Acts 17:21

Act_17:21-31

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill.

Novelty attractive

Yes, the people gathered in crowds round the statue, and looked at it again and again. It was not the finest work of art in the city, nor the most intrinsically attractive. Why, then, did the citizens of Verona stand in such clusters around the effigy of Dante on that summers evening? Do you guess the reason? It was a fete in honour of the poet. No, you are mistaken; it was but an ordinary evening, and there was nothing peculiar in the date or the events of the day. You shall not be kept in suspense; the reason was very simple; the statue was new; it had, in fact, only been unveiled the day before. Every one passes Dante now, having other things to think of; the citizens are well used to his solemn visage, and scarcely care that he stands among them. Is not this the way of men? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Novelties and how to regard them

Did you not say that there was a green rose in this place? There are many lovely flowers here, but I had rather see the green rose than anything else. So said a visitor as he stood in a garden where palms, and aloes, and all manner of rare plants, from many lands, were to be seen in perfection; and we should not be surprised if our reader, in like case, were to make the same observation. Yet, when the green rose was seen, it was at once denounced as nothing at all desirable, not a tenth as beautiful as a red or white rose. Just so, there are many folks in this world who must see that which is special, outré, unusual; yet, when they see this freak of nature, or of grace, they turn back to the more usual order of good things with considerable relief, for they feel that the old is better. It is a pity when a man, especially a preacher, is merely a green rose, with a name for being something remarkable, but with no special excellence with which to maintain a reputation. He attracts only for a moment, but sustains no permanent attention, for there is hardly as much about him as there is in the ordinary unpretending teacher of the gospel. Those wanderers who are always running all over the world after green roses, are by no means so wise as those who are content with the perfume and colour of that flower which grows over their own porch, whether it be red or white. The affectation of the unusual is a trick of the charlatan; the craving after it is the weakness of the shallow-minded. Yet, be it noted, that we do not wish to depreciate the green rose. You see we have almost fallen into that unfairness, but the fault was not intentional. We are glad to have seen it, for as a green rose it has charms of its own. Yet this eagerness to see it, this passing over of lovelier objects, this crying up of one beauty above another, inevitably leads to an undervaluing of that which has obtained undeserved prominence. Your foolish partiality has made your favourite a target for excessive criticism; but we will not yield to the temptation. God has made the green rose, and He makes nothing amiss. Your remarkable friend has his excellencies, and God be thanked for them. Your eccentric preacher has his own adaptations for usefulness. Because you cry him up, we are not going to cry him down. Let each rose display its own colour, and let each man be himself, and let the Lord be glorified in all. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Paul at Athens

I. The audience.

1. Jews. The place where he made his first public appearance as a teacher was the synagogue; and his first audience was composed of Jews and devout persons. This was in accordance with the usual apostolic custom of visiting the Jewish place of worship first, and making it the starting point for more extended labours. Nothing is said about the nature or result of his intercourse with his brethren, save that he disputed with them. He would remind them of their splendid opportunities of bearing witness for God in the pagan city.

2. Common people. Leaving the synagogue, and coming to the Agora or market place, the apostle had to mingle with a different class, and the subject of discussion would also be different. The Agora of Athens must not be associated with what is called the market place of a modern town. It was, indeed, the centre of public life, where business was transacted, where busy men moved to and fro, and idlers loitered about. But it was more than that, it was a space decorated with architectural beauties, an attractive place of resort for all classes of the community eager to listen to instruction or hear the news. It was a place where orators and statesmen, poets and artists used to meet for encouragement and stimulus in their several callings. The appearance of a foreigner among such a people, especially if he seemed sociable and talkative, would soon attract a crowd expecting to hear something new. The daily visits of the apostle to the Agora would afford him ample opportunities of proclaiming new truths in the idol city.

3. Philosophers. The philosophers who encountered him were the Epicureans and the Stoics, both of whom had their schools in the vicinity of the Agora.

(1) Epicureans. This sect took its name from Epicurus, who opened a school for the teaching of his philosophy in a garden in Athens; hence his followers were sometimes styled the Philosophers of the Garden. Epicurus taught that the chief end of man was the attainment of pleasure or happiness; and the way to gain it was the removal of every cause of pain or anxiety. A sound body and a tranquil mind constituted the ideal of Epicurean bliss. The main business of life was to raise the mind above cares. Such was the original aim of this school of philosophy; but its later disciples allowed grossest ideas to enter, and pleasure degenerated into the gratification of the appetites. There was no Creator, and no moral government. There were indeed deities, but they lived in undisturbed tranquillity: serene above the turmoil of the world, careless of mankind. The attainment of bliss like theirs was the main business of mans life on earth.

