The Gods are Among Us

When studying the Bible, it is imperative that we examine the context.

Context is often thought of in kind of a ripple pattern, as if you dropped a pebble into a still pool of water and it spreads out from that one place. Think of concentric circles perhaps.

With scriptures, we can start with a word, progress to a phrase and then to a sentence or paragraph (though original manuscripts did not have paragraphs).

Next we would look at sections – chapters did not exist in original manuscripts, so sections are often delineated by repeated words or phrases like we saw when we studied Matthew. [unfortunately, this is where many people who study the scriptures stop]

The larger context is the entire book or letter that verse exists inside of. An author will often use connected words or phrases consistently in the same writing. This helps us avoid twisting the meaning of a word or phrase into something the author did not intend.

If that author has more than one letter or writing, then the next ripple of context would be their other writing(s). For instance, Luke wrote both the gospel of Luke and Acts – so using Luke as context for Acts might be helpful.

Obviously, the next step would be to compare with the rest of scriptures. Not just the NT or just the OT, but both. We are advised that:

2 Timothy 3:16 CSB

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

When that was penned, the “scriptures” were the Law and Prophets and some of the writings – our Old Testament.

Up to this point, all of our ripples have been from the scriptures themselves. These would be intra-biblical context. But that should not be the end of the ripples! To really understand the scriptures you need to study extra-biblical context as well.

What do I mean by that?

Even scripture points to extra-biblical context like:

Luke 1:5 CSB

5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Luke places the events of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, in the context of King Herod of Judea. When you study about Herod you gain insights into the scriptures that you might not have understood – but people living back then would have. The political climate, the family history, the way the Herods interacted with Rome and the Jews.

Even greater context might be the dominance of Rome during the time of the writing of the gospels and Acts. It would help you understand phrases like “go the extra mile” and social tensions like “despised tax collectors”. It also help us understand why Jesus was crucified and not stoned to death.

Extra biblical content can teach us about culture, political climates, tensions, mindsets, priorities and even spiritual conditions that might influence the way we understand a passage.

GENERALLY, extra-biblical context gives a greater depth of understanding to a passage by bringing in details that may have been omitted or assumed in a passage. They are not scripture, and should not replace scripture, but they may help enhance our understanding of scripture.

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With that in mind, I want to take you back to before the book of Acts was written. Around 8AD, a Greek writer named Ovid published a work called Metamorphoses. It is full or stories of mythological characters, heroes and gods that we still reference today such as Cupid and Icarus.

The poem chronicles the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar in a mythico-historical framework comprising over 250 myths, 15 books, and 11,995 lines. ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphoses

There are many free translations of this Latin epic, and this morning I want to read a snippet from book 8. In this beginning of this story, someone is doubting these stories about the gods…

Bk VIII:611-678 Lelex tells of Philemon and Baucis

… But that daring spirit, Pirithoüs, son of Ixion, scornful of the gods, laughed at their credulity. ‘These are fictions you tell of, Acheloüs, and you credit the gods with too much power, if you think they can give and take away the forms of things.’ The others were startled, and disapproved of his words, Lelex [king of Laconia] above all, experienced in mind and years, who said: ‘The power of the gods is great and knows no limit, and whatever heaven decrees comes to pass. To help convince you, in the hills of Phrygia, an oak and a lime tree stand side by side, surrounded by a low wall. I have seen the place, since Pittheus, [Great-Grandson of Zeus] king of Troezen, sent me into that country, where his father Pelops [Grandson of Zeus] once ruled.

There is a swamp not far from there, once habitable land but now the haunt of diving-birds and marsh-loving coots. Jupiter [Zeus] went there, disguised as a mortal, and Mercury, [Hermes] the descendant of Atlas, setting aside his wings, went with his father, carrying the caduceus [a staff with wings and serpents entwined around it]. A thousand houses they approached, looking for a place to rest: a thousand houses were locked and bolted. But one received them: it was humble it is true, roofed with reeds and stems from the marsh, but godly Baucis and the equally aged Philemon, had been wedded in that cottage in their younger years, and there had grown old together. They made light of poverty by acknowledging it, and bearing it without discontent of mind. It was no matter if you asked for owner or servant there: those two were the whole household: they gave orders and carried them out equally.

