A STUDY GUIDE ACTS 13:13-42
1. A Study Guide
a) A study guide of Acts of the Apostles. It is intended to be expository — to explain and bring out the meaning of the original text. You may use this for your personal bible study or even group bible study.
2. Acts 13:13-42
a) The verses describe Paul’s Synagogue Speech in Antioch Pisidia.
#1) Acts 13:13-15
13 Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”
i) John departed from them. This was John Mark whom Barnabas and Saul had brought with them from Jerusalem to Antioch Syria (Acts 12:25). After they sailed from Cyprus to the mainland, John quit travelling with Paul and Barnabas. By this desertion, John lost Paul’s trust (Acts 15:36-41).
ii) Antioch of Pisidia. There are two cities called Antioch: the Antioch in Pisidia, and the greater Antioch in Syria (where the current journey began).
iii) Went into the synagogue. Jews were now living all over the world. They had meeting places called synagogues where their local congregations met and were administered. The temple in Jerusalem was a place for festivals and pilgrimages, but the synagogue was the center of grass-roots religion and worship each Sabbath. It became Paul’s practice, when he came to preach in a city, to first go to the synagogues. There he would hope to preach the gospel to the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles who worshiped God with the Jews. Usually he was invited to speak, as in this case.
#2) Acts 13:16-20
16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
i) Paul stood up. With his training and career as a Pharisee, Paul was able to address the synagogue according to its ways. He begins, after the customary niceties, by telling the old story that the Jews loved to hear. In a few crisp sentences he spans their history from Abraham to until the possession of the promised land in the time of the judges.
#3) Acts 13:21-23
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. 22 After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
i) A Savior Jesus. Paul continues his connected history, but the connection is between king David and Jesus Christ. Paul doesn't tell the intervening history of Israel. He joins the time of David to the present day. As the congregation would all know, God made a promise to David about the Messiah, and confirmed it with an oath.
@1. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, ¶ "David, speaking as a prophet, knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that, of the fruit of David’s fleshly body, God would raise up the Christ to sit on David’s throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ...' " (Acts 2:29-31).
@2. The “throne promise” that God made to David is recorded in (2 Samuel 7:12), and is made an oath in (Psalms 89:3-4) and (Psalms 132:11).
@3. God has now fulfilled this oath. Jesus is now King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:14-15). He said himself, "I have sat down with my Father in his throne" (Revelation 3:21). We have been ushered into his kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
#4) Acts 13:24-26
24 after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘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.’
26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
i) John the Baptizer as witness. Paul must, of course, support his assertion that Jesus is the promised Savior and Christ. So Paul calls John the Baptizer as his witness. It was common knowledge that in this saying John was referring to Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:26-37).
#5) Acts 13:27-33
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 these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written concerning 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 appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 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.’
i) Other witnesses. Of course most of the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem had taken no notice of John the Baptizer. These leaders did not recognize Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. Rather, they opposed Jesus and had him unjustly crucified. But God raised him from the dead and many saw him and could testify that Jesus was indeed alive again. Paul now adds their witness to support his claim.
ii) Today I have begotten you. This quote from Psalm 2:7 is about the resurrection of Christ, not his incarnation in Bethlehem. Jesus is called "the first begotten from the dead" (Revelation 1:5). Jesus was God’s only begotten Son in both his birth and his death. He was born from both the womb and the tomb.
#6) Acts 13:34-39
34 As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
i) Return to decay. God said to Adam, "You shall return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:19). The expression "return to decay" (Acts 13:34) is equivalent to "return to the ground" (Genesis 3:19). It does not mean that Jesus did see decay. He died and was buried, and would have decayed to dust. However he was raised from the dead and will never again return. Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead and not see decay. After all, didn't Jesus himself raise up his friend Lazarus who had died and been buried (John 11:43-44)? But Lazarus later on returned to decay and became dust. Jesus is unique in that he never more will return to decay like Lazarus.
ii) David didn't prophesy about himself. Paul makes the same point that Peter made on the day of Pentecost. David’s prophecy, "You will not let your holy one see decay" could not be about David himself, because he died and was buried and he saw decay (Acts 2:25-32, Acts 13:35-37, Psalms 16:10). So the natural conclusion is that David was prophesying about the Messiah and that the resurrection and ascension of Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. "He whom God raised up saw no decay." (Acts 13:37).
iii) Complete forgiveness and justification. The point of all this is not simply to proclaim the resurrection of Christ, but more so to proclaim its consequence. A death from which one has risen, never to return, must have a marvelous purpose, and this is what Paul now drives home. Complete forgiveness and justification (being made perfectly and permanently right with God) is now possible for everyone. The law of Moses could not make this possible (Hebrews 9:8-15 etc).
#7) Acts 13:40-42
40 Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish;
For I am accomplishing a work in your days,
A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’”
42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.
i) A warning to heed. Paul concludes with a warning that clearly presents a choice. When the gospel is declared to you, you must make a decision. Will you refuse to believe and perish, or will you believe and be justified? It would be ridiculous for Paul to speak this warning if his listeners had no choice. If God had already decreed before the foundation of the world who would believe, leaving the rest incapable of believing, then this warning would be meaningless. If you can beware lest destruction come upon you, then you must be both in danger of destruction and able to avoid it. The prophet foresaw that some of Israel would scoff and never believe, whilst some of the Gentiles would embrace the gospel (Habakkuk 1:5). This, however, was not because people did what they were predestined to do, but rather because they chose that course for themselves.
a) A study guide of Acts of the Apostles. It is intended to be expository — to explain and bring out the meaning of the original text. You may use this for your personal bible study or even group bible study.
