Acts 17:19
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
In Athens Paul was seized in the marketplace by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers with city leaders and a curious crowd who mocked him as a babbler and accused him of proclaiming foreign gods because he preached Jesus and the resurrection, and they led him away from its noise to the Areopagus, the sacred open-air court on Mars' Hill revered above all places for judging crimes and religious questions. They brought him there for a formal uninterrupted hearing because Athenians and strangers spent their time seeking some new thing, and poets, scholars and sages demanded to know the meaning of this strange new teaching. Standing alone under mortal risk like that which condemned Socrates, he met them on their own ground with greater knowledge, meeting logic with logic and philosophy with philosophy, and with unshaken courage proclaimed Christ and salvation as truth from God that no earthly power could quench. His witness astonished the wisest so they could not refute him, yet few believed and several joined him, so the harvest was small and disappointing and led him afterward to lay aside learned argument for preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified in the Spirit's power. To be told new doctrine lays hearers under judgment according to the light given, so honest minds must receive the word readily and search the Scriptures daily, comparing text with text, with angels beside them to enlighten them, while curiosity alone, prejudice and refusal to investigate leave the mind blinded by error.
Encounter at Areopagus
Those brought to Mars' Hill were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers together with Athenian leaders and a crowd who had met Paul in the marketplace, where some dismissed him as a babbler and others accused him of setting forth strange gods because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. This took place in Athens, a city given to art and the worship of idols. Athenians and visiting strangers spent their time in telling or hearing some new thing, and so poets, artists, philosophers, scholars and sages gathered to ask what this strange new doctrine he spoke meant.
Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, was one of the most sacred and revered spots in all Athens, regarded with superstitious reverence that in some amounted to dread, standing in the very heart of paganism. There a solemn court acted as final judges on criminal cases and difficult religious questions, and on the more important moral as well as civil questions. It was the highest spot on the Athenian coast, with an open-air platform with seats for judges hewn from solid rock and reached by stone steps. The temple of the gods and their sanctuaries lay a little distance below, made magnificent by massive architecture, sculpture and statuary.
He was led there away from the noise and bustle of crowded thoroughfares and the tumult of promiscuous discussion to a formal hearing where he could set forth his teaching. The frivolous thoughtless class would not follow there, so that learned men could hear him explain without interruption. The charge of setting forth strange gods carried mortal risk, for Socrates had been condemned to death on that charge.
Paul's Bold Witness
His stand on Mars' Hill showed he was no novice, but one able to meet every class from men of renown to heathen idolaters. He proved to have knowledge greater than their own, commanding the respect of the learned by intellectual power, earnest logical reasoning and oratory. As God's ambassador he proclaimed Christ and salvation with persuasive knowledge, eloquence and ability. He met his hearers on their own ground, answering logic with logic, philosophy with philosophy, science with reasoned argument, and eloquence with eloquence. Signs and miracles gave evidence of the faith's divine character.
He was not silenced by science or irony. His unaffected wisdom and determination to tell his story at all hazards persuaded them to give him a fair hearing. His address met their logic, science and philosophy with reasoned argument, so that the wisest listeners were astonished and could not refute him. He stood in loneliness and adversity with unshaken confidence and courage, publicly challenging proud philosophy with the gospel. His attitude, surroundings, words and the victory gained for Christianity there were to be handed down through all coming generations as a witness.
The evidences he set before them were not of human invention. His religion came from God, and coming from God no power on earth could quench the light from heaven. Divinity puts its stamp upon Christianity as of heavenly origin. His labor was not wholly in vain, for several became converts and joined themselves to him. Yet few accepted the gospel, and the overall effect was barren and disappointing to him.
The experience led him to change his approach at Corinth. There he no longer brought learning and eloquence to bear in philosophical discussion and elaborate arguments. He resolved to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, focusing on salvation through Christ. He trusted the Spirit's power rather than human wisdom, since a short lifetime leaves time for nothing else.
Searching New Teaching
To be told a new teaching from God places the hearer under solemn responsibility, for judgment will follow the light that has been given and each one must answer for how the spoken words were treated. The question put to Paul about his new doctrine therefore marks not idle curiosity but a moment of accountability, where hearing creates obligation.
Those who honestly desire to do right receive such a word with readiness of mind and then test it by diligent daily searching of the Scriptures, comparing scripture with scripture to learn whether these things are so, with special attention to what is written concerning the promised Messiah. Heavenly angels stand beside such sincere investigators to enlighten their minds and impress their hearts as they search.
That same kind of diligent investigation is required in the closing scenes of earth's history in proving testing truths and unpopular Bible doctrines, and it leads those who persist to loyalty to the precepts of God's law. By contrast, narrowed prejudice, studying from mere curiosity, refusal to examine the evidences, the assumption that new light does not matter, and clinging to pleasing fables allow error to blind the mind and separate the soul from heaven.