city idols

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

Acts 17:16-17

Worship motivated Paul to keep pressing forward with gospel proclamation. It wasn’t just the worship of Jesus in his own life that led him to preach the gospel, but also the false worship and the lack of real worship of God he witnessed in the public life of the citizens of Athens. Everywhere the apostle turned, he witnessed a city caught up in idolatry. Athens was a city full of idols. These false gods captivated the hearts of a worshiping citizenry. Everyone was deeply spiritual. But that is not a good thing when people are spiritual in the wrong ways.

Paul’s response in this passage is instructive. His heart was moved by what he saw. His spirit was agitated by the rampant idols worship that he witnessed everywhere he went in the city. Enough was enough. The text says Paul was “provoked”... which conveys agitation and upset of spirit to the point of taking decisive, passionate action. The open idolatry filled Paul with an indignation to make a difference.

And so he set about preaching the gospel. He reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue since they already worshiped God, but did not know Him in Jesus or yet believe the gospel. And Paul took the gospel preaching from there to the public square, giving the truth of salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus to anybody who would listen to him in the marketplace. A city full of idolaters needed to know how to worship the one true God. And they needed to turn from their idols to their Creator and Savior through Jesus. Cities filled with idols need Jesus!