(2) Stoics. The other sect that encountered Paul was the Stoics, so named because Zeno its founder held his meetings inn building called the Stoa or porch. This system of philosophy is regarded as a nearer approximation to Christianity than the Epicurean, inasmuch as it seems to possess a glimmering of the Divine Fatherhood, and forestalls the Christian truth that goodness is indispensable to happiness. But while it recognises God as the Author of all, it does so in a Pantheistic sense, as if God were everything and everything God. The God of the Stoic is not a distinct personality, but an all-pervading spirit, inseparable from the works of his hands. And not only so, but he, and all his works, are under a pre-ordained decree amounting almost, if not altogether, to fatalism. Everything, indeed, is the result of Fate, and freedom of will consists in bowing to Fate. The man who yields most completely to this iron law is the perfect man. The aim of this system was to produce a passionless conformity to Fate. The pursuit of this end engendered apathy or indifference to everything alike pleasurable and painful. Such was the array of diversified opinion that Paul had to combat, and he nobly vindicated his trust as a Christian teacher in the face of pagan enlightenment. His experience of men, and his knowledge of philosophy, gave him special fitness to discharge the mission that Providence had laid upon him.

4. Public meeting on Mars hill. To speak on this venerated spot was a distinction reserved for the foremost orators, and Pauls promotion to that distinction showed the profound impression he had made. The summit of Mars hill was associated in the Athenian mind with solemn and venerable scenes. There sat the most august of assemblies, to dispense justice and confer on religion. The Areopagite court was the supreme tribunal of Athens on social, political, and religious questions. The judges sat in the open air, and their seat on the summit of the rock was reached by a flight of steps. Somewhere on this reserved and hallowed eminence the apostle took his stand; and whether he was there on his defence, as some suppose, or simply for convenience in addressing a large assembly, no spot could have been more suitable for a discussion on the mysteries of religion.

II. The discourse. It was no easy task adequately to address the assemblage that gathered to hear him. What theme could be chosen to suit all and benefit all? Their motives were manifold and their tastes diverse. There were the scoffing Jew and the wisdom-loving Greek, the refined Athenian and the rude provincial, the sceptical philosopher and the unsophisticated stranger, the contented Epicurean and the passionless Stoic. We will now listen to the apostle as he attempts to lift his heathen audience out of their ignorance into the knowledge of the true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent.

1. Creator. He begins by setting forth the unknown God as the Creator of the world. God made the world and all things therein. This was an idea entirely new to the speculative minds or the ancient world, and the prominence here given to it shows that, in Pauls estimation, it lay at the foundation of every true system of religion. It was idle to talk of worship if the Being worshipped was not raised above the worshippers by such qualities and attributes as inspired reverence and trust. So that Pauls statement of the fundamental principle of Theism dealt a fatal stab at the views of ancient philosophy on the origin of the world. There could be no compromise between positions so radically at variance; and while philosophies change with the changing generations, the Christian position remains the same as stated from apostolic lips eighteen centuries ago--God made the world and all things therein.

2. Governor. Advancing a step, the apostle announces the unknown God as the Governor of the world: He hath made all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times appointed and the bounds of their habitation. Here too there was a sharp contrast between revealed truth and the tenets of the schools. Chance, or Fate, said ancient philosophy, appoints to each nation and race its time and place in the world. No, said Paul, there is one presiding Deity, who not only set the world in motion, and gave everything in it life, but who keeps it going and sustains all life, assigning to each man and nation the sphere they are to fill and the length of their stay. The all-controlling providence of God, indeed, follows from the fact of creation. How grand the conception! God marshalling the nations of the earth one after another on the stage of time, appointing their seasons, their work, and the bounds of their habitation, and then withdrawing them when their work is done!

3. Judge. The apostle further declares the unknown God to be the Judge of all men. He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. Here is another aspect of the Divine character and work, which carries our thoughts forward to the close of the present constitution of things, just as the reference to creation recalled their beginning.

4. Father. This is another aspect in which the unknown God is set forth. In Him we live, and move, and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said, For we also are His offspring. If the ideas of creation, superintendence, and responsibility were unknown to the ancients, much less was the Divine Fatherhood. The quotation referred to does not prove that they recognised God as Father save in the Stoical sense. Cleanthes, one of the poets, quoted from, was a Stoic, and Paul, in citing him, not only showed his acquaintance with Greek literature, but his willingness to take up common ground with his hearers whenever that was possible. In doing so, he doubtless gained for himself a more respectful hearing. He adopted the language of the Stoics, but put upon it a Christian meaning. Taking our position, then, in the world as Gods children, we can view everything in a different light, no longer repelled by the unapproachable majesty of a Great Creator, but drawn by His parental love. The works of His hand also will have an additional interest for us.

5. Is God knowable? This is the question to which the whole argument was leading up, and the answer is in the affirmative. The main purpose of Pauls reasoning was to show the Athenians that He whom they styled the unknown God could be known if they sought Him aright. Though the Divine Being was for a long time pleased to draw a veil over His character and modes of working, it was not intended that He should for ever remain unknown. Indeed, all the arrangements of His providence were such as to lead men to the knowledge of Him.

III. The application. The apostle did not content himself with laying down great general principles. Like a practical man, he applied them. And in order to insure success it will be observed that throughout this masterly exposition there is an evident desire to carry his hearers along with him, so that they might be without excuse if they continued ignorant of God. Having thus laid down a few broad principles, he goes on to apply them to the religion and life of the people.

