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Acts 15-17     Listen Podcast

 

The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-21)
Note: The Book of Galatians was written following this Jerusalem Council. Galatians was written to answer these questions once and for all.
See the notes on Galatians by clicking here.

1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
3 ¶ So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.
5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 ¶ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,
9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
12 ¶ Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:
14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
16 “After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the LORD who does all these things.’
18 ¶ “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,
20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Paul and Barnabas have been preaching and discipling in Antioch, just north of Israel in Syria (about 300 miles north of Jerusalem), when they get some visitors to lend them a teaching hand from Judea. Notice what these guest lecturers taught in verse 1, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." Keep in mind: the church was a new entity here, fifteen years or so old. It started with a virtually all-Jewish congregation on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 in Jerusalem. So, at that point in time, all the men in this new church had been circumcised according to Jewish law. These people were having considerable difficulty reconciling the place of Gentiles in this new entity, the church. Previously, if you wanted to become a Jew, you had to undergo the rite of circumcision. So, it was understandable that many in the church in Jerusalem were still convinced that this would be a necessary ritual for those wanting to become part of the church as well, even if you were a Gentile. In their minds, accepting Jesus as Savior included accepting Judaism as a foundation for one's faith. They viewed Christianity as a layer built upon Judaism.

Then we see a reality that really complicates this discussion in verse 5. Right there in the church of Jerusalem were Pharisees who had gotten saved, but retained their affiliation as Pharisees. They were particularly adamant about the fact that salvation required not only baptism, but circumcision as well. Not only so, but add to that the observance of all Jewish law by these new Gentile converts. So, the first Jerusalem Council is called to order to discuss the question of reasonable requirements for these new Gentile Believers. Do we require them to be circumcised? Do we require them to keep the rituals of the Law of Moses to which they have never been exposed before? Incidentally, many Believers today are convinced that Christians are obligated to keep the Ten Commandments. Ironically, they categorically disregard the strict mandates of the fourth commandment (Sabbath keeping i.e. Saturday) without even acknowledging that they skipped one. For more information on this rejection of the fourth commandment, click here. Pay close attention here to the decree issued from this Council of Jerusalem. You will see that the Gentile Believers were NOT to be bound by the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments. Since it is stated so clearly here, how is it that so many Believers today are confused about the role of the Ten Commandments in Christianity?

The year is around 49 A.D., about the same time Paul wrote Galatians. Of course, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to participate in this discussion. After all, they had been responsible for preaching to countless Gentiles who subsequently had gotten saved. Peter was there also; he had won the first Gentile converts after Pentecost when he went to the household of Cornelius in Acts 10 (see notes). Peter makes a great speech with an excellent point in verse 10, "Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"

Then in verse 12 it was time for Paul and Barnabas to report to them about all the Gentiles who had gotten saved along with the accompanying validating miracles. We aren't given any additional details regarding their words.

Finally, James (verse 13) stands up to pull it all together. He refers to Peter's presentation of the Gospel to the Gentiles back in Acts 10 (see notes), but makes no mention of any points made by Paul or Barnabas. He makes his strongest case by quoting (well...sort of) Amos 9:11-12 (see notes) regarding the prophecy that Gentiles would be included in the Davidic Kingdom. Then James recommends a course of action in verses 19-20, "Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood." He suggests the reasoning for such a decree in verse 21, "For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." In other words, these Gentiles need to be considerate of the Jews in these Gentile cities, a suggestion which they agree to formalize and publish. Though written down and distributed, it hardly settles the issue, as we will see in the remainder of the Book of Acts, as well as in the Epistles of Paul later on. Paul's Second Missionary Journey Map

How do we make everybody happy on this issue? (Acts 15:22-35)

22 ¶ Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.
23 ¶ They wrote this, letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment—
25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
30 ¶ So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.
31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.
32 Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.
33 And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.
34 ¶ However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
35 Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

So what do we require from these Gentiles who have gotten saved? Many of them are completely unfamiliar with the requirements of the Mosaic Law. They've never even heard of the Ten Commandments. Please understand, these Gentiles were likely ignorant on everything Jewish. The battle lines are drawn. On the one side you have the born-again Pharisees who want them to become Jewish proselytes as a prerequisite to becoming part of the church. On the other hand, Paul and Barnabas say to just leave them alone; there's nothing in the Law of Moses that pertains to them.

James actually acknowledges the Gentile exemption from keeping the Law of Moses in verse 24 when he refers to the false doctrine that had been taught to the Gentiles, "Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment." James comes up with a compromise. Make no mistake about it; it was just a compromise. We'll see in Acts 21:15-26 (see notes) that it really didn't settle the issue for the staunch legalists in the church with regard to Paul's ministry, nor did it settle anything for Paul and Barnabas; they more or less go on to disregard the content of this compromise after this council, although we do see in Acts 16:4 (see below) that Paul was faithful in citing it immediately after departing from Jerusalem to embark on his second missionary journey. However, what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 8 (see notes) and the continuation of that discussion in I Corinthians 10 (see notes) some ten years later regarding meat offered to idols completely disregards the ruling of this council. Give James credit though, he did exercise great statesmanship in holding together this alliance of such diverse Believers.