So when the gods from heaven met the humble household gods, and stooping down, passed the low doorway, the old man pulled out a bench, and requested them to rest their limbs, while over the bench Baucis threw a rough blanket. Then she raked over the warm ashes in the hearth, and brought yesterday’s fire to life, feeding it with leaves and dried bark, nursing the flames with her aged breath. She pulled down finely divided twigs and dry stems from the roof, and, breaking them further, pushed them under a small bronze pot. Next she stripped the leaves from vegetables that her husband had gathered from his well-watered garden. He used a two-pronged stick to lift down a wretched-looking chine of meat, hanging from a blackened beam, and, cutting a meagre piece from the carefully saved chine, put what had been cut, to seethe, in boiling water.

In the meantime they made conversation to pass the time, and prevent their guests being conscious of the delay. There was a beech wood tub, suspended by its handle from a crude peg: this had been filled with warm water, and allowed their visitors to refresh their limbs. In the middle of the floor there was a mattress of soft sedges. Placed on a frame and legs of willow it made a couch. They covered it with cloths, that they only used to bring out for the times of sacred festivals, but even these were old and worn, not unworthy of the couch. The gods were seated.

The old woman, her skirts tucked up, her hands trembling, placed a table there, but a table with one of the three legs unequal: a piece of broken pot made them equal. Pushed underneath, it countered the slope, and she wiped the level surface with fresh mint. On it she put the black and green olives that belong to pure Minerva, and the cornelian cherries of autumn, preserved in wine lees; radishes and endives; a lump of cheese; and lightly roasted eggs, untouched by the hot ashes; all in clay dishes. After this she set out a carved mixing bowl for wine, just as costly, with cups made of beech wood, hollowed out, and lined with yellow bees’ wax. There was little delay before the fire provided its hot food, and the wine, of no great age, circulated, and then, removed again, made a little room for the second course. There were nuts, and a mix of dried figs and wrinkled dates; plums, and sweet-smelling apples in open wicker baskets; and grapes gathered from the purple vines. In the centre was a gleaming honeycomb. Above all, there was the additional presence of well-meaning faces, and no unwillingness, or poverty of spirit.’

Bk VIII:679-724 The transformation of Philemon and Baucis.

‘Meanwhile the old couple noticed that, as soon as the mixing bowl was empty, it refilled itself, unaided, and the wine appeared of its own accord. They were fearful at this strange and astonishing sight, and timidly Baucis and Philemon murmured a prayer, their palms upwards, and begged the gods’ forgiveness for the meal, and their un-preparedness. They had a goose, the guard for their tiny cottage: as hosts they prepared to sacrifice it for their divine guests. But, quick-winged, it wore the old people out and, for a long time, escaped them, at last appearing to take refuge with the gods themselves. Then the heaven-born ones told them not to kill it. “We are gods,” they said, “and this neighbourhood will receive just punishment for its impiety, but to you we grant exemption from that evil. Just leave your house, and accompany our steps, as we climb that steep mountainside together.”

They both obeyed, and leaning on their sticks to ease their climb, they set foot on the long slope. When they were as far from the summit as a bowshot might carry, they looked back, and saw everywhere else vanished in the swamp: only their own roof was visible. And while they stood amazed at this, mourning their neighbours’ fate, their old cottage, tiny even for the two of them, turned into a temple. Wooden poles became pillars, and the reed thatch grew yellow, until a golden roof appeared, richly carved doors, and a marble pavement covering the ground. Then the son of Saturn [Hermes] spoke, calmly, to them: “Ask of us, virtuous old man, and you, wife, worthy of a virtuous husband, what you wish.”

When he had spoken briefly with Baucis, Philemon revealed their joint request to the gods. “We ask to be priests and watch over your temple, and, since we have lived out harmonious years together, let the same hour take the two of us, so that I never have to see my wife’s grave, nor she have to bury me.” The gods’ assurance followed the prayer. They had charge of the temple while they lived: and when they were released by old age, and by the years, as they chanced to be standing by the sacred steps, discussing the subject of their deaths, Baucis saw Philemon put out leaves, and old Philemon saw Baucis put out leaves, and as the tops of the trees grew over their two faces, they exchanged words, while they still could, saying, in the same breath: “Farewell, O dear companion”, as, in the same breath, the bark covered them, concealing their mouths.