1. Idolatry. The first application is to idol worship, in which the Athenians prided themselves. It required no small courage and tact to assail with effect such a deep-rooted custom in its very hot bed. The inference was irresistible. The invisible Godhead cannot be represented in visible symbols; and even though it could, every such effort is here condemned because it is a dishonour to God. Besides, we do not need it any more than a child needs the help of an image to love its parents; and we ought not to attempt it, because we have a personal God and Father, who is near to every soul that seeks Him. Moreover all such externals are not only not helps to spiritual worship, but may become a positive hindrance.

2. Repentance. The next application which the apostle makes of his subject is to repentance, or the need of an inward change, which was never contemplated by the ancient religions. Their whole history was an acknowledgment of impotence to effect such a change, or satisfy the burdened heart.

3. Jesus and the resurrection. One practical question still remained. How were they to find favour with this just and holy God? The answer to this question brings us to the climax of this trenchant appeal. There was only one way of return to God, and that not through images of silver and gold, but through Him who is the brightness of the Fathers glory and the express image of His Person. If they must have an image of the invisible God, they had it in the person of His Incarnate Son, who was dead and is alive again, and clothed with judicial authority.

IV. The result. It has often been pointed out that the saving impression made by Paul on this occasion was disappointingly small. Nor need this excite surprise, when we reflect on the peculiar character of the discourse, and especially the sensuous habits of the Greek mind, its philosophic culture and pride of intellect. The haughty cultured Greek would not readily yield himself to the teaching of a rude barbarian. It is seldom that we are able to see the results of our work for Christ in this world, and no doubt the great apostle never saw on earth the fruits of that days work.

1. Some mocked. The philosophic mind of Athens would not bend to the simplicity of the gospel.

2. Others procrastinated. They had a passing glimpse of the falseness and hollowness of the present, and they thought the matter worthy of more serious consideration.

3. A few believed. We know the names of only two--Dionysius, a judge of the Areopagite court, and a woman named Damaris, of whom we are told nothing. (D. Merson, B. D.)

Pauls sermon on Mars hill

He declares to them God--

I. In relation to the universe in general. As--

1. The Creator of the universe: God that made the world, etc. This would strike at once against the Epicureanism which regarded the universe as springing from a fortuitous concourse of atoms--the work of chance: and against the Stoicism, which regarded the universe as existing from eternity.

2. The Ruler of the universe: He is Lord of heaven and earth. The universe is not like a great machine built to manage itself, it is an order of things kept in being and harmony by the unremitting agency of the Creator.

3. The Life of the universe: He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things (cf. verse 28)

. The deductions which the apostle draws from this are irresistible.

(1) That God is unlocalised. He dwelleth not in temples made with hands.

(2) That God is independent. Neither is worshipped with mens hands as though He needed anything. The heathens thought their gods needed their services.

II. In relation to mankind in particular.

1. He gave to all mankind a unity of nature. Made of one blood all nations of men. There are immense diversities subsisting between the European, the Mongolian, the Hottentot races that have led many scientists to conclude that they have descended from various stocks. Without touching on arguments of a scientific kind, we ground our belief chiefly--

(1) On mental resemblances. The faculties of thinking, loving, hating, fearing, hoping, worshipping, self-commending, self-condemning, are common to the race.

(2) On Scriptural statements. There is not a single passage in the Bible to suggest a doubt as to the homogeneity of the race, and the descent from one pair. The most brilliant names in science have maintained the unity of the race: Buffon, Linnaeus, Soemmering, and Cuvier, in natural history; Blumenbach, Muller, and Wagner, in anatomy; Pritchard, Latham, Pickering, among ethnologists; Adeling, W. von Humboldt, and Bunsen, among philologists; and Alexander yon Humboldt, at whose feet all science had laid down its treasures,

2. He appointed to all mankind their boundary in life. And hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. There is a boundary for every man in relation to--

(1) The place of his existence. The sphere which individuals occupy is a sphere which God has appointed. Every man has an orbit of his own, and that orbit is appointed by Him. The same with nations. Nations have their geographic boundary, and these have been drawn by heaven. Though they may proximately grow out of the diversity of mens organisations, customs, laws, habits, still God hath made them.

(2) Time. Men and nations have their day, and the length of that day even to the minute is determined. There is no room for chance in human history.

3. He requires from all mankind the recognition of His existence. That they should seek the Lord, etc.

(1) Mans distance from God. This distance is moral, and is to be overcome by effort on mans part. That they should seek the Lord.

(2) Gods nearness to man. This utterance is so pregnant as to require a separate discourse.

4. He is the Father of all mankind. We are all His offspring.

5. He demands repentance from all (Act_17:30). (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Pauls sermon On Mars hill

I. God the Creator. Paul shows this unknown Deity to be the God that made the world, etc. He was unlike the other gods in these respects--

1. There was no limit to His power. For none of the gods did the Athenians claim the power of universal creation. One could do one thing, and another something else, but this God was the maker of the world and all things in it.

