From Babbler to Respected Guest Speaker
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
Acts 17:18–20 ESV Read More
If you do a Google image search for the Greek word they use here for “idle babbler” you’ll see a bunch of Greek web pages about an annoying black bird. It’s nothing special. It’s the same black bird you see all over the place here that spends it’s whole day eating french fries in the McDonald’s parking lot and filling your back yard while you’re away at work.
Some of these classy Athenian philosophers only saw Paul as something like that bird. Stepping from booth to booth at the market, talking about Jesus to whoever would listen. At some point somebody with influence heard him and it was Paul’s big break. From talking to person by person in the market, and maybe groups if there were several people gathered around, now Paul is able to speak to a large group of (probably) men who study philosophy.
Paul didn’t start with the Areopagus, and we don’t know that he even knew it existed. He went to the synagogue because that was his pattern. He went to the marketplace because that was a common place for people to meet and talk. The exciting and unexpected open door came after work in the first two mediocre places.
A lot of times I get delusional about what I can accomplish. My ambitions and dreams get so big that I overlook the little simple things in front of me. Proverbs 22:9 says that someone skilled in their work will serve before kings, but I tend to spend time getting the king’s most accurate address instead of improving my skills!
We need our time in the synagogue and the marketplace to grow in what we are doing. Talk about Jesus to your friends at church, to your friends at work that are Christians. Talk about the Bible in your family gatherings and while you drive down the road. As you move from synagogue to marketplace, you might find yourself with an audience of influential people.
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