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Scripture Reading: Acts 13:13-43
We come in this message to 13:13-52. In this portion of Acts Paul and his companions came to Antioch of Pisidia, where they preached the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ as the Savior (vv. 13-43). However, as we shall see, they were rejected by the Jews (vv. 44-52).
Acts 13:13 says, “And putting out to sea from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John left them and returned to Jerusalem.” Based upon 15:38, the reason for John’s leaving must have been negative and hence a discouragement to Paul and his companion. However, he was recovered to Paul in his later ministry (Col. 4:10-11; 2 Tim. 4:11).
Acts 13:14 says, “And passing through from Perga, they arrived at Antioch of Pisidia; and going into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.” The purpose of the apostles’ going to the synagogue on the Sabbath day was not to keep the Sabbath. Rather, their purpose was to grasp the opportunity for preaching the gospel. As in 13:5, they did not go to attend the Jewish synagogue gathering, but to take advantage of the gathering to announce the word of God, just as the Lord Jesus did in His ministry (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:16).
Here in Acts 13 we see a complete pattern for us to follow today. In going to the synagogue, Paul was following in the steps of the Lord Jesus, who taught in the synagogue. If there was a synagogue in a particular city, Paul would go there, not because he was Judaic or intended to keep the Sabbath or learn the word of God. On the contrary, Paul went to the synagogue to take advantage of the opportunity to speak the word of God’s gospel. In every synagogue the holy Scriptures were taught, and there were a number of people, both Jews and Gentiles, who were seeking God. Therefore, it was wise of Paul to go to the synagogues.
In 13:15 we see that in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia Paul was given the opportunity to speak: “And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent to them, saying, Men, brother, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” Literally, the Greek words translated “if you have any word” mean “if there is in you any word.” When Paul rose up to speak, he addressed those in the synagogue, saying, “Men, Israelites, and those who fear God” (v. 16). Here the ones who fear God are Gentile seekers after God.
Paul’s going to the synagogue also matches the basic principle that God’s gospel should go first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:16).
In John 10 the Lord Jesus indicates that of both Jews and Gentiles are sheep that make up the unique flock. In John 10:16 He says, “I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.” Here the other sheep are the Gentile believers (Acts 11:18). The one flock signifies the one church, the one Body of Christ (Eph. 2:14-16; 3:6), brought forth by life, which is the Lord imparted into His members through His death (John 10:10-18). In John 10:16 the fold is Judaism, and the flock is the church. Outside the fold of Judaism, there were other sheep, the Gentile believers, who would be gathered together to be one flock with the Jewish believers. As we have pointed out, this one flock is the church.
Certain hymns have been written in which the church is regarded as the fold. This is a mistaken concept. The church is not a fold that keeps the sheep. Rather, the church is a flock, that is, the totality of the sheep. The fold and the flock are two things, but the church and the flock are one thing. Judaism was a fold used by God to keep His sheep temporarily. A fold is used to keep sheep during the winter, bad weather, and the night. The Old Testament time was the nighttime. The Lord’s sheep were kept in this fold until the day dawned with the coming of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:78-79). As the Shepherd, the Lord Jesus called the sheep out of the fold; that is, He called them out of the Jewish religion.
Christians today may regard denominations as churches. Actually, the denominations are folds that keep the believers, who are members of the church. Whereas every denomination is a fold, the church is the flock.
In the ancient times the synagogues in Judaism were folds, and many of God’s sheep were kept in these folds. When the Lord Jesus came, He called God’s chosen people out of the fold of Judaism. Paul followed Him to do the same thing. Whenever he came to a city, he would go to the fold, the synagogue, in that place, for he knew that a number of God’s sheep were held there. For this reason, when Paul preached in a synagogue, a number of the people believed. Among the believing ones were some Greeks. The ministry of the apostle Paul was not only to call out God’s chosen people from the Jewish religion, but also to gain Gentile believers. Then the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers were put together to form the church, the one flock. Today in the Lord’s recovery we are not building up a fold; rather, we are taking care of God’s flock.
Paul’s going to the synagogues is an aspect of the pattern portrayed in Acts 13. We may learn of Paul to go to those places where God’s chosen people meet.
A synagogue was a place where people who sought God studied the holy Scriptures. Whenever Paul went to a synagogue, he preached and taught from the Bible, which at that time, of course, consisted only of the Old Testament. Paul and Barnabas did not preach and teach any kind of human knowledge or anything of themselves. On the contrary, they preached and taught the word from the holy Scriptures. Whenever they went into a synagogue, they preached from the Bible.
Paul’s word in 13:17-22 was based entirely on the Scriptures. In verse 17 he said, “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm He led them out of it.” Here “high” means uplifted. In verses 18 and 19 Paul went on to say, “And for about forty years’ time He carried them as a nurse in the wilderness; and when He had overthrown seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance (for about four hundred and fifty years).” The four hundred fifty years extends from the people’s sojourn in Egypt (v. 17) to the judges (v. 20).
In 13:20-22 Paul continued, “And after these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up David for them as king, to whom also He testified and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who will do all My will.” David was a man according to God’s heart, that is, according to the desire of God’s heart, not only according to God’s words. Such a man will do all God’s will.