2. There was no limit to His dominion. Being Lord of heaven and earth. Other deities were supreme only in certain localities, or under certain localities, or under certain circumstances, but this God was everywhere, and always Master.

3. There was no limit to His dwelling place. Dwelleth not in temples made with hands. The whole universe was His sanctuary.

II. God the Giver.

1. His independency. Neither is served by mens hands, etc. Other deities, according to their notions, were hungry, and needed to be fed, and were therefore brought costly offerings of food and drink.

2. His outgiving. Seeing He Himself giveth, etc. God was the Giver, instead of being the Receiver--like the other deities that were worshipped. The Creator could not be dependent upon the creature.

III. God the Father. For we are also His offspring.

1. The brotherhood of men. To the Athenians this was no palatable thought. Proud of their culture and intellectual superiority, they superciliously divided the world into Greeks and barbarians. Paul set forth this doctrine by showing--

(1) The unity of the nations. He made of one every nation of men. They were not sprung from different sources, but from one source. They were not made of different blood, but of one blood. Having but one Father, the human race is one family.

(2) The cause of the creation of nations. That they should seek God, etc. God created men that they might adore Him. He blessed them with life that they might bless Him. He hungers for their love as a father hungers for the love of his children.

2. The Fatherhood of God.

(1) The fact. For we are also His offspring. To a heathen audience Paul does not quote from the Scriptures, but from one of their own authorities. Truth from any source is truth, and it is best to use that which will find the quickest acceptance.

(2) The obligation. We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, etc. God who made living, seeing, breathing, speaking men, how could He Himself be like those lifeless, sightless, breathless, speechless idols?

IV. God the judge.

1. The time of repentance. The times of ignorance are gone by. God cannot overlook sin any longer on the plea that one does not know.

2. The day of judgment. That day is surely coming. Men then will be judged according to the deeds done in the body. It will be a day of terror to the wicked--a day of rejoicing for the righteous.

3. The Judge. The world once judged Christ--the time is coming when Christ will judge the world. Christ is the Saviour now--the Judge by and by.

4. The people to be judged. They were in the audience before Paul--they are in the audience of every minister of the gospel now. How did those act who were before Paul?

(1) Some mocked. Some now mock at the preacher, or at sacred things, knowing their sacredness.

(2) Others did, as the majority of hearers do now--they put off deciding for the salvation of their souls.

(3) But there were a few who closed with the offer of salvation. In every revival there are a few who get ready for the day of judgment. But who shall be able to characterise the folly of those who continue to walk in the way of destruction? (M. C. Hazard.)

Some new thing.--

Some new thing

A manifest physical, intellectual, and moral weakness was strangely blended with an intense eagerness for novelty. We ordinarily associate a desire for new things with progress, but here that desire is associated with that which is the reverse of progress. This warrants the statement that a desire for something new is not necessarily indicative of progress. Indeed, it may be indicative of regress. It may not be an earnest desire for something better, but a mere restless, uneasy craving for change. To seek the new simply because it is the new, and apart from any consideration of its intrinsic worth, is to go backward rather than forward. I would not disparage legitimate desire for progress. Only an ignorant bigot will assert that that which is new is not true, and that which is true is not new. Some new things are true, and some old things are false. Let reverent investigation go on. Let it be accorded the widest liberty. To hinder it were intellectual and moral treason. But the contention now is that progress and restlessness are not synonymous terms. It is not the seeking of some new thing which is wrong, but the doing nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. Indeed, so far from being good, it is evil. It indicates a fevered condition of the system--an unhealthy and morbid state. It begets instability of character and purpose. It leads to superficial ideas and modes of thinking. It withdraws attention from the tried and settled, and directs it to the flotsam and jetsam of daily happenings, the real importance of which is hardly ever discerned till time has them in their true perspective. Much occurred before our time which is of inestimable importance. Men need today, not less of the new, but more of the old, a wiser perception of its relative worth. More seriously, this craving for something new often dupes men into the acceptance of old errors. As a matter of fact, most new things are comparatively worthless, not all, but most. Originality is rare. What we call originality is usually eccentricity, and eccentricity nearly always means a screw loose in the intellectual or moral machinery. If an alleged new thing proves to be really good, the presumption is that it is not as new as it was supposed to be. But it not infrequently happens that the so-called new idea is an old error. We are told almost daily that modern thought has shown a belief in miracles to be unreasonable, and yet there is hardly a modern objection to miracles which was not anticipated by Celsus, who lived in the second century. Conversely, the presumption is that the old and established ideas are true. Not always, I grant. I would not fall into the opposite error. I would not question the reality or the value of the many great achievements of the present age. But it is a fair presumption that the old is the true. This was so of Athens in the time of Paul. The past was glorious, but the Athenians of St. Pauls day, with all their passion for hearing or telling some new thing, added nothing to the stock of the worlds knowledge. For all that we owe to Athens, we go centuries back of those babblers. All history teaches us that progress is as likely to consist in getting back to old standards as in creating new ones. There is real ground for the apprehension that we may become a volatile people, lacking in stability and weight of character. We see this in literature, in the demand for new books, and in the neglect of old ones of tried value. Robert Elsmere is a case in point. The book is simply a dressing up, in popular narrative style, of the stalest and shallowest rationalistic objections to Christianity. Great was the commotion which it excited! Dire were the prophecies of the ruin which it would accomplish in the Church! We see it in science, in the haste with which new theories are accepted and promulgated as facts. Indeed, no matter how wild a theory is, there are always multitudes who are ready to seize it, and to proclaim that all existing institutions must be reorganised in harmony with it. We see this same craving for new things in everyday life, in the restless moving of people from place to place, in the frequency of business changes, in the small talk of society, in the rage of speculation. It seems to be the great object in life of many people to devise something novel, something weve never had before, the utility of the thing devised being usually a secondary consideration. And we see it especially in religion. Many people do not like the old ideas and doctrines which, after all that can be said, are those that are fairly deducible from Holy Scripture and the faithful preaching of which has wrought such glorious moral and religious changes in the world. They want something new, and the minister who gratifies them is sure to have a large, though unsubstantial following. Multitudes are hurried hither and thither by their craving for change. Their religious convictions are those of the last book they have read or the last person they have talked with. Suffer me in conclusion to make two additional remarks.

