Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

1. Paul’s sermon could be outlined as follows: (1) The Preparation for the Savior (16-25), (2) The Rejection of the Savior (26-37), and (3) The Appeal to Receive the Savior (38-41).

2. God, having chosen Israel for His people (Ac 13:17), orchestrated Israel’s history for the coming of the Savior.

3. He gave them promises that were also prophecies in which they could identify that Savior. Specifically, He would be a descendant of David to occupy his throne (2Sa 7:12-13).

B. God Fulfilled His Promise of a Savior (Jesus) (Ac 13:23)

1. According to these promises, God brought to Israel a “Savior (sōtār)” Savior would be synonymous with the Messiah in the sense that the Messiah would save His people from their sins (cf. Is 53:5-7).

2. The subject of God being Israel’s Savior was a recurrent theme in the OT (Is 25:9; 33:22; 43:3; 49:26), which includes His name as Jehovah Moshiekh (Yahweh your Savior).

3. Paul identified “Jesus” as Israel’s Savior, whose name means, “Jehovah saves” (Mt 1:21).

C. John the Baptist Proclaimed a Baptism of Repentance (Ac 13:24)

1. In preparation for the Savior, God foretold that He would send a “voice of one crying in the wilderness” to proclaim His coming (Is 40:3 cf. Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23; Mal 3:1). This was the prophet, John the Baptist (cf. Ac 1:22).

2. The Savior’s “coming” was in reference to His first coming and was literally, “before the face of His entrance” (pro prosōpou tās eisdou autou) (cf. Jn 1:14).

3. It was a baptism of repentance, not Christian baptism, which had not yet been established. It was rather to “repent” (metanoia - change of mind and life) and prepare their hearts for the coming Messiah (Mt 3:1-2; Lk 3:3).

D. John the Baptist Proclaimed the Coming of the Christ (Ac 13:25)

1. While John the Baptist was carrying out His ministry, he repeatedly asked, “What do you suppose that I am” (ti - neuter - i.e. what). In other words, what was his office” was it a prophet or was it the Messiah?

2. He humbly clarified that he was not the Messiah. But the Messiah, whose sandals he was unworthy to untie, was coming after him (Mt 3:11; Mk 1:7).

3. App: John the Baptist was a forerunner of the message of Christ, as believers we are after-runners (post-runners, anchors) of the same message of Christ (He 12:1-2).

II. THE REJECTION OF THE SAVIOR (26-29)

A. The Message of the Gospel was Sent (Ac 13:26)

1. In the synagogue, Paul again addressed the Jews (“sons of Abraham's family”) and the Gentiles (“those among you who fear God”).

2. He conveyed that the message of “salvation” (sōtāria) through the “Savior” (sōtār vs. 23) had been sent.

3. Now it was sent to both Jews and Gentiles through the gospel (cf Ro 1:16).

B. The Jerusalem Rulers Condemned Jesus (Ac 13:27)

1. Though his immediate audience highly regarded the religious rulers in Jerusalem, they in fact, were the ones who were responsible for crucifying Christ (Ac 2:23-24, 36; 4:10; 7:52).

2. The Torah, Prophets, and Psalms were read in 1^st Century synagogues according to a fixed schedule. Even though the Scriptures concerning Christ were read every Sabbath (Ac 13:15; 15:21), they did not “recognize” (agnoeō - not know, fail to understand) Him or what the prophets said about Him.

3. Certainly they read that Messiah would come (Dt 18:15 cf. Ac 3:22-23; Ps 118:26 cf. Mt 21:9; Zec 9:9) as well as be sacrificed for sins (Is 53:4-5).

4. The irony was that they were the ones actually fulfilling those prophecies by “condemning” (krinō - to judge or condemn, cf. Mk 10:33) Jesus. Even their spiritual blindness and rejection was prophesied (Is 6:9-10 cf. Ac 28:26-27; Ps 118:22-23 cf. Ac 4:11; 1Pe 2:7).

5. App: Though we marvel at the blindness of the Jews, how many have heard the gospel sitting in a pew but neglected to accept the Savior (Jn 5:39)? How many times do we as believers hear the Word and it consequences, but refuse to listen (He 5:11)?

