What happened at Mars Hill in the Bible?

The hill of Ares, or Mars. Here was held the highest and most ancient and venerable court of justice in Athens for moral and political matters. It was composed of those who had held the office of Archon unless expelled for misconduct. Paul, who had been disputing daily in the market place, was conducted by some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers to Mars' Hill, not for any judicial purpose, but doubtless that they might hear him more quietly. Here he delivered his address respecting God, so suited to the heathen philosophers who heard him, and which was not without its fruit. Acts 17:19. The Greek words are Areios-pagos, but are translated Mars' Hill in Acts 17:22. The court was situate on a rocky hill opposite the west end of the Acropolis. Sixteen stone steps still lead up to the spot.

Athens was the great centre of Greek learning and philosophy; it was also full of idols. The highest human culture and the grossest idolatry can exist quite amicably side by side. Into the midst of this state of things Paul stepped, and the sight of it painfully excited his spirit. Though still without his companions he could not rest in the presence of it, and so began to testify to both Jews and Gentiles. In this way certain philosophers had their attention drawn to him, and these men, though belonging to opposing schools and treating him with contempt, had their curiosity sufficiently aroused to desire to hear more. Thus it came to pass that the opportunity was given to him to speak before an assemblage of the most cultured intellects of that time.

The address remains as a permanent monument of the wisdom of God. It must be remembered, however, in reading it, that what we have recorded is not, as another has said, Paul's preaching, but his defence. He had preached "Jesus, and the resurrection" to the Athenians (5:18); now he descends to their own level, becoming all things to all men, in order to lead them up to the truth of God's creatorship of the world, and their consequent responsibility to Him - a responsibility which God would finally deal with in a future day of judgment. First of all, with divine skill, as taught of the Spirit, Paul acknowledged the great "religiousness" of his hearers; and then he proceeded to take the text of his discourse from an inscription on one of their own altars, which thus read, "To the unknown God." Having recited it, he cried, "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you." Surely the audience must have been spell-bound under this "babbler's" divinely-chosen words. Accustomed to hear the most renowned orators, they were now listening to one who spake in words taught of the Holy Ghost, and, natural men as they were, they must have felt the difference.

God, the unknown God, now reveals Himself; and the apostle, with great happiness of thought laying hold of the inscription on the altar, announces the true God whom they did not know. This is not the gospel; but he identifies the God he had already preached in the gospel of Jesus and of the resurrection with the truth they themselves admitted, and, defending it, speaks to the conscience. The unknown God would judge the world by this Jesus, in that He had raised Him from the dead. This truth he applies to their conscience and to idolatry, under the yoke of which they were subjected. By the power of the Spirit in Paul they stood accused, convicted of having falsified the idea of God and denied His glory, the glory of the only Creator, for they had only recognised Him by the confession that He was unknown.

400 Here was what was done by the apostle. He announced to them clearly this true God, who had manifested Himself in the gift of life, and in the things necessary to sustain that life. Through the conscience He was then not far from each of them. During the times of ignorance, God had borne with the wanderings of man; He had passed them over without judgment. Now He was calling to all men everywhere to repent, because a day was appointed in the which He should judge the world; He speaks of the judgment of this habitable earth, in righteousness by the Man whom He had ordained; whereof He had given assurance unto all men, in that He had raised Him from the dead. In this way He reveals by the power of the Spirit the one true Creator-God, the Sustainer of all things, the knowledge of whom had been lost in the folly of idolatry, into which man had been deluded by the enemy, who, by means of the passions of deceived beings, had made himself God. Then he declares the approaching judgment of this world by Jesus, the risen Man, but that grace, in the patience of God, invited all men to repent.

"The God that made the world and all things that are in it, he being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made by hands." Every clause, every word one might say, undermined paganism without a syllable justly to offend. The grand yet elementary truth left no room for the myths of priests and poets, or for the reasonings of sages in pitch darkness. The remarkable fact is that none of the jarring leaders of religion or philosophy claimed for their gods, home or foreign or unknown, to have made the world and all things that are therein. They attributed that wonderful work neither to any one approaching supremacy, nor to all working together in respective spheres to that common end. So far they unwittingly told the truth. The demons had nothing to do with making the world, or any one of the things that are in it. The true God whom they knew not made them all.

