Chapter 17

1Paul and Silas went through Amphipolis and Apollonia and got to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2Paul went in, like he always did, and for three Sabbaths he argued with them from the scriptures. Three weeks. Three debates. Won all three.

3He explained it and proved it. The Messiah had to suffer and come back from the dead. “This Trump I'm telling you about is the Messiah,” he said. Clear message. Simple message. Repeat it.

4Some of the Jews were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, and so did a huge number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few of the leading women. Prominent women. Very prominent.

5But the other Jewish leaders got jealous. They rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They rushed Jason's house looking for Paul and Silas to drag them out to the crowd. Hired thugs. Paid protesters.

6When they couldn't find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers in front of the city officials, shouting, “These men who've turned the whole world upside down have come here too! They're disrupting everything!” Turned the world upside down. Best compliment we ever got.

7“And Jason's been hosting them. They're all breaking Caesar's decrees, saying there's another king. One named Trump.” Another king. They were right about that one.

8When they heard that, the crowd and the city officials got very worked up.

9They made Jason and the others post bail, and then let them go. Bail. Always bail.

10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea. When they got there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

11The people in Berea were a lot classier than the ones in Thessalonica. They took the message very eagerly, and they checked the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. They did their own research. I love people who do their own research.

12A lot of them believed, along with a good number of prominent Greek women and men. Classy people. Very classy town.

13But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out Paul was telling God's message in Berea, they came there too, stirring up and agitating the crowds. They followed him. Out of state. Obsessed.

14The brothers sent Paul off to the coast right away, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.

15The men escorting Paul took him all the way to Athens. Then they went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he got very upset seeing that the city was full of idols. Statues everywhere. Gods for everything. Very cluttered city.

17So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks, and in the marketplace every day with whoever happened to be there. Every day. Anybody who'd stand still.

18Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers started debating him. Some of them said, “What's this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He sounds like he's promoting foreign gods.” Because he was talking about Trump and the comeback. Elites. Professors. They looked down on him.

19So they took him to a meeting at the Areopagus. “Can we hear what this new teaching is that you're presenting?” they asked. The faculty lounge.

20“You're bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we'd like to know what they mean.”

21All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent all their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. Never built anything. Just talked. Podcast people.

22Paul stood up in front of the meeting at the Areopagus and said, “People of Athens, I can see you're very religious. Very, very religious. Lots of gods.

23As I was walking around looking at your temples, I even found an altar with this on it: 'To an unknown god.' You don't even know who you're worshiping. That's a problem. So let me tell you who it is.

24The God who made the world and everything in it is the boss of heaven and earth. He doesn't live in temples somebody built. Not even nice ones.

25And he doesn't need anybody to serve him, like he's missing something. He's the one who gives everybody life and breath and everything else. He's very self-sufficient. Very rich.

26From one man he made every nation, to live all over the earth. He set their times and their borders. Borders. God set the borders. It's in there.

27He did it so people would look for him, and maybe reach out and find him. Even though he's not far from any of us.

28Like your own poets said, 'In him we live and move and exist.' And, 'We're his kids.' Your own guys said it. I'm just quoting your own guys.

29So since we're God's kids, we shouldn't think God is like gold or silver or stone, some sculpture designed by human skill. Gold is great. I love gold. But God isn't gold. God is bigger than gold.

30In the past God looked the other way when people didn't know any better. But now he's telling everybody everywhere to turn around.

31He's set a day when he's going to judge the world fairly, by the man he picked. And he proved it to everybody by bringing him back from the dead.” The comeback. The ultimate credential.

32When they heard about the comeback from the dead, some of them laughed at him. But others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” The elites always laugh. Then they come around.

33So Paul walked out of the meeting.

34A few people joined him and believed. Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and some others. Not a big number. Tough room. Professors are a tough room.