You will notice how carefully worded is the letter James wrote regarding this issue in Acts 15:29, "that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." It strikes me as interesting that James falls short of declaring these new suggestions to be laws for the Gentiles to observe. He simply concludes that in observing this subset of Jewish-law restrictions, they would "do well."

Paul and Barnabas are then accompanied by two others (Judas and Silas) as witnesses of the Jerusalem council's decision. One of these witnesses, Silas, later accompanies Paul on his second missionary journey, as we see in Acts 16 (see below). This Silas is the same individual identified in Paul's epistles as Silvanus (II Corinthians 1:19, see notes; I Thessalonians 1:1, see notes; II Thessalonians 1:1, see notes; I Peter 5:12, see notes). Their first stop is Antioch, a long trip from Jerusalem way up in Syria - about a 300-mile trip. They immediately gather the converts there and deliver the official message from Jerusalem.

Let me offer one more admonition regarding this event in the whole context of the Book of Acts. This book is an accurate account of the events of the early church. That does not mean that everything that was done and said by Godly men is to be emulated and practiced by us. We are to always use the Epistles of the New Testament to validate practices in the Book of Acts. Here is a prime example. The Jewish practice mentioned here of abstaining from blood makes it completely unacceptable for one to eat a steak cooked rare. This restriction pre-dates the Law of Moses all the way back to the covenant God made with Noah in Genesis 9:3-4 (see notes). You'll never catch a practicing Orthodox Jew eating a rare steak! However, in the time in which this was written, this compromise was designed to cause as little offense as possible by the Gentiles toward the Jews. Don't take this as doctrine for all time; enjoy your steaks the way you like them cooked! Most of all, read the Book of Acts in context...just like you read the activities of God-fearing men in the Old Testament in context. They didn't always do or say the right thing, but a lesson was always learned. For more information regarding the proper way to view the Book of Acts, click here to see the introduction to the Book of Acts.

One more thing: Notice that these Gentile Believers were exempted from keeping the Mosaic Law, including the Ten Commandments, as a result of this decree from Jerusalem.

The team splits up (Acts 15:36-41)

36 ¶ Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”
37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.
38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;
40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Paul wants to revisit all the churches that have been established. Barnabas wants to take John Mark along, but Paul says "no." As a result, Barnabas and John Mark head out to minister together, and Paul picks up Silas as his ministry companion for his second missionary journey. See the map on this page for Paul's second missionary journey.

However, there seems to be more to the story regarding the split between Paul and Barnabas here. Let's note some of the information we know about John Mark.

At this point in time, Paul and Barnabas are back in Jerusalem before the council. It has been two years or so since John Mark left Paul and Barnabas. Now, John Mark wants to rejoin them, and Paul is absolutely against it. Could it be that Paul could not get past the failure of John Mark to be loyal to the ministry back in Acts 13 when he left. Could it be that John Mark, a Jew, had left Paul and Barnabas back in Acts 13 because of a disapproval of their intense ministering to Gentiles instead of Jews? Perhaps so - and now Paul does not want him back on the ministry team.

Timothy joins Paul (Acts 16:1-5)

1 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.
2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.
3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Timothy was a great find, and he wanted to accompany Paul and Silas on their missionary journey. There was a problem though. Timothy was not Jewish. His mother was Jewish, but it was traditionally the father that determined one's heritage. Moreover, Timothy had been raised as a Greek without the rite of circumcision. Realizing that this would be a detriment to reaching Jews for Christ, Paul, being a Pharisee, takes Timothy through the proselyte ritual to Judaism which included circumcision. Now Timothy, as a Christian missionary, also fulfilled the Jewish expectations of those who were still insistent that the gateway to Christianity was through Judaism. You must understand, this was done for the sake of testimony; it was not done as a mandate for Christians to keep Jewish law.

We see here that Paul, Silas and Timothy head through predominantly Gentile cities preaching the Gospel. They are now armed with the decree of the Jerusalem Council (15:29, see above) which exempts Gentiles from having to go through the Jewish passage before becoming Christians. Notice verse 4, "And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem." For the first time, Paul was able to preach to the Gentiles the unfettered Gospel with the formal blessing of the Jerusalem Church.

Paul gets a vision to go to Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10)

6 ¶ Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.
8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

While on his missionary journey, Paul has a dream, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us." That's enough for Paul; it's off to Macedonia, a Roman province lying north of Greece. This is way north and west of Paul's trip into Asia Minor. This is the area where Philippi and Thessalonica are located.