1. A disposition to undervalue established ideas or institutions is a sign of a weak mind. A misconception is prevalent at this point. There are some, particularly among the young, who say that they will not accept anything which they have not personally investigated and found to be true; and they pride themselves upon that position, and deem it an evidence of intellectual strength and independence. As a matter of fact, it is simply an evidence of intellectual conceit or moral debility. Has the world learned nothing in all these thousands of years? Has it proved nothing to be true? Does the endorsement of ages create no favourable presumption? A sensible man will no more refuse to become a Christian because he has not had time to investigate for himself the history and claims of Christianity, than he will refuse to become a citizen of the country in which he was born and reared until he has satisfied himself by years of study that the institutions of that country are better than the institutions of other countries. He who declines to avail himself of an electric car, because he has not yet learned what electricity is, is not a wise man, but a fool.

2. In this restless age we need a progressive conservatism, a willingness to accept the new when it is the true, but a holding fast to the old, which has demonstrated its right to be. This gospel which we preach, and in which lies the hope of the race, is not a new gospel. And we love it because it is old, because time has not been able to weaken it or exposure to tarnish it--because all the attacks of earth and hell have not been able to overthrow it. (A. J. Brown.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 17:21. Ἀθηναῖοι, the Athenians) An elegant and characteristic description of them follows.—ἐπιδημοῦντες) sojourners: who through sojourning among them acquire the same customs.—εὐκαίρουν, used to spend their time) The Preterite, whereby it is implied, what kind of hearers Paul had at that time. Curiosity yields to faith.—λέγειν, to tell: ἀκούειν, to hear) Two classes. [Both unattended with fruit: and in such a way as that always whatever is newer is preferred to what has gone before (former news), even though the latter have been good. A common fault, and one very pernicious.—V. g.]—καινότερον, something more new) New things became immediately depreciated: newer things were sought for. Thence (owing to the prevalence of this feeling) καινότερος is a frequent comparative among the Greeks. Chrysostom do Sacerd. § 418, uses the same concerning Paul, τοὺς καινοτέρους διωγμούς· and Theophr. in the Character of the λογοποιὸς, says, οἷος ἐρωτῆσαι· ἔχεις περὶ τοῦδε εἰπεῖν καινόν; καὶ ἐπιβαλὼν ἐρωτᾶν, μὴ λέγεταί τι καινότερον; Moreover they used to seek for newer things, not merely in the case of the occurrences which daily happen; but what seems nobler, in philosophical matters.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_17:21. A remark of Luke added for the elucidation of Act_17:19-20. But Athenians (Ἀθηναῖοι, without the article: Athenian people) collectively (πάντες, see Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 12; Kühner, § 685, note 2), and the strangers resident there, had leisure for nothing else than, etc. εὐκαιρεῖν, vacare alicui rei, belongs to the later Greek. Sturz, de Dial. Al. p. 169; Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 125. The imperfect does not exclude the continuance of the state of things in the present, but interweaves it with the history, so that it is transferred into the same time with the latter; see on Joh_11:18, and Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. i. 4. 9. Comp. also the pluperfect ἐπεγέγραπτο, Act_17:23. According to Ewald, Luke actually means an earlier period, when it had still been so in Athens, before it was plundered by Nero. But then we should at least have expected an indication of this in the text by τότε or πάλαι, even apart from the fact that such a characteristic of a city is not so quickly lost.

