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.
32 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
“‘You are my son;
today I have become your father.’
34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
35 So it is also stated elsewhere:
“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’
36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
41 “‘Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you. Acts 13: 26-41 LSB
Acts 13: 26-41 LSB
In the Old Testament, God keeps promising a Deliverer, a Savior, a King, a Messiah. And in the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth fulfills every single prophesy that God ever made of a Messiah. And the ones that are yet to be fulfilled by him will be fulfilled in his second coming, which we will see tonight. You go back to the very first book in the Bible and you find in Genesis 3:15 that God says, “Through man I will destroy the power of Satan. There will be born one of the seed of the woman.” Now if you know anything about procreation, you know the woman has no seed. There is a prophesy of a virgin-born man and that he would bruise the serpent’s head. This virgin-born man would deal a killing blow to Satan. That was the first Messianic prophesy so beautifully fulfilled in Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin. Isaiah had even said in chapter 7, verse 14, “A virgin shall conceive and bring forth a child,” and it was Immanuel, God with us.
Jesus fulfilled the virgin-born prophesy and he also fulfilled the prophesy of victory over Satan as he won the victory at the cross. And the writer of Hebrews says, “He destroyed the power of the devil in his own death.” And the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 9, verse 6 that this Messiah who comes would be God; he is called the mighty God. In Psalm 2:7, God says, “This is my beloved Son,” and Jesus claimed to be both God and the Spirit of God and he substantiated both claims. The prophet Micah said, “When he comes, he will be born in Bethlehem.” Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Moses told us in the writing of the Pentateuch that the Messiah would be a son of Abraham. Matthew tells us Jesus was a son of Abraham. Later it tells us he would be son of Isaac, that the line would come through Isaac. Luke chapter 3 tells us Jesus came through Isaac, verse 23 and 34. In Numbers 24:17, it says that the Messiah will be a star out of Jacob. In Luke chapter 3, verses 23 and 34 again we find that Jesus comes through Jacob.
In Genesis 49:10, the Bible says that Jesus will come through the Tribe of Judah; the Messiah will be of that line. The book of Revelation calls him the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. And again, in Luke 3:23 and 33, he is from the Tribe of Judah. The Bible says that out of Judah he will come from Jesse. Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 1 and in Luke 3:23 and 32, we find that Jesus came from Jesse. In Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah capped it off with these words: “Behold the days are coming when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign forever.” And that’s one of many prophesies, including 2 Samuel 7 and Jeremiah 33 that the Messiah would come through the line of David. And the New Testament repeatedly says that Jesus was the Son of David. In Matthew 2:16, he fulfills that prophesy.
In Deuteronomy 18:18, the Word of God came to Moses, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, like you, Moses, and I will put my words in his mouth.” And God there promised a prophet like Moses, and Jesus came along and the people in Galilee looked at him in John chapter 6, verse 14 and said, “This is that prophet like unto Moses.” In Psalm 110, God said, “Whoever the Messiah is he will be a priest after the order of Melchisidech, a priest not for a time but a priest for,” – what? – “for eternity, forever.” And the book of Hebrews from beginning to end presents conclusively that Jesus was a priest after the order of Melchisidech. Psalm chapter 2 and verse 6 tells us that he will be a king. Second Samuel 7 says he will be a king, and it’s repeat myriad times. And when Jesus arrived, they asked him if he was a king and he said, “Yes.” And when they crucified him, they not knowing what they were doing put over his cross Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews, and some people got mad and they said, “No, put he said he is the king of the Jews.” And Pilate said, “What I have written I have written.” And he was right, he was a king.
In Zechariah 9:9 five centuries before it happened, the prophet said Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on an ass five centuries later on what we know as Palm Sunday. A week before his execution Jesus road into the city to the Hosannas of the people exactly as Zechariah had predicted, Matthew chapter 21, verses 2-7. In Zechariah 11:12, the prophet again predicted that the Messiah would be sold for 30 pieces of silver. In Matthew 26:15, Judah sold him not for 29 and not for 31 but for 30 pieces of silver, five centuries before the prophet had said it. In Zechariah 13:7, the prophet predicted the smiting of the Shephard and the scattering of the sheep. And in Matthew 26:56 when Jesus was taken to be crucified, the Bible says, “And all his disciples forsook him and fled.” The Shephard was smitten and the sheep were scattered.
Isaiah chapter 11, verse 2 tells us the fulness of the Holy Spirit would rest upon him. The sevenfold fullness of the Spirit. And in Matthew 3:16 and 17, when Jesus was being baptized by John, the Bible says, “And the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove,” fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah. In Isaiah 35, verses 5 and 6, the Bible says, “When Messiah comes, he will give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and voices to the dumb.” And in Matthew chapter 9, verse 35 it says that Jesus went everywhere in all the villages, and he healed all those sick and all those with diseases. And you read the record of the Gospels and exactly as the prophet had said he gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and voices to the dumb.
