls. Only Jesus can (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods). We need to learn to live purely for Jesus each day, to do things for his sake alone, and to always keep him on the throne of our hearts.

The response to Paul’s resurrection message is mixed (32). Verse 33 says, “So Paul went out from their midst.” He senses their attitude and pulls away from the mockers. It seems negative. But read verse 34. It’s not big numbers, but it’s amazing how people even in Athens repent and join Paul in believing in Jesus. It’s especially striking that a man named Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, join him. When Paul speaks out of love for people and faith in Jesus, relying on the Holy Spirit, God works even in Athens!

Thank God for his amazing grace and patience to send Jesus to restore a right relationship with sinners like us. Thank God for Paul’s inspiring example in sharing the gospel with the people of Athens. Read verse 30 again. So, what does it mean to repent? It means asking God to help us to: 1) change our godless inner person and lifestyle; 2) see and root out any idols from our hearts; and 3) live by the Spirit (Gal.5:25) and grow as Jesus’ witnesses in our time (Acts 1:8). In light of the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may God wake us up spiritually and help us accept his command to repent.

^[1] The resurrection of Jesus was consistently the apostles’ message (cf. 1:22; 2:24,31–32; 3:15,26; 4:2,10,33; 5:30; 10:40) and also Paul’s (cf. 13:30–37; 17:3,18; 23:8; 24:15,21; 26:8,15,23).

^[2] Epimenides of Crete (ca. 600 BC), Hymn to Zeus.

^[3] Aratus (ca. 300 BC), Phaenomena.

^[4] Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), s.v. “metanoia.”