Acts 17:21 Meaning and Explanation
“(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Luke notes that Athenians and resident foreigners spent their leisure on nothing but telling or hearing the latest new thing.
What Does Acts 17:21 Mean?
Luke adds a wry aside: Athens ran on novelty. Citizens and resident foreigners alike spent their time trading the newest idea and the latest report -- talk was the city's favorite pastime, a reputation Greek writers themselves had long noted with a smile.
An appetite for the new can be a doorway -- it gave Paul his hearing -- but by itself it arrives nowhere, for there is always another novelty behind the last one. The gospel enters Athens as a "new doctrine," yet it offers what novelty cannot: news that is also eternal, a word forever fresh because it is forever true. Curiosity is a fine servant of faith and a poor substitute for it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Acts 17:21
What does Acts 17:21 mean?
Luke notes that Athenians and resident foreigners spent their leisure on nothing but telling or hearing the latest new thing.