In Psalm 41:9, the prophet indicates that he would be betrayed by his own familiar friend who had eaten bread with him. And in John 13, verses 21-30, Jesus sitting around the table the last night before his death dipped the sop and gave it to the one next to him who was Judas and he ate bread with him, and then he went out into the night and betrayed Jesus fulfilling to the very letter Psalm 41:9. In Zechariah 11:13, the Bible says that the money that was taken would be thrown down and that it would be picked up and used for a potter’s field. In Matthew 27, verses 5-7, Judas threw the money down; the price was taken and purchased a potter’s field, exactly fulfilling Zechariah’s prophesy.
Those are just a few, and all of the details of the life of Jesus Christ just fulfill prophesy after prophesy after prophesy. There’s no way it can be manufactured; it’s a mathematical impossibility. Powerful argument of prophesy sweeps away all doubt that Jesus of Nazareth is not the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel. Now this becomes the secondary theme in Paul’s message, and I say secondary in the order of their appearance, not in the order of their importance. And as Paul is preaching here in the 13th chapter of Acts, he majors in this second area of his message on Jesus the fulfillment of prophesy. Now let me back up and give you a little bit of background. The book of Acts is the record of the growth of the church. The church has exploded in Jerusalem. When it was finished there, the Lord had designed that it would go to Judea and Samaria, which were the neighboring territories. And the church went there and exploded, and people were saved and communities became converted to Christ and established congregations or assemblies of believers. And then once that was done, a beachhead was established in the pagan world, and that beachhead was Antioch of Syria. And a group of believers were established in Antioch of Syria and God had designed that from that little congregation in that famous city missionaries would be sent to reach the uttermost part of the earth. - J Mac
V. 26 Fellow children of Abraham and you God fearing gentiles - I included an excerpt from one of Macarthur's sermons on this passage, as it amplifies Paul's statement about "the message of salvation", and it's ancient heritage as given to the people by Moses and the prophets. As is his pattern, Paul goes to the synagogues and makes a plea to those, his brothers of the circumcision, first, as to "the Jew first and also to the Greek." They had the testimony of Holy Writ which foretold the coming of Messiah, even His rejection. It is notable too, that unlike Luther or many others, Paul continues in this pattern even after many rejections. He also extends the message to gentiles there who feared the Lord as well.
Sons of Abraham's family - Paul appeals to the ethnic heritage of the Jewish audience, a paternity of which they were very proud, making this very claim to Jesus (Jn 8:33, 39). Paul identified himself as a Jew who shared their concerns as Jews.
Swindoll writes "He said, in effect, “I am one of you, and I have great news concerning the Messiah we have all anticipated.” He did, however, separate himself from the religious leaders in Jerusalem, accusing them of ignoring the very Scriptures the synagogue had just read aloud and of killing their Messiah (Acts 13:27-28). (Ibid) - PA
…8The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.… Galatians 6: 8-10
…6and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. 7Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? 2 Chronicles 20: 6-7
V. 27 Yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath - Now we see that the word was not foreign to them, and some knew it and yet did not believe. Others, like so many at church on Sunday, may have heard Charlie Brown's teacher, as their minds had drifted to lunch, a silly sport's game on tv, or other business. After Jesus they even quit reading Isaiah 53 in many synagogues because it was a harsh fact against what they wanted to believe about Him. When we are delusional about a thing, and prideful to boot, then we go on the defensive, get angry, shout over, and often, as they did, stone and crucify the messenger. People will remove history, rewrite it, and no one likes to admit they were wrong, but isn't that the first portion of repentance. "I was wrong, I am a sinner, I needed Jesus to die for me." God's word predicted the exact response of Christ's own people according to the flesh. He was born a Jew and yet most did not receive Him, as foretold by the prophet.
…19But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this— to preserve the lives of many people. 21Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.… Genesis 50: 19-21
…2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.…
…5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.… Isaiah 53: 2-7
Vs. 28-29 When they had carried out all that was written about Him - This was by God's design and under His control. Even the evil of men is overruled by the sovereignty of God.
9He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.… Isaiah 53: 9-11
Vs. 30-31 But God raised Him from the dead - Christ taught the resurrection, actually resurrected Lazarus and raised others during His ministry as well.
