13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. 16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. Acts 17:13–17
Paul was continually tracked down and harassed by his own people, the Jews. You get the sense he was always one second away from keyless solitary confinement, at best. We know from his autobiographical words in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, he was spared from death many times.
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us.
He would later say to the Philippians (1:21), “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I ask, how do you contend with such a mindset? He was fearless and feared in the eyes of the Jews, and needed to be taken out. But heeding the Spirit’s intel report, his handlers knew they needed to keep him moving, so they whisked him away to Athens, a college town of all places, where he’d ostensibly have some cover, where they seemed to tolerate diverse philosophies.
So as he waited for reinforcements (Silas and Timothy), perhaps sitting in the marketplace observing, his spirit was “being provoked” (Gk. paroxynō, meaning urged on, stimulated, stirred) seeing all the idols in the city masquerading as works of art. It wasn’t long before he’d draw a crowd, and he had developed an ingenious angle with which to make his approach.
As an aside, but really a direct application, our spirits too should be doing a “slow burn” as we witness the unabashed decadence of our society. It seems we’ve freefallen through all the levels of degradation Paul outlined in Romans 1:22-32.
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