καινότερον] The comparative delineates more strongly and vividly. The novelty-loving (Thuc. iii. 38. 4) and talkative (Wetstein and Valckenaer in loc.) Athenians wished always to be saying or hearing something newer than the previous news. See Winer, p. 228 [E. T. 305]. Comp. Plat. Phaed. p. 115 B; Dem. 43. 7; 160. 2.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 17:21 . Ἀθην . δὲ πάντες : “now all Athenians,” without any article, a characteristic of the whole people, cf. Act 27:4 , but see Ramsay, Expositor , October, 1895, p. 274, and Blass, Gram. , p. 157. ἐπιδημοῦντες : “sojourning there,” R.V., A.V. takes no notice of the word = resident strangers: “ unde iidem mores ,” Bengel; on the population of Athens see F. C. Conybeare, “Athens,” Hastings’ B.D.; Renan, Saint Paul , pp. 183, 185, 187. εὐκαίρουν : “had leisure for nothing else,” R.V. margin, cf. Mar 6:21 (only elsewhere in N.T. in 1Co 16:12 ), used by Polyb., Rutherford, New Phrynichus , p. 205. How fatally the more important interests of life were sacrificed to this characteristic (note imperfect tense), restless inquisitiveness, their great orator, Demosthenes, knew when he contrasted this idle curiosity with the vigour and ability of Philip of Macedon, Philippic I. , p. 43. The words go to support the interpretation that there was no formal indictment, but they do not destroy the view that there may have been an examinaton into the Apostle’s teaching, Curtius, u. s. , p. 529. καινότερον : certainly there is, as Blass says, “mirus consensus” as to this characteristic of the Athenians; see instances in Wetstein: Dem., Philippic I. , 43, and Philipp. Epist. , 156, 157; Thuc., iii., 38; Theophr., Char. , iii., περὶ λογοποΐας μὴ λέγεταί τι καινότερον ; cf. Seneca, Epist. , 74. Lit [310] , “some newer thing,” something newer than that which had just preceded it as new up to the time of asking. The comparative may therefore indicate more vividly the voracious appetite of the Athenians for news, although it may be also said that the comparative was the usual degree used by the Greeks in the question What news? (usually νεώτερον ); indeed their fondness for using the comparative of both νέος and καινός is quite singular (Page, see also Winer-Moulton, xxxv., 4; Blass, Gram. , p. 138). The words of Bengel are often quoted, “nova statim sordebant, noviora quærebantur,” but it should be noted that he adds “ Noviora autem quærebant, non modo in iis quæ gentilia accidunt; sed, quod nobilius videtur, in philosophicis,” see for a practical and forcible lesson on the words, F. D. Maurice, Friendship of Books , pp. 84, 85.

[310] literal, literally.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The wisdom of man is vanity.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

all the Athenians . . . spent their time in nothing else but to tell or hear some new thing--literally, "newer thing," as if what was new becoming presently stale, they craved something still more new [BENGEL]. This lively description of the Athenian character is abundantly attested by their own writers.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 21. All the Athenians and strangers which were there] As Athens was renovated for its wisdom and learning, it became a place of public resort for philosophers and students from different parts of the then civilized world. The flux of students was in consequence great; and these, having much leisure time, would necessarily be curious to know what was passing in the world, and would frequently assemble together, in places of public resort, to meet with strangers just come to the city; and either, as St. Luke says, to tell or hear some new thing.

"The Athenian writers give the same account of their fellow citizens. DEMOSTHENES, in his reply to Epist. Philippi, represents the Athenians as πυνθανομενοι κατα την αγοραν, ει τι λεγεται νεωτερον; inquiring, in the place of public resort, if there are any NEWS. We find, likewise, that when Thucydides, iii. 38, had said, μετα καινοτητος μεν λογου απατασθαι αριϚοι, Ye are excellent in suffering yourselves to be deceived by NOVELTY of speech, the old scholiast makes this remark upon it, (almost in the words of St. Luke,) ταυτα προς τους. Αθηναιους αινιττεται, ουδεν τι μελετωντας, πλην λεγειν τι και ακουειν καινον; He here blames the Athenians, who made it their only business to tell and hear something that was NEW."-Bp. Pearce. This is a striking feature of the city of London in the present day. The itch for news, which generally argues a worldly, shallow, or unsettled mind, is wonderfully prevalent: even ministers of the Gospel, negligent of their sacred function, are become in this sense Athenians; so that the book of God is neither read nor studied with half the avidity and spirit as a newspaper. These persons, forgetful not only of their calling, but of the very spirit of the Gospel, read the account of a battle with the most violent emotions; and, provided the victory falls to their favourite side, they exult and triumph in proportion to the number of thousands that have been slain! It is no wonder if such become political preachers, and their sermons be no better than husks for swine. To such the hungry sheep look up, and are not fed. God pity such miserable Athenians, and direct them to a more suitable employment!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) For all the Athenians and strangers.—The restless inquisitiveness of the Athenian character had been all along proverbial. In words which St. Luke almost reproduces, Demosthenes (Philipp. i., p. 43) had reproached them with idling their time away in the agora, asking what news there was of Philip’s movements, or the action of their own envoys, when they ought to have been preparing for strenuous action. The “strangers” who were present were probably a motley group—young Romans sent to finish their education, artists, and sight-seers, and philosophers, from every province in the empire.