2. Acts 13:13-42
a) The verses describe Paul’s Synagogue Speech in Antioch Pisidia.
#1) Acts 13:13-15
13 Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”
i) John departed from them. This was John Mark whom Barnabas and Saul had brought with them from Jerusalem to Antioch Syria (Acts 12:25). After they sailed from Cyprus to the mainland, John quit travelling with Paul and Barnabas. By this desertion, John lost Paul’s trust (Acts 15:36-41).
ii) Antioch of Pisidia. There are two cities called Antioch: the Antioch in Pisidia, and the greater Antioch in Syria (where the current journey began). iii) Went into the synagogue. Jews were now living all over the world. They had meeting places called synagogues where their local congregations met and were administered. The temple in Jerusalem was a place for festivals and pilgrimages, but the synagogue was the center of grass-roots religion and worship each Sabbath. It became Paul’s practice, when he came to preach in a city, to first go to the synagogues. There he would hope to preach the gospel to the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles who worshiped God with the Jews. Usually he was invited to speak, as in this case.
#2) Acts 13:16-20
16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
i) Paul stood up. With his training and career as a Pharisee, Paul was able to address the synagogue according to its ways. He begins, after the customary niceties, by telling the old story that the Jews loved to hear. In a few crisp sentences he spans their history from Abraham to until the possession of the promised land in the time of the judges.
#3) Acts 13:21-23
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. 22 After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
i) A Savior Jesus. Paul continues his connected history, but the connection is between king David and Jesus Christ. Paul doesn't tell the intervening history of Israel. He joins the time of David to the present day. As the congregation would all know, God made a promise to David about the Messiah, and confirmed it with an oath.
@1. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, ¶ "David, speaking as a prophet, knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that, of the fruit of David’s fleshly body, God would raise up the Christ to sit on David’s throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ...' " (Acts 2:29-31).
@2. The “throne promise” that God made to David is recorded in (2 Samuel 7:12), and is made an oath in (Psalms 89:3-4) and (Psalms 132:11).
@3. God has now fulfilled this oath. Jesus is now King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:14-15). He said himself, "I have sat down with my Father in his throne" (Revelation 3:21). We have been ushered into his kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
#4) Acts 13:24-26
24 after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘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.’
26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
i) John the Baptizer as witness. Paul must, of course, support his assertion that Jesus is the promised Savior and Christ. So Paul calls John the Baptizer as his witness. It was common knowledge that in this saying John was referring to Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:26-37).
#5) Acts 13:27-33
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 these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written concerning 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 appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 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.’
i) Other witnesses. Of course most of the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem had taken no notice of John the Baptizer. These leaders did not recognize Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. Rather, they opposed Jesus and had him unjustly crucified. But God raised him from the dead and many saw him and could testify that Jesus was indeed alive again. Paul now adds their witness to support his claim.
ii) Today I have begotten you. This quote from Psalm 2:7 is about the resurrection of Christ, not his incarnation in Bethlehem. Jesus is called "the first begotten from the dead" (Revelation 1:5). Jesus was God’s only begotten Son in both his birth and his death. He was born from both the womb and the tomb.
#6) Acts 13:34-39
34 As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
i) Return to decay. God said to Adam, "You shall return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:19). The expression "return to decay" (Acts 13:34) is equivalent to "return to the ground" (Genesis 3:19). It does not mean that Jesus did see decay. He died and was buried, and would have decayed to dust. However he was raised from the dead and will never again return. Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead and not see decay. After all, didn't Jesus himself raise up his friend Lazarus who had died and been buried (John 11:43-44)? But Lazarus later on returned to decay and became dust. Jesus is unique in that he never more will return to decay like Lazarus.
ii) David didn't prophesy about himself. Paul makes the same point that Peter made on the day of Pentecost. David’s prophecy, "You will not let your holy one see decay" could not be about David himself, because he died and was buried and he saw decay (Acts 2:25-32, Acts 13:35-37, Psalms 16:10). So the natural conclusion is that David was prophesying about the Messiah and that the resurrection and ascension of Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. "He whom God raised up saw no decay." (Acts 13:37).
iii) Complete forgiveness and justification. The point of all this is not simply to proclaim the resurrection of Christ, but more so to proclaim its consequence. A death from which one has risen, never to return, must have a marvelous purpose, and this is what Paul now drives home. Complete forgiveness and justification (being made perfectly and permanently right with God) is now possible for everyone. The law of Moses could not make this possible (Hebrews 9:8-15 etc).
#7) Acts 13:40-42
40 Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish;
For I am accomplishing a work in your days,
A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’”
42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.
i) A warning to heed. Paul concludes with a warning that clearly presents a choice. When the gospel is declared to you, you must make a decision. Will you refuse to believe and perish, or will you believe and be justified? It would be ridiculous for Paul to speak this warning if his listeners had no choice. If God had already decreed before the foundation of the world who would believe, leaving the rest incapable of believing, then this warning would be meaningless. If you can beware lest destruction come upon you, then you must be both in danger of destruction and able to avoid it. The prophet foresaw that some of Israel would scoff and never believe, whilst some of the Gentiles would embrace the gospel (Habakkuk 1:5). This, however, was not because people did what they were predestined to do, but rather because they chose that course for themselves.
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