Paul’s sermon in Antioch of Pisidia shows God’s promises fulfilled in Christ. It was the custom of the synagogue leader to invite visiting rabbis to speak. Paul took advantage of this invitation, and Luke recorded what was probably the usual teaching about Jesus to a Jewish audience.
Paul began with a sketch of God’s work in Israel’s history. He demonstrated how God was always working toward bringing the Messiah despite Israel’s sin and unfaithfulness. David was a key character in their history, and Paul connected Jesus with him. Acts 13:22 David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel![1]
From History to a Warning
Then Paul drew on their history and applied its lessons to his audience. The Jews in Jerusalem had not recognized Jesus as the one the prophets spoke of. Because they did not think He was the Son of God, they killed Him. But God raised Jesus from the dead!
Acts 13: 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay. [2]
The Jewish leadership expected a political Messiah who would free them from Roman rule. This was not the Messiah God sent. These Jews missed how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies because they could not adjust their image of the Messiah. Thus, Paul was warning his audience not to miss what God is doing through Jesus. Acts 13: 32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus.[3]
The Importance of the Old Testament
Often, as twenty-first-century Christians, we focus only on the New Testament. When we do that, we miss why Jesus had to come and how God fulfills His promises. In story after story in the Old Testament, God remains faithful while the people sin and rebel. They fail to follow God time and time again.
We are much the same way; we can’t save ourselves by our good works. We need God’s help, as He repeatedly promised in the Old Testament. God wanted to save the Gentiles, but the Jews became proud and refused to reach out. Jesus came as a light to the Gentiles. As a result, now both Jew and Gentile can be saved by their faith in Jesus
The stories of the Old Testament also demonstrate God’s character. He is faithful to keep His covenantal promises because He loves us. The Lord gives us rules because He doesn’t want us to face the consequences of our rebellion. He knows what is best for us. This is still true today. To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/a-message-that-divides-and-delivers
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.
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