C. There were No Grounds for Crucifying Jesus (Ac 13:28)

1. Furthermore, they condemned the Savior, but they were unable to “find” (euriskō - to search) any “grounds” (aitia - legal term for charges) for putting him to death.

2. The Jews gathered trumped up charges against Jesus, broke their own rules of procedure, then railroaded Jesus to a Roman trial for death, fulfilling the prophecy that they “hated [Him] without a cause” (Ps 69:4 cf. Jn 15:25).

3. So they sent Jesus to Pilate in order to have him “executed” (anaireō - do away (put away), sometimes violently, sometimes judicially, Lk 22:2; 23:32).

D. They Carried out Everything Written in Prophecy (Ac 13:29)

1. They “carried out” all the prophecies concerning Christ’s death: reproach and wagging heads (Ps 109:25 cf. Mt 27:39), crowds stared (Ps 22:17 cf. Lk 23:35), clothing divided (Ps 22:18 cf. Jn 19:23–24), vinegar and gall (Ps 69:21 cf. Mt 27:34), forsaken by God (Ps 22:1 cf. Mt 27:46), last words (Ps 31:5 cf. Lk 23:46), no broken bones (Ps 34:20 cf. Jn 19:33), side pierced (Zec 12:10 cf. Jn 19:34).

2. Even the kind of death by crucifixion was predicted, which in all likelihood, was not even known in the time of the prophets (Jn 3:14 cf. Nu 21:9; Ps 22:14-18).

3. When he was taken down from the “cross” (xulon - tree, wood, instrument of execution by crucifixion, i.e. cross, Ac 5:30) he was laid in a tomb. Not only was this prophesied (Is 53:9 cf. Mt 27:57-60), but it gave evidence of the actuality of death.

III. THE RESURRECTION AND APPEARANCES OF THE SAVIOR (30-31)

A. But God Raised Him from the Dead (Ac 13:30)

1. Despite all the evil that transpired by the hands of the religious rulers in putting Jesus to death, God raised Him “from the dead” (lit. out of the dead - ek nekrōn).

2. The resurrection was the glorious proof that Jesus was not the insurrectionist that the Jews claimed, but rather the Son of God (Ro 1:4), to whom death could not hold (Ac 2:24), and who atoned for the sins of man (1Co 15:17).

3. This was the evidence for Paul’s message and for the faith of Paul’s audience.

B. He Appeared to His Disciples, His witnesses (Ac 13:31)

1. These claims were substantiated by the disciples who “came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem” (“His witnesses” i.e. His apostles). He appeared to them numerous times (Peter (Lk 24:34), Ten Disciples (Lk 24:36), Thomas a week later (Jn 20:26-31), Sea of Galilee (Jn 21:1), Galilee (Mt 28:16-17).

2. There were more to whom Jesus appeared (“five hundred” 1Co 5:6), but the emphasis was on the apostolic witness (cf. 1Co 15:5-8) “to the people.”

3. Both Christ’s resurrection (Ac 2:24; 10:40; 26:23) and the apostolic witness (Ac 1:22; 2:32; 5:32) were key themes in the apostolic preaching.

IV. THE GOOD NEWS OF THE PROMISE OF THE SAVIOR (32)

A. They Preach the Good News of the Promise (Ac 13:32)

1. Paul and Barnabas (lit. “we ourselves” hāmeis) were preaching these very truths, though Paul in particular, was an apostolic witness to Christ’s resurrection (Ac 9:5).

2. The “good news” (euangelizō - good announcement or message) was that God had fulfilled His promise to the fathers concerning the Davidic Covenant (Ac 13:23) and all the prophecies (i.e. the Savior and salvation, Ac 13:33a).

3. App: The gospel is equivalent to the promises given to Israel, which concerning salvation, are a gift to us (Gentiles) as well as a responsibility to know and share them (Ro 15:8-13.

Conclusion: The promises are contained in the gospel which have been offered to us as a gift. However, we must receive that gift by trusting Christ as our Savior, for the promises are found in Him alone. Then having received the Savior, we become the Savior’s after-runners or anchors in the relay of the gospel. Let us take care not to drop the baton or fail to run with it, lest we hinder God’s redemptive history.

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516