Acts 17:32Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Although the Athenians loved to hear new things, they were not attentive to the preaching. They showed no zeal, but cared only to have some subject for conversation at all times. This was why they withdrew from Paul. But if they had such a character, why did they accuse him of "preaching foreign divinities" (Acts 17:18)? Because this teaching was very unintelligible to them. Hearing so many great and lofty things, they paid no attention, but laughed. They laughed at the teaching about the resurrection: "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Cor 2:14).

When you have persuaded them that God is one, then with His help you will show that salvation has been given to us through Christ.

Begin with what Christ accomplished while abiding in the body. Point out the marks of the divine nature, so that it may be seen that He is more than man.

Show that death was conquered by the power of Him alone, and that after death He rose from Hades.

Faith grows little by little. When people see that He surpassed men, they will believe that He is God.

If you do not establish that He could not have accomplished His deeds without divine power, how will you prove that divine power was in Him?

As a remedy for error, he pointed to the thirst for repentance. Then he came to Christ, but for the time being he still preferred to call Him not God, but man.

As long as the Apostle developed truths grounded in the universal knowledge of God, his hearers, accustomed to the lessons of Hellenic philosophy, listened attentively. But as soon as he touched on a teaching by which Christian philosophy necessarily came into conflict with pagan philosophy, everything changed. As soon as he spoke of the resurrection of the dead, some of his hearers interrupted his speech with mockery. Others asked him to speak about this another time. This meant either a mere refusal, or perhaps a sincere desire to receive further instruction on this subject of his teaching.

But the Apostle had not even managed to pronounce the name of the Savior of the world when his speech produced such unfavorable agitation among his hearers that it was immediately interrupted.

His words said that the Man ordained by God to carry out the universal judgment over the world had risen from the dead.

These words stirred laughter in the representatives of pagan wisdom, probably especially in the followers of Epicurean philosophy. They seemed to them ridiculous and senseless.

Some of them laughed openly and directly at these words. Others, keeping a serious expression, said mockingly, “We will hear you again about this.”

Thus the Apostle was forced to stop his speech and leave the Areopagus, apparently without any fruit from his preaching there.

Suddenly confusion arose in the Areopagus. Hearing of the resurrection from the dead, the followers of Epicurean philosophy could no longer remain calm.

The final words in the mouth of the inspired preacher pierced their hearts like fiery arrows. Those hearts had been corrupted by sensual philosophy.

The words opened before them the terrifying picture of righteous recompense for that abyss of sin in which their whole life had passed.

Their life had been guided by the coarse sensual principle: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

But in order to hide their heart’s pain from those present, they covered it with mockery. They began to mock a teaching terrible to lawlessness.

This teaching made a calmer impression on the Stoics. They were not unwilling to hear him further.

Yet, taking advantage of the commotion, they said to the Apostle indifferently, and perhaps not without irony, “We will hear you again about this.”

Of course, they made no effort to seize that occasion.

“When they heard of the resurrection,” and so forth. The great Apostle had not yet once pronounced the most worshipful name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He had only approached the chief and fundamental subject of his preaching, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the foundation of all Gospel preaching.

He had only just uttered the word “resurrection” when suddenly he was interrupted. From one side came open mockery, and from the other a polite invitation to postpone his speech until another time.

Thus the world through its wisdom did not know the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:21). The supposedly wise Athenians turned away from Paul’s wise preaching as from foolishness.

The Apostle’s famous speech in Athens was interrupted by the laughter of frivolous hearers. Then the more courteous said, “We will hear you again about this.”

By this they made it clear that they too were no longer disposed to listen to Paul.

Apparently the teaching on the resurrection was especially unpleasant and unwelcome to them. This is understandable.

At words about the future judgment, every unbeliever can easily say, “We shall see later what will happen.”

Yet despite the frivolous majority of his hearers, there were also some who heeded the Apostle’s wise speech.

Here the writer of Acts names the honorable member of the Areopagus, Dionysius. He later became bishop of Athens and afterward died as a martyr in Gaul, in Paris.