Daily Scripture Reading Acts 13:13-33
One of the realities of modern Christianity is that most church attenders are fairly ignorant of Old Testament history, as well as much of what is recorded in the New Testament. Many pastors and churches teach facts about Jesus, without making it clear the context in which those facts were revealed.
In today’s passage we will read the message Paul delivered to a synagogue in Pisidia. He started with the historical context in which Jesus lived, died, and rose again. This indicates we should also begin our presentation of the gospel with a history lesson.
Yesterday, we read that the church in Antioch sent Barnabas and Saul out to do the work assigned them by the Holy Spirit. Barnabas and Saul sailed to Cyprus and proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, eventually doing so through the whole island, ending in the city of Paphos. We also read that Saul was also known as Paul.
Acts 13:13 ¶ Now after Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
Up to this point in the book of Acts, the author used the term “Barnabas and Saul” to describe the traveling party. Barnabas had been instrumental in getting the apostles to accept Saul after Saul became a Christian. Barnabas mentored Saul in many ways. Acts 13:9 tells us Saul was also known as Paul. Now in Acts 13:13 the author used the term “Paul and his companions” to describe the group. This indicates that Paul was now the leader, not Barnabas.
Paphos was a city on the western end of the island of Cyprus. Perga was a city. Pamphylia was a geographical region.
We know from Acts 12:25 that John Mark traveled with Barnabas and Saul when they took the gift from Antioch to Jerusalem. This verse, Acts 13:13, is the first indication we have that John was also traveling with them in Cyprus. We see here that he left them in the middle of the journey and went back to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was 435 miles / 700 km away from Perga.
It is 175 miles / 280 km from Paphos to Perga. Perga is on the north side of the Mediterranean Sea. Perga was in an area which today is in the country of Turkey.
Acts 13:14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down.
Pisidian Antioch was a city named Antioch which was located in the region of Pisidia. This city is called Pisidian Antioch to differentiate it from the other city called Antioch where Paul and Barnabas began this journey.
Notice the words “Sabbath” and “synagogue”. This tells us Paul and Barnabas were still focused on preaching to the Jews first.
Perga was located near the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Antioch was inland. It was about 90 miles / 150 km from Perga up to Antioch. That would have taken a least 3 days.
The colors on the map indicate elevation. Greens are the lower elevations. Whites are the highest elevations. Browns were in between. Perga was near sea level. Antioch was 3,600 feet / 1,100 m above sea level. It was a steep uphill climb from Perga up to Antioch.
Acts 13:15 And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”
This verse gives us some insight into the format of their synagogue services. First, they read the Law and Prophets, which means they read from the Old Testament. Then there was time for people to speak extemporaneously.
Acts 13:16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, ¶ “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
Acts 13:17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.
Acts 13:18 And for a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.
Acts 13:19 And when He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years.
Acts 13:20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
Acts 13:21 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.
Acts 13:22 And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.’
Acts 13:23 From the seed of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
Acts 13:24 after John had preached before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
The people listening to Paul were Jews, so they would have been familiar with most of what he was saying. In verse 23 Paul made it clear that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior.
Acts 13:25 And as John was fulfilling his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’
Acts 13:26 ¶ “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation was sent.
Notice the terms Paul used. He used the word “Brothers” because Paul was a Jew and he was speaking to Jews. He used the term “sons of Abraham’s family” because Jews are descendants of Abraham. Then he used the term “those among you who fear God”. This indicates to me that some in the synagogue were not Jews, but they were in the synagogue because they understood that the God revealed in the Jewish scriptures is the real God.
Acts 13:27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him.
The pronoun “Him” refers to Jesus.
This verse repeats the insight into the format of their synagogue services. It tells us the prophets were read every Sabbath. That referred to the bulk of the Old Testament.
Acts 13:28 And though they found no ground for death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.
Acts 13:29 And when they had finished all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
Acts 13:30 But God raised Him from the dead;
Take note that Paul stated clearly that God raised Jesus from the dead. Don’t overlook how extraordinary that would have sounded to the people listening to Paul. Everything else Paul said up to this point was either common knowledge within Judaism or easy to believe. However, it was not easy for them to believe that Jesus rose from the dead.
Take note how Paul presented the gospel. He recounted historical events. He started with the historical context that led up to Jesus. Then he explained that Jesus lived on earth, died, and rose again.
Many pastors and churches today do not teach Bible history. The Old Testament is mostly ignored. When they preach a so-called salvation message, they do not place Jesus in historical context. They simply tell people to ask Jesus into their heart.
However, in order for people to be saved, they have to believe in Jesus. In order to believe in Jesus, they have to understand the historical context in which Jesus lived. Just as people have to know something about American history in order to believe in George Washington, so too people have to know something about world history in order to believe in Jesus.
Acts 13:31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.
Paul used the word “witnesses”. Believing Jesus rose from the dead does not require one to be irrational. There are eyewitnesses who saw Jesus die, and then they saw Him alive again.
Acts 13:32 And we proclaim to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,
Acts 13:33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’
When Paul preached Jesus to the church in Pisidian Antioch, he started with a history lesson and explained the historical context in which Jesus died and rose again. Just as people have to know something about American history in order to believe in George Washington, so too people have to know something about world history in order to believe in Jesus.
What historical facts do non-christians need to learn in order to genuinely believe in Jesus?
How well does your church or pastor explain those historical facts when presenting a so-called salvation message?
How well do you explain those historical facts when presenting a so-called salvation message?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”