Acts 17 - Paul Keeps Rocking

Paul continues to travel, and with plenty of help from his friends, he's continuing to spread the Gospel.  Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, Berea and Athens are the stops in this chapter.  Similar to previous chapters, he is playing to mixed crowds.  Some of the people are persuaded and join Paul and Silas.  Some of the people are jealous, round up some "bad characters", and start riots in the city to be blamed on Paul.  Not content with driving them out of Thessalonica, they chase them to Berea, "agitating the crowds and stirring them up."

Through all of this, I keep being impressed by Paul's attitude.  He takes everything as it comes.  There is no hint of discontent, even as people as doing everything they can do to undermine his life's work.  He goes where God leads, shares the message, and deals with whatever comes as a result. 

On another note, an understanding of the events in Acts 17 makes reading through 1 Thessalonians 2-3 much more meaningful.  You can understand the disappointment Paul felt that he was forced to leave them before he was ready.  You can celebrate with him when he receives the report that despite his premature exit, they are flourishing as a church.  The next two chapters in Acts have Paul visiting Corinth and Ephesus.  I look forward to taking a fresh look at the letters to the Corinthians and Ephesians after taking a much closer look at the events in Acts 18-19.

Finally, it's fun to read about Paul's time in Athens.  I don't know about you, to me this feels like worlds colliding.  I think about all the Ancient Greece stuff you learn in school (philosophy, mythology, etc.), and don't really associate it with any of the characters from the Biblical narrative.  It's wild to think about Paul wandering around Athens, all by himself, drinking it all in and wondering, "How do I share the Gospel here?  I've never seen anything quite like it."  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians about becoming all things to all people, and I wonder how much experiences like he had in Athens inspired that kind of thinking.