Acts 17:12-16 - Many of them believed

17:12

Many of them did believe, and again we get Greeks and prominent men and women believing. Luke places a great emphasis on women who became followers of Jesus. Today there is a dual tendency in the church. There are some who take special delight in prominent people coming to faith, or at least claiming to follow Jesus. On the other hand there are those who emphasise reaching the poor and dispossessed. Here, and earlier, we have Luke pointing out that the gospel reached a number of prominent people. In 1 Corinthians Paul will say that not many of you were of noble birth or otherwise held in esteem by the world (1 Cor 1:26). The gospel is for all people, rich or poor, high or low.

17:13-15

In contrast to the conversions we see the actions of the Jews from Thessalonica who opposed Paul. They followed Paul in order to cause trouble. So we see their determination and commitment to doing evil. We should not be surprised when similar things happen today. The believers in Berea quickly dispatched Paul and his co-workers, and Paul went to Athens. It seems that the effect that Paul was having had got around, so they wanted to spare him further beatings.

17:16

Even before reaching Athens itself Paul would see the temple of Athena on the Acropolis. Indeed, if we visit Athens today we can still see many of the statues and temples. Today we marvel at them because they have stood so long, but Paul was deeply troubled for they signified the depth of idol worship in the city. “The city was given over to idols”. Today there are many signs in our societies that they are given over to idols of various sorts, and we too should be troubled. Not in a condemnatory way, but more in sorrow and a passion to see things change.