Math amid the Greek ruins shows how difficult Paul's mission really was

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The statement was simple, but I found it to be profound. 
 
Our Thessalonian-native guide Aliki — Alice in English — was sharing facts in her colorful way with a group of Great Plains Conference pilgrims tracing the journeys of the Apostle Paul from Feb. 21 to March 1. The group was in Delphi in the central portion of Greece at one of the many temples of the mythological god Apollo. Priestesses would tell the future — in ambiguous terms, of course — to people who traveled to this temple. 

As our guide was educating us about the architecture and cultural significance of this excavated ruin, she gave us some information that immediately made the light bulb in my head shine brightly for me. She pointed out that people worshipped in that spot beginning at some point in the 7th century BCE. 
 

Aliki (Alice in English) served as our Great Plains group's tour guide for all but our stay in Athens during the Journeys of Paul trip. Photo by Todd Seifert

My “a-ha” moment came with some quick math in my head. That means when Paul was on his second missionary journey — a trek that took him from the port of Neapolis to such locations as Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth — the culture in which he was trying to teach about Jesus Christ had been ingrained for more than 700 years. 

While that’s impressive enough, consider the generations. People didn’t live long back then, so consider a generation to be about 20 years. That equates to about 35 generations. And given that Paul was traveling in that region of the world between 50 and 52 CE, that means the religion of this region of eastern Europe had been passed down for approximately 37 generations! 

Why was that so impactful for me? I think it’s because I know how deep traditions are cemented into our society today. In the modern world, it only takes a couple of generations of grandmothers to help families settle into the importance of specific dishes at Thanksgiving, or a couple of generations of dads or moms making sons and daughters eager for the opening of fishing or hunting seasons. 

This was much more significant. Religion was the culture in ancient Greece. Ruins are being excavated everywhere. People believed in the 12 supreme gods of Mount Olympus and hundreds of other subordinate deities. Their deeds were shared in amazing stories that capture the attention of story-lovers even now, going on 3,000 years later. 

It was in that environment, that Paul traveled to share the good news about the one, true God and the hope for the world, Jesus Christ.  

But here’s the thing: Paul’s truth, this most important of stories, this most critical of moments of human history — the resurrection of the Messiah who died so that all of humanity may have eternal life — was a truth only 20 years old. 

A single generation. For the church. Without anything close to the structure at that time as the mythology of the day.

Yet, Paul somehow got through to people. The Holy Spirit showed its ultimate power as part of the triune God by cutting through centuries of tradition, by helping people see past their traditions and, dare I say, comfort zones to embrace the only begotten Son of God. 

It wasn’t easy, and Paul had to overcome more hurdles than would have been jumped in races from those ancient Olympiads. 
 
He was run out of Thessalonica — Thessaloniki in Greek. Despite success and being embraced by the people of Berea (present-day Veria), Acts 17 tells us that Paul was run out of there, too, by people upset by his teaching when word of his winning converts to Christ of prominent people reached back to Thessalonica. 

And then he landed in Athens, which is where I personally think the Holy Spirit really started to lay the foundation for the future of the spread of Christianity. 

On its final full day in Greece, our Great Plains group of 37 people made its way to the Acropolis in Athens. It is here where you see the iconic Parthenon, which was a monument to the mythical goddess Athena. Nearly 2,500 years after its construction, it is now an ongoing restoration project. But you can see past the modern-day construction equipment to admire the towering limestone structure and accents of marble, a substance found in abundance throughout Greece. The Parthenon dominates the skyline of Athens because building codes forbid buildings to be built tall enough to obstruct views of it. 

Resting just below the Acropolis on which the Parthenon sits is Mars Hill.  

It is on this jagged-topped rocky hill that Paul takes notice of monuments to various gods, which he recognized to be idols to false deities. I had the privilege of providing the devotion for our group on Mars Hill, the site of one of my favorite pieces of scripture outside the Gospels, Acts 17:16-34. 

It’s in this passage where, I’m convinced, Paul uses his 20 years of truth to start chiseling away at the generations of mythology. Invited to Mars Hill — a think tank of sorts in the ancient world — by philosophers and scholars eager to hear about the latest “things” of their time, Paul notes one of the altars is empty and labeled “Unknown God.” He uses that empty platform as a tool for evangelism.  

Paul explains that he knows who that God is, and it is the God that made all of the things of the natural world that people worshipped at that time. In effect, Paul placed God in God’s rightful place — atop all things in creation. 

Paul goes on to explain that the true God not only created everything around them, but that the real God isn’t confined to structures, even grand ones like the enormous Parthenon that would have towered over them as he spoke. Paul tells them God is so great that God can’t be brought down to a mere image made of stone or even fine minerals such as gold or silver. 

And finally, Paul tells them that despite those hundreds of years of following false gods, the true God is merciful and forgives people who were at one point ignorant but who truly want to change their hearts and minds. 

Some of these scholars and philosophers, likely well known in ancient Athens, mocked Paul when he told of Jesus raising from the dead. But a few — and we don’t know exactly the number, but at least a few — said they wanted to hear more about this Jesus person. 

That could very well be where Paul breaks through to a larger audience. Make no mistake: Paul was winning converts throughout his journey thanks to the Holy Spirit. But here we learn from verse 34 that one of the members of the council there at Mars Hill, Dionysius, came to believe, as well as a Damaris, woman important enough to be named — a rarity in scripture. 

To be clear, I’m not a Bible scholar. I have not a single minute of seminary time. My education goes only as high as my Certified Lay Ministry courses. 

But from that moment at Delphi at the temple of Apollo until that amazing moment of sharing the devotion at Mars Hill, I couldn’t get the math out of my head, of how Paul put 20 years of truth since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and managed to start turning the world toward the risen Savior. 

So, what can we learn? I think the most important thing is not to give up the effort to share our faith. I’m not just talking about what we do as the church. Yes, showing mercy with food pantries is important. Standing up for justice, particularly for people who have had their voices silenced, is, I would argue, mandated by Christ. 

But we also need to talk about why we do those things. Like Paul, we need to be open to talking about who Jesus is, what he did for us, what he continues to do for us, and the hope we have for an eternal future because of how he conquered sin and death. 

Unlike those ancient Athenians, we have a God who we know quite well. We know full well what God has done for us. 

Let’s proclaim it as Paul did, knowing we won’t win over everyone. But we might just plant the seed to allow the Word to grow in the world today as Paul did in 1st century Greece. 
 
Todd Seifert is communications director for the Great Plains Conference and host of the “In Layman’s Terms” podcast. Contact him at [email protected].