17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
Paul ministered not only to those who knew the Bible but also to those who didn’t.
and in the marketplace [agora] daily with those who happened to be there.
The apostle also preached in the marketplace, addressing any who happened to be there. The marketplace, or agora, was a place of economic, cultural, and political events in the city, and it included colonnades and grand public buildings. It was the place where Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato roamed. It was the hub of city life where people publicly shared their ideas about life.
The marketplace was also where formal debates would occur under the stoas (sheltered passageways). The general public also gathered there to listen to the speeches. It was in this place where Paul debated with the philosophers of Athens.
PRINCIPLE:
God expects the Christian not to be a sightseer in life but someone who represents the God of the universe.
APPLICATION:
Christians dare not overlook opportunities to share the gospel. We need to seize the opportunities before us (Eph 5:16). Paul went to where the lost were (Prov 1:20). His targets were the synagogue and the agora, the town square where the city gathered to shop and carry out social activities. One of those activities was to listen to teachers who gathered together to discuss various ideas, a Greek form of entertainment. We, as well, should take the gospel to our neighbors, to our workplace, and to our areas of recreation.
In Acts, Paul evangelized in three places: (1) the synagogue, (2) the marketplace, and (3) the Areopagus. He constantly found opportunities to share Christ.