Some new thing.—Literally, some newer thing; as we should say, the “very latest news.” Theophrastus (c. 8) uses the self-same word in describing the questions of the loquacious prattlers of society, “Is there anything new? . . . Is there anything yet newer?”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. This verse is a parenthesis explanatory of what has gone before. The audience had been struck with the strange teaching, and that it was strange was enough. Novelty was their life’s pursuit. So without having any regard for the importance of the teaching, they were ready to listen because it was new.

strangers which were there] The words will bear a fuller rendering, “strangers sojourning there.” (So R. V.) The place was famous, and all seekers after novelty came there from every quarter.

spent their time] More literally “had leisure for.” But the one sense is the complement of the other. If all the time be spent in one way, there is no leisure left for any thing else. But the word has the further sense of “finding a favourable opportunity.” The Athenians could find time for the pursuit of novelty, but for nothing beside. The imperfect tense of the verb also implies that this was their constant state of mind.

either to tell, or to hear some new thing] This character of the Athenian populace is confirmed by many statements of classical authors. In Thuc. iii. 38 Cleon is represented as complaining of his countrymen that they were in the habit of playing the part of “spectators in displays of oratory, and listeners to the stories of what others had done;” and a like charge is made more than once by Demosthenes in his speeches on the vigorous policy of Philip of Macedon, which he contrasts with the Athenian love of talk and news.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For all the Athenians,.... The natives of Athens, who were born and lived there, and were inhabitants of the city, and free of it:

and strangers which were there; who came there from several parts of the world, to get wisdom and knowledge, to learn the several arts and sciences, and to attend the several sects of philosophers they made choice of:

spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing; that is, they did so for the most part; and this was the complexion and taste of the generality of them; and with this agrees what Demosthenes himself says of them (m),

"we, says he (for the truth shall be said), sit here, , "doing nothing"----inquiring in the court, , "whether any new thing is said."''

The character of such persons is given, and they are described in a very lively manner by Theophrastus (n). The Jewish doctors, at this time, were much of the same cast in their divinity schools; the usual question asked, when they met one another, was, , "what new thing" have you in the divinity school today (o)?

(m) Respons. ad Philippi Epistolam. (n) Ethic. character. p. 13. (o) T. Hieros. Taanith, fol. 75. 4. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 14. fol. 212. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

Ver. 21. For all the Athenians, &c.] The self-same truth is testified by Demosthenes, in an answer to Philip’s letter. ημεις ουδεν ποιουντες ενθαδε καθημεθα πυνθανομενοι ει τι λεγεται νεωτερον. We (saith he to his countrymen of Athens), to speak truth, sit here, doing nothing but trifling out our time, and listening what news abroad. This their national itch after novelties, made them the more willing to hear Paul speak. It is not amiss to hearken how it goeth with the Church, that we may rejoice with those that rejoice, and weep with those that weep; Cum, singulis pectus meum copulo, saith Cyprian. Eli sat to hear what became of the ark; which when it was taken, it is hard to say whether was first broke, his heart or his neck.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For all the Athenians - This was their general character.

And strangers which were there - Athens was greatly distinguished for the celebrity of its schools of philosophy. It was at that time at the head of the literary world. Its arts and its learning were celebrated in all lands. It is known, therefore, that it was the favorite resort of people of other nations, who came there to become acquainted with its institutions and to listen to its sages.

Spent their time in nothing else - The learned and subtle Athenians gave themselves much to speculation, and employed themselves in examining the various new systems of philosophy that were proposed. Strangers and foreigners who were there, having much leisure, would also give themselves to the same inquiries.

But either to tell or to hear some new thing - Greek: “something newer” - καινότερον kainoteron. The latest news; or the latest subject of inquiry proposed. This is well known to have been the character of the people of Athens at all times. “Many of the ancient writers I bear witness to the garrulity, and curiosity, and intemperate desire of novelty among the Athenians, by which they inquired respecting all things, even those in which they had no interest, whether of a public or private nature (Kuinoel). Thus, Thucydides (3, 38) says of them, “You excel in suffering yourselves to be deceived with novelty of speech.” On which the old scholiast makes this remark, almost in the words of Luke: “He (Thucydides) here blames the Athenians, who care for nothing else but to tell or to hear something new.” Thus, Aelian (5, 13) says of the Athenians that they are versatile in novelties. Thus, Demosthenes represents the Athenians “as inquiring in the place of public resort if there were any news” - τι νεώτερον ti neōteron Meurslus has shown, also, that there were more than 300 public places in Athens of public resort, where the principal youth and reputable citizens were accustomed to meet for the purpose of conversation and inquiry.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Strangers which were there; which must needs have be a considerable number, Athens being then a famous haven town and university; and these strangers might easily take this itch after news from the natives, who are noted for it by Theophrastus, Demosthenes, &c.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. Strangers—Including the students of philosophy, who at this age resorted to Athens as the most enlightened school of the world.