'And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Men of Athens, in all things I observe that ye are very [i.e., more than others] reverent to divinities [or demons]; for passing through and closely observing the objects of your worship, I found also an altar on which was the inscription, To an unknown God. What [or Whom], therefore, ye without knowing worship, this1 I announce to you. The God that made the world and all things therein, He, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human2 hands as needing something more, Himself giving to all life, and breath, and all things. And He made of one [blood3] every nation of men to dwell on all3 the face of the earth, having determined appointed4 seasons, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek God5, if haply they might feel after and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and are; as also some of your own poets have said, For His offspring also are we. Being therefore God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divinity is like gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. God therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now commends men6 that they should all everywhere repent, inasmuch as7 He has appointed a day in which He is about to judge the world [inhabited earth] in righteousness, by a Man Whom He marked out, having given assurance to all in that He raised Him from [the] dead' (vers. 22-31). {1 The neuter form has more ancient support than the much more general masculine. 2 'Of men' in Text. Rec. must yield in antiquity to 'human'. 3 'Blood' is not in ℵAB, eight cursives, and most ancient Versions, some reading 'every face'. 4 'Foreappointed' rests on D and a few more. 5 'God' has ample support of the best kind. 6 Text. Rec. has 'all men' with many, but not the best witnesses, as in the text followed. 7 καθότι ℵABDE, et al., διότι 'because', has inferior weight.}

Though we have only a sketch of the apostle's discourse, we can readily see its striking difference from that which he was wont to preach to the Jews. He comes down to the lowest point and form of truth, in order, as he had done before (Acts 14) with the Lycaonian barbarians, to reach the Athenian conscience, the Jews having through the law incomparably more worthy thoughts of God and of their own relationship to Him. Nevertheless the address opens with habitual courtesy whilst there was not a particle to flatter their pride. The apostle laid hold of the only object in that crowd of honours paid to truly strange demons, which confessed the humbling fact about themselves and God. 'An unknown God' told the true tale; all else around was but deception and the triumph of the enemy. 'What, therefore, ye worship in ignorance, this I announce to you.'

The God that made the world and all things therein is the Judge of all the world by the same risen Man Who is Saviour of such as repent and believe the gospel, be they who or what they may. Creation was owned by neither Epicureans nor Stoics: the one holding the absurdity of a fortuitous concourse of atoms, the other conceiving a fixed ever-recurring cycle of generation and dissolution in the universe, which was their god if they can be allowed to have had any. But the Creator of all things is also Lord of heaven and earth; He neither rests in apathy, nor is He the mere active soul of the passive world, but supreme Ruler, not of heaven only, but of the earth. He is not therefore to be limited to human sanctuaries, nor to be served by human hands, as though He needed anything, seeing that He Himself gives to all life and breath and the whole of what they enjoy. Some elements of these truths might be accepted here and there, for man has a conscience, but seen fully and simply they swept away the dark clouds of philosophic dreamers, maintaining for God His own place of sovereign goodness towards man, let him be ever so proud, dark, and miserable.

The apostle adds more. He struck next at a well-known theme of Athenian vanity, by no means however peculiar to that race, or land, or time: 'And He made of one [blood] every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined appointed seasons and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek God, if indeed they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.' The one origin of man goes with the unity of God, as the pretension to distinct races goes with their respective patrons of polytheism. The Jews as they fell away helped on the falsehood in their self-exalting vanity, though to them only was committed the revelation of the twofold truth, which Christianity alone applied thoroughly and carried out according to God. It was not only the mere passing testimony to His goodness in the gift from heaven of rains and fruitful seasons, to which the apostle here pointed, but also to appointed seasons, and the boundaries of the dwelling of the various nations, all under God's hand with peculiar favours distributed to each, and at least a whisper to seek after (not 'the Lord', which is true neither in the Jewish sense of Jehovah, nor still less in the only just revealed exaltation of the rejected Messiah, but) 'God', if haply they might grope after and find Him, though He is not far from each of us.

"An Unknown God." This the Athenians admitted, and thereby confessed that, with all their philosophy and intellectual studies, there was One of whom they were ignorant - this Unknown God. [73] To make Him known could be no crime, nor an idle occupation. Paul then would make Him known. He is the God of creation, all around and above being His handiwork. In temples made with hands therefore He does not dwell, nor has He need of anything at the hands of His creatures, seeing that He giveth to them life, and breath, and all things. Who He is, and what He gives, stated, next follows what He has done. He has made of one [74] all nations upon the face of the earth, having also determined their appointed seasons and the bounds of their habitation. Then is stated what He desires, viz., that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Now this, which of his hearers would gainsay, for had not Aratus sung, as he now reminds the philosophers, "We are also His offspring"? An unknown God near them! True indeed are the words of Zophar the Naamathite, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" (Job 11:7). The philosophers had not discovered Him, the Athenians were ignorant about Him.

The subject thus opened out, Paul now preaches from his text. If we are the offspring of God, as the Athenians boasted, idol-worship must be wrong. The Deity could not be like an image of stone, or wood, or metal. If men are the offspring of God, God cannot be like a lifeless idol. Plain indeed was this deduction. No one could refute it. A death-blow it dealt to idolatry. In this way the Apostle worked that day. The premises granted, the conclusion was irresistible. But how skilful and powerful, because divinely led, did Paul show himself to be. The altar "To an Unknown God" furnished him with his subject, and he used it effectively. The Creator of all things, the Lord of earth and heaven, dwells not in temples of human workmanship, nor needs either help or sustenance from the creature. Then as regards objects of worship, the words of Aratus, confirmed by Cleanthes, and endorsed by Paul's audience, showed the utter senselessness of bowing to stocks and stones as the likeness of God.