The people of Bithynia still show the neighbouring trees there, that sprang from their two bodies. Trustworthy old men related these things to me (there was no reason why they should wish to lie). For my part, I saw garlands hanging from the branches, and placing fresh ones there said: “Let those who love the gods become gods: let those who have honoured them, be honoured.” ’

https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph8.php

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So, in that story, 2 “gods” disguise themselves and come to hang out with men. Zeus and Hermes, visit the region of Phrygia [⭐ MAP – show were Phrygia is] and are looking for a place to stay. No one will show them hospitality except for this “well seasoned” couple, old and poor. They invite them in and make them a meal. Their hospitality gains them favor with the gods, and they are spared from the destruction that the gods carry out on the rest of the city that refused to show them hospitality. In the end, the old couple’s house becomes a temple to Zeus and the couple are the care takers until the end of their days when they are transformed into two trees in front of the temple, a transformation only a god could do.

While the temple mentioned in Ovid’s story has not been found, the Romans erect a large temple to Zeus in this same region, and you can visit its ruins today.

Keep this story in mind. Now, let’s read some of the events that took place while Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey to the Gentiles.

Acts 14:1–7 CSB

1 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them, 6 they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside. 7 There they continued preaching the gospel.

Acts 14:8–10 CSB

8 In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. 9 He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around.

Those of us that have studied the scriptures recognize this as the same type of miracle Jesus did. It is also the same type of miracle that Peter did in Jesus name as a demonstration to the Jews of the power of Jesus. Now, it is a demonstration to the Gentiles of the power of Jesus.

[This would be some of the context of this passage from both of Luke’s writings.]

Acts 14:11–13 CSB

11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.

Have you ever wondered why THAT happened? Well, Ovid’s tale was written about two gods, Zeus and Hermes, who came to that region in Turkey, disguised and men. Those who honored the gods were spared. And one of the gods, Hermes, spoke to the old couple. Zeus worship was obviously big in that region. This story takes place about 50-60 years after Ovid’s story, so the tale of Zeus and Hermes had circulated quite well – so much so that Luke includes some direct references to it.

GOING BACK TO THE STORY:

• there was a transformation that only a god could do (turn people into trees and a cottage into a temple)
• Lelex- “The power of the gods is great and knows no limit, and whatever heaven decrees comes to pass”
• there were two gods that came among men – Zeus and Hermes
• Jupiter [Zeus] went there, disguised as a mortal, and Mercury, [Hermes] the descendant of Atlas, setting aside his wings, went with his father, carrying the caduceus [a staff with wings and serpents entwined around it]
• they are in a regio of Turkey
• in the hills of Phrygia
• only one god spoke – Hermes
• Then the son of Saturn [Hermes] spoke, calmly, to them: “Ask of us, virtuous old man, and you, wife, worthy of a virtuous husband, what you wish.”
• there was going to be a sacrifice made to the gods (a goose)
• They had a goose, the guard for their tiny cottage: as hosts they prepared to sacrifice it for their divine guests.

Let’s read 8-13 one more time:

Acts 14:8–13 CSB

8 In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. 9 He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.

Notice the similarities? They map directly on:

• transformation – making lame walk which only God can do
• two unknown men arrive in town
• they are in the region of Phrygia
• one of the men speaks
• the people prepare to offer a sacrifice to them

Basically, the people think that they are experiencing the story of Ovid in real time! And THIS time they are going to get it right and not get wiped out! These people had a temple to Zeus. They worshipped the Roman gods that Ovid wrote about. Now, two of their gods have appeared to them in human form! WOW! A god among man taking on the form of man…. hrm.

Could you imagine their excitement?

The gods they have read about and worshipped were now walking among them!

Could you imagine their fear?

Perhaps some of them were acting out of fear, not wanting to face the same fate as those who did not welcome the Roman deities and were lost in the marsh?

Could you imagine their hope?

Perhaps some were hoping to get their wish granted like the old couple who became caretakers of the temple?

The value of EXTRA Biblical context is that is can help us understand passages like this. Perhaps you are like me and you have read this passage before but had not clue as to why the people reacted this way or what they were thinking.

This relatively obscure story appears in the accounts of Paul’s missionary journey to the Gentiles. We read of a healing, but we have read about those before – we read of them being treated badly, but we have read about that before. We do NOT read about crowds accepting Jesus. Yet Luke is very intentional about leaving this story in here.

Perhaps ONE reason was to connect his reading audience with a well known story and the way it was lived out in real time? His readers would have made this connection and immediately seen the irony.

