How much do you care - really? no.47, Acts.
- Christine DiGiacomo
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/35ce5ab2/how-much-do-you-care-really-no-47-acts
What do you see when you look at people? Acts 17.16-34
Like it was yesterday, I left the old inner city church and walked toward my car, only to find the Duke of Earl learning against it. Honestly, it was like an out of body experience, because he was talking about me to the two friends I had brought to Long Beach. “I saw her come in, this blonde white woman and I basically thought she was a fraud. I sat back and listened to her and looked to poke holes in what she said when she was talking about the Bible, ya feel me?”
Aha, that explained the scowl and steely dark eyes I saw when I looked at him as I led the folks in prayer and opened the Word. Duke was sizing me up, making a judgment about me, even while I guess I did the same. (a flashback to street ministry when the Marine vet, 'the Duke of Earl' acted as my bodyguard so I could go anywhere in that town)
We do that, you know - we size people up regularly. What do you see? I mean—when you look at people, what do you see? Have you ever stopped to think about how you see people? *This is a valuable thought process.
When Paul walked through the streets of Athens, he saw a people influenced by the empty philosophies and pagan worship which had permeated their surroundings and their thinking for hundreds of years. He debated with
>the Epicureans whose goal was to enjoy all things (and tended to follow Aristotle) >the Stoics who were all about endure all things (tended to fall in line with Plato). Paul was not a sightseer in the ancient Greek city, in awe of the fine sculpting and beautiful architecture; no, his heart was moved by the Athenians’ need for God. What did Paul see when he looked at people? People who needed Jesus!
In the early part of his sermon, he related with them about their desire for spiritual things; he told them about the God for whom they were searching--the God who created everything and gives life, the God who is Lord of Heaven and earth. This Almighty God did not live in manmade temples, such as they had all around them. “In him we live and move and have our being,” Paul said, using a quote from their poet Epimenides, to speak of the one true God, our source of life.
I love picturing Paul as he shared the gospel message on Mars Hill/the Areopagus, and it seems that the council was hanging on his every word... maybe until he stated that judgment for sin was an eventuality for all people, and that Jesus rose from the dead. “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17.30-31
Why did he 'go there' - knowing how his listeners would react?
It goes back to what he saw as he looked around him there in Athens.
What did Paul see when he saw the 30,000 pagan shrines, when he went back and forth, debating people in the Agora… when he looked into the faces of those who had power in Athens at the Areopagus? He saw people who were lost in their lofty deceptions, men and women who were bound for eternity without God unless they came to know and accept what Jesus Christ had accomplished for them on the cross.
And Resurrection was a dealbreaker - for the Epicureans, the Stoics and most of the council. The Epicureans did not believe in an afterlife and the Stoics believed death was its own reward. Resurrection? Definitely not.
What was the reaction of the people to Paul’s intelligent, impassioned Gospel message?
Same as it is today.
When presented with the love and truth of Jesus Christ, made possible through the providence of God, people have one of three responses:
1) Rejection - ‘no way this is true; religion is nothing more than a crutch’
They might throw in a few more thoughts.
2) Acceptance/belief - ‘this is what I have been searching for all of my life’ Seeing the evidence for Jesus Christ, particularly, the Resurrection, is reason to believe his teaching, that there is a new life in Him, and the Bible is true.
**3) Contemplation - ‘I will have to think and investigate more before I believe--besides, I know it would require something of me, like, I would have to stop getting high and sleeping with my girlfriend.’ (or whatever)
Paul - what a compelling example for us to follow--to care so much about other peoples’ need for God and their eternal destiny, we would figure out a way to identify with them, have a discussion, and present the best news ever.
Makes me want to pray. Dear Father,
Please help us see people as you see them. Why, to think that we might have the ability to influence someone’s eternal destiny by sharing what we know to be true and from our experience with you must surely be the highest of our thoughts! Please give us opportunities to point others to You - realizing that we are talking about eternal life for that person, we are talking about the difference between Heaven and Hell. Help us see with love and act with courage, dear Lord.
Amen.
Song that says it all:
Christine
another view of Mars Hill, sitting above Athens
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