Lydia gets saved (Acts 16:11-15)

11 ¶ Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

Lydia was a business woman - sold purple dye. After getting saved, she offers Paul and Silas lodging there in Philippi. God is good.

Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:16-24)

16 ¶ Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
18 And this she did for many days. ¶ But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 ¶ And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”
22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Well, it turns out that the Romans in Philippi aren't too keen on Paul and Silas either. So here's a gal who was demon possessed, enabling her to successfully engage in fortune telling. She continues to follow Paul and Silas around proclaiming the truth: "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." After a few days of this, Paul's had enough and commands this demon which enabled her to tell fortunes to leave her. Management is very unhappy - beats them and throws them into jail as disruptive Jews.

The jailer gets saved (Acts 16:25-40)

25 ¶ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
29 ¶ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 ¶ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
35 ¶ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.”
36 ¶ So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”
37 ¶ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”
38 ¶ And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.
39 Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.
40 So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

While in jail, there's a big earthquake - not just any kind of an earthquake, but one that causes the jail doors to open and their binding chains to fall off. This makes the jailer suicidal. Not to worry - nobody leaves. The jailer is so touched by this incident, he asks to be saved and takes them home to meet the family, all of whom also get saved. The next day the officials practically have to beg Paul and Silas to leave the jail and to leave town. Paul had pointed out that he was beaten without cause...and he was a Roman citizen. These Roman officials were anxious to have this legal misunderstanding out of the way. After some goodbyes, they do leave town. Now that's a success story!

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9)

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”
4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
5 ¶ But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
7 Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”
8 And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.
9 So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

In Thessalonica, Paul just preaches his standard message about Christ being the Messiah. He gets some converts there, but the influential Jews stir up a mob against them, who subsequently assault the home of their host, Jason. These Jews falsified their testimonies though - said that Paul was teaching another king besides Caesar. You must admit, that was quite hypocritical on the part of those jealous Jews to take the Messianic teaching, to which they subscribed, and use it against Paul and Silas. It results in the mob trial of some of Paul's converts. They finally let them go, but due to the controversy, it was time to move on.

It's off to Berea (Acts 17:10-15)

10 ¶ Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.
14 Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.
15 So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

They get a better reception in Berea, but those pesky Jews in Thessalonica hear about their success and send people to stir up the Bereans as well. Silas and Timothy stay, but Paul takes off for Athens. Paul makes a hasty departure from Berea and instructs Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. They don't actually join him again until Paul reaches Corinth in Acts 18:5 (see notes).

These Athenians are pretty open minded (Acts 17:16-34)

16 ¶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.
17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” ¶ Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
19 ¶ And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?
20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”
21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
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;
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for 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 also some of your own poets have said, “For we are also His offspring.’
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
32 ¶ And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”
33 So Paul departed from among them.
34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Paul begins his ministry in Athens by going into the synagogues and preaching to the Jews. It's not long, however, before the Greeks in Athens become extremely curious about this new message of Jesus that Paul is preaching. They want in on the action.

Following is a note from Easton's about the City of Athens:

Athens: the capital of Attica, the most celebrated city of the ancient world, the seat of Greek literature and art during the golden period of Grecian history. Its inhabitants were fond of novelty (Acts 17:21), and were remarkable for their zeal in the worship of the gods. It was a sarcastic saying of the Roman satirist that it was "easier to find a god at Athens than a man."

Epicureans and Stoicks

Epicureans were followers of the Greek philosopher, Epicurus who died in 270 B.C. He was an atheist who taught men to seek, as their highest aim, a pleasant and smooth life. The founder of the Stoics (Stoicks) was Zeno (300 B.C.) He taught that a man’s happiness consisted in bringing himself into harmony with the course of the universe. In practice, they were trained to bear evils with indifference, and so to be independent of externals.

In the process of his preaching, Paul's ideas are realized to be new material to the philosophy-hungry Athenians. He is then asked by the Epicurean and Stoick philosophers to appear before the Areopagus, the council that met in the open air on Mars Hill. He addresses the issue of their superstition. They had studied philosophy and reasoned for centuries to the point that they really had no core beliefs any longer - too smart for their own good.

By the way, you gotta love Paul's introduction to these Greek philosophers in verse 23, "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you." Paul says, "Hey! I know your "unknown God." Then in verses 24-31, Paul zips through several of their principles of philosophy demonstrating that, while they have questions, Jesus is the answer. He gets mixed reviews on his message...with some converts (verse 34). The good news is that nobody tried to stone him when he preached the truth there. Besides, these Athenians were too sophisticated to act violently toward new knowledge. It is obvious that their god had become philosophy.

Incidentally, notice verse 26 as Paul makes reference to the activities of God, "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings," Paul was undoubtedly referencing the Song of Moses where in Deuteronomy 32:8 (see notes) the song says, "When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel." In other words, Moses' song proclaims that the dividing of the nations facilitated the apportionment of designated land for his chosen people, Israel.