Acts 17:22-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Sixth Sunday of Easter Sunday, May 14, 2023 “The True God Makes Himself Known”
The Apostle Paul was exploring the city of Athens. This was the latest stop on his second missionary journey, and he was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy to join him. As he waited, he noticed something about the city. He had visited many other places already. Other cities had been more or less welcoming. He had found synagogues and marketplaces in which to meet with people and to talk to them about Jesus. But Athens stood out in a way that no other city had. Paul was distressed to notice that the city was full of idols. Shrines and temples were set up in various places. No doubt there were statues and figures. But perhaps the most interesting find out of all these things for Paul was one he mentioned to the meeting of the Areopagus. That speech is recorded in our reading from the book of Acts. The unique item he discussed was an altar that was dedicated to an unknown god. Why do you suppose the people of Athens had this altar? Had they forgotten the name of a god that they used to worship? They had many different gods for sure, Zeus and Apollo, even the goddess Athena with whom the city shared a name. Perhaps the people were worried that they had left some god out. They were concerned that they needed another temple or another altar, but they didn’t even know what god was missing. They were covering all their bases and handling all their uncertainty by having this unique altar. Paul’s discussion of the altar to an unknown god and of his observations of the city of Athens came in a meeting with the council of the Areopagus. The verses of our reading begin with Paul’s words, but Paul had already been preaching and teaching in the city of Athens. In fact, his preaching and teaching led to his meeting with the council. The Areopagus, which literally translates as “Mars Hill,” was a particular hill near the highest point in the city. The council that met on that hill had a variety of responsibilities over the years. For the most part at the time of Paul’s journey, the council was a group that liked to hear and debate ideas. They were a sort of court that dealt with matters of education and religion. They had heard something about what Paul was saying and teaching, and they wanted to hear from him directly. So Paul spoke. He said that the Athenians must be very religious. They had so many religious temples and altars and shrines. They even had that unique altar. They were aware, apparently, that they might not know everything about spiritual matters. Paul used that altar and that uncertainty as an opportunity to tell about the true God. He said, “Now what you worship as unknown—this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” But in one sense, the true God whom Paul was going to discuss didn’t need someone to proclaim him. The true God, as Paul explained, is the God who made the world. He made everything in the world. He made the people in the world, not the other way around where the people make idols, supposed gods for them to worship. The true God makes himself known in the world. He gives evidence of his existence by providing people with what they need. Even the Greek poets that Paul quotes understood this. They said things like ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ and ‘Indeed, we are also his offspring.’ The Athenians, like all people, knew something about the true God just by observing the world around them. But they didn’t know enough about him. They understood what we might call the natural knowledge of God, but the natural knowledge of God only causes people to look for him. In their case, they looked in many places. They had many gods. But they didn’t truly know the true God even though he makes himself known in the world. So God also makes himself known in another way. The true God makes himself known in his Son. You are here in church because you have heard the message of Jesus. You are here because you have learned about his resurrection. Jesus, true God himself, came into this world because people did not live up to the expectations of their Creator. He came because we did not live the lives God wanted and expected us to live. So he did it in our place. He did it in the place of all people. He is going to judge the world, and he provided rescue for people who were otherwise doomed to