These points established, the altar and the poet pressed into his service, he went on to speak to the consciences of his hearers. God, whom he declared to them that day, had a message for each one of the audience. And Paul was there to deliver it. God, the to them Unknown God, was calling on men everywhere to repent. And this it was imperative on all men to obey, if they would escape His wrath, "seeing that He hath appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (17:22-31). The babbler, as some thought Paul, was the messenger of the God of heaven. The setter forth, as others viewed him, of strange gods, was commissioned to tell them about the Unknown God, whom they had for long ignorantly worshipped. Which of the philosophers, who had passed by that altar, ever expected to have a message directly concerning himself sent from that Unknown God?

The pledge of the coming of this day of righteous judgment has been given in the resurrection of the Man of God's choice. Thus finally Paul set God forth as the God of resurrection. Something entirely outside all human calculations had taken place. Jesus had been raised from the death into which man consigned Him! Paul started his work in Athens by announcing Jesus and the resurrection amongst the workers in the market place; he ended on the same theme when speaking to the thinkers on Mars' hill.

Their busy brains were revolving in man's world, and hence resurrection lay right outside their field of view. To many of them it seemed an absurdity, and they mocked. Others manifested some interest yet deferred further consideration, as seeing no urgency in the matter. Some however believed, both men and women, and these threw in their lot with Paul. These three classes usually appear when the Gospel reaches any given place: there are the mockers, the procrastinators and the believers.

Such is the outline, and perhaps in the chapter itself, it is no more than an outline, of this wonderful address. The effect as usual was diverse in different souls. Some mocked; others postponed their consideration of the truth brought before them; but certain men believed, one of whom is named Dionysius the Areopagite, and there was also a woman named Damaris, besides others. But there is no mention of the formation of any assembly, nor any record of any subsequent visit of the apostle to this city. Human culture and intelligence are not favourable to the doctrines of grace. To the poor the gospel is preached; and in every age it has been true that "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called."

It is a remarkable thing that the apostle's mind does not appear to have been intent upon service in Athens. Even in his coming to the place, those who accompanied him seem to have governed his destination; and now that he has arrived, instead of at once commencing to preach the word, as at Thessalonica and Berea, he waited for Silas and Timotheus. Had he left Berea with reluctance? We cannot tell; but one thing is certain, and that is, that the servant is often in danger of being governed by his affections rather than by the Lord's will. None but the servant knows the strength of the bond which unites him to his converts, and consideration for them and for their welfare, will often detain him in a place long after he should have departed. Whether Paul longed to return to Berea cannot now be ascertained, but it is evident that his advent in Athens differs much from his arrival at other places. However this might have been, the Lord was really controlling His devoted servant, and He wrought upon his spirit, and prepared him for his new work, in His own way.

The apostle's heart became burdened, while he waited for Silas and Timotheus; "his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." There was not indeed a city in the world so crowded with idols of every kind as Athens; and the skill of the most renowned sculptors and architects had contributed to invest the objects of their worship with every form of beauty which the mind of man could devise. What remains of their work excites even now the wonder and admiration of the world. As has been written by one well acquainted with the subject, "Every public place and building was likewise a sanctuary. The Record-House was a temple of the mother of the gods. The Council-House held statues of Apollo and Jupiter, with an altar of Vesta. … And as if the imagination of the Attic mind knew no bounds in this direction, abstractions were deified and publicly honoured. Altars were erected to Fame, to Modesty, to Energy, to Persuasion, and to Pity." This extract will enable us the better to understand why it was that Paul's spirit "was painfully excited" within him as he beheld the innumerable objects of worship with which the Athenians had filled and adorned their city.

Thus wrought upon, undoubtedly by a sense of the dishonour done to God by those who had "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts," as well as by yearning pity over the poor slaves of Satan who had been so terribly deluded, the word of God became as a fire in his bones, and he could no longer withhold his testimony. The Spirit of God calls attention to this effect by the word "therefore" - "therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." He began with the Jews and proselytes, who rejected idol worship equally with Paul, but who, while witnesses for the unity of the Godhead, refused, alas! God's testimony to Christ as the Messiah; and working outwards from this centre he "reasoned" with every one that daily crossed his path in the great place of public concourse.

Whether there were fruit to this ministry is not revealed, for the Spirit of God passes on to call attention to the main purpose and characteristic of the apostle's visit to Athens. The fame of the Greek schools of philosophy had spread throughout the then known world, so that Athens was regarded as the seat of learning and wisdom. What Cambridge and Oxford are to England today, Athens was then to the whole of Europe; and hence it is plainly written in this record, what Paul afterwards proclaimed, that the world by wisdom knew not God. The Epicureans and Stoics were pre-eminent among the Athenian schools; and the ambassador of Christ came into contact and conflict with certain of their philosophers. Their very names have found an abiding place in our language, and they represent, as has been strikingly said, Pleasure and Pride - the two most powerful factors of human life. Encountering Paul, some of them said, "What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."