The
Apostle Paul Delivers His First Message
[Acts
chapter 13, verses 16-31]
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Last
week when we left off at verse 15 in part one of our ongoing study of
the Book of Acts, the apostle Paul and Barnabas were together in
Pisidian Antioch in the synagogue there. After the customary reading
of the Law, or books of Moses, the morning sermon usually reserved
for the appointed high priest of the day was going to be delivered by
Paul instead. As the apostle Paul stepped into his role as guest
speaker, the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon him, and he delivered
a morning sermon with such anointing and one so compelling that every
single person in attendance who had not yet heard the Word of God
through his only Son Jesus did so and was saved by Christ's
salvation! So let's take a good look at what Paul had to say, that we
might come away with a chunk of that same anointing!
“16)
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow
Israelite's and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17) The
God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people
prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out
of that country; 18) for about forty years he endured their conduct
in the wilderness; 19) and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan,
giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20) All this
took about 450 years. After
this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21)
Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish,
of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22) After removing
Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I
have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do
everything I want him to do.’ 23) From this man’s descendants God
has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24) Before
the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the
people of Israel. 25) As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who
do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there
is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’”
(Acts 13, verses 16-25)
Notice
the first thing Paul said? “Fellow
Israelite's and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God
of the people of Israel chose our ancestors...”.
Paul was a Jewish man like Jesus was. But he addressed his Jewish
brethren and the non-Jews present as equals, something that was
previously unheard of and which since has been largely forgotten. To
this day, the majority of Jews and Christians have little to do with
each other. All the Jews and Muslims do is shoot at one another and
kill each other. Humankind has yet to learn to live in peace with one
another, and as the planet's population increases, the necessity of
learning to do so increases proportionately. Meaning, as the earth
gets more crowded, the lack of any peaceful coexistence will
ultimately lead to our extinction.
“...he
made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power
he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured
their conduct in the wilderness...”
Paul was referring to the time when the nation of Israel were slaves
in Egypt before Moses, with some Divine intervention, persuaded
Pharaoh to “let my people go”. God tolerated their disobedience
after their escape, but they stayed in the desert until that entire
generation had died out. Only then were their descendants allowed to
cross into the land God had given them. “(H)e
overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as
their inheritance.”
The events Paul was describing here can be found mainly in the Book
of Joshua in the Old Testament.
So,
we can all see now that Paul was building his case for the salvation
of humanity by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
So Paul gives his audience some background before he traces the
lineage of our Lord and Savior in verses 21 and 22: “....the
people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the
tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he
made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found
David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I
want him to do.'” ’The
people of ancient Israel asked for a king, and yet it was God who had
led them out of Egypt and it was God who had just given them the land
on which they were living, land they had conquered with nothing more
than light infantry, as it is chronicled in the Book of Joshua. So
God gave them Saul, but he later became so corrupt God had to remove
him from power. And David son of Jesse took Saul's place after being
anointed by Samuel (see 1st
Samuel 16, verses 1-13).
“From
this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus,
as he promised.”
(For a detailed view of the ancestry and lineage of Christ Jesus,
read Matthew chapter 1, verses 1-17, it's all right there in black
and white.) He is descended from David, the son of Jesse, and this
lineage is traceable all the way back to Abraham, and ultimately to
Adam. The coming of Jesus was heralded by John the Baptist, as verses
24 and 25 are explained by the apostle Luke, the author of the Book
of Acts. “Before
the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the
people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do
you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is
one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’”
If
nothing else, we can derive from John the Baptist the life lesson of
never overestimating oneself, and of knowing one's limitations. He
probably could have gotten by with claiming he himself was the
Messiah, and he could easily have gotten rich doing so. But John the
Baptist knew that when the real Jesus arrived, he was the one who
would baptize Messiah with water. So he dared not try to replace him
even if he could have for the short term. Let this be a lesson in the
power of humility and personal integrity that should be taken to
heart by any persons who desire positions of leadership. Never
overstate or overestimate yourself, and never try to be somebody
you're not. Because if you do either, they will come around and bite
you and there will be no stopping that when it occurs! But rather
John the Baptist stated publicly that he wasn't even worthy to untie
Jesus' sandals. If John the Baptist was unworthy, how much more
unworthy are we? Or have we forgotten our place in the universe, that
we are God's creations and by extension his subjects? God is in
charge and we are not. Period, end of story. And now let's move on to
part two of this week's study.
“26)
“'Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to
us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27) The people of
Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning
him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every
Sabbath. 28) Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29) When they had carried out
all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and
laid him in a tomb. 30) But God raised him from the dead, 31) and for
many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee
to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.'”
(Acts 13, verses 26-31)
As
the apostle Paul continues with what amounted to his first sermon, he
reminds his audience once again of the unity and equality between
Jews and Gentiles in verse 26. “...
it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.”
Here Paul reminds them of their obligation to share the new salvation
they had found in order to win as many souls as possible for the
Lord, either through leadership by example or conversion from another
faith, usually Judaism. “27)
The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet
in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are
read every Sabbath. 28) Though they found no proper ground for a
death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.”
Do not underestimate the power those last 2 verses had on Paul's
audience. Here before them all was a reformed executioner of
Christ-followers, an ex-member of the Sanhedrin, and he was
transformed before their eyes into one of Christianity's most
powerful proponents. Paul's conversion was a very vivid and public
one, and he endured a lot of personal hardship because of it.
“29)
When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took
him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. 30) But God raised
him from the dead, 31) and for many days he was seen by those who had
traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his
witnesses to our people.'”
As Paul concludes this, the greater portion of what he had to say
that memorable morning, he brings everyone in the room to the central
fact of the Christian faith, that of the resurrection of Christ in
verse 30. Plus, Paul reminds them of the numerous public and private
appearances of Jesus after he had risen, presenting Jesus'
resurrection as the proverbial icing on the cake to their faith and
salvation. And, like Paul, Barnabas and the others present, they were
all “his witnesses to our people”. So your assignments for the
next week or so are to follow the example of Paul and the other 12
apostles, all of whom were still alive at the time these things
occurred. Next week when we return, we'll move on to part 3 of Acts
chapter 13 as Paul concludes his message.
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