Hear some new thing—Long anterior to Luke, Demosthenes, the great orator, rebuked the Athenians for lounging in the agora with their eternal “What is the news?” when they should have been marching against their dangerous enemy, Philip of Macedon.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now for for, A.V.; the strangers sojourning there for strangers which were there, A.V. Spent their time. This gives the general sense, but the margin of the R.T., had leisure for nothing else, is much more accurate. Eujkairein, which is not considered good Greek, is only used by Polybius, and in the sense either of "being wealthy" or of "having leisure" or "opportunity." In the New Testament it occurs in Mar_6:31 1Co_16:12. Some new thing. So Cleon (Thucyd., 3:38) rates the Athenians upon their being entirely guided by words, and constantly deceived by any novelty of speech (kainothtov logou). And Demosthenes in his first "Philippic" (p. 43, 7), inveighs against them because, when they ought to be up and doing, they went about the Agora, asking one another, "Is there any news? (Legetai ti kainon;)." The comparative kainoteron ix a little stronger than kainon: "the very last news" (Alford).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the strangers sojourning there - And catching the distemper of them. Some new thing - The Greek word signifies some newer thing. New things quickly grew cheap, and they wanted those that were newer still.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

See notes on verse 19

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. ἢ for καὶ before ἀκούειν with אABD. Vulg. ‘aut.’

21. This verse is a parenthesis explanatory of what has gone before. The audience had been struck with the strange teaching, and that it was strange was enough. Novelty was their life’s pursuit. So without having any regard for the importance of the teaching, they were ready to listen because it was new.

οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ξένοι, the strangers sojourning there. The place was famous and hunters after novelty came thither from every quarter.

ηὐκαίρουν. The verb signifies (1) to have a convenient time, and then uniquely here (2) to make leisure for, to give up time to any pursuit. The imperfect tense implies that this was their constant state of mind.

καινότερον. The comparative is noteworthy. The Athenians are by it represented as thirsting ever for something ‘newer still.’ What had been heard at once became stale. This character of the Athenian populace is confirmed by many statements of classical authors. In Thuc. III. 38 Cleon is represented as complaining of his countrymen that they were in the habit of playing the part of ‘spectators in displays of oratory, and listeners to the stories of what others had done’; and a like charge is made more than once by Demosthenes in his speeches on the vigorous policy of Philip of Macedon, which he contrasts with the Athenian love of talk and news.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21.] A remark of the narrator (as I believe, Paul himself, see Prolegg. to Acts, § ii. 14) as a comment on the καινή and ξενίζοντα of the verse before.

εὐκαιρῶ, vaco, Gloss. Vet. It is not a classic Attic word: εὐκαιρεῖν οὐδεὶς εἴρηκε τῶν παλαιῶν, Ἕλληνες δέ, Mœris. “σχολὴν ἄγω,” καὶ “εὖ σχολῆς ἔχω,” οὐ “σχολάζω·” τὸ δὲ “εὐκαιρεῖν” πάντη ἀδόκιμον, Thom. Mag.

On this character of the Athenians, compare that given of them, Thucyd. iii. 38, μετὰ καινότητος μὲν λόγου ἀπατᾶσθαι ἄριστοι, where the scholiast evidently has our text in his mind; ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους αἰνίττεται, οὐδέν τι μελετῶντας πλὴν λέγειν τι καὶ ἀκούειν καινόν:—Demosth. (Philippic. i. p. 43), ἢ βούλεσθε, εἰπέ μοι, περϊιόντες αὑτῶν πυθέσθαι κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν Λέγεταί τι καινόν; γένοιτο γὰρ ἄν τι καινότερον ἢ Μακεδὼν ἀνὴρ κ.τ.λ. (so also in Philipp. Epist. pp. 156, 157.) The comparative, καινότερον, is used as here by Theophr. in giving the character of a loquacious person: οἷος ἐρωτῆσαι Ἔχεις περὶ τοῦδε εἰπεῖν καινόν; καὶ ἐπιβαλὼν ἐρωτᾷν Μὴ λέγεταί τι καινότερον; It implies, as we should say, the very last news.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the Athenians. No article. Lit., "Athenians, all of them." The Athenian people collectively.

Strangers which were there [οι επιδημουντες ξενοι] . Rev., more correctly, the strangers sojourning there. See on 1Pe 1:1.

Spent their time [ευκαιρουν] . The word means to have good opportunity; to have leisure : also, to devote one's leisure to something; to spend the time. Compare Mr 6:31; 1Co 16:12.

Something new [τι καινοτερον] . Lit., newer : newer than that which was then passing current as new. The comparative was regularly used by the Greeks in the question what news? They contrasted what was new with what had been new up to the time of asking. The idiom vividly characterizes the state of the Athenian mind. Bengel aptly says, "New things at once became of no account; newer things were being sought for." Their own orators and poets lashed them for this peculiarity.

Aristophanes styles Athens the city of the gapers (" Knights, " 1262). Demades said that the crest of Athens ought to be a great tongue.

Demosthenes asks them, "Is it all your care to go about up and down the market, asking each other, 'Is there any news?'" In the speech of Cleon to the Athenians, given by Thucydides (iii., 38), he says : "No men are better dupes, sooner deceived by novel notions, or slower to follow approved advice. You despise what is familiar, while you are worshippers of every new extravagance. You are always hankering after an ideal state, but you do not give your minds even to what is straight before you. In a word, you are at the mercy of your own ears."

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.