But I think it is also because there is a message for a society that is seeking the supernatural and missing the mark.

Paul’s response.

Acts 14:14–20 CSB

14 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting, 15 “People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own way, 17 although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them. 19 Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. 20 After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

Paul and Barnabas set the record straight. They are not to get the credit, God is. This is NOT like Herod Antipas (Acts 12:22-23) who kept the title god and was eaten by worms.

They are in that place to proclaim the good news:

turn from your WORTHLESS THINGS

Their gods and the images that they served were not THE GOD. They are partial images of the TRUE God. That is what an idol is – in image of something created by or some aspect of God. It is an empty representation of one part of the true and living God.

Paul holds nothing back and lets them know that there is no value in what they have believed or have been doing. Their worship has been in vain and they are wasting their time and energy for nothing.

turn to the LIVING GOD

True repentance always requires not just a turning away from, but a turning to. Paul will later use phrases like “put off the old self” and “put on the new self”. Turn from the gods you server TO the living God. From that which is dead to that which is alive.

The good new is not just about what we have been doing wrong, it is also about how God made a way for us to be made right in his eyes and to have a relationship with him through Jesus.

Who made the HEAVEN, EARTH, SEA and EVERYTHING IN THEM

That pretty much summarizes all of the gods of the Greco Roman world – all of the gods mentioned in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

ZEUS – was respected as a sky father who was chief of the gods[10] and assigned roles to the others:[11] “Even the gods who are not his natural children address him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus)

GAIA – was the Greek goddess that personified earth. She was known as the mother of earth and the mother of all. Her offspring are Uranus (sky) and Pontus (sea). Gaia is Zeus’s grandmother.

Basically, Paul’s claim to this Greek culture is that the things they sacrifice to and worship are not worth it. They are incomplete and dead. They are created, not the creators. BUT THERE IS a God who is greater than all of these things – he created the worlds in which their gods lived.

The good news is that they can now KNOW the true, living, creator God personally.

Paul understood the context he was in!

MORE IMPORTANTLY, PAUL KNEW THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL.

A people who have not heard about Jesus will still seek the divine. They will also strive after many things. We are no different today. People will pursue things that give them a sense of belonging, self-value, importance. We worship worthless things like power, possessions, pleasure and passions and sacrifice our lives to them. We worship the god of self-gratification and the goddess of ideologies like gender identities trying to reassign the DNA that the creator of live gave us. People even seek the spiritual by trying meditation, yoga, healing crystals, psychics and more.

Regardless of what we have lived for, the power of the gospel is that it can change someone immediately.

Romans 1:16CSB

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

But we know that some will question if God exists and some will question if he is worth living for. Paul addresses this as well…

The PROOF of God

Acts 14:16–17 CSB

16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own way, 17 although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”

God allowed you to believe what you wanted, but he always kept a witness of who he is. You KNOW he exists because he provided rain (something Zeus would provide), fruitful seasons (something Demeter, Zeus’s sister would provide), and joy (something Euphrosyne – one of the Charities and daughter of Zeus would provide).

The things you experience that you attribute to your gods are actually the proof that a Great God exists. For if a lesser God has something to give, it must have come from a greater god. There is only one Great God.

While the world would demand proof, there is proof all around us. The sun rising each day. The food on your table. The joy of holding your grandchild.

Romans 1:20 CSB

20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

God has walked among men.

The people of Lystra were excited because they thought the gods were walking among them. Paul’s message is that the one GREAT GOD who created the world and everything in it, did in fact come to earth in human form and walk among mankind – Jesus.

Matthew 1:23 CSB

23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

I think Paul wrote it well in :

1 Timothy 3:16 NLT

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.

And the men that should have recognized him from worshipping him should have been running out and offering sacrifices to him. Instead they unknowingly offered him up as a sacrifice for their own sins.

EASTER is the time of year that we specifically recognize the sacrifice of our Savior for the sins of the world – yours and mine. Lord willing, David will talk about that more next week.

But regardless of the gods you have served and things you have sacrificed that have not mattered, the good news of the gospel is that you can turn to the living God. That message is still true today.

Just as the gods walked from door to door in their town knocking, Jesus said this:

Revelation 3:20 NLT

20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

My friends, the answer to the emptiness of chasing worthless and temporary things is not finding a different empty thing to chase. It is finding the source of all the good things we see around us and opening the door to Him.