NOTES for Act 17:30-32
Paul's preaching in the Athenian Areopagus is one of those events that, when we read about it, does not feel separated from us by two thousand years. This is not only because many foundations of our civilization lie in Athens, but also because, looking at the Athenians of Paul's time, it is not hard to see many of our own skeptical contemporaries, who love to discuss sensational news.
It is significant that the Athenians, who were capable of listening to any point of view, listened to Paul while he set forth basic ideas about God acceptable to followers of various teachings, but interrupted him as soon as Paul began speaking about the Resurrection. What matters to Paul is not received by his listeners, and not only, it seems, because his words do not fit the ideas of those gathered in the Areopagus. Perhaps they sensed that what they had heard was not a verbal exercise, but a message demanding a change of life...
Can Paul's first attempt at preaching in Athens be called unsuccessful? It seems not, and not only because there were after all some people who became interested in Paul's words, and among them even one member of the Areopagus, Dionysius. That day Paul sowed seeds that were destined to sprout, and we know that they did sprout and brought a rich harvest on Greek soil.