We have seen that Paul’s preaching and teaching were based on the Old Testament. The Old Testament, however, contains many things: history, the law, types, and prophecies. The Jews studied the Old Testament week by week, but they did not pay attention to Christ. They had some thought concerning the Messiah, but they did not have any understanding of Christ. When Paul went into the synagogues to preach and teach, he did not care for anything other than Christ.
When some hear that Paul preached Christ and Christ alone, they may say, “Did Paul not begin his preaching with an account of the history in the Old Testament? Did he not speak of God’s bringing His people out of Egypt, and about Saul and David?” Yes, Paul spoke about those things, but he did so in order to prepare the way to preach Christ. In verse 22 Paul quoted the word about David being a man according to God’s heart. Then in verse 23 he went on to say, “From this man’s seed, God, according to promise, brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.” Here we see that after a short introduction, he came to his crucial message, which is altogether centered on Christ. After beginning with the history until the time of David, Paul went on to point out that from David’s seed God brought forth a Savior, Jesus Christ. With Him there is salvation.
In 13:24 and 25 Paul refers to John the Baptist: “John having previously proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. Now as John was completing his course, he said, What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, One is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.” Literally, the Greek words rendered “before His coming” mean “before the face of His entrance.” Here Paul points out that before Christ’s coming, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance. Repentance is to change the mind, and baptism is to bury the repentant ones, terminating them, so that the Savior may germinate them by regeneration (John 3:3, 5-6).
As Paul went on to speak concerning “the word of this salvation,” he emphasized Christ’s crucifixion. He pointed out that the people of Israel had Him put to death. In verse 27 he says, “For those dwelling in Jerusalem and their rulers, being ignorant of this One and of the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by judging Him.” They judged the Lord Jesus by sentencing Him to death (Luke 24:20). “And when they had accomplished all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb” (v. 29).
Beginning with verse 30, Paul went on to speak of Christ’s resurrection: “But God raised Him from among the dead.” We have seen that Acts tells us both that God raised up Jesus (2:24, 32) and that He rose from the dead (10:40-41). Regarding the Lord as a man, the New Testament says that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 8:11). But considering Him as God, it tells us that He Himself rose from the dead (Rom. 14:9).
After pointing out that the resurrected Christ “was seen by those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people” (v. 31), Paul went on to say, “We bring to you good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You.” Resurrection was a birth to the Man Jesus. He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18; 3:16). After incarnation, through resurrection, He was begotten by God in His humanity to be God’s firstborn Son.
If it were not for Paul, I do not think that we would be able to see that Psalm 2 speaks of the resurrection of Christ. Paul was able to see the Lord’s resurrection in the word, “You are My Son; today I have begotten You.” Paul applied the word “today” to the day of the Lord’s resurrection. This means that Christ’s resurrection was His birth as the firstborn Son of God. Jesus, the Son of Man, was born to be the Son of God through being raised up from the dead. Therefore, God’s raising up of Jesus from the dead was His begetting of Him to be His firstborn Son. We need to realize that the Lord’s resurrection was His birth. This is a crucial matter.
The Lord Jesus has had two births. First, He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man. Then thirty-three and a half years later He was crucified, buried, and raised from among the dead. Through resurrection He had a second birth, for as a man He was born in His resurrection to be the Son of God. Therefore, in His first birth He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man, and in His second birth He was born in resurrection to be the Son of God.
When some hear that Christ was born to be the Son of God in resurrection, they may have a problem and say, “Was not our Lord the Son of God from eternity?” Yes, from eternity He was the Son of God. Before His first birth, that is, before He was born of Mary to be the Son of Man, He was already the Son of God. The Gospel of John emphasizes the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He is the Son of God eternally. Since He was already the Son of God before His incarnation, why was it necessary for Him to be born the Son of God in His resurrection? If we would answer this question, we need to study the Bible carefully.
Romans 8:29 and Hebrews 1:6 both speak of Christ as the Firstborn. In His second birth the Lord Jesus was born to be the firstborn Son of God. According to the New Testament, He is the Son of God in two aspects. First, He was God’s only begotten Son; second, He is now God’s firstborn Son. The words “only begotten” indicate that God has only one Son. John 1:18 and 3:16 speak of the only begotten Son of God. Eternally speaking, Christ was the only begotten Son of God. This was His eternal status. But through resurrection He, as a man, was born to be the firstborn Son of God. The word “firstborn” indicates that God now has many sons (Heb. 2:10). We who believe in Christ are the many sons of God and the many brothers of the Lord, the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29).
As the only begotten Son of God, the Lord is the embodiment of the divine life. The Gospel of John emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and as the Son of God He is the very embodiment of the divine life (John 1:4). Through resurrection Christ became the firstborn Son of God as the life-dispenser for the propagation of life. First, He was the only begotten Son as the embodiment of life; now He is the firstborn Son for the propagation of life. Through His becoming the firstborn Son of God in resurrection, the divine life has been dispensed into all of His believers to bring forth the propagation of the very life which is embodied in Him. We all need to see this.
Here in Acts 13 Paul was not preaching Christ as the only begotten Son of God, as the Gospel of John does. Rather, here Paul was preaching Christ as the firstborn Son of God for propagation. For this reason, he preached the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as His second birth. Through His second birth, His birth in resurrection, Christ became the firstborn Son of God for the propagation of the divine life.
