A City Full of Idols: What Do You See? — Acts 17:16–21
Nov 11, 2026 2
What do you see when you walk through a city? When Paul walked through Athens, he looked past the art and architecture and saw a city full of idols.
Acts 17:16–17
[16] Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. [17] So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. (ESV)
What Paul Saw
When you land in a new place, your eyes are open. You notice things the locals might not even see. But Paul isn’t just any other tourist. Athens was a brilliant ancient city, with remarkable buildings, art, history, and philosophy. Even today, there’s a grandeur to the place. But that’s not what Paul focuses on.
What does Paul see? He sees idols. He sees a city full of idols. John Stott says it was “smothered with idols,” swamped by them. The whole city is drowning in them.
What’s an idol? Tony Merida describes it as anything we turn to when we need something only Jesus can provide. Idols can be statues at a shrine, but they can also be substitute gods and functional saviours that take the place of the true and living God in our hearts.
Paul looks through a gospel lens. So, as we look at the city we live in, what do we see? Every city has beautiful things worth enjoying and celebrating. But we want something of Paul’s eyes, to see the things people lean on in place of the true and living God, and the ways Jesus isn’t being honoured.
What Paul Felt
Being a Christian shapes not just what we see, but how we feel about what we see. Paul’s spirit was provoked (Acts 17:16). That’s the word the Greek Old Testament uses for the Lord’s response to the golden calf (see Deuteronomy 9; Exodus 32). With his mighty, outstretched arm, God had just rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. Then, while Moses was up the mountain, the people made a golden calf and thanked it for rescuing them. How foolish!
The Lord was provoked. He was jealous. We often think of jealousy as a bad thing, but the Lord’s jealousy comes from love. He is rightly jealous for his people’s affection.
That’s what stirs in Paul. He’s jealous that Jesus isn’t getting the glory he deserves. And it’s love. Paul has deep compassion for these harassed and helpless people, like sheep without a shepherd. Paul knows the true and living God. He met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, and his life was turned the right way up. He wants the people of Athens to know God’s love for them in Christ.
As John Stott puts it, “we do not speak as Paul spoke because we do not feel as Paul felt.”
[Watch this week’s video devotion with Dave Miers]
What Paul Did
Paul doesn’t just get angry. He gets about the task of making Christ known. He goes to the synagogue, the centre of religious life. He goes to the marketplace, having casual conversations with ordinary people and looking for opportunities to point them to Jesus. Then some philosophers come across his path.
Acts 17:18
[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. (ESV)
To oversimplify, as John Stott does, the Epicureans emphasised chance, escape, and enjoying pleasure, while the Stoics emphasised fate, submission, and enduring pain. I’m sure we know some people who are like the Epicureans and some who are like the Stoics! Tony Merida notes that both worldviews were hopeless.
They’re willing to engage with Paul, so Paul engages with them, even when they mock him. And the mockery leads to a microphone. Their curiosity becomes an invitation to the Areopagus to explain this new teaching (see Acts 17:19-21).
The Good News is…
The Lord’s jealousy is love. He is jealous for our affection, and that’s why he sent Jesus. Jesus died in our place for our idolatry, and he rose again to bring us back to the living God. Our idols can’t give us what only Jesus can provide. But Jesus can, and he does, for everyone who turns to him.
So when we look at our city with gospel eyes, we see more than its idols. We see people Jesus loves, and we have good news to share with them.
Like and share so others can see Jesus clearly.
Further reading: Acts 17:16-21
Reflection
As you look at your city, suburb, or town this week, what idols do you see? Ask God to give you Paul’s eyes and Paul’s heart.
Rev. Dave Miers
President, Good News Unlimited