…5and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. 6After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.… 1 Corinthians 15: 5-7
Vs. 32-33 We tell you the good news - This is the gospel message, the story of redemption, that all have sinned and deserve to be eternally separated from God's mercy, the subjects of His wrath, that history should have ended in the garden, yet and but, God in His great mercy and love for us, has provided a way for us to be made write with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.
…24Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress. 26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.… Daniel 9: 24-26
In the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU - In the NAS all caps signifies a direct OT quote. Paul confirms that Psalm 2 is clearly a prophecy of the Messiah. He equates "You" with "My Son" in essence saying that the Son is also deity. Jesus is God’s Son in the fullest sense of the word, for He shares God's very nature.
Here is the full passage Psalm 2:7...
“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
Paul quotes this passage as an allusion to the resurrection (in that He raised up Jesus as it is also written), but in the NT is also quoted in reference to the incarnation, the birth of Jesus (Heb 1:5+ = " “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”")
Henry Morris explains Paul's intended meaning in the present context in quoting Psalm 2:7 - There are several senses in which Christ is the only begotten Son of God (cf Heb 1:5+), but the emphasis here is on His resurrection from the dead, as evident from the quotation of this verse in Acts 13:33. He was "declared to be the Son of God with power,...by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4+). He was also called the "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18) and the "first begotten of the dead" (Revelation 1:5+; Hebrews 5:5KJV). (Defender's Study Bible Notes) - PA
Vs. 34-35 I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David - This is the Messianic hope declared to the Jews from OT times. God promised David that his son, Solomon would reign and build the first temple, but later would come One, Who would reign on Davidic throne forever.
…14I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I moved out of your way. 16Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”… 2 Samuel 7: 14-16
…37“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. 38So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”… Luke 18: 37-39
Vs. 36-37 He was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed - King David died a human, a sinner that was saved by grace. Jesus was crucified and buried, but His body did not see decay, it was preserved in that He had not sinned, so death had no right to Him. He conquered sin and death.
…42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. 43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.… 1 Corinthians 15: 42-44
V. 38 Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you - This was God's way all along. The Father chose from Eternity, The Son became the way by which those fallen could be called and restored through Him, and The Holy Spirit convicts men of the need for a Savior and points to Jesus Christ.
…33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” 35Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:… Jeremiah 31: 33-35
5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”… John 14: 5-7
…6to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.… Ephesians 1: 6-8
V. 39 From which you could not be freed through the law of Moses - You have covenants in the Bible, before the law of Moses you have the unilateral Abrahamic covenant, meaning that none of the conditions were upon Abraham, but rather God both initiates and upholds the conditions, and therefore they become unconditional regarding the objects of salvation. God elected Abraham from all the people living on the earth. You then have the law of Moses as discussed here, which though perfect in it's purpose, which is to make men aware of their trespass, yet it is imperfect in it's ability to save. God is Holy and His expectation is perfection, the law reveals our imperfection in that no one perfectly keeps the law. It also points back to the Abrahamic covenant, the splitting of the animals, and God walking through the pieces without Abraham while Abraham slept. There is in the story of Abraham another picture that expounds upon this more, and that is when God provides a ram to take the place of Isaac, who is on the sacrificial altar. This is the substitutionary atonement that all men, as all have sinned, which violates the Mosaic law, need to receive by faith in Christ, Who is our atoning sacrifice.
…17For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 18So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless 19(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.… Hebrews 7: 17-19
…2For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.… Romans 8: 2-4
Vs. 40-41 That you would never believe even if someone told you - They had the law and the prophets, Jesus comes and fulfills that, and Paul has just walked them through it.
…28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”… Hebrews 10: 28-30
Accomplishing (2038)(ergazomai from ergon = work) means to bring about a result by effort. The verb accomplish stresses the successful completion by God. Ergazomai is in the present tense which indicates God's work continues to be accomplished through the proclamation of the Gospel.
A work which you will never believe - The negative never is actually a double negative (2 negatives together - ou me) which signifies the strongest negation possible.
Wiersbe - "In Habakkuk’s day, the “unbelievable work” God was doing was the raising up of the Chaldeans to chasten His people, a work so remarkable that nobody would believe it. After all, why would God use an evil pagan nation to punish His own chosen people, sinful though they might be? God was using Gentiles to punish Jews! But the “wonderful work” in Paul’s day was that God was using the Jews to save the Gentiles!" (BEC)
Believe (4100)(pisteuo) means they would never (present tense - continually) consider Paul's description of the Messiah to be true and worthy of their trust.
Though someone should describe it to you - Notice the dramatic irony, for Paul has just described in detail the work God was accomplishing in the days, by sending the Messiah to be crucified, buried and resurrected in order that through His fully atoning death those who believe might receive forgiveness of sins. - PA
